Society for American Archaeology

Making Sense of Flake Scatters: Lithic Technological Strategies and Mobility

Author(s): Frank L. Cowan
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Oct., 1999), pp. 593-607
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2694207
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 MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS:
LITHIC TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGIES AND MOBILITY

Frank L. Cowan

Recent theoretical developments in the organization of lithic technology provide powerful tools for learning about prehistoric
settlement systems and the roles of sites within settlement systems. Strong relationships between mobility and the designs and
production methods of stone tools provide a means for testing hypotheses about the functional and organizational roles of sites;
this is especially important for learning about "plow zone lithic scatters " and other small, poorly preserved sites. Subsistence-
settlement models for three periods of western New York prehistory imply different roles for small sites in the interior of the
region. These hypotheses are tested by the analysis of dominant tool-production methods. Strong differences in stone tool assem-
blages indicate major differences in site roles, but greater analytical detail and discriminatory power are obtained from the
analysis of tool-production methods from flakes.

Recientes desarollos te6ricos en la organizaci6n de la tecnologia Utica se presentan como instrumentos poderosos para el apren-
dizaje de los sistemas de asentimenta prehistoricos y del papel que los sitios representan sitios dentro de dichos sistemas. Las
fuertes relaciones entre la mobilidad y los disefios y mitodos de producci6n de las herramientas de piedra proveen una manera
de probar las hip6tesis sobre el papelfuncional y la organizaci6n de sitios; esto es especialmente importante para comprender
las dispersiones liticas en las zonas de arado y tambikn para aprender de otros sitios que son mds chicos en pobre estado de preser
vacion. Modelos de la relacidn entre el asentamiento y la alimentacic'n para tres periodos de la prehistoria occidental de New
York implican diferentes papeles para los sitios pequenos del interior de la regi6n. Estas hip6tesis son puesta a prueba por el
andlisis de los mitodos dominantes de la producci6n de herramientas. Fuertes diferencias en el conjunto de herramientas de piedra
indicdn grandes diferencias en lasfunciones de los sitios, pero el infasis en las lascas como la base del andlisis de producci6n
proporciona mayores detalles analiticos y potencia discriminatoria.

T wo distinctly different trajectories of stone to the organizational roles of sites within settlement
tool production dominated the prehistoric systems. Technological evidence is particularly
lithic industries of North America. One is theimportant for understanding poorly preservec
production of unretouched or minimally retouched archaeological deposits where stone tools and pro-
flake tools from simple cores, while the second is duction debris often are the only surviving evidence
the extensive shaping of bifacial tools. Each pro- of site function.
duction trajectory has advantages and limitations, This study examines the organizational roles ol
and the characteristics of each have important impli- small sites within LateArchaic, Early Woodland, anc
cations for understanding the organization of pre- Late Woodland settlement systems in western New
historic societies. York by focusing on the technological correlates ol
Mobility is a powerful conditioner of technolog- mobility. Subsistence-settlement models for these
ical strategies; different mobility strategies affect the culture-historical periods imply that small sites in the
ranges of tool design and production options interior of the region played different roles during
employed by tool users (e.g., Binford 1979; Kelly each period and that the use of these sites entailec
1988; Nelson 1991; Odell 1998; Parry and Kelly different patterns of mobility. Since mobility places
1987; Shott 1986). Strong relationships between constraints on technological options, predictions car
be made for the kinds of tool-production and -usc
technology and mobility make it possible to use van-
ability in tool design and production as clues to the strategies that predominated in each context. Thesc
organization of prehistoric settlement systems and hypotheses are tested by analyses of the chipped stone

Frank L. Cowan * Cincinnati Museum Center, Museum of Natural History and Science, Geier Collections and Research
Center, 1720 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45202

