Stone Tool Use at Cerros: The Ethnoarchaeological and Use-Wear Evidence

Ethnohistory ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Johan Kamminga ◽  
Suzanne M. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Man ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Robert S. Santley ◽  
Suzanne M. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  

Paleobiology ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Shipman ◽  
Daniel C. Fisher ◽  
Jennie J. Rose

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination of bone surfaces from the Pleasant Lake mastodon, excavated in southern Michigan, documents features indicative of butchery. These features are identified by comparison with modern bones modified by human and natural processes. We report new studies of (1) marks made by bone tools during removal of meat from and disarticulation of carcasses and (2) use wear developed on bone tools. We also apply previously developed criteria for recognizing stone tool cutmarks and stages in the burning of bone. The Pleasant Lake site, dated to between 10,395 ± 100 and 12,845 ± 165 b.p., provides compelling evidence of mastodon butchery and bone tool use. Another site, near New Hudson, Michigan, provides replication of much of this evidence. Together these sites offer new examples of patterns of bone modification and extend the geographic and temporal representation of the much discussed, but still controversial, late Pleistocene bone technology.


1987 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Cotterell ◽  
Johan Kamminga

An understanding of the mechanics involved in flake formation provides an opportunity for deriving more behavioral information from flake and flake scar morphology. The mechanics of flake formation are directly relevant to the identification of prehistoric flaking techniques and stone tool use. In this paper we provide a model of flake formation that accounts for much of the variation in flake morphology. Flakes can form in a number of ways and despite popular belief they are not all of the conchoidal variety. The bending flake is common in use wear though it is often misidentified as a conchoidal flake. A third major type of flake, the compression flake, is a common product of bipolar impact. To account for the wide variation in flake morphology we follow a tripartite scheme of flake formation comprising initiation, propagation, and termination phases, within which different mechanisms can operate.


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