Jul 28, 2014 - tal tenets of lithic research has been that this ... the dynamic nature of lithic technology back ... tory stage it was at when ultimately discarded,.
C H A P T E R 10
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points Harry J. Lerner
Throughout the history of lithic analysis researchers have been trying to better understand the cultural underpinnings of past technologies. Opinions as to how much stone tools can tell us have, over time, varied considerably in light of shifting theoretical paradigms. Regardless of prevailing opinion, one of the most fundamental tenets of lithic research has been that this technology is always reductive in nature. This reduction took many forms and yielded various results throughout the course of a tool’s or technology’s life history. Although this clearly lends a very dynamic quality to the nature of stone tools, lithic analysis has traditionally fostered more static interpretations of these artifacts. Over the last few decades different methods have been developed (e.g., chaînes opératoires in Europe and reduction analysis in North America) to bring the dynamic nature of lithic technology back to the analytical forefront. A reduction analysis approach is used here to assess the technological dynamics of Iroquoian projectile technology from Southwestern Ontario. Specifically, this study challenges the customary categorization of these tools solely on the basis of their physical attributes as recovered from the archaeological record. This sort of typological “pigeonholing” effectively ignores the dynamic developmental paths these tools followed during the course of manufacture, use, and periodic maintenance/ recycling prior to final discard.
By incorporating entire tool life histories into the analyses of lithic assemblages we can begin to consider the full nature of every tool in terms of how they were reduced and how they articulate both technologically and behaviorally as an assemblage representative of a particular socioeconomic tradition. It may also allow for the development of more informative and fluid tool typologies. In addition to recognizing different tool forms, a typology that acknowledges the inherent variability characteristic of most tool life histories could help identify any technological relationships between different tool forms. These relationships can then provide a firmer basis for reconstructing the behaviors that produced these artifacts. Traditionally reduction analyses have focused on tool modification at the artifact rather than assemblage level (e.g., Blades 2008; Clarkson 2002; Eren and Prendergast 2008; Eren et al. 2005; Hiscock and Clarkson 2005; Kuhn 1990). It is true that no two tools share exactly the same reduction sequence, but given that the condition of each tool upon recovery represents the life history stage it was at when ultimately discarded, one could examine entire assemblages as collections of different life history stages and begin to identify commonalities among the various reduction sequences they represent. Although multiple life histories are represented by any given assemblage, the fact that they derive from 143
Shott_text_1.indd 143
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner maintenance of high–production investment technologies would have resulted in functionally significant morphological change. The Keffer Site The Keffer site is a fifteenth-century Iroquoian satellite/village situated on a branch of the Don River, north of the city of Toronto, Ontario (Finlayson 1988; Finlayson et al. 1985; Finlayson et al. 1986; Figure 10.1). While Keffer has often been associated with the name Huron, the term is more properly applied to seventeenth-century Iroquoian-speaking horticulturalists who inhabited a portion of the area between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay (Ramsden 1990:361). The Keffer site is distinguished from this group not only by its earlier date but also by its geographic location. The occupants of the Keffer site can more accurately be seen as part of a smaller proto-Huron Iroquoian group (cf. Stewart 1999), sometimes referred to as the Southern or Southern Division Huron (e.g., Finlayson et al. 1985:2), that occupied a small area along the north shore of Lake Ontario near its westernmost end. Thus, from this point on in the present text, Keffer will be referred to as a Southern Huron settlement. The mitigation of the Keffer site was undertaken in 1985 and 1988 by the then Museum of Indian Archaeology (now the Museum of Ontario Archaeology), an affiliate of the University of Western Ontario, in response to a proposal for a new industrial/residential development. The initial excavations dealt with the northern twothirds of the site, located in a plowed field. With the exception of midden deposits, excavation involved the mechanical removal of the disturbed plow zone to expose the original living floors. The second phase of the project, carried out in 1988, concentrated on the remaining third of the site. This investigation required a different approach since the southern third of the site extended from the plowed field onto an adjacent undisturbed woodlot. Given the undisturbed nature of this part of the site, manual excavation, in 1-by-1-m squares, was carried out in order to document as fully as possible the archaeological context of material culture and patterns of
FIGURE 10.1. Location of the Keffer site (with many thanks to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority [http://www.trca.on.ca] for the use of this map).
