Assessing Interobserver Variation in Lithic Analyses of Resharpening

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Interobserver variation is a known phenomenon within macroscopic and microscopic lithic analyses.

Thus far, many researchers have conducted extensive studies of variation between experts and novices

in lithic analyses, and these studies have shown the importance of careful supervision and repetition of

measurements. Here, we present findings from a study of interobserver variation of lithic analysis of a

real archaeological collection of projectile points from the North American Southeast. This study adds to

the body of knowledge concerning general lithic analysis and provides novel insights relating to analyses

of resharpening in hafted bifacial technologies, including those involving gross linear measurements,

indices of retouch, and more advanced methods such as geometric morphometrics. Observations and

outcomes of this study further indicate the necessity for redundancy of measurements between

observers. Further, this study highlights how lithic analyses of resharpening patterns of hafted bifaces

can lead to drastic misinterpretations of the archaeological record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39065.0