Could use your thoughts on this one

[Wallhangers]

Found this morning and it is the second one of these I have found on this particular site, although this one is a little thinner and worked a little better. As I am still learning about artifacts, I have been a little confused in the difference between a core, preform, bi-face, large blade, small hand axe and flaking tool. In your opinion, what would you call this one. It is 2 1/2" long, 1 7/8" wide, and 3/4" thick at the thickest spot. Found in SW Michigan. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

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[IllinoisDug]

I would say a hand scraper. Does one side look sharpened or polished?

 

[Wallhangers]

I would say a hand scraper. Does one side look sharpened or polished?

Both sides are pictured and most of the scrapers I find are smooth on one side or have grooves for the fingers, this one seems to be worked on both sides. Doesn't appear to have as sharp of edges as other scrapers I have found either.

 

[SOHIO]

id call that a scraper as well

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Preform.

 

[SOHIO]

blank

 

[SOHIO]

Thats an all sided scraper

 

[Harry Pristis]

Found this morning and it is the second one of these I have found on this particular site, although this one is a little thinner and worked a little better. As I am still learning about artifacts, I have been a little confused in the difference between a core, preform, bi-face, large blade, small hand axe and flaking tool. In your opinion, what would you call this one. It is 2 1/2" long, 1 7/8" wide, and 3/4" thick at the thickest spot. Found in SW Michigan. Thanks for your thoughts!

I would call your scraper a percussion-flaked, bifaced scraper.

​

 

[SOHIO]

good work harry

 

[Wallhangers]

I would call your scraper a percussion-flaked, bifaced scraper.

View attachment 638757 View attachment 638758 ​

Excellent, think you nailed it there. Thanks for everyone's help. Any particular reason this one is different than other scrapers I have found that are smooth on one side? Was it dependent on the task at hand or a different design based on the time period? This one's a little larger than most of my other scrapers as well.

 

[Twitch]

The Grim Reaper nailed it. It's a very classic preform (same thing as a blank). Most of the scrapers you find are smooth on one side because they're uni-face tools meaning they were only worked on one sided (obviously). To serve as a scraper there was no benefit in use to a bi-face so uni-face's were often used. When you're first starting to identify tools lots of items fall into the 'scraper' category, but you sir have a preform.

Nice find.

 

[Harry Pristis]

The Grim Reaper nailed it. It's a very classic preform (same thing as a blank). Most of the scrapers you find are smooth on one side because they're uni-face tools meaning they were only worked on one sided (obviously). To serve as a scraper there was no benefit in use to a bi-face so uni-face's were often used. When you're first starting to identify tools lots of items fall into the 'scraper' category, but you sir have a preform.
Nice find.

Personally, I don't pretend to know what purpose the knapper had in mind when he (or she) made this tool.

Perhaps the best indicator of the knapper's intent is retouching, pressure flaking to give the tool some intended shape. Perhaps the next best is edge wear -- hinge fractures or grinding or polishing. (You can see hinge fractures on the uniface tool in my image.) The presence of edge wear suggests that the tool was in use and not a preform. Unhappily, the absence of edge wear is not dispositive for anything -- the tool may, after all, have been lost or discarded before it was much used.

It seems to me that to describe this little, generic tool as a "preform" implies the we know something that we cannot know -- the mind of the long-dead knapper.

Can you pick out the preform here? . . .

​

 

[larson1951]

it is for sure not unifaced (obviously)
and yes as the reaper, harry and twitch call it...... it is a blank, or unfinished piece, which to me is also a cool artifact
i have learned that some of these items had been "roughed in" after they were mined from the source of the raw material
this was done in order to reduce the volume and weight in order to transport more potential pcs from the source back to the village or worksite where the craftsmen and craftswomen would then finish them, from what i have learned is that a very big share of these utensils were made by the older women, as they stayed by the lodges and cared for the little ones, while the younger daughters and sons would go hunting and gardening, ..........this is not folklore, it is information i have learned from older people and want to pass on to my friends here
larson1951

 

[SOHIO]

it is for sure not unifaced (obviously)
and yes as the reaper, harry and twitch call it...... it is a blank, or unfinished piece, which to me is also a cool artifact
i have learned that some of these items had been "roughed in" after they were mined from the source of the raw material
this was done in order to reduce the volume and weight in order to transport more potential pcs from the source back to the village or worksite where the craftsmen and craftswomen would then finish them, from what i have learned is that a very big share of these utensils were made by the older women, as they stayed by the lodges and cared for the little ones, while the younger daughters and sons would go hunting and gardening, ..........this is not folklore, it is information i have learned from older people and want to pass on to my friends here
larson1951

speculation your honor

 

[Edmundruffin]

No use polish, so a scraper it out of the question. It is one of two artifacts and the Reaper hit one of them, a preform( I call them "give up efforts") due to the extensive cortex in the worked item. OR the ones I find are the beginnign of working down a rounded nodule, hence the evidence of extensive cortex, the first strike to expose the quality of the stone. Notice the flats or steep angles at the edge. Harry's examples are from higher quality chert, this example was lower quality, hence a "give up preform". The ancient knapper had a established method of rendering down a nodule. The first step to making a Keel flake, establishing a ground area to wack off the cortex of the nodule exposing the quality of the chert. Most elongated nodules had two rounded ends to work. Getting the most out of the nodule, the knapper made a few percussion wacks at the end keel flake and tossed it away = " a give up" enough effort to see if adittional work can produce a tool. Common items in Western Tennessee quarry sites.

