Size and form in the analysis of flake debris: Review and recent approaches |
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Authors: | Michael J. Shott |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Northern Iowa, 272 Baker Hall, 50614-0513 Cedar Falls, Iowa |
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Abstract: | Flake debris — the by-product of lithic reduction — is abundant, not subject to uncontrolled collection, and sometimes culturally diagnostic. Its greatest virtue, however, is in registering the kinds and amounts of toolmaking and tool-using behavior that curated tools themselves may not. Most debris studies emphasize formal dimensions, yet even the best approaches assume rather than demonstrate a relationship between behavior and formal variation. Moreover, the diversity of formal typologies hinders interassemblage comparison. Progress in debris analysis has two prerequisites: (1) a minimum attribute set for individual flakes and (2) the combination of formal and continuous approaches to variation. Preliminary study suggests that Ahler's mass-analysis model and log skew Laplace functions hold particular promise for behavioral interpretation from debris assemblages. |
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Keywords: | lithic reduction flake attributes mass analysis size variation experimental data |
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