the same technological tradition suggests that these histories likely share certain key elements, constituting variations on a common sociotechnological theme. Since these themes were likely determined by their larger cultural context, their reconstruction represents a critical step in furthering our understanding of lithic technologies and the past behavioral dynamics they represent. Although a fuller understanding of Iroquoian lithic reduction sequences requires consideration of all stages of tool life histories (cf. Flenniken 1984), the present study focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on the postproduction or use-related end of the technological spectrum. Several different attributes are assessed in an attempt to generate a clearer picture of how Iroquoian projectile technology was reduced during the course of use. While identifying reductionbased relationships between different tool forms certainly does not preclude the likelihood that specific tool morphologies were purposely sought after, one must also consider that the
144
Shott_text_1.indd 144
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points
FIGURE 10.2. Settlement patterns at the Keffer village site.
settlement. In all, 20 longhouses and 25 midden features were investigated over the two phases of the project (Figure 10.2).
or another to account for observed variability in artifact form and inferred function. These studies range in scope from those that document and describe such variability to those that take the additional step of identifying and interpreting the technologies/techniques involved in the reduction process. Albert C. Goodyear (1974:xiii), in an example of the former, recognized that there was pronounced morphological variation among Dalton bifaces from the Brand site, Arkansas. He (1974: 19–32) was able to document a systematic pattern
Methodology A number of authors (e.g., Ahler 1992; Ahler and Geib 2000; Andrefsky 2006; Bamforth 1986; Clarkson 2002; Eren and Prendergast 2008; Eren and Sampson 2009; Eren et al. 2005; Frison 1968; Hayden 1976; Hiscock and Clarkson 2005; Morrow 1997; Shott 1989; Shott and Ballenger 2007) have carried out reduction analyses of one kind
145
Shott_text_1.indd 145
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner of reduction consisting of various use-life stages, but the various point forms that represent these stages had all been subsumed under the Dalton type. Goodyear explained that
he (1985:605) was able to demonstrate quantitatively that several traditionally recognized Tennessee Valley point types more likely represent varying degrees of use-related reduction of a single point type. In 2007, Michael J. Shott and A. M. Ballenger revisited the issue of Dalton biface curation addressed by Goodyear in 1974. They (2007:158) employed a base width/blade width ratio, a measure of what they described as expended utility, to further refine Goodyear’s original model for Dalton biface reduction. Taking things a few steps further they tested their initial results by applying the ratio to other assemblages of Dalton bifaces, for example, from the Hawkins and Sloan sites (Morse 1971, 1997). They then used their findings to assess how Dalton bifaces were curated over time and space. They stipulated, however, that their goal was not to unravel the inherent intricacies of Dalton biface curation across time and space but to illustrate the feasibility and relevance of approaching lithic assemblages from a reduction or curation perspective. In doing so Shott and Ballenger demonstrated that the very nature of stone tools must directly inform how we approach their analysis and interpretation. Variation in tool form reflects usehistory, including intensity of use and rejuvenation/repair, not just manner of use (Shott and Ballenger 2007:173). Following the example of the above studies, the present analysis considers Southern Huron projectile points from a reduction analysis perspective. The points from the Keffer site were therefore assessed for the strength of the morphometric relationships among four pairs of attributes. These are maximum blade thickness/ mean blade edge angle (see Figure 10.3), maximum blade width/mean blade edge angle (see Figure 10.4 for this and the remaining two attribute pairs), maximum length/tip angle in plan view, and midpoint width/base width. The mean blade edge angle that is compared here with both blade width and blade thickness is calculated from measurements taken at the midpoint of the blade along each lateral edge. A mean of edge angle measurements is used in an effort to accommodate any variability in the
the type Dalton, as defined in this study, is based primarily upon the condition of the base or stem. . . . [T]he body or blade of the point[, however,] is subject to variation, but this occurs on a stable stem or haft element [1974:19]. Through his analysis, Goodyear identified a progressive decrease in maximum blade or body width and a concomitant decrease in overall point length. Ultimately, he recognized five separate stages in the systematic reduction of Dalton bifaces from initial preform to functional exhaustion. While Goodyear’s sequence is composed of arbitrarily chosen stages in a common reduction trajectory, he was able to demonstrate a direct and progressive reduction-based relationship between morphologically variable functional tool elements and changes in associated maximum dimensions. A few years later C. Marshall Hoffman (1985), in an example of a more technological reduction analysis, used statistics to assess the morphological variability of projectile points from the Late Archaic–Early Woodland Brinkley site in northeastern Mississippi. He began developing what he referred to as the Point Blade Size/Blade Edge Angle Hypothesis (1985:581–583) through an examination of the normative empiricist model of tool use-life. This model dictates that “blade size decreases but point blade morphology remains unchanged” (Hoffman 1985:579, Figure 18.4), but Hoffman noted that there is an inherent contradiction between this view and that of “contemporary theory on lithic technology. . . [, which] suggests a hypothesis stipulating variation in both the shape and size of a point, with blade size exhibiting reduction” (1985:580). Hoffman’s hypothesis therefore predicted that “resharpening [will cause] point width to decrease more rapidly than thickness and results in increased blade edge angles with successive resharpenings” (1985:582, Figure 18.6). In testing this hypothesis 146
Shott_text_1.indd 146
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points
FIGURE 10.3. Illustration of lateral edge angle (LEA) and maximum thickness
(MT) using (a) a photo of a projectile point from Keffer in cross section and (b) a schematic rendering.
