Bipolar reduction has been long recognized as a means of producing flakes from cores. The identification of bipolar debris has implications for assessing the role of bipolar reduction in the organization of lithic technology. Previous work has indicated that the classification of bipolar materials can be difficult. A series of experimental reductions are reported that assist in recognizing bipolar materials from archaeological sites. It is suggested that bipolar technologies are more easily identified at the assemblage level than at the individual flake level. The experimental results are applied to materials recovered from a late Middle Archaic component at 11MG423 in Morgan County, Illinois and indicate a considerable bipolar industry for that site. An examination of other Middle Archaic sites in the region indicates that bipolar industries are represented at a number of sites, though the context of bipolar technology during the Middle Archaic in the region is complex.
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