Methodology

Flaking

 

What is lithic analysis?

Lithic analysis is the systematic examination of prehistoric stone artifacts. Throughout all of human prehistory there was a period of time where the majority of the tools used for daily life were made of stone. In fact, stone tools were in daily use for over 2.5 million years longer than there earilest ceramic tools, like pottery. There are several different methodological approaches to lithic analysis currently in use, all of them with varying benefits and limitations. Some approaches are designed to expedite analysis while others are designed to maximize anthropological data. Analytical approaches include morphological/descriptive analysis (Sullivan and Rozen 1985), functional analysis (Frison 1968; Wilmsen 1968), mass analysis (Ahler 1989), and replicative systems analysis (Flenniken 1981). Although many of these analytical techniques have merit, the following approach is based primarily on Flenniken's Replicative Systems Analysis approach (RSA). This approach includes replicative modeling of lithic technologies to create known data sets to compare to those recovered archaeologically. These empirical data can then be used to model possible human behavioral systems. The artifacts are categorized with regard to technological characteristics as they convey information about tool function. These inferred functions are then collectively interpreted as behavioral systems placed within a cultural ecology paradigm.

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Methods and Procedures

 

The methods and procedures used with the lithic collections from LA 126581 rely heavily upon observable technological attributes from known replicated examples. Additionally, functional aspects of tools, indicated by use, were similarly compared to known replicated use wear studies. All tools were examined with a 10X hand lens and a 80X binocular microscope. Mass up to 1200 g was measured with a digital scale. Items greater than 1200 g are coded as 9999. Digital calipers were used for measuring tools only.

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Lithic Artifact Classes

Lithic artifacts are those where the raw material is stone. These include artifacts that are manufactured by chipping, grinding, or battering. This class of artifacts also includes artifacts that are not necessarily manufactured, but are identifiable as artifacts by the presence of observable cultural modification (battering on cobble hammers). Other lithic artifacts that are not utilitarian, but may have served a significant cultural function are also included, such as crystals, fossils, and polished pebbles.

 

Chipped Stone Artifacts

Chipped stone artifacts are lithic tools produced by direct free-hand percussion, indirect percussion, or pressure flaking. These artifacts are made on flakes (flake tools, projectile points and bifaces), produce flakes (cores), or are end products thereof (core tools and debitage). Although many milling implements and ground tools are frequently flaked during their initial manufacture, they are classified under different artifact classes.

Projectile points are a functional lithic tool designed to be hafted to a projectile and propelled as part of a hunting tool kit. Projectiles can be propelled by hand (spears), by a throwing stick (atlatl), or by a bow. Projectile point forms are a direct product of their function and these forms have been shown to change through the use-life of a single projectile point (Flenniken and Raymond 1986; Flenniken and Wilke 1989; Titmus and Woods 1986). There is rarely a correlation with cultures, traditions, or tribal affiliations except in adaptational patterns. Projectile points as a dating technique are ineffectual and are described below only as representatives of broad time periods based on particular hunting technologies. Applicable projectile name "types" are given only as morphological descriptors for comparative purposes and do not necessarily imply cultural affiliation or temporal marking. Several morphological attributes are coded including basal form and hafting elements.

Bifaces are a class of lithic tools that are flaked on two faces. Unlike most other tool classes, this class is not functionally based and is used primarily as a matter of convention rather than analytical procedure. Bifaces are coded by technology of manufacture and use. Projectile points and cores are often bifacial, however, they are described under their functional artifact class. Bifacial artifacts include preforms, knives, axes, etc.

Flake tools are a class of lithic artifacts where the tool or intended tool is made on a flake and flake tools are classified by tool function including: scrapers, cutting tools, drills, reamers, etc. The flake tool was the most versatile type of lithic tool made, frequently requiring no modification. These types of expedient tools form the bulk of most lithic tool kits. Flake tool type and assemblage diversity can be used as indicators of prehistoric band mobility (Kuhn 1989, 1994; Lurie 1990). Tools made on flakes that broke during their manufacture are classified as tool blanks under this class. Similarly, flakes that have edge modification without use wear present are included under this class.

Cores are a class of lithic artifacts serving as parent material for the production of flakes and are classified based on core configuration. Core configuration was determined by the number of striking platforms and flaking orientation. Different core configuration will produce different flake types for different purposes. Multidirectional cores often produce unpatterned, frequently thick flakes. Unidirectional (blade cores are specially prepared unidirectional cores) and bidirectional cores produce linear regular flakes. Tested cobbles, an aspect of raw material prospecting, are considered incipient cores (Wilke and Schroth 1989) and produce completely cortical flakes. Frequently the most common determining factor in core configuration is the nature and flaking quality of the raw material.