FIGURE 10.4. Illustration of tip angle (TA), maximum length (ML), midpoint
width (MPW), and base width (BW) using (a) a photo of a point from Keffer and (b) a schematic rendering.
quality of manufacture and/or maintenance of these implements. Their lateral margins, however, are far from the only aspects of these points that exhibit morphological variability. Given that the tip is the primary functional element of a point, any form of reduction, whether it is through routine resharpening or through repair of prominent damage, will result in concomitant changes in both tip angle and overall point length. Therefore, it is reasonable to predict a change in the angle of the tip, likely an increase, that will be directly associated with a decrease in length the more a given point is used and repaired. At the same time, comparisons of di-
mensional and angle data are not the only means of measuring morphological change associated with reduction. Common in the older literature on Iroquoian projectile technologies is the use of width/length and thickness/length ratios to describe outline geometry and assess functional variation within these assemblages (e.g., Fox 1971, 1979; Poulton 1985; Ramsden 1990). However, the differing rates of physical change between the base and blade of a point (cf. Goodyear 1974) offer an opportunity to evaluate attributes common to both of these elements. Ratios of the same dimension on different elements can reflect physical change 147
Shott_text_1.indd 147
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner as a result of use and maintenance at a much finer scale than ratios of different dimensions. Since ratios such as width/length only reflect the gross outline geometry of a given artifact upon recovery from the archaeological record, they are of limited potential in assessing use-related morphological variability across an entire assemblage. To evaluate such variability at a higher degree of analytical resolution, a ratio between the width at the midpoint of a projectile point blade and its maximum width, or basal width for unnotched triangular points, was recorded for all the specimens from the Keffer site (see Figure 10.4). It is hypothesized that the lower the value of this ratio, that is, the greater the difference between these two measurements, the more likely it is that the tool has seen a greater degree of reduction. Conversely, the higher the value, that is, the smaller the difference between the two individual measurements, the less a point has been reduced. This relation between midpoint and maximum widths ultimately derives from the reductive nature of lithic technology itself. The need to maintain a certain minimum basal width due to hafting requirements (cf. Goodyear 1974) serves to hold this variable essentially constant and make the ratio between midpoint and maximum widths a potentially more sensitive gauge of morphological change. The Keffer point assemblage was subdivided into five basic forms according to overall outline morphology. These include preforms and unnotched triangular, incipiently notched, and fully notched point forms. The unnotched triangular and notched forms correspond to the traditionally recognized Nanticoke Triangular and Nanticoke Side/Corner-notched point types. These distinctions are maintained in the present study as a conceptual link to traditional research and at the same time to evaluate their typological legitimacy in light of any reduction-related morphometric relationships that may obtain between them. The sample was further augmented by the inclusion of data generated from a number of drills, since it was common practice among the Southern Huron, and the Iroquois in general, to recycle exhausted or damaged bifaces and points into drills (e.g., Poulton 1985:16).
The selection of variables in the present study is geared specifically toward identifying evidence of finer-scale morphological change associated with use-related reduction. While actual measurements are, by necessity, taken on individual artifacts, the resulting data when viewed at the assemblage level can be seen to represent various components of a shared reduction continuum. Morphometric variability is thus inferred quantitatively from both the individual and the collective physical conditions of these tools at the time of their recovery from the archaeological record. All dimensions were measured in millimeters to one decimal place using a pair of 15-cm linear scale dial calipers. Maximum length, width, and thickness were measured such that the respective dimensional axes were all oriented at right angles to each other. All angle measurements were taken using a Shinwa Rules Company goniometer with a 12.75-cm linear scale. Each angle was measured such that one surface of the tool was as flush as possible with the straight arm of the goniometer, and the edge of the tool was placed directly against the vertex between the protractor and the straight arm of the device. All data were initially entered into spreadsheet files in Microsoft Excel and then exported to the SPSS statistical software package. SPSS was used to assess assemblage-wide relationships between the pairs of variables discussed above. These relationships are illustrated using a series of scatter and box plots. It is worth reiterating that the purpose behind recording these particular measurements, and adopting a reduction analysis approach in general, was not to identify and define new typological constructs but to question the nature and use of currently recognized Southern Huron point types from southwestern Ontario. The Analysis As mentioned, a series of scatter and box plots were used to evaluate what have been hypothesized as being related variables in the context of projectile point reduction. Consideration is given here to both intra- and intertype variability in an effort to more fully evaluate morphologi148
Shott_text_1.indd 148
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points
FIGURE 10.5. Scatter plot of maximum length vs. tip angle for unnotched points.
