This lithic CAST was done as part of a teaching collection representing the Great Basin Western Stemmed Tradition archaeological finds. The unique ecology of the Great Basin Desert encompasses an area of northern Nevada and Utah, between the boundaries of the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountain ranges. Researchers Daron Duke,Bruce Kaiser and Richard Shipley provided a collection of projectile points and tools from the Great Basin region, in order to create this collection. This artifact (ISODD1) is a rare example of the Cougar Mountain/Haskett type, and was found at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. It was made in Quartzite, and is the only example of that material in this point survey collection.  It was brought to the collection by Great Basin archaeologist Daron Duke in 2017, and measures 7.3cm long and 3.5cm wide and 8mm max thickness.  It was typed as a Cougar Mountain Projectile Point, and very closely related to the Haskett type.  These date to around 9 to 12,000 years ago.
 Research done by the Far Western Anthropological Research Group/Daron Duke has pushed the time of the Western Stemmed Tradition back further into the Paleoindian period, with dating as far back as 12,000 years ago. One of the points in the study from Utah's Great Salt Lake region tested showed elephant/probiscidean blood residue, showing use for large thrusting and throwing spears, which is another piece of evidence towards early dates of the Western Stemmed tradition of tools. This cast of the original artifact is one of the rarest types of the Great Basin Western Stemmed Tradition, and in unique material for the type as well. (cast copyright Occpaleo 2025)