Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to second edition
- Acknowledgments
- 1 A brief introduction to lithic analysis
- 2 Basics of stone tool production
- 3 Lithic raw materials
- 4 Getting started in lithic analysis: identification and classification
- 5 Flake debitage attributes
- 6 Approaches to debitage analysis
- 7 Approaches to stone tool analysis
- 8 Artifact diversity and site function
- 9 Lithic analysis and prehistoric sedentism
- 10 Conclusion
- Glossary
- References
- Index
4 - Getting started in lithic analysis: identification and classification
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to second edition
- Acknowledgments
- 1 A brief introduction to lithic analysis
- 2 Basics of stone tool production
- 3 Lithic raw materials
- 4 Getting started in lithic analysis: identification and classification
- 5 Flake debitage attributes
- 6 Approaches to debitage analysis
- 7 Approaches to stone tool analysis
- 8 Artifact diversity and site function
- 9 Lithic analysis and prehistoric sedentism
- 10 Conclusion
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
In 1967 it was written that approximately 80% to 90% of an archaeologist's time and energy is spent in classifying materials (Chang 1967:71). It can be argued that classification is still the “cornerstone of archaeological methodology” (Odell 1981:321). One of the principal purposes of classification for use in lithic artifact analysis is as an aid to the summarization of data for descriptive purposes. It is the same reason that classification is used in all fields of human enquiry. Classification reduces variability into manageable units to facilitate communication. Classifying items is ubiquitous for all cultures in all parts of the world (Ellen 1979:6–8). It is impossible to hold a conversation with someone without using a classification system of some kind. Like all phenomena, chipped stone artifacts have an infinite range of morphological variability. Because of this variability, chipped stone artifacts require some kind of ordering before they can be adequately discussed. It is much easier for others to understand the composition of an archaeological site if the reporter lists the number of artifacts found in each class of tool at the site as opposed to describing each tool individually: to say that a site is composed of 95 broken bifaces, 12 whole bifaces, and 589 blades is much more concise than describing the morphology of 696 individual artifacts found at the site. The reduction of variability into classes aids in the understanding of phenomena being investigated or discussed.
The second primary purpose of classification is its role as an heuristic device.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- LithicsMacroscopic Approaches to Analysis, pp. 61 - 85Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005