Raw material impact strength and flaked stone projectile point performance

Loendorf, Chris; Blikre, L.; Bryce, W. D.; Oliver, Theodore J.; Denoyer, Allen; Wermers, Greg

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2017.12.003

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…2009; Loendorf et al . 2018). Perhaps cherts of lower fracture predictability possessed other functional advantages desired by Early Woodland people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nine-thousand years of optimal toolstone selection through the North American Holocene

et al. 2019

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“…2009; Loendorf et al . 2018). Perhaps cherts of lower fracture predictability possessed other functional advantages desired by Early Woodland people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nine-thousand years of optimal toolstone selection through the North American Holocene

et al. 2019

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“…Low impact-strength materials like chert, however, were commonly employed to make arrowpoints, and fine-grained stones have slightly better performance when penetrating elastic materials. In addition to raw material availability, this factor may help explain why these materials were selected over more durable stone types (Loendorf et al 2018). In addition, when it was possible to rework experimental points made from high impact-strength stone, performance suffered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the end of the experimental trials, all points were too fragmentary to be reworked. The performance of the initial points was reported in a previous publication (Loendorf et al 2018), and, because the same methods were employed to test the reworked points, they are summarized again here.…”

Section: Arrowpoint Reworking Experiments Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Projectile Point Reworking: An Experimental Study of Arrowpoint Use Life

et al. 2019

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This article summarizes the results of controlled experiments in which flaked-stone points that varied in impact strength by a factor of almost three were shot at media that were increasingly inelastic and therefore likely to break the points. Broken tips were reworked if possible, and used again under the same conditions. Our results show that all damage to low impact-strength materials, especially obsidian, was generally catastrophic, and, consequently, these points could only rarely be reworked. The fact that low-strength stones were commonly used to make small arrowpoints suggests that reworking was not a primary concern for their designers. Furthermore, in those instances when broken tips could be reworked, their performance declined. In addition, reworking broken points also resulted in shapes that are uncommon in many arrowpoint assemblages. Our results suggest that the original design attributes of arrowpoints may have been less affected by reworking, and, consequently, may more accurately suggest temporal and behavioral associations.

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“…), the raw material (Loendorf et al . ), variations in the width‐to‐thickness and length‐to‐thickness ratios (Odell and Cowan ; Cheshier and Kelly ) and the presence and frequency of flake scars, all must be accounted for in achieving greater analytical realism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Are Clovis Fluted Points More Resilient than Non‐Fluted Lanceolate Points? A Quantitative Assessment of Breakage Patterns Between Experimental Models

et al. 2018

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For decades, archaeologists have wondered whether the Clovis Palaeoindian (c.11 600-10 800 radiocarbon years BP) practice of 'fluting', a flake removal technique that creates a distinctive shallow channel extending from the base of the projectile point towards the tip, bestowed a functional advantage over non-fluted projectile points. Using analytical modelling and static engineering experiments, Thomas et al. (2017) found that points that more effectively redistribute stress and relocate damage can absorb significantly more energy, last longer and remain intact relative to points that do not experience these phenomena. In general, stress redistribution and damage relocation is significantly more likely to occur in fluted points, as opposed to non-fluted points, suggesting that fluting acts as a 'shock absorber'. Here, we present a comparative quantitative assessment of breakage patterns between Thomas et al.'s (2017) experimental points that shows those experiencing stress redistribution and damage relocation were also able to significantly better resist breakage, and to incur noncatastrophic breaks, than points that less effectively redistribute stress and relocate damage. This more beneficial breakage pattern explains the material advantages provided by stress redistribution and damage relocation, and hence the potential motivation for fluting. This does not preclude the possibility that the process of fluting was accorded significance beyond its possible utilitarian value. Additional tests will be necessary to further resolve the 'shockabsorbing' capabilities of fluting.

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Raw material impact strength and flaked stone projectile point performance

Cited by 31 publications

References 30 publications

Nine-thousand years of optimal toolstone selection through the North American Holocene

Nine-thousand years of optimal toolstone selection through the North American Holocene

Projectile Point Reworking: An Experimental Study of Arrowpoint Use Life

Why Are Clovis Fluted Points More Resilient than Non‐Fluted Lanceolate Points? A Quantitative Assessment of Breakage Patterns Between Experimental Models

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