Mount Jasper Lithic Source

Mount Jasper Lithic Source is an archaeological site in Berlin that extends from a mountain summit down to the Dead River valley, featuring visible rhyolite deposits and ancient mining tunnels. The site spans nearly 40 acres and shows evidence of extensive prehistoric stone extraction and tool production.

This location served as a resource site for Indigenous peoples over many millennia, with regular extraction of stone for tools and weapons. The extended use over such a long period demonstrates the enduring importance of this place to successive groups.

Indigenous peoples worked raw rhyolite at designated workshops on this mountain, shaping materials into functional tools through methods that show how organized their communities were. The multiple work areas reveal the importance this location held for the people who returned here repeatedly.

The site is located northwest of where two rivers meet and can be reached by walking trails that climb gradually up the slope. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes and be ready for uneven ground with rocks and tree roots throughout the area.

This site contains rare remains of tunnels that Indigenous miners drove into the mountain to access deeper deposits. These passages reveal advanced extraction techniques and show how systematically people worked to reach stone resources deeper underground.