Identifying Pressure Flakes Generated during the Reduction of Small Bifaces: The Results of a Blind Test

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Frequently, in the reported results of the analysis of flaked-stone artifact assemblages, pressure flakes, ostensibly from small bifaces (arrow points, dart points, and knives), are distinguished. This category of debitage is difficult to identify unless the knapper who created the pressure flakes used the Ishi pressure method (this approach creates a distinctive morphology) or the analyst identifying the pressure flakes used fractography to make the determination. Specific morphological attributes that have been used to distinguish pressure flakes from other debitage categories are also found on small, percussion-created flakes. To better understand what attributes would permit the recognition of pressure flakes, a blind test was conducted. Three lithic analysts were each provided with 20 flakes to evaluate (n=60). Some of the flakes provided were created via percussion reduction and some were created via pressure flaking with an antler-tipped pressure tool. Each analyst was asked to determine which of the 20 flakes resulted from pressure removal and which did not. The implications of the results of this experiment are discussed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22880