The mediating effect of platform width on the size and shape of stone flakes

Sam C Lin, Zeljko Rezek, Aylar Abdolahzadeh, David R Braun, Tamara Dogandžić, George M Leader, Li Li and Shannon P McPherron

PLOS ONE, 2022, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: To understand the ways in which past stone knappers controlled the morphology of the flakes they produced, archaeologists have focused on examining the effects of striking platform attributes on flake size and shape. Among the variables commonly considered, platform width has routinely been noted to correlate with flake size and hence used to explain past knapping behaviors. Yet, the influence of platform width on flake variation remains equivocal due to the fact that the attribute is not under the direct control of the knapper. Instead, platform width tends to be treated as a by-product of other independent knapping parameters, such as platform depth. In this study, we hypothesize that platform width acts as an intermediary that intervenes the effect of other independent variables on flake attributes. By analyzing experimental flakes produced under both controlled and replicative settings, the results support the hypothesis that platform width mediates the effect of platform depth on flake width, such that flakes with relatively larger platform widths are generally wider but no longer. This finding provides a way to incorporate platform width into discussions of the interrelationships among knapping variables, and highlights the importance of platform width for investigating how past knappers controlled flake production through platform manipulation.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262920 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 62920&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0262920

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262920

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().