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On the Utility and Economization of Unretouched Flakes: The Effects of Exterior Platform Angle and Platform Depth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sam C. Lin ,
Zeljko Rezek ,
David Braun  and
Harold L. Dibble
Sam C. Lin
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398 (samlin@sas.upenn.edu)
Zeljko Rezek
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398 (samlin@sas.upenn.edu)
David Braun
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Harold L. Dibble
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398 (samlin@sas.upenn.edu)
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Abstract

In recent years, lithic studies have emphasized the role of technology in the overall adaptation of past societies to their environments, including the economization of lithic resources. This paper explores how particular characteristics of individual, unretouched flakes can be altered in ways that increase their economy, as reflected in the ratio of edge length to mass. Results of controlled laboratory experiments are presented that identify exterior platform angle and platform depth as being primary independent variables affecting this ratio. These relationships are then tested against a number of archaeological assemblages.

Resumen

Resumen

En los últimos años, estudios Uticos han enfatizado el papel de la tecnologίa en la adaptación total de sociedades del pasado a sus ambientes, incluyendo la economización del recurso lίtico. Este articulo explora la forma en que las caracterίsticas particulares de lascas individuas no retocadas pueden ser alteradas enformas que aumentan su economίa, como se refleja en la relación entre la longitud del filo y la masa de la lasca. Se presentan resultados de experimentos controlados de laboratorio que identifican el ángulo exterior de la plataforma y la profundidad de la plataforma como variables independientes principales que afectan esta relación. Estas relaciones se prueban con una serie de conjuntos arqueológicos.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , October 2013 , pp. 724 - 745
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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