END SCRAPER MORPHOLOGY AND USE-LIFE: AN APPROACH FOR STUDYING PALEOINDIAN LITHIC TECHNOLOGY AND MOBILITY
Citation: Juliet E. Morrow (1997) END SCRAPER MORPHOLOGY AND USE-LIFE: AN APPROACH FOR STUDYING PALEOINDIAN LITHIC TECHNOLOGY AND MOBILITY. Lithic Technology (RSS)
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): END SCRAPER MORPHOLOGY AND USE-LIFE: AN APPROACH FOR STUDYING PALEOINDIAN LITHIC TECHNOLOGY AND MOBILITY
Download: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23273115
Tagged: Anthropology
(RSS) Lithic (RSS), Mobility (RSS), End scraper (RSS), Biface (RSS), Raw material (RSS)
Summary
In this article, Morrow tries to figure out several topics using Paleoindian lithics from three sites in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois River confluence area. For the starter, she refers Kelly and Todd’s theory which means biface is suitable for migratory life (Kelly and Todd 1988) and approaches this theory through end scraper morphology, retouch pattern, depletion and relationship with distance of raw material.
Bifacial cores, in this article end scraper, served as another source for flake blank and this character is very effective for hunter-gatherers with high mobility. They should carry all resources relating their surviving when they as their accessibility to raw materials source would be low. Therefore they use existing lithics as a resource of other kind of stone tool. Besides they usually retouch and reuse lithics.
The retouch and reuse pattern can be assured by several values of shape including Maximum Length, Maximum Width, Maximum Thickness, Working Edge Convexity, Outline Morphology, Striking Platform Morphology, and additionally Raw Material and Heating State. With 229 end scrapers from three different sites, Morrow categorized by kind of sites such as purpose, and period, shape such as Clovis, step of use such as finished or not. In the experiment, there is not certain equation or absolute value. She compares each lithics’ value, makes a lithics with various hammers, creates predictable model of changing phrase of resharpening of end scraper and suggests model of end scrapper use-life and depletion.
In the setting up the model, she finds out certain tendencies of changing end scrapper. For example, if the number of reshapening increased, maximum length, maximum width and the working edge convexity should decreased which means triangular and tapered end scraper should become shorter, narrower and less convex. But there is no relationship with thickness which is not affected by any resharpening. About co-relatioship with distance from raw material, there is a negative relationship with maximum length, width and working edge convexity and also no relationship with thickness.
In terms of morphology, though Morrow finds out several meaningful results which commonly predicted by archaeologists from few samples such as relationship between distance from raw material, usage of end scraper as a flake blank and striking platform. But she insists that these relationships are problematic. Because the number of sample is too small and there is no relationship with thickness. According to her, Paleoindians usually used thinner end scrapper.
In conclusion, Morrow carefully suggests possibility of Kelly and Todd’s claim, “bifaces as transported core” by new perspective about thickness which its shape homeostasis ensure possibility of reuse and production of flake tools/flake blank to lithics.
This article have purpose to figure out technological source of flake blank and lithics, in other words, end scraper and its pattern between making and maintenance with raw material on the basis of Paleoindians’ character of high mobility. And the author succeeded to discover lithic-using pattern of hunter-gatherer using some values of shape and morphological factors. This kind of appoach can be applied in other lithics such as points which needed lots of effort and time to make to focus on retouching and reusing pattern. Also it can be used in certain region where have few fine particled-raw material such as chert or obsidian to figure out lithic using strategy with lacking resource.
