Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
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A ;&ri/~uJ~r ~ur~urur~urr
R. Jane Sliva
ListofTables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
A N INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY AND ANALYSE OF FLAKED STONE
ARTIFACTS AND LITHIC ECHNOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
htroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What are flaked stone artifacts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Why are flaked stone artifacts significant to archaeologists? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
How are flaked stone artifacts made? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How are flaked stone tools uced? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 7 : : ; " " ' 3
Lithic Technology as Reductive Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
FiakingMechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Lithic Artifact Life Histories and Human Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
RawMaterialEffects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Analytical Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
-4rtifact Class and Type Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
\
2. Examples of percussors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Flakeattributes ......................................................... 5
4. Flakeinitiations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5. Flaketenninations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7. Reclamation behaviors (the "redamation loop") and other factors which may
intervene in a lithic artifact's life history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9. Tertiaryreduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11. Forces (human behaviors and natural processes) acting upon flaked stone
artifacts and potential resultant life histories . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
R. Jane S l i ~ a
&ter for Desmt Archaeology
INTRODUCTION
Compared to many other classes of Southwestem artifacts, such as ceramics and ground stone,
flaked stone (or "lithic") artifacts can seem rather obscure. Most people can readily recogruze
arrowheads, or, more appropriately, "projectile points," but are unfamiliar with the other kinds
of artifacts that maice up the vast majority of lithic assemblages. The questions commonly asked
about these other artifacts tend to cover seven general, interrelated topics. These topics can be
summarized, in no particular order, by the following questions: What are flake stone artifacts?
Why are they significant to archaeologists? How were they made? How were they used? How
can you tell the difference between a lithic artifact and a natural piece of r d ? How are they
analyzed? What kinds of information do flaked stone data provide?
As their name indicates, flaked stone artifacts include any stone items that show signs of human
modification (either intentional or unintentional) through the removal of flakes from the curface
of some parent material. Although gnnding may help prepare a stone for flaking, stone artifacts
modified exdusively by ,&ding are classified as ground stone and are suhect to a different set
of analyses. Flaked stone artifacts indude cores of raw material; hammerstunes used to remove
flakes from the cores (a process called core reductzon); flakes and cores which have been modified
into tools, such as projectile poirits, drills, scrapers, and choppers; and the waste flakes produced
during core reduction and tool manufacture, h o w n as debitage. Some exñmples of flaked stone
& artifacts are shown in Figure 1. How the artifacts may have been used, or even if they were
C- used at all, has no bearing on their inclusion in this large, catch-all category.
-
:-
Why are flaked stone artifacts significant to archaeologists?
---
->-
i
t
Flaked stone artifacts have a global spatial and temporal distribution; that is, stone tools occur
T¿- at archaeological sites across the planet and have been used from the dawn of man to the
present day. Artifacts from different regions and time periods can be studied in the same ways
because the teclinological processes behind their manufacture have remained constant.
Lithics oAen are the most prevalently represented artiiact ciass a t prehistoric sittis, this being
particularly irue with geater time depth. Ceramics were not intrcduced i n the Scuthxrest until
approximately A.D. 150; thG, ten thousand years' worth of sites here are dominated by flaked
stone. In Europe and Africa, of course, this goes ba& much farther; the oldest surviving artifacts
known to have been manufactured by horninids were the simple pebble choppers made by Horno
habilis some 2.7 rnillion years ago. Another factor contributing to the predominance of lithic
artifacts is the tough material from which they are made. While stone is subject to both physical
Page 2 iManual jbr Fiaked Stam +4mlysis
cornposite tool
core
projectile point
and chemical weathering, it is much more durable than other types of cultural remains, such as
wood, bone, leather, and plant fiber. For this reason, except for artifads from a dry cave, tundra,
or peat bog settings, stone is the best-represented and perhaps only surviving artifact dass at
many sites.
Besides preserving the artifacts for millenia, the physical properties of stone tools also allow
researchers to determine how they were manufactured and, under certain conditions, how they
were used. Experimentation with different types of tools and different types of lithic raw
material can provide a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations provided by
' flaked stone technology. Data from the analysis of flaked stone artifacts can help determine
settlement and subsistente pattems, ethnic and/or temporal affiliation, the speci£ic tasks
1 performed at a site, and intrasite spatial organization and fonnation processes (where certain
activities took place, and how areas of archaeological sites carne to look a certain way when
excavated).
As the name suggests, flaked stone tools are rnanufactured by removing flakes or chips of stone
Irepeatedly
from a piece of parent material. Cobbles or other pieces of raw material ("cores") can be
stmck with another rock to remove flakes until the desired tool form achiwed?and
is
the flakes removed from cores can thernselves be shaped by further flaking. Thic is in contrast
to ground stone ariifacts, which are prirnarily manufactured by abrading one stone with another
until the desired form is achieved.
Generally speaking, a percon who wishes to perform a particular task with a sbne implement
has f o u choices. For example, imagine a man faced withithe task of processing a partially
butchered animal carcass. He can (1)use an unmodified river cobble to crack bones or open the
s k d , or he can strike the edges of that river cobble with another rock, producing several large
flakes. He can then either (2) use the struck cobble with its newly formed sharp edge to chop
at the joints in the animal's leg, or (3) use the sharp-edged flakes to slice meat from the bones.
Page 3
4
He can &o (4) jnape the edges of the Ilakes to produce more speaalized tool forms, such as a
h & e r L d e for c-itting through more n@¿tissues or a steep-edged scaper for scraping the hicie
dean ior tanning. Shouid the edges of the tools become dull through use, he can resharpen
them by strikuis them with a hammer to remove more flakes from their edges.
Fiaked stone implements can be used in virtually any application assigned to metal toolc today,
wlth their edge confi,gmations selected or retouch-designed for a myriad of tasks, or to m a t e
other tools from wood, bone, or antler. For example, a sharp flake with a senated edge can be
used to cut a branch from a tree. A flake with a notch in its edge is then used to shape the
branch into a spear shaft, the shaft is tipped with a stone projectile point, and the spear is used
to lull a deer. Snarp flake kmves are used to skiil and butcher the deer, and steep-edged £laice
scrapers are used to remove íat and subderrnal tissues from the hide and then to soften it &er
it is tanned. Knives are used to cut the hide into pieces, and sharp projections on flakes are used
to make holes in the hide pieces so that sinews may be passed through them to make clotfüng.
Flake gravers can alco be used to make awls and neeciles from the deer's bones or antiers for the
same purpose. &
Flaking Mechanics
! Flakes are removed by applying force to the edge of a piece of litkic material. Force is applied
i ---
* either directly, by striking the piece with a harnrner (direct percussion flakrng) or pressing a pointed
i n s t m e n t agaimt the edge (pressuref7&ng), or indirectly, by stnking a punch placed against the
piece with a hammer (indirect ;iercmsion flaking). Hammers may be composed of a hard stone
(hard hammer) or a soft stone, antler, bone, or wood billet (so3 hammer) (Figure 2). Diffeíent
hammer types are used for different kinds of flaking. For example, a hard hammer made from
a material such as quartzite can be used to spiit a cobble and remove flakes from it, while a soft
hammer biliet made of bone or antier can be used for the finer, more controlled flaking needed
to produce a tool from the flakes, particularly when finer raw rnaterials are being used.
Sufficient force must be applied to the core to crack the rock, and the force must be appiied at
an angle that causes to exit the rock at the appropriate location to detach a flake of the desired
shape and size. The location of the contact area (point of applied ferce) on the stene, the m u n t
of force, and the angle at which the force is applied are the determinants of the morphological
attributes (size and shape characteristics) of a flake. If the knapper strikes straight down on the
center of a core, the force will travel straight down as well, dissipating in the interior of the core,
and no flake will be detached. Striking at an angle near the edge of the core, however, allows
the force to travel through the rock and out the side, resulting in flake detachment. Skilled
knappers can control the size and shape of the flakes they produce by manipulating the amount
oi iarce they use and the angie at whiui they strike the cores. Tne applied iorce can also be
_ dire~tedsomewhat by pressing the side of t!!e cire from whiS. it will exit - against +heknapper's
-
leg or h g e r s .
l The forces involved in flake production are preserved in the flakes themselves at the instant they
are created, allowing archaeologists to lnfer details about prehistoric manufacturing processes.
--
hammerstone
These technological attributes are illustrated in Figure 3. Basic flake attributes include the
fouowing:
dorsal aspect The exterior surface of a flake. Bears either the original outer
surface of the core or scars kom previous flake removals.
The area of contad with the percussor (the precise spot on the core
struck by the hammer).
proximal end The end of the flake which holds the platfonn.
dista1 end The end of the flake opposite the proximal end, containing the flake
termination.
lateral margin The edges-of a M e where the dorsal and bulbar surfaces meet
Proximal end
eraiilure scar
remna
iflake s fissures/hackles
., .. . ,. , . ..
Dorsal aspect
éraillure scar Scar left from the detachment of a small flake from the bulb of
percusion, c a d by a rotation in fracture plane. Associated with
hard hammer percussion (Cotterell and Kamminga 1990:149-150).
rings of force Generally concentric rings centered on the point of applied force,
representing the propagation of the fracture front through
the material. These are analogous to the ripples produced
by dropping a rock into water. They are also known as
ripples.
termimtion The dista1 end of a flake, marking the point at which the applied
force exited the core, terminating the fracture process.
The logical place to be,@ a discussion of flake attributes is w i t h w initiation, or the point at
which the flake begins to separate from the core (Figure 4) Flake initiation takes one of two
general forms, depending on the percussor type. Hertzian fradure, ascdated with hard harnmer
percussion, occurs at the point of hammer contact and removes the flake with a distinctive
partial cclne below tiie platform at this point. This is the same phenomenon that occurs when
a BB is shot at a glass v.kdow, and it iiiustrates the manner in Which the applied force expands
outwardc as it travels hom the impact point tktough ttie 111aktial. Flakrs initiatd with Hertziaii
fractures tend to have prominent bulbs of percussion and indications of secondary flake
detadunents at their platfonns (Cotterell and Kamminga 1990:134, 140). 1
Page 6
yq
ge 8
*e .Q
8 B
&? i?'
P
The second type of flake initiation is a bendingfracture, assoaated with soft hammer percussion
Billets made of relatively soft materials (wood, bone, antler) usually cannot aeate high enough
levels of tensile stress in the contad area to initiate a Hertzian fracture, but rather, they initiate
fractures away from the contaa area with bending stress. Because no Hertzian fracture is
involved, bending flakes do not have bulbs of percussion (Cotterell and Kamminga 1990:134,
142). A distinctive feature they do frequently bear is a iipped platform, with the iip extending
from the platform over the bulbar aspect.
If a flake is initiated with suífiaent force and a proper force application angle, it will propagate
and tenninate (Figure 5). Five types of terminations are usually recognized: feather, step, hinge,
p l u n p g ("overshot" or "outrépasse"), and axial. Feather and axial terminations are natural
continuations of flake propagation, with the fracture front exiting the end of the core at an
extremely acute angle in a feather formation, or exiting the side of the core opposite the platform
at a n approximate right angle in an axial termination. Step terminations represent an abrupt
change in the direction of the fracture front, caused by some interruption in the fracture
propagation (such as a flaw in the raw material). Hinge terminations ocnv when the fracture
veers outwards to the side of the core. Plunging terminations occur when a fracture veers away
from the side of the core into its end, removing the end of the core along with the flake
(Cotterell and Kamminga 1990:145-146).
