ABSTRACT
Volcanic eruptions were rare, spectacular, and destructive events that often had profound impacts on local populations. The volcanic phenomena observed by local populations can enter cultural memory and be the fodder for legends, stories, and sacred places. The archaeological signature of volcanic events exceeds the radius of eruptive deposits and may be visible in the use and distribution of artefacts as secondary evidence of the cultural and ideological effects of volcanic phenomena. As an eruption with a well-known date that produced distinctive volcanic obsidian, tracing the appearance and use of Glass Mountain obsidian in the surrounding settlements offers an unparalleled opportunity to test established paradigms relating to the trade of obsidian. Fieldwork was conducted to identify and record archaeological quarrying sites along the glass flow margins and to document lithic production or retooling at Glass Mountain. Large obsidian bifaces from ethnographic and archaeological contexts in northern California and coastal Oregon have long been objects of interest for archaeologists and antiquarians.
