Chapter 1 Debris, Debitage Or Tools: Unmodified Flakes
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LITHICS IN THE WEST CHAPTER 1 and wood used in this investigation were from sources found in western North America. DEBRIS, DEBITAGE OR TOOLS: This study describes a set of controlled experiments UNMODIFIED FLAKES AND CUTTING aimed at understanding the circumstances and variables EFFICIENCY related to functional efficiency of flake stone tools. I suggest wood whittling in the form of shaping, sharpening and notching sticks was a routine task for making tools such as arrow shafts, lances, snares, BY WILLIAM ANDREFSKY, JR. diggings sticks, pegs, poles and many other practical items used by foragers on a daily basis. How were such tools made and what do we know about the efficiency of ABSTRACT the stone tools used to make wooden items that must In most North American archaeological assemblages unmodified flakes are regarded as debitage or debris have been ubiquitous at aboriginal living areas? from stone tool production efforts. However, there is a The research presented here takes a new look at great deal of ethnographic information that suggests flake tools and systematically explores several variables unmodified flakes are not only effective as cutting and of flake tool morphology and relates those variables to scraping tools, but that they are preferred as tools by flake tool cutting efficiency. All cutting and whittling aboriginal tool makers and users. In many circumstances experiments were conducted on wet wood in the shape contemporary tool users prefer unmodified flakes over of stems or pegs of uniform size. In this sense the results retouched flakes and more formalized stone tools. This study examines the results of cutting efficiency tests of this experiment are relatively narrow and related to a conducted on unmodified and modified flake tools. single material and a single action‐whittling. However, I Results from wood working experiments show that feel that holding this variable constant has provided unmodified flake tools are more efficient cutting tools important clues in understanding not only the than modified flake tools, and that different kinds of lithic parameters of cutting efficiency but it has also provided raw material may also be more effective and efficient for information about changes in efficiency over the use‐life cutting than other kinds of raw materials. One of flake tools. The results of this study are interpreted implication of this study is that archaeologists may be overlooking an important tool category if they emphasize within the context of technological organization of stone tool use activities based solely upon analysis of modified tool production and use. Ultimately, results from these stone objects and not unmodified flakes. These results experiments can be applied to sites from throughout are particularly relevant for archaeological assemblages western North America. located away from primary and secondary sources of chippable stone used for tool making. BACKGROUND ON FLAKE TOOL USE In the summer of 1975 I participated in an INTRODUCTION experimental archaeology project at Virginia This investigation of stone artifacts is focuses upon Commonwealth University directed by Dr. Errett data generated from controlled experimental studies. Callahan. That project involved a group of student No excavated artifacts or site assemblages are applied to archaeologists making and using primitive technology the results of these investigations. However, all of the and foraging in the eastern woodlands along the banks of methods, techniques, and results were explicitly the Pamunky River for six weeks. As the trapper of the formulated and gathered with lithic analysis and group I prepared snares by stripping hickory bark for interpretations from the western region of North cordage and cutting, sharpening and notching snare pegs America in mind. In fact, all of the lithic raw materials from the same green hickory saplings‐all with flaked - 4- LITHICS IN THE WEST stone tools. When I brought the first trapped groundhog fresh and sharp” (1984:418). Sharp flake blanks were (Marmota marnax) back to our camp, Dr. Callahan one of the tool types Alyawara tool makers transported proceeded to remove a series of flakes from a large from the quarry back to their camps. “The men stressed bifacial core. After removing a dozen or so, he selected the fact that they should be very careful in preparing one flake about an inch and a half long and proceeded to flakes for transport and in transporting blanks from the skin, clean, and disarticulate the marmot. After quarry” (Binford and O’Connell 1984:421). Again, the completing the task he held up the flake he used and notion of selecting and keeping sharp unmodified or un‐ proclaimed that, “…this was the most important tool for nicked edges is important for flake tool blanks. any hunter and gatherer.” At the time I didn’t think Brian Hayden’s (1977) experiences with stone tool much of the event nor about what he had said. After all, makers and users in the Western Desert of Australia adds it was