Characterizing flakes produced by bipolar knapping on an anvil: experimental insights
| Main Authors: | Radinović, Mihailo, Arzarello, Marta, Ollé, Andreu, Berruti, Gabriele |
|---|---|
| Format: | info Proceeding eJournal |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
, 2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/3243842 |
Daftar Isi:
- As a part of a study of lithics from Lower Paleolithic site of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy), bipolar knapping on anvil experiments have been conducted. This knapping technique has been widely used across time and space, as it is suitable for exploiting small-sized cores and low-quality raw materials, it does not require a high level of knapping skills, etc. Despite certain ubiquity of this technique in the archaeological record, features of products obtained by bipolar knapping technique have not been studied extensively. Recognition of this technique is particularly problematic, as a previous study on cobbles suggested that around 40% of flakes do not exhibit recognizable features. In order to describe the products obtained by bipolar knapping and contribute to its recognition in archaeological assemblages, we analyzed certain macroscopic and microscopic features of flakes produced using the bipolar technique. Our results show that there are two broad classes of flakes: 1) flakes produced by compression force, which removed the entire length of debitage surface of the core; 2) flakes detached by conchoidal fracture, which removed only a part of the debitage surface length, and are non-distinguishable from flakes produced by direct percussion. The first group of flakes has distinct distal end morphologies, with remnants of the opposite platform, as well as technical traces that result from compression force, sometimes only visible under a microscope. We discuss how our results complement current knowledge on this technique.