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An Objective Test of the Effects of Heat Treatment of Flakeable Stone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Peter Bleed  and
Marlene Meier
Peter Bleed
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588
Marlene Meier
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588
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Abstract

Widely held notions about the effects of heat treatment of flakeable stone were tested by agitating matching sets of regularly shaped pieces of heated and raw chert. The tests indicate that heat treatment changes some of the variables that control flake formation although not necessarily in ways that make flintworking "easier." It appears that in order to realize an advantage to the practice, the flintknapper must call on individual skill to make technical readjustments.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , July 1980 , pp. 502 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1980 

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References

References Cited

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