cal variability among these tools. The former is approached via an independent analysis of the unnotched triangular points, since they are the single largest category of points recovered from the Keffer site. The latter involves the assessment of the entire Keffer projectile assemblage, as well as the drills. In the case of the unnotched triangular points, the scatter plot comparing length with tip angle (Figure 10.5) shows a fairly clear inverse linear relation between these two variables (r2 = .339). As a point is repeatedly used and resharpened, the tip angle in plan view increases, while maximum length decreases. A plot comparing maximum thickness to mean lateral edge angle (MLEA) for these same points (r2 = .166) appears to show that there is a weak but progressive increase in overall thickness as MLEA values increase (Figure 10.6). While it is logical that a thicker point will exhibit larger edge angles, the results illustrated in Figure 10.6 are somewhat misleading in terms of any reduction-related correlation between these two attributes. By definition, refurbishing a tool results in material being removed and in an overall thinning of the artifact; thus, rather
than suggesting that with progressive reduction came greater point thickness, a more likely explanation would be that the points with the greatest maximum thicknesses were originally made from larger flake blanks. As such, comparison of MLEA and maximum thickness is a poor indicator of point reduction. A more telling comparison is that between midpoint width and MLEA (Figure 10.7a). This scatter plot initially reveals a virtually indiscernible trend toward decreasing midpoint width as MLEA values increase (r2 = .007). If, however, the three outliers in the top right-hand corner of this plot, those with the largest midpoint widths and MLEAs, are omitted from statistical consideration, this trend becomes more pronounced (r2 = .196 [Figure 10.7b]). The three outliers represent more than one standard deviation from the mean values for midpoint width and MLEA (10.70 mm with a standard deviation of 1.17 and 45.59 degrees with a standard deviation of 10.02, respectively). The greater standard deviations for the three outliers may suggest either that they were discarded at an earlier stage in their use histories or that these points were simply manufactured on atypically large flake blanks. As will 149
Shott_text_1.indd 149
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner
FIGURE 10.6. Scatter plot of maximum thickness vs. mean lateral edge angle for unnotched points.
midpoint width/basal width ratio. This ensured that the same geometric attributes were being measured and compared on all point types. Also, to facilitate statistical analysis, the four point categories and the drills were coded numerically as follows: 1 = preforms, 2 = drills, 3 = triangular (unnotched), 4 = incipiently notched, and 5 = fully notched. These codes thus appear along the x-axes of the various plots that will now be discussed. The greatest maximum length values among the points are associated with the unnotched triangular points, with progressively smaller maximum lengths being exhibited by the incipiently notched and fully notched points, respectively (Figure 10.8). The preforms, while typically longer than either of the notched varieties, fall within the lower half of the range exhibited by the unnotched triangular points. With the exception of a single outlier at the upper end of the overall range of values, the maximum lengths of the drills generally fall within the midrange of values for the unnotched triangular points. The tip angles in plan view are the most acute for the unnotched triangular points, progressively
be seen shortly, scatter and box plots comparing the same pairs of variables for the full projectile assemblage plus the drills produced patterns similar to those just discussed for the unnotched triangular points. The projectile point assemblage, as described before, was subdivided into the four following groups: triangular (unnotched), incipiently notched, notched, and preform. All four of these groups, along with the drills, were considered collectively in order to identify any intratype morphometric, and therefore technological, relationships that may exist. The total tool sample size, including the drills, is 75 artifacts, although not all specimens were analyzable for all the attributes measured. It should also be mentioned that in keeping with Goodyear’s (1974) analytical model of point blade vs. haft element modification over time, the widths on the incipiently notched and fully notched points were restricted to the blade sections of each tool. The maximum basal width on unnotched triangular points is thus considered here to be equivalent to the maximum basal width of the blade on the notched varieties, in terms of calculating the 150
Shott_text_1.indd 150
7/28/14 9:24 AM
a
b
FIGURE 10.7. Scatter plot of midpoint width vs. mean lateral edge angle for (a) all unnotched points and (b) unnotched points without outliers.