Flake detachments leave scars on the core that affect the ease with which further reduction may
$ be pursued. A preponderance of hinge and step terminations makes the continued removal of
e flakes difficult, and may necessitate either the rejuvenation or abandonment of the core. Cores
.so need to be rejuvenated O, abandoned when the angle f o m d by the pla,orm and adjacent
side exceeds W- degres; steeper angles make the proper apphcation of force diifidt. This
5
I
platform angle tends to degrade as more flakes are removed (Figure 6). Corec are rejuvenated
by striking a large flake from one end that carries all the way across the core, providing anobier
- platform fmm which flaking can begin anew.
bLbL,L
I&nuai.-br Flakai Stone .4nalyszs Page 7
-\. c.
...-
Resharpening
Reshaping
Recyding
Archaeological recovery
Figure 7. Reclamation behaviors (the "redamationloop") and other factors which may intervene in a
lithic artifact'slife history.
-
Lh
Lithic technology is redutive in nature; implements are shaped through the removal of material
5 from cobbles and from the edges of the resulting flakes. Subsequent reduction, which occurs
$ during use and resharpening or reshaping, further reduces the mass of the artifact. Simply put,
7 lithic artifacts generdy get smaller through the course of their life histories and never get larger.
,
, This constant attrition means that the flintknapper is faced with increasing limitations due to
E increasing distance from the begiming of the trajectory; therefore, initial decisions about
'hreduction affect the set of possible choices that can be made later in the artifact's life. Because
every modification to a piece of lithic material results in some amount of the material being
removed, lithic technology is considered to be redwtine in nature. That is. through its life @e,
a stone tool can never grow larger but is reduced in size ea& time it is used, resharpened, or
reshaped.
This has important implications for the behavior assoaated with lithic technology. One of the
ways of describing the value that a flaked stone artifact may have held for a prehistoric
te~hologistis the concept of remnant ucelife, or residual utility (Schiffer 198533.34; Kuhn 1989:34;
cf. Shott 1989:21-22, 27). This is the assumption that, because lithic technology is reductive,
largcr utifacts inherently possess a greater potential for being resharpened, reshaped, or
otherwise recycled through further f-laking than do s m d e r az-tifacts. A core is an easily
understood example of this construct. Once cores have been reduced to a certain size - for the
sake of argument, roughly 40 mrn on a side - further flaking is either impossible or grossly
ineffiaent, and the core is considered to be exhausted. Where all else is equal, it is clear that a
‘Manual p r F h h d Stone Analysis Page 9
that a core 80 mm on a side is much farther from t5hat threshold of exhaustion than a core
measuring only 50 mrn on a side. The Zarser core theref'ore has more r e m a n t uselife than the
small core, and thereiore more residual utility to an individual who wishes to produce flqakes.
The same assumptions apply to other classes of lithic artifacts; the rernnant use iives oí tools
such as scrapers and knives can be thought of in terms of the potential number of resharpening
episodes they can reasonably be expected to endure before becoming too small to comfortably
or efficiently use.
Reduction of iithic materials is often discussed in terms of three stages: primary, secondary, and
tertiary. Primay core reduction refers to the testing of raw materials and the removal of cortex
in a process called decorlication or a r e tnmming. Cortex refers to the exterior "rind" of a cobble
or block, and may consist of a different raw material, such as limestone surrounding a nodule
of chert, or a weathered wtemal surface such as on a river cobble of rhyolite. Cortex is removed
from cores so that they can be tested for general material quality and specific flaws, and because
its removal faalitates flaking. This process is analogous to preparing an orange; the orange rind
must be removed for the quality of the fruit to be determined, and removing the rind makes
separating the orange into sections much easier. ,.
Primary reduction is usually performed by stsiking the piece of raw material with a
hammerstone (hard harnmer percwsion) to remove flakes from its exterior. The artifads produced
by primary reduction include relatively large cores, which may have substantial amounts of
cortex remaining on them, and relatively large flakes with substantial amounts of cortex covering
one side. Because these cortical flakes are exclusively associated with this early stage of core
reduction, they are often referred to as primay f2akes.
Secondary core reduction involves the striking of flakes from the trimmed core. These flakes
tend to have much less cortex on their exterior surfaces than flakes produced during
decortication. Flakes produced earlier in the reductive process are necessarily larger than hose
produced later, when the size of the core has been reduced. Many secondanly reduced cores
are devoid of cortex. Fiakes with small amounts of cortex on their dorsal surfaces are assumed
by some researchers to be associated with this reduction stage and are referred to as seconday
f2akes. However, other research has shown that cortex is commonly present only in very early
reduction stages, and only rarely present in others (Magne 1989:17). Additionally, different
researchers use different percentages of dorsal cortícal coverage to distingush primary and
secondary flakes. For ,&ese reasons, the use of the term "secondary flake," if it must be used at
all, should probably be limited to flakes with either none or only a trace of cortical coverage.
The degree to which a core is reduced before it is abandoned, or the intensify of core reduction,
depends on a number of fadors, including the quality of the raw material, the reduction strategy
employed, and situational needs. In general, cores of highquality material are intensively
r e h c e d (fisker =e reagved frgm *.e cores iint;,! Cke cores have become toc s m d tc ~ r o d u c e
usable flakes), perhaps o ~ e seveid
r reduciion episoh. Tha: is, t4e cores cm be rised for flake
produdion on more than one occasion and stored between hose episodes. In contrast, cores of
low-quality material tend not to be as intensively reduced because the effort required to produce
more than a few flakes from a lowquality core outstrips the utility of those flakes. Thus, only
a small number of flakes might be struck from such a core before it is discarded.
Paje 10
Unaltered
Raw Matevid
hard -- -+
i
Testmg - - - ,m m u l d d i i w
hammer shatta
Core +
- Ducmd, - -+ pcrr
Selectm
Core
-.
Resul tant
Artifact
Key to Figures 8-11: Solid arrows indicate the possble life history
kajectones of an artifact from gven forms (boldface type) through
vanous processes (itaiics) to resultant forms. The iduence of
percusons and the creanon of byproducts are mdicated by dashed
al-rows.
A
Figure 8. Artifacts, proceses, and byproducts involved in primary and secondary core
reduction.
Core reáuction strategies depend on the quaiity of the raw material and the needs of the
knapper. If raw material conservation is not an important consideration-usually the case when
raw materials are p l e n a and/or not of high quality-then a randum cure reduction technique
may be employed. With this technique, the knapper strikes flakes from the core in multiple
directions, in an opportunistic (unplanned) fashion. This recults in a globular, irregularly shaped
F l k a S t a e .lnnlysis
-'.kz-~~j-iOT Page 11
core, and, usuaily, irregularly shaped flakes. It is often diificult to intensively reduce a core
u i h g thlC tecbque, because the requisite platform angles are not maintained after random flake
removals.
*
Single piarform and opposed platfiom core reduction involve more planning. In sinsle platform
reduction, flakes are removed sequentially from around the perimeter of one plattorm, whch
ic either a naturaily occurring flat sudace on the core or a flat surface a-eated by the iemovai of
an initial flake. In this tedinique, the ridges of flake scars (left by previous flake removals) help
to p i d e the applied force and thus aid in the removal of additional Bakes. Opposed platform
reduction is similar but involves two platfom situated at opposite ends of the core. Because
these core reduction strategies allow for the removal of more flakes and also facilitate core
rejuvenation (by striking a single flake to a-eate a new platform), they are considered to be raw
material conservation techniques. Y
One of the best-known prehistoric examples of single platform reduction is the Mesoamerican
prismatic blade technique (see Crabtree 1968; Clark 1982), in which obsidian blades were
removed from cores through pressure daking rather than percussion. This extremeiy controiled
and planned technique maxirnized the potential ufility of the cores by producing great nurnbers
of identical blades from a single core. Bipolar core reduction is another raw material conservation
techniqtie, usually employed to remove flakes from cores that are otherwise exhausted. Here,
the core is placed on another rock ("anvil") and struck with a harnmerstone, causing force to be
applied simultaneously from the hammer and the anvil.
Tertiary reduction refers to the manufacture of specialized tools from blanks, which are the flakes
produced during primary and secondary core redudion. The intentional, maa-oscopically visible
modification to the edge of a blank, in the form of small flake removals, is referred to as retouch
and is what separates debitage from took-a general term used here to refer to retouched flake
and core implements. An important distindion exists between those artifacts that were
retouched and those that were not. ;V1 artifacts that appear to have been used to perfom some
task are properly referred to as "implements." The term "tool" is reserved for those artifacts that
were retouched, that is, intentionally modified. The reasons for making this distinction are
discussed fully in a following section.
j It should be noted that the tenns "primary," "secondary," and "tertiary" are also used in slightly
different contexts to describe the leve1 of retouch applied to a blank. Primay retouch may refer
to single-step aiteration of a flake's edge, resulting in a simple tool, or the first step in roughing
out a more complex tool such as a biface. This type of retouch is u s u d y performed with a hard
- hammer.
- hammer, to
Seconday retouch is the second step. which may be performed with a hard or soft
either finish a unifaaal edge on a tool such as a scraper, or to further thin a bifaaal
q 1
edge in preparation for finishing. Tertiay retouch is the final stage in tool manufacture and
Ti: usuaily irnplies the use of a pressure tlaking technique to finish a biface. although some unifacial
tools were pressure flaked as w d .
ihinning h h s
soft or d~irse( m ~ ~ tromomu~)
ly
hard - - - +Rdouch
Core Bifrciil
TooI Prefom/
Implementr Implements Generai Bifices
b i d thinning f b h
pressure- +
RetoUd,
- - * broken prefanir
n o n d d debitage
1
Famul
ibuidond p d o r m r
Bifrckl
hpiements
a
a steeper angle, it will lose some sharpness but will be sturdy enough to whittle wood without
snapping. Another consideration is that a sharp-edged flake rnay cut not only the material being
worked but also the finger of the person using it. In this situation, an edge might be
intentionally dulied to make it safer and more comfortable to hold. The shape of a flake when
it is struck from the core may not be optirnal for its intended use; a convex tool edge is
preferable for scraping, while a p r o n o u d concave edge is opümal for shawng an arrow shaft.
Unmodified flakes are often the best or mcst efficient implements for many tasks, but retouching
easily produces any specific working edge shape and configuration that might be needed.
Retouch is desaibed in t e m of its location on a tool, how extensive it is, and the edge angle
it creates. Unfacial retouch refers to flaking on only one as- of the tool (usually the dorsal
aspect), while hjúcial retouch refers to f l a h g on both aspects along a common edge. Its location
on the edge is discvssed relative to the piadonn Flakes and tools are oriented with the bulbar
surface down and .he platíorm towardc the analyst, and the lateral margins are desi-gated left
and right as the analyst sees t h m For example, retouch placed on the dorsal aspect of a flake,
along the distal edge, is referred to as unifaaal distal retouch.
The process of retouching a flake is technologically identical to that of striking a flake from a
core, but at a smaller scale. As such, the methods of applymg force are the same. Hard hammer
retouch will result in the removal of thicker flakes, and is primarily assoaated with the
production of quickly made, simple tools. Finer retouch is possible with soft hamrner
percussion, and the finest flaking is accomplished with pressure flaking. To retouch a flake, &e
knapper holds it with the aspect to be retouched facing away from him, and may control the
flaking by pressing his fingers or leg tightly agaimt that asped. This serves to both direct the
applied force and protect the knapper from being cut by the retouch flakes as they separate from
the blank. When pressure flaking, the tool to be retouched is usually held against a leather pad
for protection, and smail flakes are popped from the edge with a pointed instrument of bone,
m .'.kc-dlj%r Fhked Stone .inalysis Page 13
mLder,hard wood, copper, or, for extremdv fine flaking, rodent incisors. These same procedues
are used ior resharpening tools that become duiled or b r o h d u i n g use.
iuiportant ciifference between stone and steel toob is that done tools become d d much more
quiddy and break under less stress. Come stone tools resharpen themelves during use as their
edges chip away, and others can be quiddy resharpened so that work rnay continue. Because
flaking is a reductive technology, though, the number of resharperung episodes a tool can endure
is limted by its initial size and edge angle; beyond a certain point, a resharpened tool becomes
too small for eficient use, and its edges rnay become ioo steep for further resharpening.
