Topographic Morphometrics: Utilizing 3D Scans of Lithic Projectile Points to Look for Similarities and Differences in Flake Scar Patterning

Summary

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

The conceptual basis of this study is that flintknapping knowledge and technique in small, hunter-gatherer groups is passed from generation to generation through a small number of flintknappers. This should result in similar flake scar patterning on projectile points that can be identified using topographic morphometric analysis. Topographic morphometrics is a new digital methodology that utilizes high-resolution three-dimensional imagery to measure variation in flake scar patterns on both faces of a projectile point. The cross-sectioning of projectile points at given heights (much like contour lines on a topographic map) records the morphology and patterning of flake scars that result from the flintknapping knowledge and technique that goes into their manufacture. If the production of discrete archaeological projectile point types is representative of different flintknapping techniques and knowledge, then this methodology has the potential to identify the information required to associate different point types in the archaeological record that share the same flintknapping methods. Using projectile point assemblages from three Late Paleoindian non-fluted point types from the Great Plains and a single Middle Archaic non-fluted point type from Missouri, this study concludes that topographic morphometrics can identify similarities and difference in the flake scar patterning of these four projectile point types.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25922