Shott_text_1.indd 151
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner
FIGURE 10.8. Box plot of maximum length for all five point code categories.
less acute for the incipiently notched and fully notched points, and more obtuse for the preforms and drills (Figure 10.9). The larger tip angles for the drills may be attributable to the need for a broader, more durable tip given the use-related stresses specific to drilling. The thickness values (Figure 10.10) are very similar for the unnotched and fully notched points, with the incipiently notched points exhibiting on average greater thicknesses than either of the other two point forms. Preforms and drills exhibit considerably greater thicknesses, with the drills being somewhat thicker on average than the preforms. The MLEA values (Figure 10.11) are lowest on average for the unnotched triangular points and greater on average for both varieties of notched points, with the incipiently notched form exhibiting slightly larger values than the fully notched variety. MLEA values are the greatest for the preforms and drills, with the latter exhibiting the highest values of all. The midpoint widths (Figure 10.12) are also fairly comparable across all five categories but are more variable than the base widths. The unnotched triangular and incipiently notched
points exhibit on average very similar midpoint widths, while the fully notched points tend to be a bit wider at their midpoint. The midpoint widths of the drills are quite comparable with those of the unnotched and incipiently notched points, while the preforms are on average the widest of all the tools at their midpoint. The base width measurements (Figure 10.13) for the unnotched triangular points are quite variable but on average are slightly greater than those for the two notched varieties. Preforms and drills tend to have comparable base widths or slightly narrower bases on average than the unnotched triangular points. Overall, base widths are quite comparable across all five categories of tools, reflecting the relative morphological stability of Southern Huron point bases. Independently, neither midpoint widths nor base widths are particularly effective indicators of reduction, but when they are combined in the form of a ratio, a clearer picture begins to emerge. As far as the three point varieties are concerned, the midpoint width/base width ratio values are lowest for the unnotched points and progressively higher on average for the incipiently and fully 152
Shott_text_1.indd 152
7/28/14 9:24 AM
FIGURE 10.9. Box plot of tip angle for all five point code categories.
FIGURE 10.10. Box plot of maximum thickness for all five point code categories.
Shott_text_1.indd 153
7/28/14 9:24 AM
FIGURE 10.11. Box plot of mean lateral edge angle for all five point code categories.
FIGURE 10.12. Box plot of midpoint width for all five point code categories.
Shott_text_1.indd 154
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points
FIGURE 10.13. Box plot of base width for all five point code categories.
notched varieties, respectively. The two extremes are represented by the preforms, with the highest ratios, and the drills, with the lowest ratio values (Figure 10.14). Figures 10.15 and 10.16 are scatter plots comparing maximum length with tip angle and midpoint width with base width, respectively, for the unnotched and notched point varieties. Figure 10.15 shows a positive inverse correlation between these variables (r2 = .219) that suggests that as maximum length decreases, tip angle in plan view increases. It also shows consistent clustering of values according to point code, indicating that overall length and tip angle in plan view are potentially effective indicators of use-related reduction. Figure 10.16 illustrates a strong linear correlation between midpoint width and base width (r2 = .572). Even with the considerable overlap of values among all three point varieties, some clustering is still detectable, although it is notably less pronounced than what is seen in Figure 10.15. The ratio of width measurements appears able to detect more subtle changes in morphology due to use-related reduction. As these points were reduced during maintenance,
the ratio of width measurements increased, suggesting a gradual decrease in the difference between the two width measurements that is concomitant with decreasing overall length and increasing tip angle in plan view. All of these results provide support for the idea that the three point forms recovered from the Keffer site are all part of a shared reduction continuum. Discussion This section will compare the results from the present study with those of more traditional Southern Huron lithic research. Dana Poulton’s (1985) analysis of the chipped lithic materials from the Draper site (AlGt-2), for example, is comprehensive and accomplished admirably its goal of providing detailed descriptive information about Southern Huron tool kit production and composition. The Keffer and Draper sites are contemporaneous Southern Huron villages, and a comparison of the respective analytical results offers an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of a reduction analysis approach as an effective means of furthering our understanding of Southern Huron chipped lithic technology. 155
Shott_text_1.indd 155
7/28/14 9:24 AM
FIGURE 10.14. Box plot of the midpoint width/base width ratio for all five point code categories.
FIGURE 10.15. Scatter plot of maximum length vs. tip angle (degrees) for the three recognized point forms.