American Antiquity, 64(4), 1999, pp. 593-607

Copyright C 1999 by the Society for American Archaeology

593

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 594 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
artifact and flake assemblages from 45 small site
components. Strongly patterned differences among
periods in assemblage content and flake assemblage
characteristics permit interpretation of the functional
Experiments by Odell and Cowan (1986:207-208),
roles of many small, poorly preserved sites.
Tool-Production Trajectories and Mobility
The principal functional characteristic of any stone
tool lies in the form of the tool edge that contacts and
prolong use life and conserve raw material resources.
alters the worked materials (Nelson 1991:66). The
functional edges must be effective for carrying out
the tasks for which the tools were intended. Other
formal properties of tools, however, may vary quite
considerably. This is evident in the marked lack of
congruence between archaeologically defined
classes of tools, distinguished by morphological
Odell (1998) found that, in a series of Illinois assem-
characteristics, and their actual functions, identified
by usewear patterns (e.g., Ahler 1971; Odell 1981,
1988, 1989, 1996, 1998). Some tool forms were
capable of performing a wide range of functional
tasks, while formally different tool types were often any other technologically defined class of stone tools.
used to perform similar tasks. Much of that for-
mal/functional variability appears to relate to the
contexts in which the tools were designed to be
employed (e.g., Binford 1979; Keeley 1982; Kelly
1988; Nelson 1991; Parry and Kelly 1987).
The simplest method of stone tool production is
the detachment of flake tools from cores of suitable
stone. Unretouched or minimally retouched flakes
are effective tools, and their production requires low
investment in time, raw material quality, and tech-
nical skill development. Tool use life is short, how-
ever, and the method is consumptive of lithic
materials. Unless flake tools are large, they have a
limited capacity to perform a wide range of tasks.
Unless extensively retouched, they may be difficult
to haft into preexisting tool handles (Keeley 1982).
Unretouched flake edges are fragile and easily dam-
aged in transit, and cores large enough to accom-
modate extended periods of use are heavy and
cumbersome (Kuhn 1994; Nelson 1991). Despite
low production costs, the use of flake tools from
cores is not well suited to highly mobile tool users
(Nelson 1991; Parry and Kelly 1987).
Bifacial tool shaping, in contrast, is a much more
expensive means of tool production. It requires
higher quality raw materials, more advanced flint-
knapping skills, and an appreciable time investment
for the production of each tool. Tool use life is long,
however, since a bifacial tool may be resharpened
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[Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999
many times without changing the form of the func-
tional edge (e.g., Sollberger 1971). It is resistant to
damage and has sufficient mass to allow for repairs.
for example, indicate that extensively shaped bifa-
cial projectile points are less susceptible to damage
and are more readily repaired than are unretouched
flake projectile points. Bifacial tool designs may thus
Bifacial tool-production methods can combine flake
production and diverse tool functions in one portable
core/tool (Kelly 1988; Nelson 1991). A biface has
sequential functional utility throughout the reduction
process. The bifacial edge is functionally versatile
and can be flexibly modified to suit a variety of spe-
cific tool requirements (Nelson 1991). For example,
blages spanning the Holocene, bifaces were consis-
tently employed for a wider range of functional
activities on a wider range of worked materials than
Bifacial tools are readily shaped for ease of hafting
(Keeley 1982), and the ease of handling and added
leverage of hafted bifaces more than adequately com-
pensate for the fact that bifacial tools may not have
the sharpness of unmodified flakes. Despite high ini-
tial production costs, extensively shaped bifacial
tools appear to be well suited for portability and
extensive or frequent mobility.
Table 1 summarizes some costs and benefits of
alternative tool-production strategies as they relate
to the mobility of the tool user. Relationships between
the costs and benefits of tool- production methods
and mobility imply that tool assemblages and pro-
duction debris should differ among sites depending
upon the kinds and levels of mobility that charac-
terized the use of those sites. Appreciation of these
relationships may allow for the recognition of dif-
ferent patterns of settlement mobility and different
functional roles of sites within settlement systems.
Table 1. Chipped Stone Tool-Production Methods:
Costs and Benefits.
Flake Tools
Costs and benefits from Cores Bifacial Tools
Production costs Low High
Tool use life Short Long
Raw material consumption High Low
Multifunctional utility Low High
Hafting costs High Low
Portability Low High
 Cowan] MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS 595

t/Ti A ~~~Lake Ontariol

f5 0 25

Kilometers

Niagara)
River L*Onondaga Escarpment

y ~~~~~> A * . my T ~~~~~~River
|Ontario X
.-..... Escarpment LC
Onondaga .... . - ) A 1 Gnesee

Figure 1. Map of western New York with locations of small, interior sites. Some mapped locations represent more than
one site.

