Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-05-21T01:50:15.228Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the Spur of the Moment: Effects of Age and Experience on Hafted Stone Scraper Morphology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kathryn J. Weedman
Kathryn J. Weedman*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

North American archaeologists often designate spurs on scrapers as gravers or use them as temporal markers for the Paleoindian Period. The functional and stylistic aspects of spurred scrapers are explored here through an ethnoarchaeological study of stone scraper procurement, production, use, and discard among the Gamo of southern Ethiopia. This research demonstrates that the presence of so-called “graver” spurs does not have a functional significance, but is the result of inexperience and/or the waning strength of the hideworker. Furthermore, spurred scrapers occur in abundance at villages where breakage rates also are high, reflecting the presence of a number of inexperienced hideworkers. Lastly, this paper explores the relationship between the experience of the knapper and tool standardization. The analysis suggests that in lineage-based learning systems more-experienced hideworkers assist less-experienced hideworkers, and thus blur any relationship between experience and standardization.

Résumé

Résumé

Los arqueólogos Norteamericanos a menudo señalan como buriles a las puntas en raspadores o los utilizan como marcadores temporales del período Paleo-Indio. Los aspectos funcionales y estilísticos de los raspadores puntiagudos son explorados a través de un estudio etno-arqueológico sobra la consecución, producción, uso y descarte de la piedra del raspador entre los Gamo de Etiopía meridional. Esta investigación demuestra que la presencia de las puntas de los supuestos buriles no tiene significación funcional, debido a que este es el resultado de la inexperiencia y/o disminución de las fuerzas del trabajador. Además, estos raspadores con puntas ocurren con abundancia en aldeas donde los índices de fracturas en artefactos son altos, lo que demuestra la presencia de un número alto de trabajadores inexpertos. Por último, éste trabajo explora la relación entre la experiencia del tallador y la estandardización de las herramientas. El análisis sugiere que en el sistema linear de aprendizaje, los trabajadores con mayor experiencia ayudan a los menos experimentados, minimizando cualquier relación ente los estándares y la experiencia.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 67 , Issue 4 , October 2002 , pp. 731 - 744
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Arthur, J. W. 2000 Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of Southwestern Ethiopia. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.Google Scholar
Bamforth, D. B. 1986 Technological Efficiency and Tool Curation. American Antiquity 51:38-50.Google Scholar
Barton, C. M. 1988 Lithic Variability and Middle Paleolithic Behavior. BAR International Series 408. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Barton, C. M., Olszewski, D. I., and Coinman, N. R. 1996 Beyond the Graver: Reconsidering Burin Function. Journal of Field Archaeology 23:111-125.Google Scholar
Bonnichsen, R. 1977 Models for Deriving Cultural Information from Stonetools. National Museum of Canada, Ottawa. Google Scholar
Bordes, F. 1961 Typologie du Paléolithique Ancien et Moyen. Publications de l’lnstitut de l’Universite de Bordeaux, Memoire No. 1, Bordeaux. Google Scholar
Bordes, F. 1973 Position des traces d’usure sur des grattoirs simples du Périgordien supérieur évolué de Corbiac (Dordognej. Estudios Dedicados al Profesor Dr. Luis Pericot, Publicaciones Eventuates No. 23, pp. 55-60. Universidad de Barcelona, Instituto de Arqueologia y Prehistoria.Google Scholar
Bradley, B. A. 1982 Lithic Technology. In The Agate Basin Site, edited by Frison, G. C. and Stanford, D. J., pp. 181-208. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Brandt, S. A. 1996 The Ethnoarchaeology of Flaked Stone-tool Use in Southern Ethiopia. In Aspects of African Archaeology, Papers from the 10th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, 1996, edited by Pwitit, G. and Soper, R., pp. 733-738. University of Zimbabwe Publications, Harare.Google Scholar
Brandt, S. A., Weedman, K. J., and Hundie, G. 1996 Gurage Hideworking, Stone-tool Use and Social Identity: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective. In Essays on Gurage Language and Culture: Dedicated to Wolf Leslau on the Occasion of his 90th Birthday November 14, 1996, edited by Hudson, G., pp. 35-51. Harrassowitz, Verlag.Google Scholar
