An Experimental Approach to Understanding Paleoindian Bipolar Lithic Artifacts

Summary

Bipolar lithic artifacts can be challenging for researchers to understand in the archaeological record. Although these artifacts were first noted in North American literature half a century ago, archaeologists continue to debate over terminology and considerations of morphological and functional distinctions of bipolar objects. This experimental approach aims to shed light on these disparities whilst re-examining morphological and functional characteristics attributed to manufacture and use-wear. Recent experimental work with the Mockhorn Island Clovis assemblage, by the Smithsonian Institution Paleoindian/Paleoecology Program, served as a model for this study. This poster presents the results of manufacturing, feasibility, and use-wear experiments on quartzite beach pebbles split through bipolar reduction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22708