Kate Fredrick and Rose Lemerand, “Archaeology in the Lab: Lithic Debitage Analysis at Way Ranch, Texas”
Mentor: Ashley Lemke, Anthropology, Letters & Science (College of)
Poster #21
Through four field seasons (2017-2019, 2022), Dr. Lemke directed excavations at an archaeological site in Texas, Way Ranch. This site featured an abundance of prehistoric artifacts and materials ranging from the Middle through Late Archaic periods (4,000 BC to AD 500). Lithic analysis allows archaeologists to document and understand past technologies and interpret human behavior. Debitage is the chipped byproducts of flintknapping, which is the process of stone tool making and debitage analysis can reveal how much tool production occurred at site and other behaviors. The prehistoric material from Way Ranch was taken to the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, where a sample of lithic material from the site was analyzed. In addition to counting and weighing, we conducted 3 analyses in order to determine the frequency and types of stone tool making at the site. These analyses were cortex percentage, burning, and broken/whole flakes. The most important type of analysis is the broken and whole flake frequency and distribution. This involves looking for platforms, the marks left behind where the rock was hit. The ratio of flakes with platforms to those without can help determine how much flintknapping was taking place. The final result of this research will be a comprehensive publication of the site’s material data for future archaeologists to use and review.
Key terms: Anthropology, Archaeology, Lithic Analysis, Debitage analysis