I
One of the dilemmas facing lithic analysts is distinguishng retouch (intentional modification)
hom edge dudamage (unintentional modification). There are three different types of edge damage,
t al1 caused by different processes. Spo7ítaneous retouch reiers to the removal of extremely small
( f-lakes from the edges of the flake, as a result of the dake pivoting against the core as it separates
c 1 from it. This type of microFJong damage, which resembles 'nibbling," mimics damage incurred
5 1 by use and rnay also be mistaken for intentional retouch. UfJizztion Liamage refers to flaking and
-, 1 abrasion caused to the edge of a flake while it is being used to periorm a task. This damage
rnay be distinguished from retouch in that retouched flake scars are generally expected to be
'?-- 1 more regular in size and appearance. A detded discussion of utilization damage is presented
m another section. Flake edges rnay aiso i n m postdepositional damage after they enter the
khaeological record, by being trampled while on the sudace of a floor or the ground (by people
' or large animals), by shifting against each other or other mterials after being buried (through
-4, 1
4 solifluction or bioturbation), or by being excavated by archaeologists. Retouch scars are
1 generally considered to have a more regular, consistent appearance than utilization or
postdepositional damage, although analysts should be aware that ciistinguishing retouch from
other types of modification rnay be impossible in some cases.
'-
- 1
,A bíany flaked stone implements can be held in the bare hand or wrapped in a piece of leather or
other padding for comfort and saíety. Others are hafted (attached) to a handle made of wood,
bone, horn, or antler. The process of replacing broken toois in hafts is c d e d retooling (Keeley
1982:799). The reasons for hafting a flaked stone irnplement indude the following:
1. Jam hafts: the tool is wedged into a hole or slot in the handle, without adhesives
or wrapping.
------ kafts: 72-Le tual is tied to *te ktarttlc.
2. T A Trur,~cd
- . 3. ~bíustichafts: The tool is attached to the handle with an acihesive such as glue,
resin, or tar (Keeley 1982:799).
-
Most prehistoric tools were hafted using a combination of any or all of these three. An example
combining all three is a spear point wedged into a slot at the end of a shaft with a dollop of pine
pitch, and then wrapped tightly with animal sinew. Each individual hafting technique has
Page 14 Manual,Úr Flnlieá Stone .A-mlysis
7'=-
Tool Flrke
ws-tae
1 rcshan \1
- - - - - &e / H + ~
broken implanarr R
0
impl-a
exhausted t DlSGZl&+~cc~+rdvce
abndoned unplanmo de hctD muse
F
Pos-itionnl,
advantages and disadvantages. The jam haft is the least tirne-consuming to create but d o w s
the most movement of the tool in the haft, reducing the efficiency and precision of the work
while increasing the likelihood that the tool will break during use. Wrapped hafts, especially
when used in combination with a jam haft, are secure but require more effort to both initially
assemble and to replace worn out or broken tools. Additionally, humid conditions or working
wet material rnay cause the cordage or sinews in the wrapping to stretch, allowing the tool to
become loose in the haft. Mastic hafts are very secure; they d o w little tool movement and
provide cushioning for the tool, reducing breakage. Most adhesives used with this technique
must be softened by heating and perhaps tempered with other materials before they can be used
in hafting or retooling, thus requiring more time and effort than the 0th- techniques (Keeley
1982:799-800).
Rock ty-pes appropriate for the manufacture.of stone tools are limited to those that fracture in
a predictable manner when force is applied to t h e a It is more difficult to predict fracture
propagation in a coarse-grained material, particularly one with large crystals, than in a fine-
grained or noncrystalline material. Therefore, flaking is best when the applied force easily
passes through the rock unhindered and not misdireded by large grains, such as with obsidian
and a group of sedimentary rocks known as cryptocrystalline siliceous rocks. Obsidian is a
volcanic glass, and because it has no crystalline strudure, force passes through it iuiimpeded.
Tkius, obsidian is one of the easiest materiais to flake. The ayptoaystallines d u d e chert, flint,
jasper, and chalcedony; the name comes from the fact that their crystalline stnidure is so fine
as to be invisible to the naked eye. The dictinctions between these materials are largely made
on the basis of color rather than geological composition since d are primarily composed of silica
dioxide (quartz) (Luedtke 1992:5-9). Cryptocrystalline materials exist at different levels of
quality, and their flaking properties are compromised by large fossil indusions or inápient
fractures (interna1 flaws) caused by weathering.
These top-quality materials have a lirnited distribution in the Southwest; prehistoric peopie who
wished to obtain them for toolmaking had to travel to the different scurces, or they had to trade
for them with other groups. For example, Early A,gicultural period (1200 B.C. - A.D. 150)
populations living along the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, Arizona (Mabry 1996) acquired
obsidian from six different sources, ranging from 145 km to possibly as much as 400 km away
(Shackley 1995). People of the Ohio Hopewell culture (200 B.C. - 4.D.500) went to even greater
lengths, traciing goods all the way to Wyoming for obsidian. The value that obsidian and hish-
quality ayptocrystallines held for prehistoric populations is reflected in the fact that it tended
to be reserved for projectile points and bifaaal knives high-performance tools that 1) required
a sio~ficantamount of time and skill to manufacture and 2) were designed to be easily
maintained and resharpened.
Clearly, not al1 of a lithic assemblage could be made from these relatively rare, highquality
materials. In contrast to the best cherts and obsidians, rock types with lesser-but stiil
adequate-tlalung properties are widely distributed across the landscape in central and southem
- .Anzona. Among these other raw materiak are volcartic rocks such as rhyolite, andesite, felsite,
- and dacite, which can range from an extremely finegained variety virtually indistinguishable
-i-
J
ri from chert to coarsegrained varieties that are diffidt to flake. This category also mdudes
basalt, which tends to be medium-gained. Many types of metamorphic rock were also widely
used by prehistoric populations, induding finegrained metasediment and quartzite. Like the
igneous rocks, quartzite ranges from nearly cryptocrystalline varieties to coarse varieties that are
almost impossible to flake. Fine-grained, silicified (metamorphosed) limestone is a common
corrlponent of lithic assemblages from sites along the Santa Cruz River in the Tucson Basin (Sliva
1996), and metamorphosed volcanics are widespread in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona.
Sedimentary rock types such as sandstone and limestone were occasionally used. Raw material
types common to central and southem Arizona are detailed in Table 1.
It should be noted that the geology of southem Arizona is notoriously complex, and that even
geologists will frequently disagree about the material type of a given lithic artifact. Examples
of rock types that may be easily confuced include black silicified limestone, black metasediment,
and black aphanitic igneous rock, all of which share very similar macroscopic appearances,
flaking qualities, and availability in the Santa Cruz floodplain. Differences arnong them inciude
their nodular (metasediment and igneous rock) or bedded (silicified limestone) forms, the degree
to which they contain inapient fractures (for example, the bedded silicified limestone tends to
be more prone to flaws from weathering), and flaking quality (the metasediment is slightly
superior to the other two). Other material types that may be inadvertently interchanged inciude
cryptocrystallines,extremely fine-grained volcanics, and extremely fine-grained quartzites. From
a technological standpoint, little practical difference exists between these materials. For that
reason, it may be most usefui for beooinning lithic analysts to conceptualize raw material in t e n
of flaking characteristics rather than precise geologic identification; that is most certainly how
prehistoric knappers approached raw material.
Table 1. Lithic raw material types common to central and southem Arizona (adapted from Hudceli 1995, Table 2).
Matenal Description
Basalt Medium-grained volcanic rock, dark grey to black in color. It may have smail vesides, but
no maao&opicaily visible phenocrysb.
Rhyolite Very fine- to coarse-grained porphoritic volcanic rock. Groundmass colors M u d e pínk,
reddish brown, brown, grey, and black. Phenocrysts are mmmonly white but may also
indude black and red. Finer-grained varieties respond well to soft-hammer percussion,
and the finest are virtually indistinguishable from chert in tenns of flaking performance.
Andesite Medium-grained porphortic volcanic rock with a white to light creamcolored groundmass.
Daate Very he-grained volcanic rock with a lavener to grey pundmass. Very d
phenoaysts are common. This material is of very good flaking quality.
Obsidian Volcanic glass. Color range indudes colorless, grey, black, and brown. These colors may
be banded together, or with orange or red. Obsidian has no aystalline stnidure and SO is
of superior flaking quaiity. It produces the sharpest edge possible to achieve on this planet
but is quite brittle and d d s easiiy.
Chert Gyptoaystaüine sedimentary rock, brown, light to dark grey, or cream colored,
occasionaily banded. Of very good to superipr flaking quality, aithough this mav be
compromised by fossii indusions or inapient fractures caused by weathering.
Jasper Gyptoaystaüine sedimentary rock, bridc red, salmon, yeiiav, or variegated/banded with
red, yeiiow, white, and orange. Very good to superior fiakng quality.
Agate Cryptoqstalline sedimentary rock with two or more colors in a banded or variegated
pattern. Vexy good to superior flaking quaiity.
Limestone Medium-grained sedimentary rodc in varius shades of grey, often containing ooiites (foosil
indusions). Flaking quality dependent on granularity and size of indusions.
Siliciíied Limestone Fine-grained metamorphosed lúnestone, with a matte appearance. Colors indude black,
dark grey, and greenish grey. Good flaking quality.
goups. For example, chemical or petrographic analyses of raw materials recovered from a given
site can be compared with materials from known sources to determine their point of origin. This
type of analysis is commonly performed with obsidian and chert.
Al1 of the reduction stages, uses, and reclamation processes brought to bear on an individual
- --&thic _ d a m eíts, l?fe b$tory;_tfwse _^e conihiri~din Fip-re 11. h e r y juncture of a lithic
artifact's Efe history represente a behavioral decision made by the person who &ufactured or
used the artifact. The choices made from the initial selection of raw material, through the
numerous loops of manufacture, use, reclarnation, and discard, are preserved in the artifacts
themcelves by virtue of the physical properties govemjng lithic technology. Let us now tum to
.'*~K.u~>T Flaked Stone Analysis Page 17
t Cníltered
Raw Material
hard, -- -
i
+ Tffiting - --+ comcai debicage
hammer
T
l shatier
hard-
hamrner
- - -+ m-
(Initiaí)
-+ corticai debihge
shana
core
Tool
/
Core
Tool
/ Core
l
Unmodified
/""
- D u d
a h d thinnkg Olhs
soft or wft - -:S-- - + ~&QF*w~-
hamrner Retoudi duna
hammer
t
Core Expediently F o d Bifad
Tool Retouched Unifíd Prefonns/
ements G e n 4 Bifaces
biñcYIrhinwg~
-F=f=-
1
Bifad
-dP=fa-
wear m c s irom
Iast use -- -
brokm implements
exhausted irnpl-a
aLandoned implanents
- Resharpening
Dhd--7 ireco nbiJ-
de ha0 rduv
prinitiai
Postdepositionai , -0Orwl
*gr
- Reciamation Archaeololod
Reumpry +- -
Figure 11. Forces @turnanbehavioa and natural proceses) actmg upon flaked stone artifactr and potential resultant life
histories. Note: h y artifact can bypass use and go directiy to dixard, either as a result of intentionai behavior
or through being lost. The entire process for a single artifad may be represented at a single site or at several
different sites.
Page 18 Manual for Flaked Stone Analysis
the analytical procedures that allow archaeologists to infer those human behaviors brought to
bear upon flaked stone, and how those inferences can lead to a U e r understanding oi the
archaeological record.
ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
The ,giding prinaples behind lithic analysis must be twofold: first, to accurately quantify
excavation data so that they may be used to make inferences about the archaeological record,
and second, to design and present the analysis in such a way that the resulting information can
be easily communicated to and used by other researchers. Lithic analysis is typological; that is,
artifacts are dassified into categories based on various combinations of attributes. These artifact
categories tend to be hi@y variable among different researchers, however, which can hinder
comparisons between assemblages.
For analysis and disnission, it is useful to construct general artifact classes that encompass
specific artifact Wes. Commonly used ciasses include debitage, cores, retouched flake
implements, core tools, core hammers, and cobble hammers. This is by no meanc a universal
arrangement; many researchers group cores, core tools, and core hammers together or in varios
combinations, and some group core tools with flake tools. It is more practical to keep these
dasses separate, however, as data presented in that way can still be grouped by hose who wish
to do so, but separating data that is presented already grouped can be difficult or impossible.
Appendix A contains illustrations, definitions, and notes.on the various artifact types which
comprise the artifact dasses discussed in this section.
Debitage
1 Debitage ic defined as a l l unretouched lithic artifads that were struck from some parent material.
Specific debitage types are defined based on whidi attributes the artifacts possess and inciude
flakes, blades, and shatter. Speaal debitage types forming subsets of the main types above
include bifaaal thinning flakes, core rejuvenation flakes, bipolar flakes, hammer spalls, and
potlids.
I Another speaal debitage type that warrants a separate discussion is the utilized f7ake1 which is
a non-retouched flake that bears evidence of having been used. This evidence, in the form of
edge damage or polishing, is usually referred to as usauear, and the study of this evidence is
J h ! ;%r Z i k a 5 t m Analysis Page 19
b.own as Icsmeer analysis. The study of specifically microscopic wear traces is known as
, rzzcrowecr analyszs.
blany archaeologists group utilized flakec with retouched flake implements, referruig to all of
them as tools, but such a priori grouping is not recornmended for a number of reasons. Although
it has been pointed out that the presence of retouch on an implement does not parantee that
it was actually used (Huckell 1990:424), retouch is still the most reliable signature of modification
and potential for use that can be recognized quiddy, easily, and macroscopically. Usewear is
a more equivocai proposition, however, espeady in the Southwest, where a great deal of the
raw materials used for stone implements are relatively coarse and therefore may not develop
reliable, diagnostic wear traces. Edge rounding and polishing are robust indicators of use, but
edge damage in the form of flaking (or microflaking) is not, since it may be caused by a number
oí processes other than utilization This is especially true when most observations of flake edges
are conducted with the aid of no more than a 40x binocular miaoscope and often with only a
10x hand lens (Rozen 1984:437; Schiffer 1987:12-13; Young and Bamforth 1990:4W). Because
experimentation and biind tests have suggested an accuracy rate of no more than 25% even for
experienced archaeologists who attempt to rnake such inferences (Young and Bamforth 1990:404),
it is highly advisable to separate artifact types defined by the presence of retouch (aninference
that carries a relatively high degree of confidence) from those defined by evidence of utilization ,
(an inference which often carries a relatively low degree of confidence).
Two potential fauity assumptions that loom whm analysts are too cavalier with the utihed flake
designation are that 1) all the flakes idenfified as having been utilized actually were, and that
2 ) aii the flakes in the assemblage that actuaiiy were utilized have been identified as such. -4
problem is that many tasks are invisible in tenns of usewear, espeaaiiy those expediently
performed with unaltered flakes that are immediately discarded rather than kept for repeated
use. A few minutes spent slicing a soft rabbit hide or stripping the bark from a few green sticks
are not likely to leave traces that are discernible even to a miaowear analyst, much less to an
observer with a hand lens. Such tasks will presumably have made up a large portion of the
suite of activities for which most of the artifacts witiun an expedient assemblage were employed;
it should not be assumed, therefore, that all of the implements which actuaiiy were utilized will
be identifiable.
Doubtlessly, some researchers who have spent years experimenting with and observing the
effects of stone implement utilization are able to make accurate general inferences about use
based on the presence of macroscopically visible wear traces. The rest of us, however, do so at
our own peril and to the detriment of the integrity of the data sets we produce. Observing
diagnostic wear traces (a combination of polish, striations, alterations of flake miaotopography,
and edge rounding and damage) requires the employment of high-power, incident light
microscopy and the good fortune to encounter weli-preserved artifacts made of fine-grained
cryptoaystalline materials. Even then, years of training and experience are necessary for making
reliable inferences. Given this, it is highly unlikely that most people who operate with low
magnifications and assemblages dominated by igneous and metarnorphic raw materials will be
able to make accurate determinations of use beyond utilized/not utilized, especiaiiy when they
daiín to be basing those more detailed inferences on observatior,~of polish other than sickle
gloss or soil sheen. Such great expectations go 'oeyond the limits oí that particular teuinology
and technique. Inferences about utilization must therefore proceed with the utmost caution.
Page 20 L M u m ifor F W Stone rlmiysis
Cores
Cores are pieces of parent material from which flakes or blades are struck. Specific core types
are defined on the basis of the number of platforms present and the directions in which they are
oriented. These sppes and include single platform, opposed platfoxm, bidirectionai, multiple
platform, and bifacial cores, along with flake cores and tested pieces.
Implement is the proposed general term to use instead of "tool." Tmls are traditionally defined
by Old World lithic analysts as flakes or blades that have been retouched. In the New World,
al1 lithic artifacts that have been utilized, regardless of retouch, are commonly referred to as
"tools." To avoid the confusion fostered by this usage, it is suggested that "implementc"be used
instead and defined as d retouched and/or utilized artifacts. Flake implements thuc include
retouched implements and utilized jakes and are treated separately from m e took. A problem with
grouping artifact types under this term is its implication of utilization @y definition, all utilized
-flakes were utilized,
--
m --
but not al1 retouched implements were utilized).
- "-
A retouchedjake implement, then, is a flake that has been retouched and is equivalent to the Old
; World usage for "tool." Retouched implements include f o m l l y retouched i m p l m t s (orfomzal
tools) and expediently retouched implernents (or expedient or informal took). A formally retouched
implement, or formal tool, is an irnplement with patterned retouch corresponding to a
$ traditionally established, "intuitive" tool type (e-g., projectile point, driU, biface, notch, graver,
@
perforator, endsa-aper, sidesaaper). An expediently retouched implement ( e e n t or informal
tool) is characterized by unpattemed, usually nonextensive retouch.
Retouch Attributes
Because retouch is the basis for distinguishing different types of lithic artifacts, it is important
to define retouch attributes that may be identified and combined to classdy artifacis into types.
The following retouch attributes were defined by Ken Rozen (1984) and have come into
widespread use in the Southwest:
.unfacial retouch scars which extend from a given margin onto only one aspect of
the implement.
bifacial retouch scars which extend from a common margin onto both aspects of
the implement.
irregular two or more noncontiguous (not touching each other) retouch scars, but
not more than two contiguo- scars.
marginal retouch scars whose lengths do not exceed 10 percent of the maximum
ciimension of the implement.
invasive retouch scars whose lengths exceed 10 percent of the maximum dimension
of the implement.
I.ll>i.~l!vr Fhkd Stone Anniysis Page 21
nonextmsioe continuous retouch scars whose extent is not greater than 20 percent of the
perimeter of the implement.
extensine continuous retouch scars whose extent is greater than 20 percent of the
perimeter of the implement.
hafting elernmts modifications to a biface for the purpose of attaching it to a shaft or handie.
These include notches, stems, ears, and basa1 concavities.
bit narrow, parallel-sided tip which may be either Iong or short, with a
diarnond- to square-shaped cross sedion. A feature of drills.
lenticular cross section relatively thin cross section shaped somewhat like a damshell.
Associated with p r o j d e points (as opposed to the thick diamond- to
square-shaped cross section of drill bits).
North American fonnal tools are quite '.&fferent in overall appearance from those from the
Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic of Europe and the Middie East. The latter tools were
made on standardized blanks (blades), which had the effect of homogenizing the appearance of
the tool assemblages. h'hile North American (and particularly Southwestem) retouched flake
impIements were made on unstandardized blanks (flakes), giving them a quite "informai"
I appearance, the retouched edges themselves are in fact quite standardized. For this reason,
Southwestern populations can be considered to have produced formal toois; the retouched edge
morphologies, but not the blank morphologies, are the important factor. The edge morphologies
of the fonnai, "intuitive" tool types can be defined in tenns of the retouch attributes discussed
earlier.
The tool types listed in the bottom rows of the unifacial and biíácial tool anaiysis decision tables
are not intended to imply specific functions, but simply to serve as easy to use glosses of the
various suites of retouch attributes encompassed by ea& type. That is, refenino to- -an
.. D . artifact
..--
as an "endscraper" properly refers only to the nature and location of the retouched edge. It
should not be taken to mean that the tool was used only for scraping, or indeed that it was ever
used at all.
Core Tools
Core tools, or retouched core implements, are distinguished from flake implements by blank
type. This is a technological differentiation; flake implements are made on the byproducts of
core reduction, while core tools are made by shaping original cobbles or tablets of raw material
into implements through flaking. In general, core tools are larger and heavier than flake tools,
but their edge morphologies are analogous. Core tools indude scrapers, choppers, discoids, and
composite toois. Other, more rarely encountered, examples include perforators and notches.
Core Xammers
,4 core hammer is a core which shows evidence (battering) of having been used as a hammer.
Core hammers are treated separately from core tools because, even though they were utilized
as something other than a source for flakes, they were generaily not specially shaped for the
Page 22 Manual for F W Stone Analysis
second function. These and cobble hammers are the oniy flaked stone artifacts defined explicitly
in terms oí their intérred function.
Cobble Hammers
The procedure of assigning a flaked stone artifact to a specific type is best explained through
decision tables. The sorting of artifacts into general classes follows the initial decision process
illustrated in Table 2. Specific typing of each artifact then proceeds according to the appropriate
artifact class decision process (Tables 3-6), and individual artifact attributes are recorded
according to the fonns in Appendix B (all artifacts) and C (projectile points).
A:
After al1 of the artifact data have been entered into a database, they may be manipulated in
order to discern temporal and spatial pattems in reduction teduiology, tool use, and raw
material exploitation, from the regional down to intrasite levelc.
Flaked stone data can be used at the leve1 of the individual artifact-for example, the task in
which a particular tool may have been employed-and, more usefully, in the aggegate of an
entire class of artifacts or an assemblage. Examples of research themes and questions developed
by Patrick D. Lyons to address flaked stone assemblages from Desert Archaeology excavation
projects (Sliva 1997; cf. Huckell et al. 1993:l-7, 41-52) are presented below, foilowed by a
discussion of vanous models that may be evaluated with flaked stone data.
Key research questions that fa11 under this theme are the following:
1) What are the dominant pattem of lithic reduction represented in the assemblage?
3) Do important differences exist among sites ascribed to a single time period, and, if
so, can these be shown to be related to site fundion?
4) Are these patterns similar to or different from pattems observed at other sites of
similar size, function, period, and cultural affiliation?
