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Exploring Ancient Technology ANTH-420 Lab One Part Two: Lithic Technology—Pressure Flaking

Note: Wear goggles and use safety equipment (hand and leg pads) for all parts of this lab. If you injure yourself, notify Dr. Middleton immediately. If treatable, he will take care of your wounds. If not, he will swiftly and painlessly put you out of your misery. Use the questions posed in each part of the lab as a guide for the issues that you will want to address. What you will be doing in this part of the lab is trying to turn your spall into something. You don’t have to make an actual tool, you can just experiment with the techniques, but, if you are planning a project that requires a stone tool, this would be a good place to start. Also, if you saved any of your good flakes from last week, you could work on them too. Whether you are making a tool or just practicing technique, you will want to do it in a controlled, planned manner. Once you have decided what you want to do with your spall, you will start-off using soft hammer percussion to rough out a preform or blank that you will be able to pressure flake into its final form in the next part of the lab. Pressure Flaking Pressure flaking is a technique for shaping, thinning, notching, and otherwise finishing lithics. There are a variety of ways of doing pressure flaking—we will be experimenting with two. Using a hand flaker (antler and copper) and using an Ishi stick.

If you saved some flakes from last week, you can start off with them. If not, look on the floor around you or in the blue bin for a useful flake. Start by practicing on that. 1) Use the hand pads and glasses. Start off with an antler tine. Grind your

platform, then press the tine into the edge and push towards the side you want to remove the flake (see illustration above). It may help to press your hands with your knees to exert more force.

2) Continue working along your edge. Remember to grind before flaking. 3) Once you’ve gotten a feel for the antler, try one of the copper-tipped hand

tools. Do they feel different? Give you more or less control? 4) Now try the Ishi stick. You put the blunt end under your armpit and hold the

pointed end much the way you hold the hand flaker. It really helps to exert a little leverage with your knees. How does the Ishi stick differ from the hand flaker?

5) If you are still working with a practice flake, try putting a notch in it by

flaking from one side, then the other to put a narrow indentation in the side of your flake.

6) Now go back to your spall (assuming that there still is some of it left). Try to

use pressure flaking techniques to finish it off. 7) Collect some of your flakes to compare with the Hard Hammer and Soft

Hammer flakes. How do they compare with the other flakes you’ve made?