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Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility

Blank size and form represent one of the main sources of variation in lithic assemblages. They reflect economic properties of blanks and factors such as efficiency and use life. These properties require reliable measures of size, namely edge length and surface area. These measures, however, are not...

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Autores principales: Dogandžić, Tamara, Braun, David R., McPherron, Shannon P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4557928/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26332773
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133984
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author Dogandžić, Tamara
Braun, David R.
McPherron, Shannon P.
author_facet Dogandžić, Tamara
Braun, David R.
McPherron, Shannon P.
author_sort Dogandžić, Tamara
collection PubMed
description Blank size and form represent one of the main sources of variation in lithic assemblages. They reflect economic properties of blanks and factors such as efficiency and use life. These properties require reliable measures of size, namely edge length and surface area. These measures, however, are not easily captured with calipers. Most attempts to quantify these features employ estimates; however, the efficacy of these estimations for measuring critical features such as blank surface area and edge length has never been properly evaluated. In addition, these parameters are even more difficult to acquire for retouched implements as their original size and hence indication of their previous utility have been lost. It has been suggested, in controlled experimental conditions, that two platform variables, platform thickness and exterior platform angle, are crucial in determining blank size and shape meaning that knappers can control the interaction between size and efficiency by selecting specific core angles and controlling where fracture is initiated. The robustness of these models has rarely been tested and confirmed in context other than controlled experiments. In this paper, we evaluate which currently employed caliper measurement methods result in the highest accuracy of size estimations of blanks, and we evaluate how platform variables can be used to indirectly infer aspects of size on retouched artifacts. Furthermore, we investigate measures of different platform management strategies that control the shape and size of artifacts. To investigate these questions, we created an experimental lithic assemblage, we digitized images to calculate 2D surface area and edge length, which are used as a point of comparison for the caliper measurements and additional analyses. The analysis of aspects of size determinations and the utility of blanks contributes to our understanding of the technological strategies of prehistoric knappers and what economic decisions they made during process of blank production.
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spelling pubmed-45579282015-09-10 Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility Dogandžić, Tamara Braun, David R. McPherron, Shannon P. PLoS One Research Article Blank size and form represent one of the main sources of variation in lithic assemblages. They reflect economic properties of blanks and factors such as efficiency and use life. These properties require reliable measures of size, namely edge length and surface area. These measures, however, are not easily captured with calipers. Most attempts to quantify these features employ estimates; however, the efficacy of these estimations for measuring critical features such as blank surface area and edge length has never been properly evaluated. In addition, these parameters are even more difficult to acquire for retouched implements as their original size and hence indication of their previous utility have been lost. It has been suggested, in controlled experimental conditions, that two platform variables, platform thickness and exterior platform angle, are crucial in determining blank size and shape meaning that knappers can control the interaction between size and efficiency by selecting specific core angles and controlling where fracture is initiated. The robustness of these models has rarely been tested and confirmed in context other than controlled experiments. In this paper, we evaluate which currently employed caliper measurement methods result in the highest accuracy of size estimations of blanks, and we evaluate how platform variables can be used to indirectly infer aspects of size on retouched artifacts. Furthermore, we investigate measures of different platform management strategies that control the shape and size of artifacts. To investigate these questions, we created an experimental lithic assemblage, we digitized images to calculate 2D surface area and edge length, which are used as a point of comparison for the caliper measurements and additional analyses. The analysis of aspects of size determinations and the utility of blanks contributes to our understanding of the technological strategies of prehistoric knappers and what economic decisions they made during process of blank production. Public Library of Science 2015-09-02 /pmc/articles/PMC4557928/ /pubmed/26332773 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133984 Text en © 2015 Dogandžić et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Dogandžić, Tamara
Braun, David R.
McPherron, Shannon P.
Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title_full Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title_fullStr Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title_full_unstemmed Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title_short Edge Length and Surface Area of a Blank: Experimental Assessment of Measures, Size Predictions and Utility
title_sort edge length and surface area of a blank: experimental assessment of measures, size predictions and utility
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4557928/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26332773
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133984
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