Lithic Analysis

270 Pages·2004·6.413 MB·English

by  George H. Odell (auth.)

Lithic Analysis
MANUALSINARCHAEOLOGICALMETHOD,THEORYANDTECHNIQUE
SeriesEditors:
Charles E.Orser,Jr.,IllinoisStateUniversity,Normal,Illinois
Michael,B.Schiffer,UniversityofArizona,Tucson,Arizona
ARCHAEOLOGICALSURVEY
E.B.Banning,UniversityofToronto,Toronto,Ontario,Canada
LITHICANALYSIS
GeorgeOdell,UniversityofTulsa,Tulsa,Oklahoma
MORTUARYMONUMENTSANDBURIALGROUNDSOFTHEHISTORICPERIOD
HaroldMytum,UniversityofYork,York,United Kingdom
LITHIC ANALYSIS
George H. Odell
Department of Anthropology
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, llC
library of Congre% Catalogmg-m.Publtcauon Data
Odell, George H
Uthic anal)'sis I George H, Odell.
p. cm. - (Manuals In archaeological method. theory. and technique)
Indudes bibliographlCal rtference5 and index
ISBN 978-0-306-48068-3 ISBN 978-1-4419-9009-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-9009-9
1. Too15. PrehiMoric- Analysis. 2. Tool5, PrehiMOTlc-ClassifiC3t1on,
3. SlOne implemems-Anal)'sis. 4. Stone Implemems--Cla%if1c3l10n
I.Titlc. Il. Scrie5.
GN799-T60342004
930'.I'2--dc22 2003061966
() 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Origin<ll1y publishcd by KluwCT Academic f P1cnum Publish,-'TS N,-'W York in 2004
Softcover reprim ofthe hardcover ISt edition 2004
Ali right5 reserved,
No part of this work mal' be reproduccd. Mored m a retric\'al SYSlem. or Iransmiued in any form or
bl' any muns. electronic, mechanical. photocopl'mg. microfilming, rc<:ordmg, or othelWiSl'. without
wrillen permission from Ihe Publisher. with the exception of an)" material supplied specificalll' for the
purpose ofbeing entcred and cxecutcd on a computer sl'Mem, for exclusive USI' bl' the purchaSl'r of
the work.
This book isdedicatedtoFrieda,who willalways bemijnschatje.
Preface
Proceduresbywhicharchaeologicalstonetoolshavebeenanalyzedhavetradition
allyoperatedonanapprenticeshipmodel, whereby anovice acquires competency
at the elbow of agrizzled but revered expert in the field.After shuffling through
literally thousandsofstones andasking hundreds ofquestions, theneophite even
tually reaches a level at which he or she can fly solo, requiring less and less
attention fromtheMaster.While thispedagogicalmodelhasbeenfrequently tried
and tested, it is not always the most efficient method, it is very labor-intensive,
and it requires a resident lithics expert, a situation that often does not exist in
reality.Learningtheropes would clearly bemore practical ifthere wereamanual
toconsult, abookthatprovides informationanddirectionsothattheMaster might
atleastbespared themostelementalquestionsandwouldnothavetobeavailable
all thetime.For years nosuch manual existed, but recently the ice has been bro
ken by Bill Andrefsky's Lithics:Macroscopic ApproachestoAnalysis, and Brian
Kooyman's Understanding Stone ToolsandArchaeologicalSites.These aregood
books,andcan profitably beemployedby fledgling lithic analysts.
Myowninterest inwriting amanual forstone toolanalysts derives initially
from the way I was trained-literally at the knees of two Masters (in this case,
reveredbutnotgrizzled):Dr.RaymondR.Newellintypologicalandtechnological
matters, andDr.RuthE.Tringhaminfunctional studies.Iwaslucky,because these
Masters were exceedinglygood attheir craft,they were available, and they were
supplemented along the way by other good people in a variety of disciplines
and modes of expertise (e.g., Drs. Hallam Movius,Richard Klein, Andre Leroi
Gourhan, Karl Lamberg-Karlovsky, Stephen Williams, W. W. Howells, George
Cowgill,andReneDesbrosse,tonameafew).ButIrecognizedearlyonthatagood
how-to book would haveoffered avariedperspectiveand would havetakensome
of the burden off my instructors. I have considered writing such a compendium
for many years but, until now,had neverreached anappropriate point inmyown
careerorhadacquired enough time topursue suchaproject. Finally,thattimehas
come.
This volume isintended for aspiring analysts possessing some archaeolog
ical background, but not necessarilya lot.It isgeared particularly toward people
vii
viii LITHICANALYSIS
who wish to get up to analytical speed quickly, so that they can understand the
issues better or conduct their own analyses. Such people include advanced un
dergraduates,graduate students, and archaeological contractworkers,though the
potential audienceissurely moreextensivethan this.
Since this manual hashad alonggestation, itissubstantiallydifferent from
the ones Andrefsky and Kooyman have written. For instance, it employs text
boxes tomakepoints supplementalorperipheraltothemain narrative.Itincludes
achapterspecifically devoted to applications.And it features a major section on
functional analysis, which Andrefsky(1998:4)intentionallydid notinclude inhis
manual.
Butmostimportantly,thisbookisfoundedonthemaximthatresearchshould
be driven by a problem that requires asolution.This principal is not universally
adhered to in archaeology and we are all familiar with projects that dictated the
accumulation ofdata with no particular use in mind, but with a general thought
that"somebodymightneedthissomeday." Indeed, incertain situations thismight
bethebestavailable alternative-onethinks immediatelyoftheubiquitous under
funded survey projects thatyieldedanabundanceofsitesbutneither the time nor
money to analyze them properly. So if basic description is all you can do, then
record your head offand perhaps someone will use your data some day.But this
book isintendedfor happiermoments,i.e.,situations involving enough time and
money tobeable toprovide answers toatleast some ofthequestions thatrequire
