Core Refitting and the Accuracy of Aggregate Lithic Analysis Techniques: The Case of 3rd Unnamed Cave, Tennessee
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2008
Description
Physical refitting of a large number of lithic knapping debris piles from deep within 3rd Unnamed Cave (Tennessee) has provided a detailed picture of the lithic reduction strategies employed by the Terminal Archaic miners who exploited this dark zone chert quarry. This, in turn, provides an empirical baseline for more general consideration of two aggregate analysis methods developed for surrogate assessment of technological process from archaeological lithic samples. This paper examines how "mass analysis" and "flake portion analysis" predict what we know to be the technology used at 3rd Unnamed Cave. Both surrogate techniques have problems with accuracy and situational dependency. Based on these results, increased use of refitting along with the application of multiple analytic techniques is recommended where appropriate.
Citation Information
Franklin, Jay; and Simek, Jan F.. 2008. Core Refitting and the Accuracy of Aggregate Lithic Analysis Techniques: The Case of 3rd Unnamed Cave, Tennessee. Southeastern Archaeology. Vol.27(1). 108-121. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25746180 ISSN: 0734-578X