Core tools are a unique class of lithic tool made on cores instead of flakes and are classified by core type, use wear type, and use wear location. The most common core tool is the core scraper. These large scrapers were most frequently used in the preparation of large hides, especially elk and bison. Angular hammers are often made from exhausted cores or core scrapers; however, because their last use was as a percussive tool, they are classified under a battered tool class.

Debitage, both flakes and debris/shatter, are waste products from the production and reduction of cores and the production of tools and were classified based on technological categories. The flake types used are a modified version of Flenniken's RSA flake types. These are based on the amount of cortex present (i.e., completely cortical), the platform configuration (i.e., single-faceted platform), and factors of reduction technology (i.e., biface thinning flake, late stage pressure). The debitage data sets were statistically compared to known data sets to derive technological information with regard to lithic reduction. Recent replicative research has shown that "primary," "secondary," and "tertiary" flake typologies alone are ineffective for assigning reduction technologies to flakes types (Bradbury and Carr 1995).

Simple standard correlation coefficients (rx,y=Cov(X,Y)/sx,sy where: -1£rxy£1) were generated for each data set array. Data sets yielding a correlation coefficient close to 1 are highly correlated (therefore alike) and those close to -1 are highly negatively correlated (therefore not alike). When a value of zero results, there is a random correlation.

The debitage data sets were compared to know reduction data sets. These known data sets have been produced by experimentally replicating various lithic technologies (RSA) by the author and others. These replicated data sets are then entered into a comparison data base. The comparison data base is very large including many different types of lithic reduction techniques, therefore the most likely data sets were chosen based on the recovered formal tool types. These included core production/reduction from chert and quartzite cobbles; multidirectional core reduction using chert and quartzite; unidirectional core reduction using chert and quartzite; bifacial core reduction using chert and obsidian; bipolar core reduction using chert and obsidian; biface production using chert, quartzite, and obsidian; dart point production using basalt, quartzite, chert and obsidian; and arrow point production using chert and obsidian.

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Battered Tools

Battered tools are a class of percussive tools used for battering/pecking/shaping (hammerstones) or are battered upon (anvils) and are classified by their morphological configuration as it implies function.

Hammerstones are a class of lithic artifact used as a hand-held or hafted percussor and are classified based on functional types. They can be unaltered cobbles (spherical hammers), exhausted cores (angular hammers), or shaped and ground tools (grooved hammers). It has been shown that different hammer morphologies have different functions (Dodd 1979; Pritchard-Parker and Torres 1998). Spherical hammers are most often used for flint knapping while angular hammers are most often associated with milling implement maintenance.

Anvils are a class of lithic artifact used to support an object, frequently cores, while hammering. They are recognized by characteristic pitting and bruising on flat or convex surfaces of large, hard rocks, frequently outcropping bedrock. Occasionally, inverted and/or broken metates served as anvils.

 

Milling Implements

Recent "ground stone" studies have noted (Adams 1993; Mauldin 1993; Schneider 1993; Wright 1993) that many kinds of artifacts are ground in their manufacture regardless of function. Therefore, the term "milling implement" has been chosen to better describe what most analysts refer to as "ground stone," commonly manos and metates. The term milling is used as a generic term for resource processing with paired milling tools, therefore tools like mortars and pestles are included in this artifact class.

Manos or handstones are part of a paired milling tool kit to be used with a metate or grinding stone for the purpose of processing resources. Manos are classified by size, manufacture and use technology, and by the number of milling faces utilized. The terms one-hand mano, and two-hand mano are used only as descriptors of general size and morphology and do not necessarily imply actual use-handedness. The term cobble mano refers to opportunistic use of an unmodified cobble for milling.

Metates or grinding stones are the stationary portion of a paired milling tool. Metates are classified by manufacture and use technology, by the shape of the milling surface (flat, basined, or troughed), and by the number of milling surfaces. Milling surface maintenance in the form of pecking is also noted.

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Ground Tools

Ground tools are a broad class of artifacts that are ground, but are not milling implements. This includes large ground tools like axes, arrow shaft straighteners, tchamahias, etc. It also includes various small ground pendants, beads, and burnishing/polishing tools.

 

Database

The lithic artifacts were entered into a separate relational database (FileMaker ver. 4.0 for MacOS) and linked to a second provenience database. The debitage database was exported to a spreadsheet file and standard correlation coefficients were generated using Excel 98 for MacOS. SPSS Delta Graph of MacOS was used for Pearson correlation coefficient dendrograms.

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