Lab Quiz 2 Flashcards
Why stone tools?
- Stone tools, and the debris from the process of their manufacture, are among the most frequently found artifacts in arky sites
- lithos artifacts provide info on tool making and activities closely related to the use of these tools
- stone tools have been around longer than modern humans, and are prevalent in arky assemblages around the world
What archaeologists can learn from stone tools:
- Technology: tools might preserve whole product they were used to make has vanished
- activities practiced within a culture: clustering of specific stone tools at specific locations suggest that certain activities were restrict d to defined areas
- function of a site: from activities determined
- settlement pattern of a human group: movement of tool types
- trade
- ideology/ religion
- maybe even the development of the human brain: with complexity and efficiency of tools
Classification
Lithos artifacts are classified into different types based on:
- Material
- Method of manufacture: chipped/ flaked, ground/pecked
- Form (shape, dimensions)
- Function (projectile point, Knife, scraper, Burin)
Materials with a fine grained texture are manufactured through a process of
Chipping or knapping because they will easy flake and crack (think of glass)
Materials with a coarse grain are manufactured through a process of
Abrading or grinding because the will not easily flake or crack
Manufacturing chipped stone
- a piece of hard stone is needed, known as a core
- flakes are removed by striking the edge of the core with a sharp, forceful blow. This is known as chipping or flaking. It requires the knowledge and ability..
- the core itself can become a tool or the flakes can become tools
Methods of flaking
- direct percussion
- indirect percussion
- pressure flaking
Direct percussion
- involves striking the core directly with another object. Can be with a hard (stone) or soft (antler) hammer
Indirect percussion
- involved the use of an object between the striking hammer stone and the rock being shaped
Pressure flaking
Used for the finishing stage of tool manufacture, or to reshape the tool when the edge gets broken or becomes dull
Stages of flake removal
- primary flakes
- secondary flakes
- tertiary flakes
Primary flakes
- flakes with cortex present on surface, but no flake scars
Secondary flakes
a flakes with diminishing traces of cortex. Have scars of previous flake removal
Tertiary flakes
No cortex present
Dorsal
Outer surface
Ventral
Inner surface
- has bulb (like belly)
Other factors
- flake scars
- striking platform
- bulb of percussion
- ripples
Distal end
Bottom
Proximal end
Top, striking platform
Ripples
- curve back to where the force came from
If a tool has been worked on both sides, it is referred to as
Biface
- takes a considerable amount of time to know and therefore tells us about the proficiency of the flintknapper and the function of the tool
If a tool has only been worked on one side it is referred to as
Uniface
Points and projectile points
- clear, defined shape, consisting of a pointed tip
- usually thin, symmetrical, and biracial
Three main types of points:
1) unnotched and I stemmed
2) stemmed
3) notched and stemmed
Three main forms of points and projectile points
1) triangular
2. Lanceolate (straight near base, sides taper to pointed tip)
3) bipointed (both ends taper to a pint)
Scrapers
- identified by the steep angle that has been worked along one edge
- endscrapers or sidescrapers, depending on whether the working edge is on the end of the flake or along the side of the flake
- usually unifacial
Drills
- long and narrow bit at one end
- usually biracial
- can be used in a rotary motion to function as a perforator to create holes or groves
Blades
- longer than they are wide
- usually unifacial and thin
- from functioned as cutting implements
- blade cores show the number of blades that were produced from one core
Handaxe
- large, the co, pear shaped axe like tools
- moderately steep edge angles
- usually bifacial
- assumed to be chopping or multipurpose tools
- may have been hatted and not held in the hand
Manufacturing ground stone tools
- groundstone tools can be manufactured variety techniques to wear away or abraded the surface, such as grinding and pecking
- do not have flake scars or a bulb of percussion
- tend to be much larger, heavier, and longer- lasting than chipped stone tools
- in the Americas, common ground stone tools include a mano and metate for the processing of corn and other foods
Bulb of percussion
- a swelling usually visible just below the point of impact on a flake
Core
A block of stone that is struck to detach flakes
Cortex
Natural, weathered surface of raw material
Debris
Residue from took production (irregular chunks without identifying features)
Flake
Piece of stone with identifying features if removal by human hand
Hafting
Process of placing the worked stone into a handle
