This paper discusses the discovery of the source of Butte Valley Group “B” obsidian during site reconnaissance in Sand Spring Valley, southeastern Nevada. The existence of this material was first noted in 1988 by Richard Hughes, Charlotte Beck, and George T. Jones as present in their assemblages from Butte Valley, north of Ely, Nevada. Since that time, this obsidian has been discovered in a number of early assemblages throughout eastern Nevada and as far away as 250 miles. Reconnaissance of the area surrounding the source location further revealed several additional sites that contained this material. Obsidian source and hydration studies are reflective of a long time span of land usage and possible trading and hunting patterns within the Great
Basin. With the discovery of this source location, many long sought after questions can be answered and many other questions raised.
Sand Spring Valley encompasses some 647 sq. mi. (Mifflin and Wheat, p. 55) and the dominating landscape feature of Sand Spring Dry Lake, a pluvial dry lake encompasses some 60 sq. mi. (Ettinger p. 29)
Penoyer Valley now called Sand Spring Valley is bounded by the Worthington Mountains on the east and the Quinn Canyon Range on the west.
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