Waste Not,Want Not—Differential Lithic Utilization and Efficiency of Use

Abstract

Prehistoric people utilized different lithic raw materials differently. The differential “efficiency of use” as measured by average debitage flake weight and average percentage of flake edge retouched should differ as a function of raw materials' value. Value is a product of inherent qualities in the stone including ease of flake production and edge characteristics. Value is also a function of the labor input necessary for a material's procurement. The further a source, the greater the necessary labor input, the higher the value and, hypothetically, the greater the expected efficiency of use.

The above construct was tested at the Loomis II site in central Connecticut. Here, raw materials used in stone toolmaking included locally available quartz and basalt and exotic flint and jasper. Efficiency of use as measured by an Efficiency Index indicates that indeed, the further a raw material's source, the higher the efficiency of use.

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