Settlement Models and the Roles aging" system (sensu Binford 1980). Populations
of Small, Interior Sites probably aggregated at favorable fishing locations
near the Great Lakes and their largest tributaries
Prehistoric subsistence-settlement models are not throughout the warm seasons of the year when such
well developed in western New York, and few of the locations would have provided the greatest quantity
models have been extensively tested. Archaeologi- and diversity of aquatic, terrestrial, and avian
cal deposits in western New York are seldom well resources (Cleland 1982; Ellis et al. 1990; Ritchie
preserved, due to the region's relatively stable land 1969; Ritchie and Funk 1973). The region's larger
surfaces, poor preservation of organic materials, and Late Archaic sites tend to cluster around the larger
long history of agricultural tillage. Most of the knownestuaries of the Great Lakes, the falls and rapids of
prehistoric sites are "plow zone lithic scatters." major rivers, and the shallows of smaller lakes, all
highly productive fishing locations.
Nonetheless, it is possible to sketch the probable out-
lines of the dominant settlement systems for the Late
During the late fall and winter, however, the
Archaic, Early Woodland, and Late Woodland peri- attractions of shoreline locations on large water bod-
ods (Cowan 1994:10-66). This analysis focuses on ies diminish greatly, both in absolute abundance and
the roles of small sites located in the interior of the relative to resource abundance in the interior. While
region at distances at least 10 km from the Great white-tailed deer often inhabit river and lake shore-
Lakes and the region's largest rivers, such as the Nia-
gara and the Genesee (Figure 1). Expectations for Table 2. Expected Roles and Mobility Levels for Small,
the functional roles of small sites in the interior of Interior Sites in Western New York.

western New York and the levels of mobility asso-

ciated with each are summarized in Table 2 for three
culture-historical periods.
Late Archaic (ca. 3500-1000 B.C.) populations
appear to have employed a residentially mobile "for-
Period Functional Roles Mobility Levels
Late Woodland Logistical Camps High
Seasonal Base Camps Low
Early Woodland Logistical Camps High
Late Archaic Residential Camps Moderate

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 596 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999

line areas from the settlements,

spring through
supplemented by special-purpose the
chert ear
seasons, their winter habitats are likely to be in less quarry and mortuary sites. Although Granger termed
exposed inland thickets where they are sheltered the larger sites "maintenance" sites and the some-
from wind (Rue 1978:294,304). Shoreline locations what smaller residential camps "extractive" sites, it
are also exposed and uncomfortable for human pop- appears that he envisioned both site types as seasonal
ulations during the winter. Populations probably dis- base camps, albeit variable in the sizes of co-resi-
persed as small family groups hunted and trapped in dential populations and seasons of use. If the Early
the sheltered interior portions of the region. Late Woodland settlement system was organized around
Archaic sites within the interior are consistently smallseasonally differentiated residential base camps, a
in size and sparse in content, suggesting relatively large number of small "logistical" sites (Binford
short periods of occupation by small social groups. 1980) must have existed for provisioning those base
Arelatively high degree of residential mobility would camps. In fact, small, briefly occupied Early Wood-
be expected for the cold seasons of the year in the land sites are relatively abundant in the interior of
absence of storable food surpluses sufficient for over- the region, away from large bodies of water. The use
wintering and given the dispersed nature of winter- of such small logistical camps would have entailed
time resources. Similar seasonal shifts in settlement high levels of mobility.
structure were common strategies among ethnohis- With the development of agricultural systems
torically known Algonquian populations in the capable of generating large quantities of storable
Northeast (e.g., Callender 1978; Day and Trigger produce, year-round village settlements of aggre-
1978; Rogers and Rogers 1959; Snow 1978; Trig- gated populations became possible by the prehis-
ger 1978). toric Iroquoian Late Woodland period (ca. A.D.
It is likely that Early Woodland Meadowood 1300-1550). Iroquoian settlement systems are rela-
phase (ca. 900-400 B.C.) populations also made sea- tively well known in western New York, although
sonally differentiated use of the regional landscape, most archaeological research has focused on the large
although there are some indications that Early Wood- villages (e.g., Allen 1988; Engelbrecht 1972, 1974,
land populations may have been more territorially 1978,1984; Hunt 1990b; Schock 1974; White 1961,
entrenched and may have employed somewhat 1963; Wray 1973; Wray et. al 1987).
smaller ranges than preceding Late Archaic popula- Less well studied are the numerous small camps
tions (Cowan 1994:44-58). The largest sites, those that must have been associated with those villages.
having the greatest densities of artifacts and featuresThe support of long-term villages required an
and which include heavy, fragile, and relatively non- increased role for complex logistical systems to pro-
portable vessels of Vinette 1 pottery, are all located vide a wide range of nonagricultural resources to vil-
adjacent to productive fishing locations; "the site lage residents. Such a settlement strategy implies
distribution of the Meadowood phase indicates a varied roles for small sites as compared to those of
residentially mobile settlement systems.
preference for relatively flat terrain and propitious
fishing grounds on sizable streams and small lakes" At least two general categories of small Late
(Ritchie 1969:181). The establishment of formal Woodland sites are expected. Logistical camps
cemeteries near such locations suggests the overt would have been used by special-purpose task groups
assertion of community rights to geographically to acquire the forest and aquatic resources needed to
restricted resource areas (Charles and Buikstra provision the villages and other residential bases.
1983:119-120; Goldstein 1980:8), and a wide array Very long-range logistical forays by Iroquoian peo-
of mortuary treatments within cemeteries, including
ple are well known in the ethnohistorical literature
multiple burials of dissimilarly treated individual (Fenton 1978:297). Logistical sites should have been
remains, suggests that seasonally dispersed popula- functionally diverse, with camps being used for dif-
tions often curated deceased members for later bur- ferent purposes at different times of the year. The task
ial in community cemeteries near recurrently groups using those sites would have been small and
occupied aggregation sites (Spence et al. 1990). highly mobile.
Granger (1978b) argues that the Early Woodland A second category of small Late Woodland sites
Meadowood phase settlement systems in western is also expected. These are seasonal base camps,
New York included seasonally alternating base camp used during the warm seasons by small family groups

