The Morphology and Technology of Clovis Flat-Backed Cores from the Gault Site (41BL323), Texas

Abstract

Blade production is recognized as a diagnostic component of Clovis lithic technology [Bradley, Bruce A., Michael B. Collins, and C. A. Hemmings 2010 Clovis Technology. International Monographs in Prehistory, Archaeological Series 17; Collins, Michael B. 1999 Clovis Blade Technology. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX; Huckell, Bruce B. 2007 Clovis Lithic Technology: A View from the Upper San Pedro Valley. In Murray Springs: A Clovis Site with Multiple Activity Areas in the San Pedro Valley, Arizona, edited by C. V. Haynes, Jr and Bruce B. Huckell. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ; Waters, Michael R., Charlotte D. Pevny, and D. L. Carlson 2011 Clovis Lithic Technology: Investigation of a Stratified Workshop at the Gault Site, Texas. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas]. Clovis Blade reduction strategies have been previously documented [Bradley, Bruce A., Michael B. Collins, and C. A. Hemmings 2010 Clovis Technology. International Monographs in Prehistory, Archaeological Series 17], but the specific morphology of Clovis blade cores is underreported. This is a crucial aspect in identifying blade manufacture across the Clovis range and comparing regional diversity. Blade core morphology can also provide data on specific aspects of manufacture. This paper presents a study of Clovis “flat-backed” (wedge-shaped) blade cores from the Gault Site in Central Texas, USA. An analysis of the blade cores indicates that curved blades were a product of the morphology. Despite this, the intentionality and functional need for producing curved blades is uncertain. Further studies are necessary across the Clovis range to identify if one systematic production technology was utilized.

Keywords:

• Clovis
• Blade technology
• Blade cores
• Core morphology
• Flat-backed cores
• Gault site

Acknowledgments

This article is the product of my doctoral research and I wish to thank the University of Exeter, Professor Bruce Bradley, and Dr Linda Hurcombe for their continual support and encouragement. I thank Mike Collins for his continual support and encouragement. I also thank Nancy V. Williams, Robert Lassen, D. Clark Wernecke, Bruce Bradley, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. The archaeological research at the Gault Site was funded in part by NSF Grant 0920549 to Texas State University, San Marcos, by The Gault School of Archaeological Research, and by private donors. I would also like to say a very special thank you to Lindsey and Andrew Williams.

ORCID

Thomas J. Williams http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2945-6581

Note on Contributor

Thomas Williams is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Prehistory Research Project in the Anthropology Department, Texas State University, USA. He specializes in blade technology and manufacturing sequences. He obtained his PhD in Archaeology from the University of Exeter, UK.