Brandt, S. A., and Weedman, K. J. 1997 The Ethnoarchaeology of Hideworking and Flaked Stone-tool Use in Southern Ethiopia. In Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the XIIth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, edited by Fukui, K., Kuimoto, E., and Shigeta, M., pp. 351-361. Shokado Book Sellers, Kyoto. Google Scholar
Brink, J. W. 1978 An Experimental Study of Microwear Formation on Endscrapers. National Museum of Canada, National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Broadbent, N. D., and Knutsson, K. 1975 An Experimental Analysis of Quartz Scrapers. Fornavannen 70:113-128.Google Scholar
Bureau, J. 1975 Le Statut des artisans en Ethiopie. Ethiopie, la terre et les hommes 1975:38-44.Google Scholar
Byers, D. S. 1954 Bull Brook- A Fluted Point Site in Ipswich, Massachusetts. American Antiquity 4:342-352.Google Scholar
Cartledge, D. 1995 Taming the Mountain: Human Ecology, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Resource Management in the Doko Gamo Society of Ethiopia. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Clark, J. D., and Kurashina, H. 1981 A Study of the Work of a Modern Tanner in Ethiopia and its Relevance for Archaeological Interpretation. In Modern Material Culture: The Archaeology of Us, edited by Gould, R. A. and Schiffer, M. B., pp. 303-343. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Debenath, A., and Dibble, H. 1993 Handbook of Paleolithic Typology. Cypher Press, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Dekker, G. 1971 Present-Day Fabrication and Use of an Obsidian Endscraper by a Guraghi Leatherworker. Film shown at the 7th Pan African Congress, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Google Scholar
Frison, G. C. 1978 Prehistoric Hunters of the High Plains. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Frison, G. C. 1991 The Goshen Paleoindian Complex: New Data for Paleoindian Research. In Clovis: Origins and Adaptations, edited by Bonnichesen, R. and Turnmire, K. L., pp. 133-152. Center for the Study of the First Americans, Oregon State University, Corvallis.Google Scholar
Funk, R. E., Weinman, T. P., and Weinman, P. L. 1969 The Kings Road Site: A Recently Discovered Paleo- Indian Manifestation in Greene County, New York. New York Museum Bulletin 45:1-22.Google Scholar
Gallagher, J. P. 1974 The Preparation of Hides with Stone-tools in South Central Ethiopia. Journal of Ethiopian Studies XII : 177-182.Google Scholar
Raven, P. H. 1977a Contemporary Stone-tool Use in Ethiopia: Implications for Archaeology. Journal of Field Archaeology 4:407–414.Google Scholar
Raven, P. H. 1977b Ethnoarchaeological and Prehistoric Investigations in the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley. Ph.D. dissertation, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Giglioi, H. H. 1889 On a Singular Obsidian Scraper Used at Present by Some of the Galla Tribes in Southern Shoa. Internationales Archives fur Ethnographie 2:212-214.Google Scholar
Goebel, T, Powers, R., and Bigelow, N. 1991 The Nenana Complex of Alaska and Clovis Origins. In Clovis: Origins and Adaptations, edited by Bonnichesen, R. and Turnmire, K. L., pp. 49-80. Center for the Study of the First Americans, Oregon State University, Corvallis.Google Scholar
Goodyear, A. C. 1974 The Brand Site: A Techno-Functional Study of a Dalton Site in Northeast Arkansas. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series No. 7. Fayetteville, Arkansas.Google Scholar
Gramly, R. M. 1990 Guide to the Paleo-Indian Artifacts of North America. Persimmon Press Monographs in Archaeology, Buffalo, New York.Google Scholar
Gunn, J. 1975 Idiosyncratic Behavior in Chipping Style: Some Hypotheses and Preliminary Analysis. In Lithic Technology: Making and Using Stone-tools, edited by Swanson, E., pp. 35-61. Mouton Publishers, The Hague.Google Scholar
Haaland, R. 1987 Socio-Economic Differentiation in the Neolithic Sudan. BAR International Series 350. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Hayden, B. 1977 Snap, Shatter, and Superfractures: Use-wear of Stone Skin Scrapers. In Lithic Use-Wear Analysis, edited by Hayden, B., pp. 207-230. Academic Press, New York. Google Scholar
Hayden, B. 1986 Use and Misuse: The Analysis of Endscrapers. Lithic Technology 16:65-70.Google Scholar
Hayden, B. 1990 The Right Rub: Hideworking in High Ranking Households. In The Interpretative Possibilities of Microwear Studies, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lithic Use-Wear Analysis, February 15-17, 1989, edited by Graslund, B.,pp. 89-102. Societas-Archaeologica Upsaliensis, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
Hayden, B., and Cannon, A. 1984 Interaction Inferences in Archaeology and Learning Frameworks of the Maya. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 3:325-367.Google Scholar