Shott_text_1.indd 156
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points
FIGURE 10.16. Scatter plot of midpoint width vs. base width for the three recognized point forms.
The analysis of the Draper points consisted of recording overall dimensions and calculating ratios (length/width, thickness/width) indicative of trends in plan view/outline morphology (Poulton 1985:Table 9). Additional information on lateral and basal edge morphologies, as well as descriptions of cross-section geometries, was also provided (Poulton 1985:Table 9). Based on all of these data, Poulton concluded that
Weer (1936), Krieger (1944), and Ford (1954), among others, in the context of analyzing ceramic assemblages. Their ideas, in turn, can be traced all the way back to Linnaean concepts of biological classification. Such types, however, do not effectively deal with how a stone tool changed over time as a result of being prepared, used, and maintained prior to being discarded permanently. Archaeology in the 1980s, following the prevailing processual paradigm, was concerned primarily with recording artifact attributes for the purpose of classificatory description, and work being done in Ontario at that time was no exception. The analysis of the Draper lithics thus focused on morphological variability as a reflection of a discrete range of functions. Poulton did, however, recognize that some tools were recycled into different forms following original functional impairment or exhaustion; the most relevant example with respect to the present
the combination of different variables of the attributes discussed above yield considerable variation in the gross morphology of the triangular point sample, and certain clusters of attributes appear to be evidenced which indicate that a number of as yet undefined point types are represented [1985:11]. The concept of type that Poulton and most archaeologists in the 1980s used can be traced back to the ideas first developed by Black and 157
Shott_text_1.indd 157
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner a
b
FIGURE 10.17. Projectile point life history flow chart scenarios: (a) simple three-branch scenario; (b) reticulated branching scenario.
study that he (1985:16) noted was that it was fairly common for points and other tools to have been reworked into drills. The attributes recorded for the Keffer projectile points represent an attempt to account for assemblage variability as a function of reduction or curation. In other words, instead of focusing on reinforcing existing typological norms, analytical attention was directed toward the technological relationships between different point forms in the context of progressive reduction throughout their use-histories. Using the established typological framework for Southern Huron points as a baseline for reference, variation within and between recognized types was assessed for reduction-related correlations between various attributes. The addition of tip and lateral edge angle data to the traditional roster of attributes, as well as replacing width/length and thickness/length ratios with one based on two width measurements, made it possible to begin moving beyond assessments of Southern Huron point gross morphology toward more detailed
evaluations of variability as a function of use and maintenance intensity. Comparing these particular variables revealed some potentially telling trends in how these artifacts were used over time. The collected data indicate that, despite some expected overlap among the five point code categories, preforms, triangular points, and drills are generally larger than the two notched point varieties. One possible interpretation of these results is that there may be a relatively straightforward threebranched pattern of reduction for these tools. The first branch in this scenario consists of preforms only minimally reduced following initial production; the second, of drills made from such preforms; and the third, of unnotched triangular points, some of which were further reduced to form, in sequence of reduction, incipiently notched and fully notched points (Figure 10.17a). Alternatively, the data could also support a somewhat more complex reduction model. In this model, while the first and second branches would be essentially the same, the third branch 158
Shott_text_1.indd 158
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points Conclusions The goal of this study is to promote the regular and systematic recording of variables sensitive to the dynamic nature of chipped-stone implements. The ability to quantify the manner in which these tools changed over the course of their use-lives has the potential to enhance the range of cultural information that can be derived from both local and regional studies of chippedstone tool use. The approach taken in this chapter represents a shift from nonlithic notions of what qualifies as a distinct type, that is, from a concept of type developed for the analysis of ceramic assemblages and derived ultimately from the biological sciences. Rather than assuming that different tool forms are consistently related to distinct modes of use, a reduction approach recognizes that much of the observable variation among lithic assemblages is a product of the intensity with which they were used, rejuvenated, and repaired. We cannot automatically infer that different point morphologies are technologically discrete. Individual point forms were not created in a technological, much less a cultural, vacuum. Not only is it possible, it is ultimately essential that we integrate this fundamental aspect of lithic technology into their analysis and interpretation. This chapter furthers this goal by following a use-history approach to the analysis of Southern Huron projectile points and drills based on the inherent properties of these tools. While the results are preliminary and require further testing both methodologically and archaeologically, they give a strong indication that the traditional notion of distinct Southern Huron point types, such as Nanticoke Triangular and Nanticoke Side/Corner-notched, offers a rather limited assessment of these tools’ technological, as well as cultural, significance. As lithic research continues to broaden its recognition of the dynamic nature of stone tool use, we become increasingly better equipped to address a wider range of questions about the past. Lithic analysis can thus continue to grow beyond descriptive quantification and become a more effective means of generating broader cultural inferences.
