Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2pzkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T08:18:07.070Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mechanical Basis of Percussion Flaking

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John D. Speth
John D. Speth*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology Cuny-Hunter
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The total variability in archaeological material derives from at least 4 different sources: technological, functional, stylistic, and random variation. Different attributes may be needed to quantify each aspect of the total variability, and the particular attributes that the archaeologist singles out for analysis will determine, to a large extent, the utility and validity of any subsequent typology. At present, there is relatively little theory to aid in the selection of the attributes most appropriate for a particular archaeological problem. In the analysis of prehistoric flake stone tools, the technology of flake production falls largely within the realm of the natural sciences; thus, technological variability is perhaps that aspect of the total variability for which suitable theory may be most readily developed.

Flake production can be divided into 2 distinct processes, percussion flaking and pressure flaking, on the basis of the duration of the applied force. The fracture processes involved in these 2 types of flake production are sufficiently different to warrant a separate treatment of each. Attention is focused specifically on percussion flaking because this process appears to have been the predominant mode of flake production throughout most of human prehistory and, at present, it remains poorly understood.

It is found that a percussion flake is detached from a core largely by a process known as spalling, the fracture produced by the reflection of a stress wave at the free surface of the core adjacent to the striking platform. The thickness of a flake is a function largely of 4 impact parameters and 2 constants of the material: the shape, intensity, and wavelength of the stress wave emanating from the point of impact, the angle of incidence of the stress wave on the free face of the core, the critical impact strength of the material in tension, and an elastic property of the material. Other attributes of flake size such as the length, width, area, weight, and volume are also influenced by these parameters. Several other factors affecting the size of a flake are discussed, and areas where further research is needed are outlined. It is concluded that the various attributes of flake size are highly and predictably interrelated.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 1972 , pp. 34 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1972

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

Auerbach, F. 1891 Absolute Härtemessung. Annalen derPhysik und Chemie (n.f.) 43:61-100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baden-Powell, D. F. W. 1949 Experimental Clactonian technique. Prehistoric Society, Proceedings 15:38-41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Alfred S. 1939 The differences between natural and human flaking on prehistoric flint implements. American Anthropologist 41:99-112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Alfred S., and Kidder, H. H. 1936 Differentes techniques de debitage a la Ferrassie. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 33:272-288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belikov, B. P., Zalesskii, B. V., Rozanov, Yu. A., Sanina, E. A., and Timchenko, I. P. 1967 Methods of studying the physicomechanical properties of rocks. In Physical and mechanical properties of rocks, edited by Zalesskii, B. V., pp. 1-58. Israel Program for Scientific Translations TT 67-51256 (available from U.S. Department of Commerce).Google Scholar
Benbow, J. J. 1960 Cone cracks in fused silica. Physical Society, Proceedings 75:697-699.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bieniawski, Z. T. 1966 Mechanism of rock fracture in compression. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Report (South Africa) MEG 459.Google Scholar
Bieniawski, Z. T. 1968a The phenomenon of terminal fracture velocity in rock. Felsmechanik und Ingenieurgeologie 6:113-125.Google Scholar
Bieniawski, Z. T. 1968b The compressive strength of hard rock. Tydskrif vir Natuurwetenskappe 8:163-182.Google Scholar
