Stone Tool Studies
Experiments in the Replication and Use of Stone Tools
James C. Woods, College of Southern Idaho
Following are abstracts of stone tool replication studies conducted since
the mid-1980's. Most of these project have involved Gene L. Titmus, Research
Associate in Primitive Technology at the Herrett
Center for Arts & Science. I would hereby like to acknowledge
his long-time friendship and ingenuity in the area of lithic analysis and
stone tool replication. I also wish to acknowledge my debt to the late
Don E. Crabtree who taught
me the skills which enabled much of the following work.
Specific references for each of the following projects can be found in
my professional vita.
Current Research
My current experimental work is being conducted in conjunction with the
RAINPEG Project, under the Direction of Richard D. Hansen. I am working
on a number of projects that are designed to help understand the nature
of stone artifacts recovered at Nakbe and El Mirador, two large Maya sites
in the Peten region of Guatemala. Two projects conducted in Guatemala are
described below.
- The Ancient Limestone Quarries at Nakbe, Guatemala
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| Replicated stone tools used in cutting limestone blocks at Nakbe, Guatemala. |
Several years of research at the Preclassic site of Nakbe,
Guatemala, have resulted in a series of papers describing experiments in
cutting wood and limestone using chert tools. First, several ancient quarries
were excavated and the results of these excavations were described. Next,
results of an experimental study of the tools and techniques required to
cut limestone blocks from the bedrock using chert implements were described.
|
- Replication of Maya Eccentrics
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| Replica of a chert eccentric similar to those found at the site of Dos Pilas. |
Another experimental work-in-progress involves the replication
of Maya eccentrics. My colleague, Gene Titmus, has been working on anthropomorphic
eccentrics such as those found at the site of Copan. I have been working
on less-complex eccentric forms, generally attributed to the Late Preclassic
or Early Classic.
|
Serrated Projectile Points
 |
| Detail of three serrated Humboldt points, Kueney Site, Idaho. |
This brief study looked at varieties of serrations on projectile
points from south-central Idaho. Results show that nearly every common
point type from the Early Archaic Period onwards has a low percentage of
specimens with intentional serrations. Among the most distinctive of the
serrations are those shown on Humboldt points from the Kueney Site from
south-central Idaho.
|
Fluted Points from Idaho
 |
| Clovis Points and Bifaces, Simon Site, Idaho. |
A number of papers summarize results of studies examining
fluted points from south-central Idaho. One paper involves a review of
the Simon Collection, a group of 32 artifacts found in the mid-1960's near
Fairfield, Idaho. This review provides line-drawings of the artifacts and
describes a number of technological details not addressed in the original
site report such as margin grinding and heat treatment. Another paper provides
an overview of all published fluted points from southern Idaho including
line-drawings of each point reviewed. The most recent project of this series
involves an examination of the margin dulling on fluted points and suggest
that one of the reasons for the dulling may have been to strengthen the
point in order to minimize breakage during use.
|
Pressure-Flaking
One of my earlier papers describes an experiment to replicate Bliss Points,
small bi-pointed projectiles common in south-central Idaho. The purpose
of the experiment was to see if different pressure-flaking techniques
left
different microflake patterns along the tool margins. The basic
conclusion
is that some methods of holding the point during pressure-flaking can
leave
microflake scars which might be confused with use-wear.
Different pressure-flaking holding methods used in making Bliss point replicas.
Biface Caches
 |
| Bifaces from the Lower Rock Creek Site, Twin Falls County, Idaho. |
One published paper and one in progress provide a basic
description of two different caches of small obsidian bifaces recovered
from the Snake River Plain. The yet-to-be published paper describes basic
experiments to determine the size of the original flake from which the
bifaces might have been made and a simple calculation of the raw material
volume and energy investment required to produce the cache.
|
Experimental Use of Projectile Points and Stone Knives
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| Replicated Wahmuza points which were experimentally broken to allow study of the breakage patterns. |
Another series of experiments involved the use of stone
projectiles with the intention of wearing and breaking the replicas. The
broken replicas were then compared to artifacts with the intention of seeing
if patterns in breakage might help indicate original tool use.
|
Comments or questions can be sent to the author at jwoods@csi.edu
