Shattered: Conducting Experimental Archaeology to Better Diagnose Contact Period Lithics

Summary

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

Contact period studies tend to focus on the interactions between indigenous peoples and non-native peoples and the commerce produced from said interactions. As such, a plethora of information can be gleaned from the study of tools and materials procured during this time period with a focus on changes in tool form or material choice, if any. As a result of these encounters, lithic substitutes made of glass, ceramic, and metal have emerged within the archaeological record. Is the material substitution a result of reduced access to traditional lithic sources or do these alternate materials prove as, or more, efficient than stone? This experimental study will explore the fracture mechanic properties of glass and ceramic compared to that of lithics to determine the efficiency, success, and resiliency of these lithic artifacts and those who created them. The results of this study will provide further insight into how the relationship between Euro-American expansion and Native populations transformed lithic technology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25984