 

[Wallhangers]

No use polish, so a scraper it out of the question. It is one of two artifacts and the Reaper hit one of them, a preform( I call them "give up efforts") due to the extensive cortex in the worked item. OR the ones I find are the beginnign of working down a rounded nodule, hence the evidence of extensive cortex, the first strike to expose the quality of the stone. Notice the flats or steep angles at the edge. Harry's examples are from higher quality chert, this example was lower quality, hence a "give up preform". The ancient knapper had a established method of rendering down a nodule. The first step to making a Keel flake, establishing a ground area to wack off the cortex of the nodule exposing the quality of the chert. Most elongated nodules had two rounded ends to work. Getting the most out of the nodule, the knapper made a few percussion wacks at the end keel flake and tossed it away = " a give up" enough effort to see if adittional work can produce a tool. Common items in Western Tennessee quarry sites.

Thanks for everyone's input, I now see why it is sometimes difficult to know for sure on some of these items. I was told by a friend who has sought out artifacts throughout the country, that in some of the southern states, there was a lot of discarding going on...mostly because the material was so plentiful. In his opinion, nothing went to waste here in Michigan. A preform would be worked down to a tool, resharpened over and over until it quite possibly became an arrowhead or small drill at some point. Even when the material wasn't the best, they still would make an effort to utilize everything they could. But I won't rule out that it was thrown aside either because like I said...I am new to all of this. I appreciate everyones input because its helping me learn.

 

[old digger]

blank

Thats an all sided scraper

speculation your honor

What's the matter SOHIO can't make you mind up? Or just speculating?

 

[SOHIO]

What's the matter SOHIO can't make you mind up? Or just speculating?

Old digger I was saying speculation your honor after larsons post. Like a lawyer in court would dispute testimony that was hearsay, larson cannot make the determination that old women stayed around lodges finishing up blanks brought in by males? Sometimes it seems larsons ideology surrounding prehistoric peoples dates back only to the 1800s. Did the older people that he has learned from study archaeology or anthropology? It sounds as if most of his information comes from old timers and if you read a lot you will have learned that there was a lot of uneducated theory surrounding the artifacts they were coming across. Even today I come across people that still think arrowheads were primarily used by historic indians. Sounds to me that larson gets "some" of his information from old timers? Not knocking larson though or saying he doesn't know what he's talking about because he clearly does but sometimes there is too much imagination used in determining what something is. Ok now I said blank to mock Stevereaper. And I said all sided scraper to be funny. What I think it actually is from looking at this pc i see no definitive micro wear or polish making it like ed said possibly a throw away due to cortex, I find these often. But if we were to look at that pc more close i mean if we had some closeup of the edges we might see some polish in some of those crescents or some micro abrasion or chipping along an edge, then we would have to call that pc a scraper. I have found tons of discarded "fatties" that have scraper use. Just sometimes takes a closer look. I said scraper to begin with on this post and thats what I would stick with going on what I think I would see if I got a closer look at the edges but then again there may not be any edgewear at all on this pc.

 

[Twitch]

Personally, I don't pretend to know what purpose the knapper had in mind when he (or she) made this tool.

Perhaps the best indicator of the knapper's intent is retouching, pressure flaking to give the tool some intended shape. Perhaps the next best is edge wear -- hinge fractures or grinding or polishing. (You can see hinge fractures on the uniface tool in my image.) The presence of edge wear suggests that the tool was in use and not a preform. Unhappily, the absence of edge wear is not dispositive for anything -- the tool may, after all, have been lost or discarded before it was much used.

It seems to me that to describe this little, generic tool as a "preform" implies the we know something that we cannot know -- the mind of the long-dead knapper.

Can you pick out the preform here? . . .

Harry - I agree completely with every point you just made. In fact you hit on one that is near and dear to my heart, and that is 'intent'. I wasn't clear in my original post. I was attempting to say that I believe the artifact would, almost universally, be classified TODAY as a 'preform' or 'blank'. I certainly was not attempting to discern the intent of the maker. Was it finished, unfinished, discarded, lost, ceremonial (don't get me started on that one) or utilitarian I have no idea. I don't know why it was made, from the picture I don't know what it was used for, but from the picture I can tell you with certainty, that in today's environment, modern men would generally classify that as a preform. Just for fun, in your picture, without an idea of depth or flaking on the backside, #2 would class as a preform, the other 3 as scrapers or rough knives.

Just my 2 cents.

Joe

 

[SOHIO]

hey wallhangers (thats what she said) your pc is a ..blank all sided scraper bifacial ceremonial preform cache blade ovate ......end of discussion