Binford, Lewis R. 1965 Archaeological systematics and the study of culture process. American Antiquity 31:203-210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binford, Lewis R. 1968 Archeological perspectives. In New perspectives in archeology, edited by Binford, Sally R. and Binford, Lewis R., pp. 5-32. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Binford, Lewis R., and Binford, Sally R. 1966 A preliminary analysis of functional variability in the Mousterian of Levallois facies. In Recent studies in paleoanthropology, edited by Desmond Clark, J. and Clark Howell, F.. American Anthropologist 68 (2, pt. 2):238-295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birch, Francis 1966 Compressibility; elastic constants. In Handbook of physical constants, revised edition, edited by Clark, Sydney P. Jr. Geological Society of America, Memoir 97:97-174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birch, Francis, and Dennison, Bancroft 1938 The effect of pressure on the rigidity of rocks, I. Journal of Geology 46:59-87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, B. E. 1955 Physical properties of mine rock, part III. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5130.Google Scholar
Blair, B. E. 1956 Physical properties of mine rock, part IV. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5244.Google Scholar
Bluhm, J. I. 1961 A model for the effect of thickness on fracture toughness. American Society for Testing and Materials, Proceedings 61:1324-1331.Google Scholar
Bourdier, Franck 1963 Sur la genèse et la morphologie de l’eclat prehistorique. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences (Paris) 257:3975-3978.Google Scholar
Chandler, R. H. 1929 On the Clactonian industry at Swanscombe. Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, Proceedings 6:79-93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, J. Desmond 1958 The natural fracture of pebbles from the Batoka Gorge, Northern Rhodesia, and its bearing on the Kafuan industries of Africa. Prehistoric Society; Proceedings 24:64-67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, David L. 1968 Analytical archaeology. Methuen, London.Google Scholar
Coates, D. F., and Aslam, M. 1968 The equations of state up to 250 kb of a magnetite and a quartzite. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 5:495-500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coates, D. F., Udd, J. E., and Morrison, R. G. K 1963 Some physical properties of rocks and their relationship to uniaxial compressive strength. In Proceedings of the rock mechanics symposium, McGill University (1962), pp. 27-44. Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Cook, N. G. W., Hoek, E., Pretorius, J. P. G., Ortlepp, W. D., and Salamon, M. D. G. 1966 Rock mechanics applied to the study of rock-bursts. Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 66:436-528.Google Scholar
Crabtree, Don E. 1967 Notes on experiments in flintknapping: 4. Tebiwa 10:60-70.Google Scholar
Crabtree, Don E. 1968 Mesoamerican polyhedral cores and prismatic blades. American Antiquity 33:446-478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, D. M., and Goldsmith, W. 1959 Short-time impulses produced by longitudinal impact. Society for Experimental Stress Analysis, Proceedings 16(2):153-162.Google Scholar
Dally, J. W., Durelli, A. J., and Riley, W. F. 1960 Photoelastic study of stress wave propagation in large plates. Society for Experimental Stress Analysis, Proceedings 17(2):33-50.Google Scholar
Farmer, I. W. 1968 Engineering properties of rocks . E. and F. N. Spon, London.Google Scholar
Feder, J. C, Gibbons, R. A., Gilbert, J. T., and Offenbacher, E. L. 1956 The study of the propagation of stress waves by photoelasticity. Society for Experimental Stress Analysis, Proceedings 14(1):109-118.Google Scholar
Fogeby, Bengt, Shelomo, Erez, and Owe, Wendelborg 1969 Investigation of energy motions for nailing and sawing. The Research Committee of the Svenska MTM-gruppen AB, Report 26, Solna (mimeo).Google Scholar
Frank, F. C, and Lawn, B. R. 1967 On the theory of Hertzian fracture. Royal Society, Proceedings 299A:291-306. London.Google Scholar
Frondel, Clifford 1962 Dana’s system of mineralogy, Vol. 3: silica minerals, 7th edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Frost, H. M. 1967 An introduction to biomechanics. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield.Google Scholar
George, W. O. 1924 The relation of the physical properties of natural glasses to their chemical composition. Journal of Geology 32:353-372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilroy, D. R., and Hirst, W. 1969 Brittle fracture of glass under normal and sliding loads. British Journal of Applied Physics 2D:1784-1787.Google Scholar
Glathart, J. L., and Preston, F. W. 1968 The behavior of glass under impact: theoretical considerations. Glass Technology 9:89-100.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, W. 1960 Impact. Edward Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Hertz, H. 1895 Gesammelte Werke, Vol. 1. Barth, Leipzig.Google Scholar