.LL?nui-r FinkeP Stone Amiysis Page 3
1 - 1 Ii
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7
3" *?iI *
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p
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Table 3. D e b i l n g e aiialysis d e c i s i o i i iable.
lcrmiiiatlon
I
1 Icrnilnrllon
I
lrlenlillablt dorsal and vrnlral arlrecia prcscnl
I
Idciililiablr
don¿l aiid 1
plalforin l o r m plrllorm nyi plailonn l o r m pllIf0mi MI
iculc ingle licclcd i i i d rculr rngle lrrelcJ nnd
wlUi dorsal llppd wllh dursal Ilppd
rwlacc .Id l a iurlace rnd Is
lacelcd id lictled iid
ll~pcd li*d
ringle
phllorrn mro
oppororl pl.lli>rm
cok I blplar corr
I blhclal core bidircclioi~lcorc rnuliiyle
)iialkrin mrc 1 cure scraper cornposllc
cate l w l
corc Iiainilier cure rltul>~xr
1 rF
I l
cuiit~iiiiousrcloiicli 1 ~ i ~ o i i i i i i i i i i iretoiicli
i,
L,;]
iiiargirul reloiicli
extenrlvc reloiich
I iiuncrleiuivc rcloucli
1
medliim la,rleep reioiich niedlum l o ~ l e c prcloucli
baiaring
convcr or rlralghl h l g e
--... .
ca~nblru~iun
a l cunver,
rlrnlglil,
CU'iCaVe'ur
olood; :I
pro)eclliig rrluiicli
ac"'c
cuiivex u r
rliriplil
coiicavc
cdge
rliigle
~>ro]ecIing
coiivcx edge
cnlicrvc
cdge
hallliig rlciiiinl6 a b n n l
1 I
I complrle
I IrngmrnlAry
I complcic Irymeiilary
1 I
no b l l CDIiV*I. I w l h c d edg8
presciil, w l l b diamond ~ t r l g ) i l ,or
Irnlicular <ir I q i i e r t c r o u concive edgc
criar iccllnii sccllon prnci8l
Technological differences among the lithic assemblages can be measured in terms of reduction
patterns and reductive intensity. Reduction p a t t e m refer to the techniques used to produce
tools and debitage. These include hard hammer direct percussion, soft hammer direct
percussion, and pressure fiaking. Redudion patterns can be measured in t e m of the core and
tool types present, as well as fiake attributes, including size, presence/absence of cortex, and
platform tvpe. Reductive intensity is defined as the relative extent to which cores, flakes, and
tools are réduced-through percussion and pressure flaking-before being discarded. Reductive
intensity can thus be measured in t e m of mean size of cores, tools, and complete fiakes, mean
dmax maximum linear dimension, (cf. Rozen 1981:189) of cores, tools and complete flakes,
presence or absence of' cortex on cores, tools, and all debitage, platform types, and percentage
of debns.
Two ways that lithic artifacts might be used to address exchange, trade, or cornmerce are the
identification and desu-iption of exotic raw material use and the identification of specialized
production. The key questions under this heading, then, are the following:
1) Do any of the assemblages exhibit specialized tool, core or debitage types, su& as
standardized blankc or preformc that might represent formal manufacturing stages?
2) Do exotic raw materials account for a si,onificant percentage of any of the assemblages?
3) If a significant percentage of exotics does occur, are these materials represented among
all lithic dasses (tools, cores, and debitage)?
One of the aspects of prehistoric demography that chipped stone tools can speak to, under
optimal conditions, is cultural affiliation. Research questions that address the above topic
included the following:
1) Do the tools of any of the assemblages exhibit pattemed formal variability not attríbutable
to function? That ic, do tools of the same technological type (e.g., projectile points) display
stylistic variability?
2) If stylistic variability is present, can the pattern(s) be correlated with known patterns of
geographic and temporal variability (e-g., cultural groups or phases)?
In North America, the dass of flaked stone artifads most useful for making inferences about
temporal placement and/or cultural affiliation is projectile points. For example, in the southern
Southwest, unifaaal tools and general bifaces are essentially the same throughout time. The only
major discernible difference among scrapers, for example, from different time periods may be
the raw materials from which they were made. Projecde points, however, have long been used
as cultural markers because changes in styles and mznufacturing techniques can be correlated
with temporal and, presumably, ethnic differences. Points have been used in this way across
- - the vmrld witfi sitcs md populationc of differcnt ageS (mWeksmr 1983 arrd Szckett 198.1: for
a discussion of projedile point styles among ethnographically known hunter-gatherers in the
Kalahari).
.bhnuni .?or Fhked Stone .4nai;/sis Page 2-
Projectile point types common to .kizona are illustrated and. described in Xppmdix A. Typicai
examples are snown, but some types encompass a greater range of variability than others. The
question of whether two similar but different points represent two different styles, su~typesoi
the same style, or are simply the result oi two oripaily identical points having been
resharpened at different rates or in different ways is still the subjed of debate amon,o
arcktaeologicts (see Frison 1976; Flennc~enand Rayrnond 1986).
Traditionally, chipped and g~oundstone tools have been used to help infer aspects of the
subsistence strategy of prehistoric peoples. In the arid Southwest, however, lithic artifacts take
a back seat to plant maaofossils and miaobotanical data, as well as faunal renains and storage
and agicultural features. Another irnportant point is that inferences about stone tool functions
are prerequisite to inferences about the role of stone tools in the food quest. The most accurate
means of determining stone tool function is high-power miaowear analysis (Keeley 1980; also
see Vaughan 1985; Yerkes 1987). However, this tedinique requires a skilled analyst and
expensive equipment, and it is only appiicable to very fine-grained lithic raw materiais such as
cherts. Most Couthwestern lithic assemblages are dominated by coarsegrained metamorphic and
volcanic rnaterials that are unamenable to miaowear analysis.
Despite this,general functional inferences can also be derived from the technological attributes
of the tools within a $ven assemblage and the distribution of technologically defined Srpes.
Thus, the questions guiding research on the role of chipped stone tools in subsistence uiciude
the following:
1) How do the reduction techniques and lithic types evident within the assemblages fit
with traditionally accepted models of settlement and subsistence adaptations?
2) If the dorninant patterns observed are those typically assoaated with sedentary
farmers, which aspects of the assernblage (if any) point toward animal exploitation, and
to what degree?
Until recently, many lithic studies (e-g. Bartlett 1943; Wendorf and Thomas 1951; Martin and
Rinaido 1960b; Bradford 1980; all ated in Rozen 1981:159) traditionally focused only on formal
tool types, ignoring debitage attributes and the behavioral questiqns such data may illuminate.
The primary goal of many analysts was the identification of temporal variation in projeciiie point
types in order to establish chronologies.
. .
Beprung in the mid-1970s, however, debitage analysis began to play a major role as more
studies began to focus on explaining the technological and behavioral processes behind the
formation of archaeological assemblages. Cynthia Irwin-Williams (1973) devised a model for
hunter-gatherer to sedentary agricidturalist transition i
n the Arroyo Cuervo region of New
:;llexico, pro-ading t ~ o type
l desaiphons arid cornments on reduc~ontechniques m¿ qua¡ity
(although empirid support for statements about quality is not provided) ( R n m t 1981:161-162).
Bruce Huckell appiied a system of differentiating among debitage produced by hard hammer
decortication, soft hammer bifaaal thinning, and tool retouch to Archaic assemblages in
southeastern Arizona (Huckell 1973a, 1984) and the Tonto Basin (Huckell 1973b, 1978). Richard
Page 28 Mamad for Flnked Stone Amlysis
Ciolek-Torre110 (1987), working in the Mazatzal Piedmont of central Arizona, provided general
statements about Archaic lithics, noting in particular the higher proportions of late stage
debitage, the geater diversitv of formal tool types than in later periods, and a preference for
fine-grained rnaterials for fo-1 tools (Ciolek-TorrelIo 1987273).
In t h s environment of new interest in formation processes, two of the more frequently employed
approaches to lithic analysis were developed. The formal/expedient "curated"/expedient
dichotomy (Chapman 1977; Binford 1979; Parry and Kelly 1986; Lancaster 1993) addresses how
mobility is reflected in the lithic record. The Sullivan and Rozen debitage typology (Sullivan
!i
1980; Rozen 1981; Sullivan and Rozen 1985) attempts to provide a basis for distinguishing
behveen different technological activities represented by an acsemblage. Whde both models have
shortcomings, they did provide the impetus for pushing lithic analysis in new and significant
directions. Following are some insights from a review of these previo- attempts at meaningful
analysis of the debitage-heavy assemblages produced by semi-sedentary to sedentary
populations, as well as from this author's study of lithics from the Santa Cruz River sites (Sliva
1996b).
FormalExpedient Dichotomy
Ii'
Mobility has generally been expected to result in ascemblages dominated by bifaces and formal
unifacial tool types with a high incidente of curation; greater sedenticm or logistical mobility has
-" become equated with assemblages charaderized bylexpedient reduction techniques featuring few
27-formal retouched tools but large amounts of debitage and utilized flakes, and little tool or raw
I.
2 material curation (Parry and Keily 1986; Lancaster 1993:234; Lyons 1994:3). Problems with this
orientation include frequent neglect on the part of researchers of raw material factors that rnay
directly impact the nature of an assemblage (Andrefsky 1994). Also, (1) allithic artifacts are
4-
"curated" to some degree (Riddic and Cox 1993:454; Lyons 19944); (2) evidence exists of curation
5 behaviors having been directed at all types of lithic implements in early farming villages in
& southern Arizona (Sliva 199623); and (3) all groups, regardless of their degree of mobility, may
,3 employ expedient techniques at some point(s) in the life cycle of a lithic assemblage (Lyons
1994:3-4). h sum, while this model is valid at a general level, it can lead to overly simplistic
views and interpretations of the dynarnic processes that m a t e lithic assemblages.
Employed by a number of researchers since its original publication (e.g., Graff 1985; Yarborough
1986; Eppley 1989; Donaldson 1992; Lancaster 1993), the Sullivan and Rozen model (Sullivan and
Rozen 1985) attempts to differentiate tool production from core reduction based on relative
frequencies of complete and fragmentary waste flakes. Prior to this, Sullivan (1980) used the
typology to compare assemblages from ceramic and aceramic sites near Grasshopper (Rozen
1981:160). Rozen (1981), in the TEP St. Johns Project, focused on identúymg the technological
characteristics of the assemblage to determine how lithic variability relates to the technology of
tool manufacture (Rozen 1981:162). W ' e the typology may be useful for segregating tool
production from core reduction in chert assemblages, it has a number of weaknesces. Primary
among them is a failure to account for differential raw material properües (Lyons 19944; Hany
et al. 1993, Prentiss and Romanski 1989:93-94) and the effects of the formation processes of use,
recyding, reuse, and discard (Lyons 19944). Others (Ahler 1989:87, Craig 1992:216) have ated
the debitage categones' lack of intrinsic behavioral meaning as a major problem.
Manuai for Fiaked Stone Amipis Page 29
Staniey .Mer (1989) developed a method of mas anaiysis of debitage as a way to deal with the
usually enormous quantities of debitage at ar~Ciaeolo@calsites. This technique invoives
sueening debitage through graduated screens and then taking raw counts of the numbers of
flakes and raw materials present in each size grade. While miss analysis does appear to have
considerable promise ior streamlining analytical effiaenq, it should be noted that the data it
produces may not be directly comparable with data sets employing standard metrical variables.
The debitage size classes used in mass analysic are derived from the sieving of artifacts through
a series of graduated saeens, a dynamic process, and thus must be assumed to be based on a
median linear dimension. Comparisons of sudi data with size classes based on some
combination of standard ilake length, width, and thickness, as rneasured in a procedure where
the artifacts are static, must be undertaken with caution.
The objections to Sullivan and Rozen, suntmarized above, have already been discussed in detail
in many other publications, and so they do not need to be exhaustively rehashed here. Douglas
Craig's (1992) attempt to bring some semblante of inferential relevante to Sullivan and Rozen
by combining it with Ahler's (1989) mass analysis procedure is certainly a step forward, but it
unfortunately falis victim to some of the same problerns that chmcterize the original model he
was trying to improve. The major shortcoming shared by a l I three of these approaches is that
they are based solely on data from experimentation with chert or obsidian and therefore may
not accmately des&be the non-chert assemblages to which they have been applied. This is of
particular concern in the Southwest, where coarser-grained igneous and metamorphic raw
materials often form the bu& of recovered assemblages.