clear to me that the biface he used to make to the additional support to the notion that unmodified flakes flakes was a more valuable tool and it certainly had more were purposely selected for wood working activities over time invested in its manufacture. modified flake tools. He states, “…the biggest surprise, If we look more closely at the ethnographic record of and ‘disappointment’, was the unbelievable lack, or tool makers and users there are similar trends in tool rarity, or fabrication of what the archaeologist calls production and use to that described above. Tom O. ‘tools’. At first, I saw Aboriginals using only unretouched Miller (1979) describes his experiences with the Xeta’ primary flakes for shaving and scraping wood, and Indians in the jungle mountains of southern Brazil as they unmodified blocks of stone for chopping wood. …Thus, make stone tools for working wood. He notes, “Nheengo only in special cases were flakes retouched. Instead of piled up the flakes and fragments that he considered retouching primary flakes, the more common reaction of useful, pushing aside the rejects and waste…Rather than all informants was to look over other primary flakes for choose flakes on the basis of overall form, the informants the work at hand, or to remove several more flakes from tried out the stones empirically, one after another, to the core until a suitable one was knocked off” (ibid.179). determine the tools best suited for any particular task” Richard Gould and colleagues (Gould et al. 1971) (ibid.:402). There are several interesting and important describe casual stone tool use for woodworking among observations made by Miller here. First, flake blanks Aborigines of the Western Desert of Australia. They were produced in quantity and then the tool maker note, “…a man will pick up an untrimmed flake of chert selected from the group of flake blanks with an eye for and, gripping it between thumb and forefinger, use it as a particular tasks that were to be completed. This is kind of spokeshave for scraping wood from the shaft or similar to what Errett Callahan did when I brought the point of a spear. This happens when, for one reason or marmot into camp for dinner. Secondly, the tool maker another, he does not have a hafted adze with him. was looking for suitable cutting edges to work wood on Generally, the flake is discarded when the task is finished. flake blanks. This suggests that sharp cutting edges were In all cases, the rocks used as tools were completely not produced from blank retouching, but instead untrimmed” (ibid.:163). selected from unretouched flake blanks. In each of these cases the stone tools selected for Other descriptions of stone tool makers and users working wood are unmodified flakes. Recently, Chris conform to this observation. Binford and O’Connell’s Clarkson et al. (in press) conducted a series of (1984) description of stone tool production by Jacob, an experiments dealing with wood scraping. Surprisingly, Alyawara tool maker, at a stone quarry provides insight his study shows that unmodified flakes were twice as into the kinds of tools used for cutting tasks. “Jacob efficient as modified flakes for scraping wood. explained that the tools most commonly employed at There have been many archaeological studies that camp were small flakes used for cutting up things. He suggest unmodified flakes as choice tools given specific noted that these need not be any particular shape, only circumstances. For instance, Parry and Kelly (1987) - 5- LITHICS IN THE WEST demonstrate that “expediently made” flake tools are other tools and tool components (Aikens 1970; Heizer generally preferred over formalized stone tools in and Napton 1970; Jennings 1957, 1980; Strong 1969). All contexts where people are more sedentary. Other of these wooden implements had to be cut, shaped, archaeological investigations have added to this scenario sharpened and or notched‐presumably by stone tools. and indicate that availability of lithic raw material is an Ethnographic accounts (noted above) indicate that important factor in the selection of expedient technology unmodified flake tools were often used for wood over more formal technology (Andrefsky 1994; Bamforth working tasks. Because I know very little about the 1986; Bamforth and Becker 2000; Holdaway et al. 1996). efficiency of working wood with flake stone tools I Other researchers have shown that transport of thought one effective strategy to learn something from a unmodified flake blanks are an optimal solution for set of experiments would be to standardize the task and available cutting edge versus carrying weight (Kuhn 1994; vary the flake stone tool characteristics, then explore Surovell 2009). In other words, not only are unmodified those characteristics with regard to task efficiency. flakes preferred as cutting tools as noted above, these In this experiment wooden sticks cut from a stand of kinds of artifacts are shown to be a more efficient choice Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) were sharpened with of tool to carry when considering overall weight of many different flake stone tools.