our attention. Ifyou do not have this amount ofsupport or interest, you have my
tacit permission to return to wherever you bought this book and try to get your
hard-earnedmoney back (and good luck, sucker).
Organizingthevolume onthebasisofresearch question rather thangeneral
topic avoids certain pitfalls. Emphasis on topics such as "debitage analysis" or
"flint knapping" tooeasily slips into categories accomplishedfor their own sake,
rather thanrespondingtoissues generatedbyarchaeologicalsituations.Mostsec
tions of this book, therefore, begin by investigating what we wish to know and
why wewishtoknow it.General questions arefollowed throughouteach chapter
by more refined or specific questions designed toprovide examples of how such
types of analyses have been applied tothe archaeological record.This manual is
designed to be relatively short and cannot be comprehensive of the field, but it
is intended to provide a secure grounding and sense ofdirection for beginning
analysts.Specificdetails can bepursued byconsultingsources providedherein.
Acknowledgments
Oneshouldneverworkaloneinthisbusiness.andIhavebenefitedgreatly fromthe
advice andexpertiseofseveralofmycolleagues.Usefulcriticismhasbeenoffered
onChapter2bygeologistBrianTapp;onChapter4byStanAhler; onChapter5by
VeerleRots;onChapter6byJohnDockall;andontheentirevolumebyserieseditor
MichaelSchiffer.Severaloftheillustrationswerefinalizedandprettified byFrieda
Vereecken-Odell. I appreciate the cooperation of the University of Tulsa. whose
ResearchOffice.directed byAlSoltow,hassupportedmyprojectsthroughoutthe
years.Finally.thisbookisdedicatedtoFrieda. whohasbeenalifelong companion
and has put upwith more of this nonsense than anyreasonableperson has aright
toexpect. Thanks toeveryoneinvolved. and I'msorry if!couldn'ttake allofthe
good advice that wasoffered; Iwill next time.
ix
Contents
1. HISTORYOFSTONETOOLRESEARCH •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1
PROCUREMENT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2
TOOLMANUFACTURE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••3
ASSEMBLAGE VARIABILITY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6
TOOLUSE •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 7
BEHAVIORALQUESTIONS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9
PERSPECTIVES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• II
2. PROCUREMENT ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 13
FORMATIONOFROCK ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• IS
Igneous Rocks .....•.........•................................. 15
SedimentaryRocks.........................................•... 17
MetamorphicRocks .......•...........................•........ 20
Summary 21
GEOMORPHIC PROCESSES •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2I
DEFINING THE PROBLEM •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 24
IsThis Material Local? .........................•............... 24
What istheSource ofthe Material? 26
VISUALCHARACTERIZATION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 28
Hand Specimens ........•............................•.......•• 28
PetrographicTechniques ..............•.•....................... 31
GEOCHEMICALTECHNIQUES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 32
Neutron Activation Analysis 33
X-Ray FluorescenceAnalysis 34
PIXE and Similar Techniques .......•............................ 35
Other InstrumentalTypesofAnalysis 37
GENERAL REMARKS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 41
3. TOOL MANUFACTURE••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••43
FRACTUREMECHANICS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 45
General Principles 45
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xii LITHIC ANALYSIS
TypesofFracture 47
FractureFeatures 53
TYPESOFFLAKINGANDFLAKERS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 58
PercussionFlaking 58
Pressure Flaking ............................................... 61
PRIMARY ANDSECONDARY MODIFICATION •••••••••••••••••••••••• 62
PrimaryModification 62
SecondaryModification 64
GROUNDSTONE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 74
Manufacture-GroundSpecimens 75
Use-GroundSpecimens 78
AnalyzingGround StoneTools 80
4. ASSEMBLAGE VARIABILITY •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 87
DETECTINGVECTORSOFINFORMATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 88
Raw Material 89
Technology:Basic Partitioning 90
Technology:Distinguishing Trajectories 91
Morphology:CharacterizingShape .............................. 103
Function ..................................................... 110
COMPARING ASSEMBLAGES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• IIO
ComparingClassStructure ............................ 110
ComparingSpecificClasses .................................... 113
ANALYZINGUNRETOUCHEDDEBRIS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 118
IndividualFlakeAnalysis 121
Mass Analysis 130
SUMMARy •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 132
5. TOOLFUNCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 135
USE-WEARANALySIS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 136
Background .................................................. 136
Techniques 139
Summary 152
RESIDUEANALYSIS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 156
Plant Remains 156
Blood Residues 165
Summary .................................................... 172
6. ENCOUNTERINGPREHISTORICBEHAVIOR 175
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SUBSISTENCE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 176
Food Procurement 176
Food Processing .............................................. 181