Hino, Kumao 1959 Theory and practice of blasting. Nippon Kayaku Co., Asa, Yamaguchi-Ken, Japan.Google Scholar
Hole, Frank, and Flannery, Kent V. 1967 The prehistory of southwestern Iran: a preliminary report. Prehistoric Society, Proceedings 33:147-206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, W. H. 1919 Handbook of aboriginal American antiquities, part I: introductory, the lithic industries. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 60.Google Scholar
Huang, W. T. 1962 Petrology. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.Google Scholar
Huber, M. T. 1904 Zur Theorie der Beriihrung fester elastischer Körper. Annalen der Physik 14:153-163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ide, John M. 1937 The velocity of sound in rocks and glasses as a function of temperature. Journal of Geology 45:689-716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institute of Mineral Research of Michigan Technological University, and Michigan State Highway Department 1965 The properties of chert aggregate in relation to their deleterious effect in concrete. Annual Progress Report (Revised edition of 1964 Annual Progress Report), Project R-121, Phase I.Google Scholar
Jelinek, Arthur J., Bruce, Bradley, and Bruce, Huckell 1971 The production of secondary multiple flakes. American Antiquity 36:198-200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, M. F. 1959 Flexural and compressive strength of concrete as affected by the properties of coarse aggregates. Journal of the American Concrete Institute 55:1193-1208.Google Scholar
Kerkhof, Frank, and Hansjürgen, Müller-Beck 1969 Zur bruchmechanischen Deutung der Schlagmarken an Steingeräten. Glastechnische Berichte 42:439-448.Google Scholar
Kolsky, H. 1959 Fractures produced by stress waves. In Fracture, edited by Averbach, B. L. and others, pp. 281-296. Technology Press and Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Kolsky, H. 1963 Stress waves in solids. Dover, New York.Google Scholar
Kolsky, H., and Rader, D. 1969 Stress waves and fracture. In Fracture, Vol. 1, edited by Liebowitz, H, pp. 533-569. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Knowles, Sir Francis H. S. 1953 Stone-worker’s progress. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Langitan, F. B., and Lawn, B. R. 1969 Hertzian fracture experiments on abraded glass surfaces as definitive evidence for an energy balance explanation of Auerbach’s law. Journal of Applied Physics 40:4009-4017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawn, B. R. 1967 Partial cone crack formation in a brittle material loaded with a sliding spherical indenter. Royal Society, Proceedings 299A:307-316. London.Google Scholar
Lawn, B. R. 1968 Hertzian fracture in single crystals with the diamond structure, Journal of Applied Physics 39:4828-4836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leakey, L. S. B. 1954 Working stone, bone and wood. In A history of technology, Vol. 1, edited by Charles, Singer, Holmyard, E. J., and Hall, A. R., pp. 128-143. Oxford University Press, London.Google Scholar
Lee, George H. 1958 An introduction to experimental stress analysis, 3rd printing. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Manghnani, Murli H., Edward, Schreiber, and Naohiro, Soga 1968 Use of ultrasonic interferometry technique for studying elastic properties of rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 73:824-826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morey, George W. 1938 The properties of glass. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York.Google Scholar
Paterson, T. T. 1937 Studies on the paleolithic succession in England, no. 1: the Barnham sequence. Prehistoric Society, Proceedings 3:87-135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pond, Alonzo W. 1930 Primitive methods of working stone. Logan Museum, Bulletin 2 .Google Scholar
Rader, Dennis 1967 On the dynamics of crack growth in glass. Experimental Mechanics 7:160-167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinehart, John S. 1960 On fractures caused by explosions and impacts. Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines 55(4).Google Scholar
Rinehart, John S. 1964 Fracturing by spalling. Engineer’s Digest 25:89-92.Google Scholar
Rinehart, John S. 1966 Fracture of rocks. International Journal of Fracture Mechanics 2:534-551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinehart, John S. 1969 The role of Poisson’s ratio in fracturing generated by impulse loads (Abstract). American Geophysical Union, Transactions 50(4):325.Google Scholar
