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Extending Experimental Control

The Use of Porcelain in Flaked Stone Experimentation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Nada N. Khreisheh ,
Danielle Davies  and
Bruce A. Bradley
Nada N. Khreisheh
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QE, United Kingdom (N.N.Khreisheh@ex.ac.uk)
Danielle Davies
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QE, United Kingdom (dd232@ ex.ac.uk)
Bruce A. Bradley
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QE, United Kingdom (B.A.Bradley@ex.ac.uk)
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Abstract

One of the biggest problems faced by archaeologists engaged in flaked stone experiments is that of control. Controls are universally accepted as a way of ensuring reliability of experimental results used to interpret the archaeological record. Here, the use of a new and tightly controllable material in flaked stone experiments is proposed: porcelain. Unlike traditional approaches using stone, porcelain—while demonstrating comparable properties and fracture mechanics—can be more tightly controlled. As such, we suggest that its use ensures greater reliability in results derived from studies of tool manufacture and use and more potential for repeatability of experimental studies. A critique of previous approaches is followed by an assessment of porcelain as a suitable material for experimentation, in which two case studies that piloted the material are discussed. The first demonstrates its use in experiments regarding tool manufacture and skill. The second demonstrates its success in experiments dealing with observations of use-wear, such as projectile point impact fractures. The varied nature of these two studies aptly demonstrates the benefits of using porcelain as a controllable, moldable material.

Uno de los problemas más grandes a los que se enfrentan los arqueólogos que se dedican a la talla lítica experimental es el del control. El control es aceptado universalmente como una forma de asegurar la confiabilidad de los resultados utilizados para interpretar el registro arqueológico. Aquí, se propone el uso de un material nuevo y altamente controlable: la porcelana. A diferencia de los estudios tradicionales que utilizan lítica, la porcelana, al demostrar propiedades y mecánica de fractura comparables, puede controlarse más estrictamente. Por lo tanto, sugerimos que su uso asegura una mayor confiabilidad a los resultados derivados de los estudios de producción y uso de herramientas y un potencial mayor para la repetibilidad de los estudios experimentales. A la crítica de propuestas previas, le sigue una evaluación de la porcelana como material apropiado para la experimentación en la que se discuten dos estudios de caso que ponen a prueba el material. El primero demuestra su uso en experimentos relacionados con la manufactura de las herramientas y la habilidad. El segundo demuestro su éxito en experimentos relacionados con las observaciones de huellas de uso, tales como, las fracturas de impacto en puntas de proyectil. La naturaleza variada de estos dos estudios demuestra acertadamente los beneficios del uso de la porcelana como un material controlable y maleable.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , August 2013 , pp. 38 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2013

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