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 Cowan] MAKING SENSE
growing crops at moderate distances from the main
villages. Early seventeenth-century observers (e.g.,
Talbot 1949:69; Trigger 1990:33) noted that many
Hurons left the villages for the summer to tend dis-
persed corn fields, and there are many historical ref-
erences to small Iroquoian "cabin" sites situated at
varying distances from the major villages (e.g.,
Gehring and Starna 1988). Such sites served logis-
tical functions in that they were used for resource
acquisition to support the village-based populations.
Nonetheless, these small sites may have been con-
tinuously occupied throughout the growing season,
and their residents often were logistically supported. logical residues should reflect technological strate-
Mobility would have been low for the users of these
sites.
Small prehistoric sites located in the interior of
the western New York region are expected to have
played quite different roles in the subsistence-set-
tlement systems of which they were a part. One of
the characteristics distinguishing the varied roles of
these sites would have been the kinds and levels of
mobility associated with their use.
Technological Expectations for
Small, Interior Sites
Differences in the organizational roles of sites and
the levels of mobility of their users suggest marked
differences in tool-production strategies. If the sub-
sistence-settlement models outlined above are cor-
rect, we should be able to make specific predictions
about the predominant tool-production and -use
strategies that characterized the use of those sites
(Table 3).
If the interior Late Archaic sites were relatively
short-term residential camps, technological com-
promises must be expected. Mobility would have
been moderately high, but residential camps were
also places where wide ranges of functional activi-
ties took place and where all members of the co-res-
idential group engaged in activities requiring stone
tools. Tool- production methods are likely to have
Table 3. Expected Tool-Production and -Use Strategies.
Predominant Tool-
Period Site Roles Production Strategies
Late Woodland Logistical Camps Bifaces
Seasonal Base Camps Cores
Early Woodland Logistical Camps Bifaces
Late Archaic Residential Camps Biface Emphasis and
Moderate Core Use
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OF FLAKE SCATTERS 597
been eclectic, reflecting diverse tool needs and tool-
making skills and at least some possibility of stock-
piling cores and raw materials. Such moderately
mobile Late Archaic residential camps are expected
to have emphasized the use of bifacial tools, but tool-
making also should have involved a moderate but
consistent use of cores.
If the small Early Woodland sites examined in this
study were special-purpose logistical sites, on-site
activities would have focused on resource procure-
ment tasks, and maintenance tasks requiring diverse
toolkits would have been infrequent. The archaeo-
gies that facilitated high levels of mobility. Stone tool
assemblages are expected to be dominated by bifa-
cial tools, tool production should have emphasized
the use of readily transported tool preforms, and flake
assemblages should be dominated by the by-prod-
ucts of bifacial tool manufacture.
Small Late Woodland sites are expected to have
been highly variable in function, structure, and con-
tent, and stone tool-production and -use strategies
should have varied with the functional and organi-
zational requirements for the use of those sites. Small
Late Woodland sites should exhibit a technological
dichotomy, depending on whether the sites were sea-
sonal base camps or the short-term camps of exten-
sively mobile task groups engaged in logistical
procurement activities. Seasonal base camps should
be dominated by flake tools and cores; short-term
logistical camps should be dominated by bifacial
tools and the residues of bifacial tool production.
Site Sample
Forty-five small site components in western New
York were selected to test hypotheses about the roles
of small, interior sites in their respective settlement
systems (Cowan 1994). The sites included 19 Late
Archaic components, 8 Early Woodland compo-
nents, and 18 Late Woodland components. The
selected sites are located in the interior of western
New York, at least 10 km from Lakes Erie and
Ontario and from the Niagara and Genesee Rivers
(Figure 1). The available information for each site is
the product of cultural resource management stud-
ies conducted between 1970 and 1993. The kinds and
qualities of site information are varied, reflecting
project-specific contractual limitations as well as the
limitations of the surviving archaeological record.
Although a few of the Late Woodland sites are rea-
 598 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999

