Scrapers 101

[GrouseMan]

The other day I posted a photo of a crystal quartz piece that I thought might be a scraper, and you guys seemed to have confirmed it. This got me thinking about another small piece of Briar Creek chert I found that has been clearly worked, I always chalked it up to being debitage, but upon further inspection the back edge is clean broken and the opposite edge is worked into a fine bevel. Found in South Carolina.


The artifact is about the size of a thumbnail, and now I'm not sure. It's hard to get a photo of the bevel, but opposite of the broken side it is worked down into a nice edge on both sides. Was this a scraper?

And more importantly, I wanted you guys to chime in with some "Scraper 101" knowledge. What are you looking for when identifying scrapers? I would not have been able to identify the crystal quartz piece as a true scraper if not for you guys and I still don't know what distinguishing features the piece has that makes it a scraper. So what are some of your Scraper Identification 101 tips?

 

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[DaveSmith]

Hi grouseman,
I live in western NC so I find a lot of similar items from NC that are the same as from SC. This link I'm posting is specific to Minnesota, but from what I can tell the techniques used to make the tools could be used anywhere and has taught me a lot about tools in general that I have never saw anywhere else. Pages 69 thru 74 is a section on scrapers.
https://mn.gov/admin/assets/stone-tools-of-minnesota-part1_tcm36-247478.pdf

 

[Tdog]

A few quick reads to get your feet wet on scrapers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scraper_(archaeology)
https://www.thoughtco.com/prehistoric-stone-tools-categories-and-terms-171497
http://eacharya.inflibnet.ac.in/dat...d_INFIEP_304/94/ET/304-94-ET-V1-S1__file1.pdf

 

[uniface]

The key to identifying a scraper is the angle of the working edge. High angle = scraping edge. Lower angle = cutting edge &/OR core edge.

FWIW

 

[Fred250]

I found these over the weekend, and not to hijack, it seems on topic, opinions on these. I think they are scrapers but obviously I have a liberal view of human agency.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Fred i hate to say it but dose not appear to have been flaked or worked in any manner.

 

[Fred250]

Thanks for looking. It’s at least a flake but looks like work/wear on the cutting edge to me.