Herbich, I. 1987 Learning Patterns, Potter Interaction and Ceramic Style among the Luo of Kenya. African Archaeological Review 5:193-204.Google Scholar
Irwin, H. T., and Wormington, H. M. 1970 Paleo-Indian Tool Types in the Great Plains. American Antiquity 35:24-35.Google Scholar
Irwin-Williams, C. 1973 The Oshara Tradition: Origins of Anasazi Culture. Eastern New Mexico University Contributions in Anthropology Vol. 5, No. 1, Portales.Google Scholar
Johnston, C. 1972 [1844] Travels in Southern Abyssinia through the Country of Adaal to the Kingdom of Shoa. Books for Libraries Press, Freeport, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Judge, W.J. 1973 Paleoindian Occupation of the Central Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Keeley, L. H. 1980 Experimental Determination of Stone-Tool Uses. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Keller, C. M., and Keller, J. D. 1996 Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Google Scholar
Longacre, W. A. 1968 Some Aspects of Prehistoric Society in east-central Arizona. In New Perspectives in Archaeology, edited by Binford, S. R. and Binford, L. R., pp. 89-102. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Longacre, W. A. 1999 Standardization and Specialization: What's the Link? In Pottery and People, edited by Skibo, J. M. and Feinman, G. M., pp. 44–58. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
MacDonald, G. F. 1968 Debert: A Paleo-Indian Site in Central Nova Scotia. Anthropology Papers, No. 16, National Museum of Canada. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Morris, E. A., and Blakeslee, R. C. 1998 Comment on the Paleoindian Occurrence of Spurred End Scrapers as Reported by Rogers. American Antiquity 63:830-831.Google Scholar
Morrow, J. 1997 Endscraper Morphology and Use-Life: An Approach for Studying Paleoindian Lithic Technology and Mobility. Lithic Technology 22(1):70–85.Google Scholar
Moss, E. H. 1983 The Functional Analysis of Flint Implements. BAR International Series 177. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Nissen, K., and Dittemore, M. 1974 Ethnographic Data and Wear Pattern Analysis: A Study of Socketed Eskimo Scrapers. Tebiwa 17:67-87.Google Scholar
Olmstead, J. 1997 Woman between Two Worlds. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.Google Scholar
Painter, F. 1985 Possible Evidence of Tattooing by Paleo-Indians of Eastern North America. In The Williamson Site, edited by Peck, R. M., pp. 87-94. Rodney M. Peck Publisher, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Ray, C. N. 1937 Probable Uses of Flint End-Scrapers. American Antiquity 4:303-306.Google Scholar
Roberts, J. 1936 A Folsom Complex: Preliminary Report on Investigations at the Lindenmeier Site in Northern Colorado. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 94(4): 1-35.Google Scholar
Rogers, R. A. 1986 Spurred End Scrapers as Diagnostic Paleo-Indian Artifacts: A Distributional Analysis on Stream Terraces. American Antiquity 51:388-341.Google Scholar
Rosenfeld, A. 1971 The Examination of Use Marks on Some Magdalenian End Scrapers. The British Museum Quarterly 35(1-4): 176-182.Google Scholar
Schultz, J. M. 1992 The Use-Wear Generated by Processing Bison Hides. Plains Anthropologist 38(141):333–351.Google Scholar
Semenov, S. A. 1968 Prehistoric Technology. Harper & Row, New York.Google Scholar
Shelley, P. H. 1990 Variation in Lithic Assemblages: An Experiment. Journal of Field Archaeology 17:187-193.Google Scholar
Shott, M. J. 1995 How Much is A Scraper? Lithic Technology 20(1):53-72.Google Scholar
Siegal, P. E. 1984 Functional Variability within an Assemblage of Endscrapers. Lithic Technology 12(4):35–51.Google Scholar
Storck, P. L. 1988 The Early Palaeo-Indian Occupation of Ontario: Colonization or Diffusion. In Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Paleoecology and Archaeology of the Eastern Great Lakes Region, edited by Laub, R. S., Miller, N. G., and Steadman, D. W., pp. 243-250. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences Vol. 33, Buffalo, New York.Google Scholar
Vaughan, P. C. 1985 Use Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone-tools. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Warnica, J. M. 1966 New Discoveries at the Clovis Site. American Antiquity 31:345-357.Google Scholar
Weedman, K. J. 2000 An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Stone Scrapers among the Gamo People of Southern Ethiopia. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Florida. University Microfilm, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Wilmsen, E. 1968 Functional Analysis of Flaked Stone Artifacts. American Antiquity 33:156-161.Google Scholar