sonably well preserved and were extensively exca- ined in this study appear to have been derived from
vated during intensive data recovery projects, most Onondaga escarpment sources. All archaeological
of the sites are plow zone "lithic scatters," and none components in this study are situated within 40 km
of the LateArchaic and Early Woodland sites exhibit of the Onondaga escarpment, and analysis indicates
the artifact abundance and contextual preservation that proximity of sites to chert outcrops is not deter-
that would have made them attractive for traditional
minative of the technological strategies addressed in
archaeological research. this study (Cowan 1994:200-212).
Chronological control over site components is
Chipped Stone Tools and Cores
the thorniest problem faced by archaeologists deal-
ing with surfaces that have been stable for long Given the culture-historically differentiated settle-
periods of time. All the sites in this sample are ment system models outlined above, theoretical
located on land surfaces accessible to artifact depo- expectations suggest strong and systematic differ-
sition from the early Holocene to the present. ences in the strategies of chipped stone tool produc-
Nonetheless, site components were selected that tion and use among the three periods (Table 3). Figure
appear to reflect single periods of use, based on 2 compares the composition of combined site assem-
careful evaluations of temporally diagnostic arti- blages of the Late Archaic, Early Woodland, and
facts and/or radiocarbon-dated features. While the Late Woodland periods for four general classes of
artifact samples from individual sites may not be shaped chert artifacts: projectile points, bifaces, var-
presumed to result from single-use occupational ious other retouched pieces, and cores. Substantial
episodes, there is no evidence they reflect multiple differences in the aggregated assemblages are clearly
temporal components. evident (X2 = 760.14; df= 6;p << .001). Differences
among the combined assemblages are largely
Chert Resources
accounted for by differences in the proportions of
Technological decision-making must take into bifaces and cores.
account the availability, abundance, qualities, and The combined Late Archaic sample of 376 arti-
geographical distributions of necessary raw materi- facts from 19 site components (Figure 2) shows the
als. Onondaga chert is the primary chert resource in most even distribution of artifacts among classes for
the sampling region, although other lesser-quality the three periods, suggesting a diverse strategy of tool
cherts can be found in small amounts in glacial grav- production. Bifaces are the predominant class of
els and in portions of the dolomitic Niagara escarp- chipped stone artifacts (42 percent). Including hafted
ment. The chert-bearing Onondaga Limestone bifaces or "points," bifacial tools account for over
Formation forms a prominent east-west escarpment one-half of the artifacts in the sample, and bifacial
that runs along the north shore of Lake Erie and tools occur at all Late Archaic sites. However,
across much of western New York State, bisecting although cores account for only 25 percent of the tota
the study area (Figure 1). Several prehistoric chert Late Archaic sample, they also are well represented
quarries occur within the study area (e.g., Cowan and and were recovered from all Late Archaic compo-
Fletcher 1991; Perrelli et al. 1993; Prisch 1976; Wray nents yielding reasonably large samples of artifacts
1948). Northward of the Onondaga escarpment, chert (12 or more shaped artifacts).
resources are absent from the glacial lake plains and The Late Archaic assemblage appears to repre-
scarce on the Niagara escarpment. Glacially trans- sent technological strategies adapted to mobility, but
ported chert gravels are rare in the clay-rich lake where the frequency of mobility was not so extreme
plains south of the Onondaga escarpment, although as to preclude the use of a variety of tool-production
chert does occur as a minor constituent in till and options. Such a mixed strategy is consistent with the
outwash gravels well to the south of the escarpment.interpretation that small Late Archaic sites in the
With some exceptions (e.g., Granger interior were relatively mobile residential camps.
1978b: 139-141; Hunt 1990a), most of the glacially The Early Woodland sample (132 artifacts from
transported chert pebbles are small in size and/or 8 components) is absolutely dominated by bifaces
poor in quality. Pebble chert resources were not (78 percent of the aggregated assemblage), and
bifaces were recovered from all Early Woodland
ignored by prehistoric toolmakers within the region,
but the majority of chert artifacts and flakes exam-
sites. Cores, on the other hand, are very rare. There

