First of these is that manufacture of the Calf Creek points
requires careful and time-consuming preparation of the chert
itself by firing it in a hearth for a long period at very
high heat. The white chert takes on a pinkish or bluish
cast and becomes very lustrous. Additionally, the heat treatment
seems to change the structure of the rock so that it requires
less pressure to flake and shape.
The second factor in the caching of the Frisco chert is
related to the first. Heating of the Frisco chert required
lots of wood which could only be found in sufficient quantities
in stream bottoms like the Washita because of the arid climate.
So, rather than carry lots of bulky wood to the Frisco chert
outcrops, the Calf Creek people carried the heavier, but
more portable, chert to the wood source.
The archeological work at the Primrose and Stillman Pit
sites depended heavily on the help of interested collectors.
People who lived nearby the site and monitored the sand
quarrying operation loaned their collections for study by
archeologists. Without the help of such people, the historic
and prehistoric heritage of all Oklahomans might be lost
forever without being recorded. So, while the sand quarrying
destroyed the original context
of the artifacts left behind by the Calf Creek people, some
information about their culture was preserved.
For further reading, consult:
"The Primrose Site, 34MR65, Murray County, Oklahoma"
by D.G. Wyckoff, W.L Neal, and M. Duncan in Bulletin of
the Oklahoma Anthropological Society, Vol. XL, 1994.
"The Calf Creek Component at the Stillman Pit Site
(34MR71) and Its Relation to Calf Creek Caching Strategy"
by R. Bartlett in Bulletin of the Oklahoma Anthropological
Society, Vol. XL, 1994.
Calf Creek points from the Primrose site.