Bipolar Technology and Pebble Stone Artifacts
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Bipolar Technology and Pebble Stone Artifacts: Experimentation in Stone Tool Manufacture A thesis submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department ofAnthropology and Archaeology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan By Bruce David Low Fall 1997 ( Copyright Bruce David Low, 1997. All rights reserved.) PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereoffor financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head ofthe Department ofAnthropology and Archaeology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (S7N 2AS) i ABSTRACT There is a general lack of research concerning the technological aspect of pebble stone artifacts throughout the Northern Plains. As a result, little is known about the manufacture of these materials except that it is generally accepted that bipolar technology was the predominant manufacturing technique used because of the small size of the pebbles. However, research regarding bipolar technology has also been limited. Furthermore, many researchers have indicated that this technique is crude, poorly controlled, and that it only supplies a marginal product. The research outlined within this thesis examines the manufacture and archaeological significance ofpebble stone materials. The ultimate aim of this is to provide some clarification regarding the use of the bipolar method in relation to pebble stone materials. Therefore, the mode ofmanufacture of pebble stone artifacts will be, in part, accomplished by an examination of experimentally replicated split pebbles using the bipolar technique. As a final point, considering the obvious wide geographic distribution and frequency of use of bipolar technology and pebble stone materials it is unlikely that this technique was thought of so unfavorably by pre-contact groups or that pebble materials were considered marginal or used only when superior quality raw material was not aVailable. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my advisor Dr. Urve Linnamae for her project direction and the invaluable comments and suggestions regarding my thesis drafts. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Ernest Walker and Dr. Margaret Kennedy for their advice, suggestions and support. I also extend my thanks to my External Examiner Dr. Alec Aiken and to Dr. David Meyer for chairing my defence. I also extend my gratitude to Dr. Walker for allowing me access to the Gowen site materials and to Dr. Bev Nicholson for providing me with the Pembina Valley artifacts. A special thanks is extended to a number of individuals for the time they have taken to correspond or provide me with relevant literature regarding various aspects of my research. These are (alphabetically): Bill Fox, Eldon Johnson, Marty Magne, George O'dell, David Pokotylo, Matthew Root and Michael Shott. In particular I would like to thank Eldon Johnson for the numerous times he spent discussing bipolar technology and pebble splitting with me and to Marty Magne for providing me with numerous bipolar related references. Thank you is also given to the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation (Project No.: 95-21R, File No.: A1697) and the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society for providing me with funds for supplies and the collection of pebble materials to be used for the various experimental replicative aspects of this project. I also extend my thanks to Muriel Carlson for the time she has taken to collect and provide me with additional pebble stone materials, iii which was greatly appreciated, and especially for bringing me in contact with the Marvel Houston Collection. I would also like to extend my thanks to Terry Gibson and Jim Finnigan of Western Heritage Services Incorporated for the services and support they provided including the printing of draft copies and for providing me with access to scanning equipment. A special thanks is extended to Shelley McConnell for the time she spent scanning the majority of the images displayed throughout this thesis into Photoshop. Finally, but not least, I would like to thank my family for their support and understanding of my academic pursuits. In particular my wife Vera Brandzin-Low for her constant, encouragement and valued advice throughout the course of my research. Without her commiseration things would have been much more difficult. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE i ABSTRACT ti ACKNOWLEIX;~ ill TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi 1.INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 1 2.. RESEARCH PARAMFfERS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 7 2.1 Research Goals and Operationalization 7 2.1.1. Problem 1 7 2.1.2. Problem 2 8 2.1.3. Problem 3 9 2.1.4. Problem 4 9 2.2 Theoretical Framework 10 3. THE TECHNIQUE AND CONTROVERSY OF BIPOLAR TECHNOLOGY 12 3.1 Technique 12 3.2 Controversy 16 4. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES OF DATA COLLECTION 28 4.1 Application 28 4.2 Tool Selection 37 4.3 Pebble Selection 39 5. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ROCK FRACTURE 45 5.1 Preliminary statement 45 v 5.2 Fracture Mechanics 46 6. ANALYSIS: EXPERIMENTAL REPLICATION 58 6.1 Analysis of replicative experimental data 58 6.1.1 Analysis of identifiable multivariate attributes produced during experimental bipolar reduction 59 6.1.1.1 Proximal impact crushing (PIC) 60 6.1.1.2 Distal impact crushing (DIC) 60 6.1.1.3 Percussion lines extending distally (PLED) 61 6.1.1.4 Proximal bulbs of percussion (PBP) 61 6.1.1.5 Distal bulbs ofpercussion (DBP) 63 6.1.1.6 An "other" category 64 6.1.2 Analysis of experimental bipolar reduction 64 6.1.2.1 Class 1 64 6.1.2.2 Class 2 78 6.1.2.3 Class 3 101 6.1.2.4 Class 4 117 6.1.2.5 Class 5 121 6.1.2.6 Class 6 123 6.1.2.7 Class 7 123 6.1.2.8 Class 8 135 6.1.2.9 Class 9 136 6.1.2.10 Class 10 154 6.1 Summary 156 7: CURRENT TYPOLOGICAL BIPOLAR ARTIFACT CLASSIFICATIONS 162 7.1 Archaeological record of the bipolar technique - An vi abridged synopsis 162 7.2 Classes of bipolar artifacts 164 7.2.1 Binford and Quimby (1963) bipolar core (outils ecailles) classification. 164 7.2.1.1 Class 1: Ridge area core. 165 7.2.1.2 Class 2: Point-area core. 165 7.2.1.3 Class 3: Ridge-point core. 165 7.2.1.4 Class 4: Right-angled ridge core. 165 7.2.1.5 Class 5: Opposing ridge core. 168 7.2.1.6 Class 6: Opposing pointcore. 168 7.2.2 Leaf's (1979a) bipolar core (outils ecailles) classification. 168 7.2.3 Honea's (1965) bipolar core (outils ecailles) classification. 172 7.2.3.1 Single-ended. 172 7.2.3.2 Double-ended. 172 7.2.3.3 Multi-platformed. 172 7.2.3.3.1 Plain platform. 174 7.2.3.3.2 Unfaceted platform. 174 7.2.3.3.3 Faceted platform. 174 7.2.3.3.4 Prepared platform. 174 7.2.4 Herbort's (1988) bipolar core (outils ecailles) classification. 174 7.2.4.1 Tranchette. 174 7.2.4.2 Truncation. 176 7.2.4.3 Spall. 176 7.2.4.4 Double split. 176 vii 7.2.4.5 Longitudinal split. 176 7.2.4.6 lateral split. 176 7.2.5 Root's (1994) bipolar core (outils ecailles) classification. 177 7.2.5.1 Bipolar cores, not rotated. 177 7.2.5.2 Bipolar cores, rotated. 177 7.2.5.3 Bipolar and freehand cores, predominantly bipolar. 177 7.2.5.4 Bipolar and freehand cores, predominantlyfreehand. 178 7.2.6 Binford and QUimby's (1963) bipolar flake classification. 178 7.2.6.1 Class 1. 178 7.2.6.1.1 Variety A. 178 7.2.6.1.1 Variety B. 178 7.2.6.2 Class 2. 179 7.2.6.2.1 Variety C. 179 7.2.6.2.2 Variety D. 179 7.2.6.2.3 Variety E. 179 7.2.7 Kobayashi's (1975) bipolar flake classification. 181 7.2.7.1 GroupA. 181 7.2.7.1 Group B. 181 7.2.7.1 Group C. 183 7.2.7.1 GroupD. 183 7.2.8 pieces esquillees 183 7.2.9 spurred end scrapers 189 7.2.10 domed scrapers (domed scraper planes) 189 viii 7.2.11 fabricators 191 8. COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTALLY REPLICATED SPECIMENS WITH PREVIOUS BIPOLAR CLASSIFICATIONS 192 8.1 Analysis of previous bipolar core and flake classifications 192 8.2 Class 1 195 8.2.1. Style 1 197 8.2.2. Style 2 197 8.2.3. Style 3 198 8.2.4. Style 4 198 8.2 Class 2 198 8.2 Class 3 201 8.2 Class 4 203 8.2 Class 5 205 8.2 Class 6 205 8.2 Class 7 208 8.2 Class 8 208 8.2 Class 9 211 8.2 Class 10 213 9.