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Human behavior or taphonomy? On the breakage of Eastern North American Paleoindian endscrapers

Human behavior or taphonomy? On the breakage of Eastern North American Paleoindian endscrapers Abstract Endscrapers, the most abundant tool class at Eastern North American Paleoindian sites, are flaked stone specimens predominately used for scraping hides. They are found broken in high frequencies at these sites, a pattern that has been attributed to use. However, previous experimental and ethnographic research on endscrapers suggests that they are difficult to break. We present a series of replication experiments assessing the amount of force required for endscraper breakage, as well as the amount of force generated during human use. We also analyze which morphometric variable best predicts the breakage force. Our results demonstrate that the force humans can generate is far below the breakage force, which is best predicted by endscraper thickness. Finally, we examine an actual Paleoindian endscraper assemblage, concluding that human use was not the cause for breakage. Taphonomic factors such as plowing, or trampling, are a much better potential explanation for the high breakage frequencies present at Paleoindian sites. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Springer Journals

Human behavior or taphonomy? On the breakage of Eastern North American Paleoindian endscrapers

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References (109)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
2020 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
ISSN
1866-9557
eISSN
1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-020-01143-w
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract Endscrapers, the most abundant tool class at Eastern North American Paleoindian sites, are flaked stone specimens predominately used for scraping hides. They are found broken in high frequencies at these sites, a pattern that has been attributed to use. However, previous experimental and ethnographic research on endscrapers suggests that they are difficult to break. We present a series of replication experiments assessing the amount of force required for endscraper breakage, as well as the amount of force generated during human use. We also analyze which morphometric variable best predicts the breakage force. Our results demonstrate that the force humans can generate is far below the breakage force, which is best predicted by endscraper thickness. Finally, we examine an actual Paleoindian endscraper assemblage, concluding that human use was not the cause for breakage. Taphonomic factors such as plowing, or trampling, are a much better potential explanation for the high breakage frequencies present at Paleoindian sites.

Journal

Archaeological and Anthropological SciencesSpringer Journals

Published: Aug 1, 2020

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