Douglas Craig (1992) atternpted an appraisal of floor deposit types in Hohokam pithouses. He
size-graded complete flakes based on standard sieve sizes of X', H", and W, following -4hier
(1989), and then argued that de facto floor deposits would be dkernible by relatively greater
quantities of large rather than small flakes. Unfortunately, this study was based on artifiaaily
derived data categories rather than behavioraily significant units, and it points to the need for
a discussion of how artifads are best rneasured (see 'Measurement Issues," below). An altemate
method for deposit type analysis was developed by the author for assemblages from the Early
Agricultural Santa Cruz Bend (AZ AA:12:746) and Stone Pipe (AZ BB:13:425) sites in the Tucson
Basin. When examined in terms of remnant uselife, assemblage data from the sites suggest that
implement reworking and recycling were important components of the Lithic technology in place
at the sites, and that it is possible to differentiate between floor deposits of de facto refuse and
feature and fill deposits of secondary refuce on the basis of artifact size (Sliva 1996b). The
,piding assumption of the deposit type analysis is that differential artifact size and context
relationships, with larger artifacts consistently located on floors and/or in pits, reflect processes
of implement use, storage, and discard conditioned by artífact remnant uselife or residual utility
(semu Schiffer 1985:33-34; K u h n 1989:34; d.Shott 1989:21-22,27). That is, because larger artifacts
possess a greater amount of residual utility than smaller artifads, they tended to be recovered
irom contexts suggesting that they were being uced (floor context) or stored for future use
(storage pit context). The fact that-the smaller artifads (those with little remnant uselife) were
overwhelrningly associattd with ~efusecontexts (trash deposits) shows &at ai'dacts were used
and rejuvenated until come lower residual utility threshold was reached, at which point they
were discarded.
Page 30 Múnual for FoWd Stone ARP!?is
Measurernent Issues
The question arises about which metrical attributes should be measured, how they actuallv are
measured, and which measurement techniques are the most valid and replicable. Precision,
efficiency, and replicability shouid be the primary goals when measuring metrical variability, and
measurements should be taken in the semice of theory. The traditional procedures are to either
measure length, width, and thickness, usually relative to the artifact's flaking axh, or to fit
artifads into a pnon size dasses, ucually by placing them on a template of nested &des or
squares. More recent studies have uíiiized the Ahler method of size grading, and some have
measured only the artifact's maximum linear dimension (Tomka 1989160), or "dmax"(Lyons
1994:6; Sliva 1996b:Z; cf. Rozen 1981:189 and 1984:CA). Each of these different methods has dear
advantages and disadvantages; some are more precise than others, while some are more 6 a e n t
in terms of the amount of time and skiíi required to use t h e a Problems with size grading have
been discussed already. Length, width, and thickness are precise but time consumúig, so unless
research questions explicitly necessitate taking the three measurements, it may be a waste of
time.
Drnax, however, is useful because it is quickly measured, and when it is defined properly, it can
serve as a reasonable proxy for flake area. 1 advocate measuring drnax as an artifkct's absolute
maximum linear dirnension, regardless of its relationship to the flaking axis. This is essentially
what the *d or nested-cirde systems do, but it has the advantage of producing a precise
measurement with no additional effort or time and eliminating confusion over how to fit a @ven
Huckeil 1984:94,96).
artifact into a grid (d.
This model for floor deposit analysis takes an expliatly behavioral approach to artifad size,
focusing on lithic discard and m a t e behaviors as a function of remnant uselife. Remnant
ucelife, or "residual utility," (sensu Kuhn 198954; cf. Shott 198921-22, 27) deals with the fact that
ea& modification and use of a stone tool results in dimlliished size. This means that at some
point, the irnplement will be too s m d to use comfortably or effiaentiy, or for reworking to be
possible or cost effective. Because larger irnplements generally present the user with more
U
possibilities for use or further reduction, they are considered to have greater remnant uselífe than
smaller implernents. Therefore, the basic assumption is that artífacts will be retained as long as
their size is above some situationally dependent minimum threshold, and when they have been
.
reduced to a size below that thteshold, they will be discarded. Dmax has proved to be an
efficient measure of remnant uselife, and one that demonstrates patterned variability.
Another departure bom many of the previously done lithic studies is that here, incomplete flakes
are not eliminated from size analyses. 1 have already argued that atbitrary size grades are
artificial, and 1 would further argue that, at some level, eliminating broken fiakes bom a size-
based analysis constitutes an artificial distinction as weil. The data bom the Santa Cruz River
sites indicate that incomplete flakes were subject to the same curation/discard deasion processes
as complete flakes and retouched irnplements, suggesting that, at least there, flake size rather
than completeness was the key seiection variable for the prehístoric popuiation. From a behavioral
standpoint, a more uceful distinction than sirnply complete/broken would be between flakes
broken in manufacture, fiakes broken after manufacture but before discard, and flakes broken
through postdepositional processes. However, in almost ali cases su& distinctions are nearly
impossibla to make. -- a
?&nual /o, Fhked Stone Ami-is
Usewear Analysis
&e ty-pe of valuable information that can be preserved in stone tools relates to the s p d c tasks
they were used to p e r f o m Using a flaked stone tool for a sdficient period of time - dl leave
wear traces on its edges that under optimal conditions can be observed and confidently
correlated with a specific activity. These traces include miaoflaking, striations, and poiish. The
study of these wear traces is generaily known as usewear anaZysis, and study utilizing
miaoscopes is known as microwear analysis. The Imo-power approach to microwear analysis uses
magnrhcations of less than lOOx and primarily focuses on the nature of the edge damage caused
by utilization, and the presence or absence of polish. The high-power approach requires a
specialized microscope that provides magnifications between lOOx and 400x and is used to
identify specific poiish types, along with flaking and striations on the edge of an implement.
If an implement is made of a certain type of raw material and is used for a sufficient amount
of time, diagnostic wear traces will form on the working edge. These can be identified by an
analyst using the high-power approach. These identified traces then form the basis for making
confident inferences about the type of worked material, the motion of tool use, and how long
the tool was used. Because with the low-power approach polishes can only be observed, rather
than identified, inferences with that method are limited to the motion.-of tool use and the relative
hardness of the worked material.
-Miaowear analysis is a useful but limited tool. Confident fundional inferences can be made
only when the wear traces on an artifact are well developed, which means that an implement
would have to have been used for a substantial amount of time (at least half an hour for many
types of polish). Also, the only discernible wear traces are those created by the implement's
most recent use. For example, if a tool was used for an hour to saape wood and then
resharpened and used for another task, the evidence of the initial wood scraping is lost and thus
invisible to the analyst. Preservational conditions can also adversely affect the condition of wear
traces. Long exposure to highly alkaline soils can obliterate poiishes, and all wear traces can be
hidden by the patination that forms on artifacts with long-term surface exposures in desert
environments.
Despite these iimitations, and the great amount of time and training required by the analysis,
miaowear can provide valuable information about patterns of tool function when it is appiied
properly. Examples of miaowear studies are listed under "suggested readings" at the end of this
manual.
CONCLUSION
It is equally important that lithic analysts not become complacent in either their methods or their
epistemology. We must continue to ask new questions, seek new ways of manipulating data,
(
and continue to test tried-and-true assumptions ín order to achieve the fullest possible (
understanding of the prehistoric behaviors that were responsible for the assemblages we study.
I
APPENDIX A
This appendix contains illustrations, definitions, and brief discussions of the various flaked stone
artifact types mentioned in the manual. Artifacts are grouped by general type and presented
in the same order as the artifact das= in the text. Technological speafications are provided for
ea& artifact type, along with iUustrated examples which are intended to demonstrate the range
of variability encompassed by each type. Most of the exarnples are from the southem Southwest,
but artifacts from other regions of the world are induded as weU for the sake of comparison.
Many of the illustrations are of actual artifacts. but in other cases hypothetical examples are
provided in the interest of darity. A l archaeological specimens are drawn to scale, and the
appropriate site names, time periods, regions, and raw materials are licted along with them. In
most of the flake tool illustrations, implements are oriented with the dorsal aspect up and the
proximal end at the botton In the other cases, the location of the platform is rnarked with an
' arrow showing the flaking direction. For unifaaally retouched implements, solid lines parailel
to an artifact's edge indicates the location of the retouch.
Page 34
DEBITAGE
typical flake
Fiakes are the prirnary blank type found in North
Amencan lithic assembiages. They generally have
unstandardized shapes and a length-to-width ratio of
less than 21. Blades make up smaii portions of
assemblages from the Amencan midwest, but they
dominate the assemblages of Mesoamencan, European,
and Middle Eastem assembiages and are distinguished
by straight, parallel sides and a length-to-width ratio
usually greater than 2:l. Complete flakes and blades
possess al1 of the foliowing attributes: platforms, lateral
m a r p , and tenninations.
Fragmenta y FZakes/Blades
Shatter
c. proximal
Core Rejuvenation F k s
Bipolar Flakes
m
Bipolar flakes are produced during bipolar core reduction
and are distinguished by the absence of buibs of percussion,
fairly flat bulbar aspects, rings of force originating from both
the proximal and dista1 ends, and, usuaiiy, crushing at both
typical bipolar flake ends.
Hammer Spalk
Single-Platforrn Cure
Bidirectional Core
Flake Core
C
R t 1
B
:.
.
2,
, :.. ;y.: ........
: . . .
..... -
. ;.
. ... .a:
:.
...
.......
...
"Z1'...i:1
,.:.-..
;.:::. 141.;; .. ...
...,':,
'.' ..:
..
,
0:
;.
...
..
...
A,:
.
'L
....
.
,
- :j.:::.:;.:$
:,?;.:'
'"
Page 36
ENDSCRAPERS
Documented fundíons
Temporal variations
Preclacsic Salado
AZ U:3:299
metavolcanic
.?n Illustrared Suide ro F!aked Stone Arrifact Types Page 39
-
Retouch pattern
Documented functions
cc\Q 0
fresh hide processing
dry hide currying
hide slicing/cutting
woodworking
Temporal variations
Late Archaic
Los Pozos (AZAA:12:91)
rnetasedirnent
Page 40
COMPOSITE SCRAPERS
1 Retouch pattern
Temporal variations
Preciassic Salado,
AZ U:3:294
metavolcanic
- --- - -- - - ----
-
-- -
SPURRED SCRAPERS
Retouch pattern
( Possible function
Note
Late Archaic
Los Pozos (A2 AA:12:91)
quartzite
Page 42
Retouch pattern
Temporal variations
Note
Preclassic Salado
AZ U:3:294
metacediment
Page 43
NOTCHES
Retouch pattern
Documented functions
"spokeshaves"
shaft shapers
bone and antler working
fiber processing
Note
Preclassic Salado
AZ U:3:299
metavolcanic
Retouch pattem
Documented functions
Late Archaic
triangular perforator puncturing hide
Los Pozos (AA AA: 12:91) boring wood, bone, and antier
rhyolite gravúig/grooving wood, bone, and antler
Temporal vanations
Preciassic Salado
small flake perforator
AZ U:3:294
chert
Page 45
C0,MPOSITE TOOLS
Retouch pattern
Documented functions
Temporal variations
Note
Late Archaic
perforatorlscraper
Los Pozos (AZAA:12:91)
fine-grained aphanitic volcanic
Pueblo II
perforatorlnotch
Pueblo Blanco, New Mexico
basalt
Page 46
EXTEDIENT UNIFACES
Retouch pattem
Documented functions
Temporal variations
Note
Late Archaic
Los Pozos (Aim12:91)
rnetasedirnent Expedient toois are generaiiy assumed to be single-use
irnplements, aithough evidence suggests that they were
subject to the same curative behaviors as formal tools.