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 Cowan] MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS 599

Percent of Chipped Stone

80

60-

40-

20

0
Late Archaic Early Woodland Late Woodland
n = 376 n = 132 n = 1,305

*Points 3Bifaces mother Retouched EnCores

Figure 2. Assemblage composition by period.

are only five cores among the Early Woodland arti-
facts, compared with over 100 bifaces. It is notable
that all the Early Woodland cores were recovered
from a single site, that site being located much closer
to Onondaga chert outcrops than the others.
The Early Woodland assemblages exhibit an
extreme reliance on bifaces with relatively little use
of production alternatives. The strategy is consistent
with expectations for task-specific groups engaged
in highly mobile logistical activities.
The aggregated Late Woodland assemblage
(1,305 artifacts from 17 components) is almost the
converse of the Early Woodland sample. Flake cores
dominate the assemblage, accounting for three-quar-
ters of the shaped chert artifacts. Bifaces, on the other strategies employed at small, interior sites of the Late
hand, are very rare, amounting to less than 5 percent
of the combined Late Woodland total. Despite their
low frequencies, however, bifaces must have played
some consistently important role in Late Woodland
technological strategies, since they were recovered
from all but 2 (89 percent) of the studied sites.
The character of the Late Woodland assemblages,
considered in aggregate, is that which would be
expected for long-term base camps where diverse
tool forms were necessary and where tool produc-
tion and use was not restricted by the necessity of
tool portability.
A Late Woodland chert quarry assemblage is
excluded from the combined Late Woodland totals
in Figure 2. Chert quarries might be expected to have
quite different proportions of artifact classes than
other sites, and the sample does not include func-
tionally equivalent Late Archaic or Early Woodland
sites. In fact, however, inclusion of the quarry assem-
blage in the sample would make little difference in
the overall proportions of artifact classes. The chert
quarry is included in later discussions of unretouched
flake assemblage characteristics.
Figure 2 demonstrates that the tool-production
Archaic, Early Woodland, and Late Woodland peri-
ods were very different. Within each period, chipped
stone tools were produced both by extensive bifacial
shaping and the simple detachment of useable flakes
from unshaped cores, but the use of these distinct
methods differed in frequency among culture-his-
torical periods in this site sample. Bifacially shaped
tools were clearly the predominant tool form during
the two earlier periods, while they appear to be rel-
atively rare at small Late Woodland sites. Produc-

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 600 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999

