Knowra Lithic analysis Lithic analysis Lithic analysis is the archaeological study of stone artifacts, examining their raw materials, manufacture, use, and distribution to interpret past human behavior.
Stone tool technology : The methods and technical knowledge used to make and maintain tools from stone. Lithic analysis reconstructs this technology from artifacts and manufacturing traces.
Lithic raw material : Stone selected or used for making tools, including materials such as flint, obsidian, and quartzite. Material properties and geological sources constrain toolmaking choices.
Obsidian hydration dating : A dating method that estimates time since an obsidian surface was exposed by measuring its hydration layer. Obsidian artifacts can provide chronological estimates alongside stratigraphy and other dating methods.
Typology (archaeology) : The classification of archaeological artifacts into types based on shared attributes. Typological analysis emphasizes named forms, unlike approaches centered on production sequences.
Lithic reduction : The removal of flakes from a stone core to shape tools or produce usable flakes. Its sequences can be reconstructed from cores, flakes, and fracture patterns.
Conchoidal fracture : A curved, shell-like fracture produced in brittle materials such as flint and glass. Its characteristic scars help identify how flakes detached from cores.
Sourcing (archaeology) : The identification of an artifact's geological origin through its material properties or chemical composition. Comparing artifact materials with known sources can map procurement and exchange.
Technological analysis (archaeology) : The study of artifacts through the techniques, actions, and production sequences that created them. It foregrounds manufacturing processes that artifact-form classifications can obscure.
Flintknapping : The deliberate shaping of knappable stone by striking or pressing it to detach flakes. Understanding knapping helps distinguish intentional production from accidental breakage.
Debitage : Stone debris produced during the manufacture, maintenance, or use of tools. Debitage often preserves the clearest evidence of on-site production.
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