I always assumed stone tools were just about sharp edges until I visited a dig in Texas

I was at the Gault Site last spring, helping volunteer on a Clovis excavation. One of the lead archaeologists showed me how a single flake could be refitted back into the core, and suddenly I realized I had been focusing on the wrong thing the whole time. I used to think the end product was what mattered, but that refitting changed my view completely. Has anyone else had a moment where a simple demonstration made you rethink everything you thought you knew about lithics?

3 comments

3 Comments

paule5326d ago

A refit demo at a knap-in changed how I see reduction sequences.

paige_ellis5922d ago

Pretty sure that's just called watching someone good with rocks.

adams.vera25d ago

Wait, didn't you mean a reduction sequence from a specific knapping tradition, @paule53, because refits just show how flakes fit back together, not the actual order they were removed?