tion of simple flake tools from cores was the pre- Seven measures were chosen to summarize the
dominant strategy at most Late Woodland sites, and general character of the 45 flake assemblages and
the low incidence of marginally retouched tools (rel- permit intersite comparisons among the sampled
ative to cores) suggests that most cores were used to sites. These measures include the proportions of
create unretouched flake tools. flakes bearing cortex on dorsal surfaces, proportions
Differences among the aggregated chipped stone of flakes with angular or irregular dorsal surface
assemblages of the three culture-historical periods cross-sections, proportions of flakes with cortical
indicate distinct tool-production strategies that striking platform remnants, proportions of flakes
accommodated the requirements of different mobil- with platform edge (core face) trimming, propor-
ity strategies. However, there are marked sample tions of flakes with platform-edge grinding or abra-
size variances from one site to another in this sam- sion, median flake thicknesses, and median
ple. Some site assemblages include hundreds of maximum-dimension-to-thickness ratios. These
shaped chert artifacts, but 18 components (40 per- measures demonstrated wide variability among the
cent) each yielded fewer than 10 chipped stone arti- 45 small site components, but systematic differences
facts. Such sample-size variances limit our ability to among culture-historically grouped sites were also
recognize and interpret variability among small sites observable in variable-by-variable comparisons.
within culture-historical periods. This is especially
Flake Assemblage Index
problematic for the Late Woodland sample, where
two distinct tool-production strategies were predicted
Analytical comparisons of large numbers of flake
on the basis of modeled expectations of site func- assemblages by multiple variables are rendered less
tion. We must turn to a class of artifacts that is abun-cumbersome, more comprehensible, and more robust
dant at all sites to overcome the sample-size problems by a simplification of these data. A single set of index
inherent in the study of small sites. values that summarizes the overall multivariate trends
of the characteristics of these flake assemblages was
Flake Assemblage Characteristics
obtained by performing a principal components
Flakes are abundant at even the smallest sites. Flakes analysis of the summarized flake- assemblage data,
provide evidence for the production methods and using the seven technologically sensitive variables
listed above. The first factor of an unrotated princi-
stages of manufacture of the artifacts from which the
flakes were detached, evidence that is explicable in pal components analysis tends to provide a "general
terms of the mechanics of tool production (seeAmick factor" (Hair et al. 1987:241-243) that accounts for
and Mauldin 1989; Shott 1994; Morrow 1997 for the largest amount of variance and provides the sin-
recent overviews of flake analysis). Flakes provide gle best summary of linear relationships among the
strong evidence for technological strategies, evidence data. The first principal components factor scores for
that is not dependent upon good site preservation or the 45 sites vary around a mean value of zero (0), and,
large samples of shaped artifacts. in this sample, have values that range from -5.83 to
Flake samples from 45 site components were ana- 3.49. This set of factor scores provides an excellent
lyzed using a suite of nominal and metric variables summary index of the flake assemblage characteris-
designed to obtain information about the forms of thetics, accounting for three-quarters of the observed
cores, tool-blanks, and tools from which flakes were variability in the original data set (eigenvalue = 5.084).
detached and the nature of the reduction process. Two The lowest flake assemblage index values (neg-
multistate variables describe the flake's dorsal surface, ative factor scores) represent flake assemblages dom-
three multistate variables describe striking platform inated by thick, cortical flakes with angular dorsal
preparation, and two continuous variables, maximum surfaces and little platform surface- or platform-edge
dimension and thickness, measure flake dimensions. preparation. The highest positive values indicate the
Flakes with maximum dimensions less than 10 mm converse characteristics, assemblages dominated by
were excluded from analysis to minimize size-related relatively thin flakes that are infrequently cortical,
have smoothly contoured dorsal surfaces, and exhibit
biases resulting from different recovery techniques or
varied field conditions. Variable definitions, sampling,considerable investment in the preparation of the
and analytical procedures are described and discussed striking platform prior to flake detachment. These
in detail in Cowan (1994:110-125). associations suggest a progression running from

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 Cowan] MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS 601

Flake Index Scores

4

O 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0 * * *~~~~~~~*

-2

H i/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~r =.868
4 0

-6

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Bifaces as Percent of Assemblage

Figure 3. Relationship between flake index scores and proportions of bifacial tools in assemblage.

flake assemblages dominated by chert procurement Flake Assemblage Comparisons by Period

activities, such as the testing of raw materials and
shaping of cores at the Late Woodland chert quarry, The flake assemblage index scores permit determi-
to the use of cores for the production of flake tools nation of the predominant tool-making strategies
and blanks, to flake assemblages dominated by the employed at individual sites, regardless of the ade-
careful thinning and shaping of extensively shaped quacy of the samples of shaped chert artifacts. Late
bifacial tools. Archaic components are predicted to have been
This interpretation of the flake assemblage index camps where bifacial tool- production methods pre-
(factor) scores is supported by Figure 3, in which dominated, but where alternative tool-making meth-
index values are plotted against the proportions of ods were also employed. The flake assemblage index
bifacially flaked artifacts (points and bifaces) in the scores should reflect mixed technological strategies
shaped artifact assemblages of the 27 site assem- with mid-range values. Early Woodland index scores
blages that yielded 10 or more shaped chert artifacts.should have high values, indicating a reliance on
A significant linear relationship exists between the bifacial tool production. The Late Woodland index
multivariate index of flake assemblage characteris- scores should exhibit a wide range and tendencies
tics and the proportions of bifacial tools in the shapedtoward a bimodal distribution, reflecting camps
tool assemblages (F = 76.19; df = 1, 25; p << .001). where core-flaking predominated and others where
Three-quarters (r2 = .753) of the variability among
bifacial tool production predominated.
flake assemblage index values can be accounted for Figure 4 compares the flake assemblage index
by variability in the proportions of bifacially shaped score distributions among the Late Archaic, Early
tools in the assemblages. The strength of this rela- Woodland, and Late Woodland components. The
tionship indicates that the multivariate index pro- flake assemblage index scores have been rounded to
vides a strong measure of tool-production activities, integers in Figure 4 to facilitate graphical compar-
a measure useful even for sites that yielded very isons. The rounded index values for the entire sam-
small samples of shaped artifacts. ple of site components range from -6 to +3. Strong