would subdivide into three additional branches. The first one connects with the second branch, representing unnotched triangular points that have been reworked into drills, and the second and third side branches, representing the further reduction of unnotched triangular points into incipiently notched and fully notched points, respectively (Figure 10.17b). Triangular and notched points may therefore represent different stages of a shared reduction sequence, rather than discrete functional types. Some preforms may be a part of this sequence, while others may be part of a separate but related technological trajectory either cut short by manufacturing errors or characterized by specimens that were directly modified into drills. Although the different point categories, being made from flake blanks of varying size, exhibit considerable overlap in variable values, certain patterns of reduction have still begun to emerge. The fact that these overlaps exist reflects the inherent complexity of Southern Huron lithic reduction strategies. In any lithic tradition, each flake presents its own challenges in terms of its further reduction into a finished tool, and each resulting tool does the same with regards to its repair and rejuvenation. As a result of modifying and expanding the roster of variables under consideration, important information about how these tools may have developed over time has begun to emerge. The analysis of the Keffer projectile points has endeavored to move beyond simply considering the status of a given tool upon its recovery from the archaeological record. It has taken steps to examine properties of these artifacts that can more fully inform on how these tools were used and how they changed morphologically as a result. The preliminary models of Southern Huron point reduction presented here can only benefit from the continued expansion of the number and kind of variables measured and compared. Along with measurements of other angles, such as the ones formed by the base and the lateral edges, other measures (e.g., the index of invasiveness introduced in Clarkson 2002) should be applied to these tools to test and further refine the results presented here. 159
Shott_text_1.indd 159
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Harry J. Lerner Acknowledgments
Measures of Intensity. In Lithic Technology: Measures of Production, Use, and Curation, edited by William Andrefsky, Jr., pp. 136–149. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Clarkson, Chris 2002 An Index of Invasiveness for the Measurement of Unifacial and Bifacial Retouch: A Theoretical, Experimental and Archaeological Verification. Journal of Archaeological Science 29:65–75. Eren, Metin I., Manual Dominguez-Rodrigo, Steven L. Kuhn, Daniel S. Adler, Ian Le, and Ofer Bar-Yosef 2005 Defining and Measuring Reduction in Unifacial Stone Tools. Journal of Archaeological Science 32:1190–1201. Eren, Metin I., and Mary E. Prendergast 2008 Comparing and Synthesizing Unifacial Stone Tool Reduction Indices. In Lithic Technology: Measures of Production, Use, and Curation, edited by William Andrefsky, Jr., pp. 49–85. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Eren, Metin I., and C. Garth Sampson 2009 Kuhn’s Geometric Index of Unifacial Stone Tool Reduction (GIUR): Does It Measure Missing Flake Mass? Journal of Archaeological Science 36:1243–1247. Finlayson, William D. 1988 The Salvage Excavations at the Keffer Site: A License Report. On file at the London Museum of Archaeology, London, Ontario. Finlayson, William D., D. G. Smith, M. W. Spence, and P. A. Timmins 1985 The 1985 Salvage Excavations at the Keffer Site: A License Report. On file at the London Museum of Archaeology, London, Ontario. Finlayson, William D., D. G. Smith, and Bern Wheeler 1986 What Columbus Missed! London Museum of Archaeology, London, Ontario. Flenniken, J. J. 1984 The Past, Present, and Future of Flintknapping: An Anthropological Perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology 13:187–203. Ford, J. A. 1954 The Type Concept Revisited. American Anthropologist 56(1):42–54. Fox, William A. 1971 The Maurice Village Site (BeHa-3): Lithic Analysis. In Palaeoecology and Ontario Prehistory, edited by W. M. Hurley and C. E.
I would like to thank the members of my master’s thesis committee — the late Dr. Bruce Trigger (supervisor), Dr. Michael Bisson, and Dr. James Savelle — for their invaluable help during the course of my thesis research and therefore with this chapter. I also thank Dr. William Finlayson and Dr. Robert Pearce, as well as the London Museum of Archaeology, for the wealth of opportunities they have provided, not least of which is the use of the Keffer collection. And my thanks also go to Amy Thurston and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority for the generous use of their map of the Don River Watershed. I would also like to express my gratitude to Drs. Andre Costopoulos and Michael Shott for their insightful and useful comments on earlier drafts of this chapter. I would like to thank Dr. Shott for inviting me to participate in the original session and to contribute to this volume in honor of Dr. George Odell. Dr. Odell was and continues to be a huge influence on the evolution of use-wear research and lithic studies in general. Without question his work directly informed my development as a lithic analyst and archaeologist. I am truly grateful to him and for the opportunity to be a part of this richly deserved tribute. Any errors in this study are solely my responsibility.
