Experimental Study
of the
Patterning and Variability of Flintknapping
and the
Predictability of Tool Production within a Site
The following is a brief overview of experiments currently being conducted at Texas A&M
University.
An Idea for Experimentation
Lithic artifacts compose approximately 80% of the material culture encountered in most
prehistoric sites across North America. Archaeologists use a variety of analytical techniques to
make inferences about a lithic assemblage and its relationship to the material culture. The
reduction sequence(s) of a lithic assemblage is one of the primary avenues for interpreting this
relationship. A reduction sequence (or strategy) relies a great deal on the concept of the mental
template and learned behavior traits. The reduction of lithic raw materials via flaking technologies
(flintknapping) is a learned behavior trait, meaning you have to be taught how to do this either
through observation or direction. A particular culture group may have one or more projectile
points and a variety of formal and informal tools that are dictated by the cultural restraints of their
group; these are their mental templates. If, for example, a group uses a biface-face technology for
tool production, at some point along the reduction continuum a decision is made: the product is
capable of being further reduced into the intended or desired tool form, the product is incapable of
being reduced into the intended or desired product and is re-directed into another tool form or is
rejected. This model operates under the assumption that all knappers in a group are trained to
make the same items using the same reduction technology, or...there is only one knapper.
In observing modern knappers today, these artisans are extremely adept at using a variety of
reduction technologies to produce the same tool form. The old adage, "There's more than one
way to skin a cat," seems highly appropriate! It is apparent that the variability seen at modern
"knap-ins" may well be present in the archaeological record. If patterns can be identified it may
be possible to replicate a discreet assemblage and duplicate (or imitate) this variability. It would
also be interesting to see if the patterning might provide some insight into the relationship
between the debitage assemblage (and its sheer volume, in many cases) and the amount of tools
being produced at a site or within a component. A discussion led to a proposal to conduct an
experiment to see if these questions could even be answered.
My Current Projects Slide Show Presentation
To view the slide show presentation for the Experimental Study of the Patterning and Variability
in Flintknapping and the Predictability of Tool Production within a Site click here.
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Last updated on 11/24/98 by Allen C. Bettis, Jr.
Please send comments to AC Bettis, Jr. at the mailto: link directly above.