Clacsic Salado
AZ U:3:297, Locus A
rnetasedirnent
Page U
GENERAL BIFACFS
Retouch pattern
Temporal variations
Late Archaic
Boatyard (AZ U:3:286)
fine-grained aphanitic volcanic General bifaces were probably used both hafted and
unhahed.
Classic Salado
Cline Mesa, Arizona
(from Loendorf and Simon 1996, Fig. 11.10c)
DRILLS
Retouch pattern
Documented functions
Note
Classic Salado
straight dril1
Cline Terrace Mound (AZ U:4:33)
(from Oliver 1995a, Fig. 9.14e)
t-shaped drill
Ai U:3:299
chert
An illust~atedGuide ro Flakai Stone ..?rrcact T y e s
Jay (Tagg 1994, Fig. 35b) Great Basin northern Southwest 6000-4800 B.C.
9000-5000 B.C
southern M o n a
830-4500 B.C.
Bajada
straight stern, concave base, prominent shoulders
4W3200 B.C.
Note
Sources
Huckell 19M; Rozen 1984; Wiils 1988; Huckell 1993
Chiricahua
Pinto/San Jose
Cortaro
Chiricahua (Bayham 1986, Fig. 1 0 . 4 )
triangular point without stem or notching, siightly to
deeply concave base
Note
The Cortaro style encompasses considerable
San Jose (Bayham 1986, Fig. 10.2b) morphological vanabiiity; many specimens may have
functioned as general purpose hafted bifaces rather than
projectile points.
S ources
Bostwick 1988; Huckell 1996
LATE ARCHAICI'EARLY
AGRICUL~XJJUEARLY CWXlWC
PROJECTILE POlXTS
San Pedro
side/comer notched, expanding stem, wiae neck,
convex base. long triangular biade, rarely serrated
Cienega
Cienega 1
expanding stem, concave blade margins, tapered tips,
flaring tangs, reLatively broad comer notches, frequentiy
serrated, irequentiy large (>35 m m in length)
Cienega 3
expanding s t m , síraight blade margins, relatively
narrow comer notches, rarely serrated, wide length
range
Cienega 3
expanding stem, straight blade margins, low blade to
stem ratio, relatively short tangs, rarely cerrated,
cieneia 2 (AZ B8:13:6) uniformiy srnall (<30mm in length)
Cienega 4
Colonial barbed
Sedentary serrated
Sedentary serrated (AZ U:3:352)
wrrated triangular blades, straight to concave bases, bases or lowennost
teeth wider than blade
Sedentary side-notched
triangular blades, side notching low on the point forming a short base,
straight to slightly concave bases
Sedentary intermediate-notched
Sedentary intermediate notched (AZ U:3:294)
straight-eclged triangular blades; straight to concave bases; wide notched
contracting notches but deeper and less wide than those of tlie wide-
notched variety, resulting in a narrower neck for the intermediate- b
notched points
Classic flanged
Classic flanged (AZ U:3:5) Ash Creek phase (A.D. 1050-1150), Gila phase?
central Arizona
A 1 central Arizona
Classic side-notched
notcliing placed above the midpoint; tend to be smaller than average for
the side-notched style
Note
similar to the Classic triangular point but with a markedly concave base;
distinguished from Classic thin triangular poinb by their broader bases
and more pronounced tangs; length-to-width ratio is less than 3:l.
Classic concave base triangular (AZ U:3:5) central Arizona, Colorado Piateau
Classic serrated
very similar to the Classic thin triangular and Classic side-notched style,
but distinguished by the presence of serration along the entire length of
blade and stern edges
central Arizona
Classic triangular
Classic serrated (AZ U:3:297) similar to the Classic long triangular s e l e . but shorter (generallv less
than 20 mm in length) and with smaller length-to-width ratios í2:l or
less); straight to slightly concave base
Classic bulbous-base
central Arizona
Classic bulbous based (AZ U:3:5)
Sources
Keiiy et al. 1978; Huckeii 1981; Bernard-Shaw 1988; Green and Hofíínan
1991; Stone and Bradley 1991; Craig 1992; Rice and Sirnon 1994;
Lindeman 1994; Towner 1994; Dart 1995; Oliver 1995a, 199%; SLva 1997
.-in !l!usrrated Guide :o Fhked r ~ n Art!kcr
e Tyues Page 37
I CORETOOLS
Retouch pattem
Documented functions
Note
typical scraper
Core tools tend to be larga and heavier than flake tools
and so presurnably were utilized for tasks that required
the application oi a great deal of force.
typical chopper
typical discoid
Page 58
Retouch pattem
Documented functions
typical hammerstone
Hammers are the only fiaked stone implement class
defined exdusively on the basis of usewear radier
than retoudL
GENERAL FLAKED STONE
ARTIFACT FORM
Every artifact is coded u i n g this form. An additional form for projectile points is presented in
Appendix C.
Site is the ASM site number, which can be abbreviated by using the final set of digits, for
example, "746" for site -42 M:12:746.
Featnum and strat record the feature number and context from whch the artifact was recovered.
Both are assigned in the field.
Prov (provenience), bag, and obs (observation) combine to provide unique numerical designations
for each Desert Archaeology artifad. Prov and bag are assigned in the field, and obs is assigned
to artifacts f-rom multiple-specimen bags by the analyst.
Rawmat describes raw material and is strudured to allow accurate assessments at varying levels
of detail, depending on analyst skill. Fine, medium, and coarse refer to ganularity.
Lithclass identifies the general artifact dass to which the artifact belongs, as defined elsewhere
in this manual.
Lithfype denotes the specific artifact type, as defined by the technological attributes discussed in
tlus manual.
Pointclass and pointfype are used only for projectile points; these codes are listed in Table C.2.
Dmax refers to the maximum linear dimemion of the artifact, measured to .O1 mrn.
Cortex refers to the amount of cortex present on cores or on the dorsal aspect of flake artifacts.
Platgrind records the presence or absence of grinding of the edge formed where the platform
meets the dorsal asped of a flake.
--
Platlip records the presence or absence of platform lipping.
Burn records whether an artifact was burned. Buming is indicated by blackening, crazing,
potlidding, and/or color changes resulting from oxidation. It does not indude color and texture
changes in chert that result from heat treatment.
Page 60 Aweruiix B
Table B.?. Coding n d e r s for the general flaked stone artifact form.
SITE
FEATURE
PROV
BAG
OBS
STRAT
jasper
brick red / salmon j asper
salmon jasper/specks
orange-red/red jasper
orange/red / white banded jasper
yellow jasper
yellow /red/ orange jasper
brown jasper
chalcedony
translucent orange/ tan/ grey chalcedony
translucent chalcedony (not milky)
opaque milky chalcedony
semi-translucent tan chalcedony
translucent milky chalcedony
semi-translucent grey chalcedony
translucent gnarly tan chalcedony
LITHCLASS
. -.
: debitüge
2 unifacially retouched ivplements
3 bifacially retouched implements
4 cores
5 core tools
(P P P I C ~ J m
~ ~ nCcbO
7 pcirut~rde rrint0
8 om
Page S
6 core hamrners
7 cobble hamrners
8 other
complete flake
proxirnal flake fragment
medial/distal flake fragment
split flake
complete bifacial thinnú\g flake
bifacial thinning flake, proximal fragment
bifaaal thining flake, medial/distal h,ment
bifaaal thinning flake, longtudínal fragment
bipolar flake
chunk/shatter
core rejuvenation flake
thermally fractured fragment
utilized flake
flake from hammer
endscraper
sidescraper
composite scraper
denticulated endscraper o
denticulated sidesaaper e
denticulated composite scraper 0
concave endscraper
concave sidescraper
concave composite scraper o
acute ci end
acute ci side
acute ci composite
f .
399 bifaual flake chopper (WYo & c_hcyFn:r7; ,-i, l,
4 alternate retouch
346 discoid
398 micro-denticulate
core fragment
tested piece O
-
501 core scraper/plane LO ,j , lf':, , c a , S , . , ::: :7-
502 unifaual core chopper '
801 other
802 pendant
803 possible pendant
POINTCLASS
Paleoindian
Southwestem Early Archaic
Southwestern Middle Archaic
Southwestem Late .4rchaic/Early Agridtural/Early Ceramic
Basketmaker
Great Basin (Middle Archaic through historic)
Mogollon
Hohokam/Salado
Pueblo/ Sinagua
Protohisto1icJhist015c
unknown/other
Page 67
unspecified Mogollon
unspecified San Francisco phase
San Francisco barbed
0720 unspecified Hilltop phase
0721 Hilltop comer-notched
0722 Hilltop lanceolate
WEIGHT
1 1OO0/o cortical
2 some cortex present
3 no cortex present
1 cortical
2 plain
3 faceted
4 crushed
5 cortical, faceted (partially prepared)
6 cortical, crushed
PLATGRIND
1 present
2 absent
1 present
2 absent
TERM
1 feather
2 hinge
3 step
4 overshot
1 burned
2 possibly burned
O not burned
PROJECTILE POINT FORM
ARTIFACT A m B U T E EXPLANXTIONS
After being entered in the General Flaked Stone Arnfact Form, every projectile point is coded
using this form. The codes used are presented in Table C.2.
Cite is the ASM site number, which can be abbreviated by using the final set of digits, for
example, "7%"for cite A2 AA:12:746.
Feafnum and strat record the feature number and context from which the artifact was recovered.
Both are assiped in the field.
Reg-zon identifies the area withm khe Southwest from which the point was recovered.
Period and phase refer to the temporal placement of the context from which the point was
recovered.
Rawrnat describes raw material and is structured to allow accurate assessments at varying levels
of detail, depending on analyst skill. Fine, medium, and coarse refer to granularity.
Pointclass identifies the general complex or technological tradition to which the point belongs.
Weight is measured to .O1 g, while al1 metrical ~ariablesare measured to .O1 mm. These
measurements are explained in Fi,we C.1.
Latgrind and basegn'nd refer to the presence or absence of gnnding on the lateral or basa1 edges
of a point.
Bevel records whether one or both blade edges have a resharpened bevel.
PROV
BAG
OBS
PERIOD
PHASE
MATCLASS
1 volcanic
2 metamorphic
3 sedimentary
4 cryptocrystalline siliceous rock, and quartz
5 unidentified
unspecified rhyolite
black rhyolite/whi te phenocrysts, fine
black rhyolite/whte phenocrysts, medium
black rhyolite/black & whte phenocrysts, fine
black rhyolite/black & white phenocrysts, medium
black rhyolite/white & red phenocrysts, fine
brown rhyolite, with or without whte phenoaysts, h e
brown rhyolite/white phenoaysts, medium (Tucson M&.)
brown rhyolite/white phenoaysts, coarse
brown rhyolite/black & white phenoaysts, fine
brown rhyolite/black & whte phenoaysts, medium
light grey-brown rhyolite, medium
grey rhyolite/ white phenoaysts, medium
grey rhyolite/black & white phenoaysts, h e
grey rhyolite/black & white phenocysts, medium
grey rhyolite/large black & white phenocrysts, medium
ashy grey rhyolite or andesite/black & white phenoqsts, fine
pink-grey rhyolite, fine (Tuc. Mts.)
pink-grey rhyolite, medium (Tuc. Mts.)
pink rhyolite/white phenocrysts, fine
pink rhyolite/white phenocrysts, coarse (Tuc. Mts.)
