Artifacts Talk Back: Technological Analysis of Flakes and Flake Scars

Summary

Reading the ancient language of lithic reduction technologies from archaeological assemblages of flakes and flaked-stone tools requires practical knowledge of key physical attributes and their interrelationships. Lithic literacy begins with understanding the basic anatomy of flakes and flake scars formed according to the laws of fracture mechanics. Variability in the expression of this basic anatomy directly reflects characteristics of the lithic material, mechanical actions applied, and technological choices of the person manipulating the stone. Direct analogy through experimental flintknapping and stone tool use provides a basis for understanding the range of technological choices available at each step of often complex processes and the results of the application of these choices relative to key attributes. Practiced flintknappers learn to recognize the distinctive characteristics of different technological systems, including failures and successes, indelibly written into the attributes of flakes and flake scars. While metric approaches cloak lithic analyses in scientific garb, they generally fail to provide meaningful results. Instead, reading the attributes and understanding their structure or grammar is more powerful for comprehending the technological and cultural meaning of lithic artifacts. We propose a framework for combining analyses of flake attributes, types, and assemblages for comprehending the cultural meanings of lithic technologies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14961