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Flaked stone reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator (made of wood, bone or antler), or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from the lithic core. As flakes are detached in sequence, the original mass of stone is reduced; hence the term for this process.
In lithic reduction, termination type is a characteristic indicating the manner in which the distal end of a lithic flake detaches from a core (Andrefsky 1998:18). Common types include: Step/snap termination – these occur when a flake snaps or breaks during removal, resulting in an abrupt right-angle break.
Lithic reduction is the removal of a lithic flake from a larger stone in order to reach the desired tool shape and size. The beginning stone is called the flake lithic core. There are three steps to lithic reduction: Hard hammer percussion is the first step. It involves knocking off the larger flakes to achieve the desired lithic core for the ...
Fundamental elements for the technic description of a lithic flake. In archaeology, a lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure," [1]: 255 and may also be referred to as simply a flake, or collectively as debitage.
Retouch is often taken as one of the most obvious features distinguishing a tool from a waste by-product of lithic manufacture . The extent of reduction, also known as the retouch intensity, is denoted by a measure of the reduction index. [3] There are many quantitative and qualitative methods used to measure this.
In archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts using basic scientific techniques. At its most basic level, lithic analyses involve an analysis of the artifact's morphology, the measurement of various physical attributes, and examining other visible features (such as noting the presence or absence of cortex, for example).
The flakes are shaped using the lithic reduction techniques, allowing for creation of various tools such as arrowheads and handaxes. Two stone characteristics will determine whether one is able to chip away large enough flakes to make tools out of: whether the stone is of a cryptocrystalline structure, and how conchoidally the stone fractures ...
Debitage analysis, a sub-field of lithic analysis, considers the entire lithic waste assemblage. The analysis is undertaken by investigating differing patterns of debris morphology, size, and shape, among other things. This allows researchers to make more accurate assumptions regarding the purpose of the lithic reduction.