pink rhyolite/black & white phenocrysts, fine
pink rhyolite/black & white phenocrysts, medium
pink rhyolite/black & white phenocrysts, coarse
red rhyolite/white phenoaysts, medium
red rhyolite/white phenoaysts, fine
red rhyolite/black & white phenocrysts, fine
red rhyolite/black & white phenoqsts, medium
reddish brown rhyolite, fine
jasper
brick red/salmon jasper
salmon jasper/ specks
orange-red/red jasper
orange/red/white banded jasper
yellow jasper
yellow/ red/orange jasper
brown jasper
405 c?talcedony
430 translucent orange/ tan/grey chaicedony
431 translucent chalcedony (not milky)
432 opaque milky chalcedony
Proieclile Point For?n Page 77
POINTCLASS
Paleoindian
Southwestern Early Archaic
Southwestern M d d l e Ardiaic
Southwestem Late Archaic/ Early Agricultural /Early Ceramic
Basketmaker
Great Basin (Middle Archaic through historic)
Mogollon
Hohokam/Salado
Pueblo /Sinagua
Protohistoric/historic
unknown/other
CONDrnON
1 complete
2 complete, impad fracture at tip/very tip missing/one ear missing
3 proximal fragment
4 media1 fragment
5 dista1 fragment
6 longitudinal fragment
7 very base missing
,Vletrical variables:
WEIGHT
TOTLENGTH
BLDiENGTki
HAFTLENGTH
BLDWIDTH
Page 30
BASEDEPTH
NECKWTDTH
M o ~ h oogical
l variables:
1 triangular
2 excurvate triangular
3 incurvate triangular
4 parallel
5 excurvate
6 recurvate
7 excurvate/inwate
8 straight/excurvate
SERRATION
O absent
1 present
DISTALTYPE
1 acute
2 acuminate
3 muaonate
4 obtuse
5 apiculate
6 broad
HAFTTYPE
1 stemmed
2 not&ed
3 straight (stemless, notchless)
Prolectik Point Fom Page SI
1 markedly eqanding
2 slightly expanding
3 straight
4 slightly contracting
5 markedly contracting
1 symmetricai
2 asymmetrical
NOTCHALIGN
1 aligned
2 offset
1 horizontal parallel
2 oblique parallel
3 expanding
4 horizontal contracting
5 oblique contracting
6 oblique parailel/oblique contracting (one of ea&)
NOTCHDEPTH
1 shallow
2 deep
BASETYPE
1 markedly concave
2 slightly concave
3 straight
4 ~:i,h?l.!g Cül?VEX
5 markedly convex
6 pointed
Page 32
O absent/NA
1 present
O absent/NA
1 present
BEVEL
O absent/NA
1 present
O absent
1 present
1 percussion
2 mostly percussion, some pressure
3 equal amounts percussion and pressure
4 mostly pressure, some percussion
5 pressure
1 collateral
2 horizontal transverse
3 oblique transverse
4 random
5 chevron
6 oblique collateral
COMMENTS
Pmjec:ile ?oint Form P a g S3
haít thickness
~ B L D S H ~ P(blade
E shape)
1 trian&ar
2 excurvate triangular
3 incurvate triangular
4 parallel
5 excurvate
6 recurvate
7 excurvate/incurvate
8 straight /excurvate
A.SERILAT'ION
1
(blade serration)
present
2 absent
A. N O T C H S W E (notch shape)
1 horizontal parallel I\Oiix i$ r4[. p la\( \74
-7 oblique parallel \?or\mhi\ o b \023~
3 expanding
4 horizontal contracting
5 oblique contracting
6 oblique parallel/oblique contracting (one of each)
The purpose of the exerases is to famdiarize you with the c h i n of behaviors involved in the
creation and use of stone implements. Choices must be made at each stage of a lithic artifact's
"life historyn-what raw material shouid be used, which particular cores would provide the best
Ilakes, which unaltered flakes would be suitable for a $ven task, which flakes would be likely
candidates for retouching and subsequent use as tools, and, during use, which flakes or tools
worth resharpening or reshaping as they duli and break and which ones should be discarded.
Going through the process ~ourselfshouid get you thinking about lithic artifacts from a
behavioral standpoint and shouid help you better understand some of the processes involved
in their creation.
Each general activity below comes with a list of suggested things to do, some of which shouid
be recorded on the accompanying fonns. Follow the instrudions and take some notes about
each specific activity so you will be able to write brief answers to the questions that accompany
each section. Again, discusing the questions and your responses to them with your coileapes
will be beneficial.
Before you begin knapping, a note about safety is warranted. As is to be expected when people
bang rocks together, the potential for injury is significant. It is inevitable that everyone who
uses flaked stone technology will experience at least a few smashed thumbs, cut fingers, and
blistered paims, particuiarly when working with the finer-grained materials that produce very
sharp edges. These injuries can be minimized, however, if appropriate precautions are taken:
Protect your hands. The best way to prevent cuts on the hand you are using to hold the core or
flake being reduced is to either wear a glove or wrap the core/blank in a glove or leather pad.
This is partidarly recomrnended when working with obsidian. When pressure flaking, wearing
a glove on your working hand is highly recommended. Aitemately, a hand g ~ a r dcan be
fashioned by pushing the pressure flaker through a hole in a s m d leather pad. If you do not
wish to use a glove or pad, be sure to press your fingers tightly against the surface from which
the flake will be removed. Holding the core/flake loosely d o w s the edge of the struck flake
to pivot away from the core and cut into y o u skin. After striking each flake, check your
~ s e m p anci
s remove sniail svlirtters of rock that wiil utherwise be uounded deeper into your
fle$ with siibsequent blows.
- Chake debris from your pants legs and-shirt, rather than brushing
it away wirh your bare iiands. Handle a fresiily B&d edge as you wouid a sharp knife, as flaice
edges may match or exceed the sharpness of a steel blade.
Page S8 W k D
Protect your eyes. If you do not wea? eyeglasses, safety glasses or goggles are strongly
recommended. Striking cores with hard hamrners creates shatter along with the larger da-!es,
aiI oi whch can tly up and strike you in the face, espeaaily when more brittle raw materials are
being used.
Protect your legs and feet. Closed shoes and lona pants are advisable to protect the lower
extremities from flying debris. Aprons are useful in this regard as well. Lf you think that any
debris may have gotten incide your shoes, remove the shoes and W e them bdore standing up
and walking .
Pay attention. Carefully aim your hammerstone blows, so as to avoid striking your fingers or
pinckuig your palm. You may find it helpful to lightly tap the spot you want to hit on the core
one or two times before striking it with fiiU force, as a means of guiding the blow. Try to have
an idea of what will happen when you strike a core or flake, anticipating the effects of the
amount of force you plan to use and your striking angle. Being aware of where other people
are while you are knapping rninimizes the chance that you will hit them with, or be hit by,
flying debris. It is quite possible that you may get cut and not realize it. Inspect your hands
and head from time to time to ensure that you have not incurred injuries that should be
attended to before continuing. A
Goals: familiarity with the effects of different percussor types and striking angles
understanding changes in core morphology through the course of the reduction process
With these safety tips in mind, pick at least two or three cores of different raw materials and
strike several flakes from them. Try to retrieve and examine each flake as you strike i t Locate
the platform, bulbar aspect, lateral margins, and termination. Note amountc of cortex on dorsal
surfaces and bulbar aspect attributes, such as bulbs of pefcussion, eraillure scars, and lances.
Try refitting flakes to the core as you strike them, and refit several flakes in sequence to get an
idea of how core morphology changes through the reduction process. Experiment with different
percussor types and striking angles, as well as different ways of holding the core as it is
struck-with your fingers, against your leg, and on an anvil. Consider the following questions
as you reduce your cores:
1. How many flakes were you able to remove before the core was exhausted?
3. What differences in flaking quality did you notice arnong the various raw rnateríals you
used? W-ere some easier to ilake tiian others? Were your answers to the questions above
different for different raw material Spes?
Xfter you have examined your assemblage and answered the fírst three questiom, trade
assemblages with some of your colleagues. Examine a sample oi their cores and debitage, and
try to refit flakes to ea& core. Mix up a few diíferent assernblages and try to separate and refit
them (the k s t attempt at this will be easiest if different material types are used). Wnen you
have finished, answer the following questions:
4. Could you tell a notable difference between your own assemblages and the others, based
on the "nature of the assemblage" question #2 above?
5 . How much success did you have in separating and refitting the different assemblages?
Goal: understanding the ways in whch blanks may be retouched to produce tools, using hard-
and soft-hammer direct percussion and pressure flaking
First, select some of your flakes to retouch (reserving some to be used unaltered in Part Three
of the exercises). If you did not produce enough usable flakes, select some of those provided
in the boxes. Second, record the raw material Spes and draw outlines, side views, and cross-
sectiom of your blankc on the Tool Production Recording Form provided. Thud, produce some
tools, experimenting with different percusor Spes, striking angies, and blank prehension
techmques (different amounts of pressure with the fingers against the retouched a s e , holding
the blank against the leg) to produce different tjpes of retouch. Try both unifacial and bifacial
retouch, and try to rnake a variety of tools-a scraper, a notch, a perforator, a cienticulate,
etc.-for a variety of tasks (see list under Part Three below). Record the retouch technique(s)
used. Fourth, draw outhes, side views, and cross-sections of the tools next to the drawings of
the blanks from which they were produced. Consider the following questions as you work,
writing down the amwers when you are finished.
5. Did certain percussors seem to work better on different raw material5 than others?
6. If your tools broke during manufacture, could you tell what the problern was, e-g., you hit
the blank too hard or at the wrong angle, the material was internally flawed, etc.?
7. How much change do you see between blank and tool, based on the drawings? What
dirnension seems to have been altered the most for ea& tool type (outline, edge angle,
thickness)?
Goal: understanding the deasion process required for performing a task with fiaked stone
implements
Below are Lists of worked materials and motor behaviors (actions). Pair materials and actions
from the Lists to create a variety of tasks, sudi as sawing wood, saaping bone, boring hide, etc.,
and &en select both toois and unretouched flakes that you thmk would be suitable for ea&. List
the tasks on the experiment recording form, along with outline and edge angle drawings of the
implements to be used. Factors to consider in implement selection include litiuc raw material,
edge chape, edge angle, and overall implement morphology. Is it comfortable to hold? Will its
edge configuration allow it to be used efficiently?
.
grass agave
For ea& experiment, describe the task to be performed on the Experimental Tool Recording
Fom. Make the carne type of tool drawings as for Part Two. Examine the flake or tool edge
you plan to use, making notes about its appearance. You will compare the appearance of the
unused edge with what it looks like after it has been used, so try to record details. If your
implement dulls or breaks, try to resharpen or reshape it through retouch, remembering to
record what the tool looks like both before and after you retouch it (with drawings and written
notes-use as many form as necessary for all of your data). When you have completed a task,
record a final set of data on the tool and edge morphologies and any usewear you see, along
with the elapsed time and your ohservations about the task you performed. You may wish to
try using a few different raw materials or edge angles for the same type of task. Compare used
and unused edges, both of the same and different raw materials.
8. Did certain raw materials dull or break more quickly than others?
9. For what tasks did certain raw materials seem to be best suited?
10. Did unaltered flakes perform better for certain tasks than retouched implements, and
vice versa?
12. Did you find it necessary to resharpen or othenvise modify any of the implements
during a task? If so, what was the task, and were your modifications successful?
13. Based on the before-and-after drawings of the implements, what kinds of worked
materials and/or actions caused the greatest degree of alteration to the used edge?
14. Examine the implements used by another person. Can you differentiate between used
and unuscd edges, and if so, can you te& what Mks they were used for? Compare
tools used for the same task, but for different periods of time, and toois of different raw
materials used for the same task. What differences do you see?
E;ercijrj in F!nkeii Stone Irnplernent .Uanufac~huemi Use Page 91
It mav be interesting to m i t e a bri& su- of your experiences with and general impressions
of thése exercises. Consider the opportunities and Iimitations presented to people by flaked
stone technology, and how they compare with those presented by the everyday technology with
which you are familiar. How wouid your daily life be hfferent if you had to rely upon flaked
stone? Do you think about flaked stone any differently than you did prior to completing the
exercises?
in Faked Stone In?plemlsrt Manufmture and Use Page 93
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