Not Your Average Flake: A Morphological and Functional Analysis of an Expedient Flake Tool Industry from the Mussel Beach Site (40MI70)

ABSTRACT

Although simple in form and design, flakes are extremely efficient tools. With multiple working edges, flake tools may be used to complete a myriad of tasks; however, their use-life tends to be shorter than that of formally retouched implements. While expedient flakes may constitute a large component of lithic assemblages, their identification requires that individual debitage specimens be analyzed at macroscopic and microscopic levels. The identification and analysis of flake tool assemblages may offer insight into site activities that might otherwise have been overlooked. The goal of this study was to examine lithic debitage from the Mussel Beach site in Marion County, Tennessee, to identify, describe, and classify expedient flake tools based on morphology and function. This study also combines ethnographic, experimental, and ethnoarchaeological methods to explore the relationship between flake tools and plant materials for the purpose of preparing plants for use in the manufacture of perishable technologies at the Mussel Beach site.

KEYWORDS:

• Flake technology
• expedient tools
• use-wear analysis
• lithic functional analysis
• split-cane technology

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Danny Gregory and the staff at New South Associates for their work at the Mussel Beach site and their support of this project. I would also like to thank the Curators at McClung Museum for loaning the Mussel Beach Collection and allowing me to examine the artifacts. Many thanks also go to Dr Boyce Driskell, Kandace Hollenbach, and the staff at the Archaeological Research Laboratory. Dr Driskell was a mentor and teacher, and I greatly appreciate the time and patience taken to train me in the study of lithic functional analysis. A very special thank you is also extended to Roger and Shawna Cain for their participation in the cane processing experiments and for their contributions to the study of river cane. Lastly, I would like to thank the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the author.

Data Availability Statement

The Mussel Beach archaeological collection and associated data sets are curated at the University of Tennessee's McClung Museum and Archaeological Research Laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee. Data associated with the Mussel Beach site can be provided by contacting the author.

Notes on Contributor

Megan King received her PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include lithic technology, use-wear analysis, gender and divisions of labor among hunter-gatherers, perishable technology, and split-cane technology.

ORCID

Megan M. King http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7081-0445