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Abstract Even though lithics in the Maya region have traditionally been relegated to appendices and tool-type lists, much has been done to move beyond this descriptive approach in the last decade. In this article we highlight general themes of lithic studies in the Maya region since 2011, including economic production and exchange, the role of lithics in ritual practice, and the use of previously understudied raw materials and lithic forms, such as ground stone. Employing a temporal scope that encompasses the Maya and their preceramic predecessors, we explore gendered patterns of research within lithic studies from a feminist perspective and discuss the impacts that gender disparities have on academic thought.
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Controlled comparative tensile tests of backed versus non‐backed edges’ adhesion: Inferences into stone tool functional properties
Abstract Backing is a procedure for retouching a stone tool edge to an angle of or near 90°. Archaeologists have recorded backed lithic specimens in the Pleistocene and Holocene around the world. One prominent hypothesis for the occurrence of backing is that it increases a stone tool's adhesion relative to what it would have otherwise been with unmodified, sharp edges. We conducted a highly controlled semi‐static tensile test in which we assessed lithic specimens that possessed both a backed and a non‐backed edge, opposing each other. We hafted each specimen's backed and non‐backed edges to wood, and the bi‐hafted stone implement was then pulled apart using an Universal Instron Materials Tester, allowing for a direct ‘head‐to‐head’ comparison of the two edge types’ adhesive properties. Our tensile test results suggested no significant difference between backed and non‐backed edges in terms of adhesion, which does not support the hypothesis that backing increases a lithic specimen's adhesion.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2051497
- PAR ID:
- 10533829
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Archaeometry
- Volume:
- 67
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0003-813X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 267-283
- Size(s):
- p. 267-283
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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