We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LITHOLOGY, FLAKING PROPERTIES AND ARTEFACT MANUFACTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN SILCRETES.
- Authors
WEBB, J. A.; DOMANSKI, M.
- Abstract
Mechanical properties of Australian silcrete strongly influenced raw material selection and artefact manufacture. Microcrystalline silcrete, with high compressive and tensile strength, is suitable for blade tools requiring fine retouch. Fine-grained silcrete (high compressive strength but lower tensile strength) was often used for blade-based implements, but is more susceptible to edge fracturing. Medium-grained silcrete has poor flaking properties (low compressive and tensile strength) and was often used for flake manufacture. Thus material determinism can explain much of the variability in silcrete artefact morphology and assemblage composition. Silcrete compressive strength is positively correlated with percentage of microcrystalline matrix and negatively correlated with average grain size, so hand lens examination of a silcrete sample can give a good indication of its likely flaking quality.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; PETROLOGY; ANTIQUITIES; SILCRETE; DURICRUSTS; MICROCRYSTALLINE polymers
- Publication
Archaeometry, 2008, Vol 50, Issue 4, p555
- ISSN
0003-813X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00381.x