References Cited Ahler, Stanley A. 1992 Use-Phase Classification and Manufacturing Technology in Plains Village Arrow points. In Piecing Together the Past: Applications of Refitting Studies in Archaeology, edited by Jack L. Hofman and James G. Enloe, pp. 36–62. BAR International Series 578. BAR, Oxford. Ahler, Stanley A., and Phil R. Geib 2000 Why Flute? Folsom Point Design and Adaptation. Journal of Archaeological Science 27: 799–820. Andrefsky, William, Jr. 2006 Experimental and Archaeological Verification of an Index of Retouch for Hafted Bifaces. American Antiquity 71:743–757. Bamforth, Douglas B. 1986 Technological Efficiency and Tool Curation. American Antiquity 51(1):38–50. Black, G. A., and P. Weer 1936 A Proposed Terminology for Shape Classification of Artifacts. American Antiquity 1:280–294. Blades, Brooke 2008 Reduction and Retouch as Independent 160
Shott_text_1.indd 160
7/28/14 9:24 AM
Dynamic Variables and the Use-Related Reduction of Huron Projectile Points Kuhn, S. L. 1990 A Geometric Index of Reduction of Unifacial Stone Tools. Journal of Archaeological Science 17:583–593. Morrow, J. E. 1997 Scraper Morphology and Use-Life: An Approach for Studying Paleo-Indian Lithic Technology and Mobility. Lithic Technology 22:70–85. Morse, Dan F. 1971 The Hawkins Cache: A Significant Dalton Find in Northeast Arkansas. Arkansas Archaeologist 12:9–20. 1997 Sloan: A Dalton Cemetery in Arkansas. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Poulton, Dana R. 1985 An Analysis of the Draper Site Chipped Lithic Artifacts. Research Report No. 15. London Museum of Archaeology, London, Ontario. Ramsden, Peter 1990 Hurons: Archaeology and Culture History. In The Archaeology of Southern Ontario to ad 1650, edited by Chris J. Ellis and Neal Ferris, pp. 361–384. Occasional Publication of the London Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society No. 5. London, Ontario. Shott, Michael J. 1989 Tool-Class Use Lives and the Formation of Archaeological Assemblages. American Antiquity 54(1):9–30. Shott, Michael J., and A. M. Ballenger 2007 Biface Reduction and the Measurement of Dalton Curation: A Southeastern United States Case Study. American Antiquity 72:153–175. Stewart, Frances 1999 Proto-Huron/Petun and Proto–St. Lawrence Iroquoian Subsistence as Culturally Defining. London Museum of Archaeology Bulletin No. 17. London, Ontario.
Heidenreich, pp. 43–48. Research Report, No. 2. Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto. 1979 An Analysis of an Historic Huron Attignawanton Lithic Assemblage. Ontario Archaeology 32:61–88. Frison, George C. 1968 A Functional Analysis of Certain Chipped Stone Tools. American Antiquity 33(2):149– 155. Goodyear, A. C. 1974 The Brand Site: A Techno-Functional Study of a Dalton Site in Northeast Arkansas. Series No. 7. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research, Fayetteville. Hayden, B. 1976 Curation: Old and New. In Primitive Art and Technology, edited by J. Raymond, B. Loveseth, C. Arnold, and G. Reardon, pp. 47–59. University of Calgary Archaeological Association, Calgary. Hiscock, Peter, and Chris Clarkson 2005 Measuring Artefact Reduction: An Examination of Kuhn’s Geometric Index of Reduction. In Lithics “Down Under”: Australian Perspectives on Lithic Reduction, Use and Classification, edited by Christopher Clarkson and Lara Lamb, pp. 7–20. BAR International Series 1408. BAR, Oxford. Hoffman, C. Marshall 1985 Projectile Point Maintenance and Typology: Assessment with Factor Analysis and Canonical Correlation. In For Concordance in Archaeological Analysis: Bridging Data Structure, Quantitative Technique, and Theory, edited by Christopher Carr, pp. 566– 612. Westport Publishers, Inc., Denver. Krieger, Alex D. 1944 The Typological Concept. American Antiquity 9:271–288.
161
Shott_text_1.indd 161
7/28/14 9:24 AM
