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Selection of small lithic tools from Phillip's Garden. A–B: chert bifaces, C–G: chert endblades, H–K: chert scrapers, L–M: chert microblades, N: quartz crystal microblades, O–P: slate scrapers, Q–R: slate points, S–T: nephrite burin-like tools.
Source publication
This report describes a project to reproduce four Dorset Culture osseous (bone and antler) tools common at the Phillip's Garden site (EeBi-1), northwestern Newfoundland. Replicas of Dorset lithic tools were used to manufacture a needle, a barbed point, a harpoon head and a foreshaft-like tool. The characteristic traces generated on the osseous tool...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... tool assemblage was comprised of bifacially and unifacially flaked knives, endblades for composite harpoons, scrapers and microblades, all made of fine-grained chert, most of which came from Cow Head approximately 100 km south of Phillip's Garden ( LeBlanc 2010). Occa- sionally these tools were made from quartz crystal (PAC artefact database 2013) (Figure 2). Burin-like tools used for engraving were consistently made from nephrite, and abraders and some lamp stands were made from fine and coarse-grained sandstone (Figure 3). ...
Context 2
... the initial cuts were established, Rast switched to a hafted burin-like tool which allowed him to create a wide, straight-sided groove. He pulled the tool beyond the point at which the grooves met in order to create a pointed end while maintaining an even depth along the length of the blank (Figure 12a). Once the bone had been almost completely penetrated, Rast inserted a stick into the open proximal end and gently pried the blank away from the core. ...
Context 3
... cut the outline of all barbs at once using an unhafted retouched flake (Figure 12b). This allowed him to plan the even spacing of each barb along both sides of the tool. ...
Context 4
... the extraneous bone was cut away, Rast abraded the edges of the barbs to reduce their size and finish their shape. In addition, he abraded the entire dorsal and ventral surfaces of the tool to maintain a smooth surface Figure 12c). The line hole was manu- factured as it had been for the needle, by cutting a short incision in both dorsal and ventral surfaces and rocking the tool back and forth to penetrate the center until the incisions met. ...
Citations
... In research on prehistoric and aboriginal technology, terms such as 'replica', 'reproduction' or 'imitation' are still used as general labels for (non-original) experimental objects (e.g. Barkai et al. 2010; Gould 1978 Praisler et al. 2013; Shea et al. 2001; Shott and Sillitoe 2004; Volkova 2012; Wells et al. 2014). Following Reynolds (1999) , an experiment is " a method of establishing a reasoned conclusion, against an initial hypothesis, by trial or test " . ...
In research on prehistoric and aboriginal technology, terms such as ‘replica’, ‘reproduction’ or ‘imitation’ are still used as generic labels for (non-original) experimental objects, their intended meaning becoming potentially confusing. Because the implementation of a standard terminology is required in order to allow individuals involved in research on prehistoric and aboriginal technology to speak the same language, an experimental artefact terminology, based on alpha-taxonomy and the chaîne opératoire, is presented. In this terminology, alpha-taxonomy takes into account three stages of the operational scheme of the chaîne opératoire as couplets: (1) the raw material used, (2) the method employed for shaping a given object, and (3) its resulting final shape. Additionally, a registry code suitable for labelling experimental artefacts is also presented. Although the lexicon presented in this paper does not intend to solve all the problems related to experimental artefacts in prehistoric and aboriginal technology, it represents a user-friendly approach to experimental realities, by establishing a shared language—which, to date, has still not been implemented—for experimental items. While this terminology and code system are primarily addressed to prehistoric and aboriginal technologists concerned with experimental work, they are equally relevant to museum curators and can also be of value to individuals involved in many other human endeavours, from the contemporary-art trade to the mechanics industry.
An adhesive is any substance that bonds different materials together. This broad definition includes materials used in everything from hafted stone tools to monumental architecture. In addition, the combination of bonding, plasticity, and insolubility meant that some adhesives were exploited for waterproofing and sealing of materials, as self-adhering inlays and putties, and as paints, varnishes, and inks. Adhesives have a history of at least 200,000 years. Throughout (pre)history and around the world, people used materials, including bitumen/asphalt, carbohydrate polymers such as starches and gums, natural rubbers, mortars, proteins (from casein, soy, blood, and animal connective tissue), insect and plant resins, and tars made from various barks and woods. Adhesives thus are very diverse and have widely varying properties: they can be tacky, pliable, elastic, brittle, water-resistant, fluid, viscous, clear, dark, and much more. They are a plastic avant la lettre. These properties can and were tweaked by mixing ingredients or by further processing. In the study of archaeological adhesives, their characterization is essential and this is best done with chemical and spectroscopic methods. When larger coherent samples as opposed to single finds are analyzed, adhesive studies can provide data on past technologies, socioeconomic organizations, and environments and raw material availability. Through sourcing and mapping of ingredients and adhesive end products, travel and transfer of materials and knowledge can be illuminated. Additionally, experimental reproductions provide data on technological aspects that otherwise are lost in the archaeological record. An archaeology of adhesives can reveal the transport networks, subsistence, mobility strategies, division of labor, and technological know-how that held societies together.