Rinehart, John S., and John, Pearson 1965 Behavior of metals under impulsive loads. Dover Publications, New York.Google Scholar
Ripperger, E. A. 1952 Longitudinal impact of cylindrical bars. Society for Experimental Stress Analysis, Proceedings 10(1):209-226.Google Scholar
Roark, Raymond J. 1954 Formulas for stress and strain, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.Google Scholar
Roesler, F. C. 1956 Brittle fractures near equilibrium. Physical Society, Proceedings 69B:981-992. London.Google Scholar
Sackett, James R. 1966 Quantitative analysis of Upper Paleolithic stone tools. In Recent studies in paleoanthropology, edited by Desmond Clark, J. and Clark Howell, F.. American Anthropologist 68(2, pt. 2):356-394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schardin, Hubert 1950 Ergebnisse der kinematographischen Untersuchung des Glasbruchvorganges, II Teil. Glastechnische Benchte 23(3):67-79.Google Scholar
Shand, E. B. 1954 Experimental study of fracture of glass, 1: the fracture process. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 37:52-60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sokal, Robert R., and Sneafh, Peter H. A. 1963 Principles of numerical taxonomy. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Sosman, Robert B. 1927 The properties of silica. Chemical Catalogue Co., New York.Google Scholar
Tillett, J. P. A. 1956 Fracture of glass by spherical indenters. Physical Society, Proceedings 69B:47-54. London.Google Scholar
Timoshenko, S. P., and Goodier, J. N. 1970 Theory of elasticity, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.Google Scholar
Tsai, Y. M., and Kolsky, H. 1967a A theoretical and experimental investigation of the flaw distribution on glass surfaces. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 15:2946.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsai, Y. M., and Kolsky, H. 1967b A study of the fractures produced in glass blocks by impact. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 15:263-278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, J. 1941 Statistical theory of the effect of dimensions and of method of loading upon the modulus of rupture of beams. American Society for Testing and Materials, Proceedings 41:1072-1094.Google Scholar
Tucker, J. 1945 Effect of dimensions of specimens upon the precision of strength data. American Society for Testing and Materials, Proceedings 45:952-960.Google Scholar
Turner, D. N., Smith, P. D., and Rotsey, W. B. 1967 Hertzian stress cracks in beryllia and glass. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 50:594-598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vos, J. A., and Binkhorst, R. A. 1966 Velocity and force of some Karate arm-movements. Nature 211(5044):89-90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walsh, J. B. 1965 The effect of cracks in rocks on Poisson’s ratio. Journal of Geophysical Research 70:5249-5257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warren, S. H. 1914 The experimental investigation of flint fracture and its application to the problems of human implements. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institu te 44:412-450.Google Scholar
Williams, J. S., Lawn, B. R., and Swain, M. V. 1970 Cone crack closure in brittle solids. Physica Status Solidi 2A:7-30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willis, T. F., and De Reus, M. E. 1939 Thermal volume change and elasticity of aggregates and their effect on concrete. American Society for Testing and Materials, Proceedings 39:919-929.Google Scholar
Wilmsen, Edwin N. 1970 Lithic analysis and cultural inference: a Paleo-Indian case. University of Arizona, Anthropological Papers 16.Google Scholar
Windes, S. L. 1949 Physical properties of mine rock, part I. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4459.Google Scholar
Wingquist, Carl F. 1969 Elastic moduli of rock at elevated temperatures. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 7269.Google Scholar
Wolkodoff, Vladimir E. 1955 Stress-strain relationships for igneous rocks (Abstract). Geological Society of America, Bulletin 66:1636-1637.Google Scholar
Wuerker, R. G. 1959 Influence of stress rate and other factors on the strength and elastic properties of rocks. Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines 54:3-32.Google Scholar
Zalesskii, B. V., Silaeva, O. I., Korotkova, O. N., Likhacheva, Yu. S., Nikolaev, S. V., and Andreev, V. N. 1967 Dynamic elasticity characteristics of certain minerals and monomineralic aggregates. In Physical and mechanical properties of rocks, edited by Zalesskii, B. V., pp. 117-123. Israel Program for Scientific-Translations TT 67-51256 (available from U.S. Department of Commerce).Google Scholar