The Measurement and Interpretation of Cortex in Lithic Assemblages

Abstract

Cortex is often used as an indicator of core reduction and transport, but current measures to evaluate the observed amount of cortex in a lithic assemblage with what might be expected under particular conditions are still ambiguous. The purpose of the present study is to develop and evaluate an alternative method based on solid geometry. This method is evaluated with an experimentally produced assemblage, and implications of its application to archaeological assemblages are presented and discussed.

Early- and middle-Holocene wood exploitation in the Fayum basin, Egypt

“…By measuring the surface area and volume of lithic artifacts, as well as the frequency of cores and flakes, it is possible to determine whether the original volume and surface of a reduced cobble remains within an area and whether artifacts were either exported or imported into that area. As a result, mobility of people can be assessed using the mobility of lithic artifacts as a proxy (Dibble et al, 2005;Douglass et al, 2008;. The analysis of lithic artifacts from the Fayum indicates that cores were removed from Kom K and Kom W, while cores were left at E29H1, but flakes were removed instead (Phillipps and Holdaway, 2016: 16).…”

In glacial environments beyond glacial terrains: Human eco-dynamics in late Pleistocene Mediterranean Iberia

“…But there are other, equally valuable, theory-based analytical protocols for eco-dynamics that can guide new work on existing but minimally studied collections. Examples for lithics include estimations of cortex removal, measures of flake reduction, and comparisons of complete and truncated reduction sequences (chaîne opératoires) to name but a few (Kuhn, 1994;Morrow, 1996;Dibble et al, 2005;Douglas et al, 2008;Riel-Salvatore and Negrino, 2009). The results of these studies, along with the current one, emphasize the value of quantitative, whole-assemblage analyses over studies of individual artifacts for understanding human ecological systems at the regional scale in which they operated.…”

Test, Model, and Method Validation: The Role of Experimental Stone Artifact Replication in Hypothesis-driven Archaeology

“…Rather, researchers have focused on using an experiment for the purpose of proposing new or newly revamped methods rather than for thoroughly vetting methods and validating that they actually work for their asserted purpose (Shott et al 2007:205-206). For other methodological topics, such as those dealing with cortex (Dibble et al 2005), edge length (Mackay 2008), core reduction, and flake-scar density (Clarkson 2013;Clarkson, Shipton, and Weisler 2015c), even fewer experimental validations have been conducted. To be clear, the responsibility of method validation is discipline wide and falls to anyone interested in potentially applying a method.…”