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 602 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999

Site Frequency
7

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Flake Index Scores

U Late Archaic EDEarly Woodland EJLate Woodland

Figure 4. Flake assemblage index scores by period.

differences among culture-historical periods are mobile task groups whose tool needs could be met
readily evident (the Mood median test, a nonpara- with a few general-purpose tools.
metric alternative toANOVA [Minitab 1989], yields The Late Woodland components exhibit, by far,
a x2statistic of 10.46; df = 2; p = .006). the greatest range of flake assemblage index values,
Late Archaic components exhibit strong cluster- ranging from -6 to +2 on the index scale. The low-
ing around the mean index value (0), indicating a est values of the index scale of flake assemblage
mixed technological strategy of bifacial tool produc-characteristics are those of a Late Woodland chert
tion along with the production of simple flake tools quarry (-6) and a Late Woodland site midden dump
from cores (compare index values with Figure 3). The (-5). Even discounting the flake assemblage values
Late Archaic values approximate a normal distribu- for the chert quarry and midden dump components,
tion, suggesting a relatively consistent set of tool-pro-archaeological contexts unique to the Late Woodland
duction behaviors among components. These results sample, the Late Woodland index values of -4 to +2
are congruent with expectations for moderately mobile still exceed the ranges of Late Archaic or Early
residential settlements, where the raw material trans- Woodland index values. Seven components exhibit
port constraints of mobility were balanced against the index values lower than those of any other period, a
tool-production needs of whole social groups and wide finding congruent with the very high proportions of
ranges of residential site activities. cores among the chipped stone artifacts of the Late
The Early Woodland values cluster at the high end Woodland sites.
of the range of index values. These components are The most important fact about the Late Woodland
dominated by very thin biface thinning flakes result- distribution, however, is the apparent bimodality of
ing from thinning and shaping Meadowood bifaces the flake assemblage index values, suggestive of two
(Granger 1978a, 1981; Ritchie 1969:183) from flakedistinct modes of technological behavior. The low-
blanks and bifacial preforms. Six of the eight com- est end of the distribution is unique to the Late Wood-
ponents in the sample exhibit index values beyond land components in this sample, and consists of flake
the range of other periods. These results are what assemblages predominantly produced by core flak-
ing. A second mode of higher flake assemblage index
would be expected for short-term sites used by highly

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 Cowan] MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS 603

Noncortical Flake Index Scores

4 . x

-2- **

-4

I I I II

-4 -2 0 2 4 6

Cortical Flake Index Scores

* Late Archaic x Early Woodland * Late Woodland

Figure 5. Cortical and noncortical flake assembla2e index scores.

scores overlaps both the upper range of the Late strategies, providing strong evidence for different
Archaic distribution and the lowest values of the organizational roles and different mobility levels for
Early Woodland distribution. The higher mode of the sites of these three culture-historical periods.
index values indicates an emphasis on the produc- It is important to recognize, however, that flake
tion of extensively shaped bifacial tools at some Late assemblages from most archaeological components
Woodland sites. represent numerous tool-production events that may
The Late Woodland settlement model predicted have involved complex mixes of tool-production
two distinct patterns of small Late Woodland sites: strategies and different stages of tool production. To
seasonal base camps and briefly occupied logistical some extent, aggregate descriptions of flake assem-
camps. Such site function differences are expected blages risk masking important variation in the com-
to be accompanied by different technological strate- position of the assemblages. Differences in aggregate
gies: a predominant reliance on flake tool produc- descriptions of flake assemblages may represent dif-
tion from cores at seasonal base camps and bifacial ferent technological strategies, or they may simply
tool production at logistical camps. Figure 4 provides represent proportionate differences in the stages of
strong evidence for that technological dichotomy. production within similar strategies. While the flake
This pattern is particularly noteworthy in that the index scores in Figure 4 accurately describe the over-
technological strategies of the LateArchaic and Earlyall characteristics of flake assemblages, it is useful
Woodland periods were expected to be relatively to examine some of the constituent elements of those
assemblages in greater detail.
redundant among small interior sites. While there are
strong technological differences between the Late
Cortical and Noncortical Flake Assemblage
Archaic and Early Woodland components, there is
Comparisons
relatively little variation among the components of
each of those periods. The flake assemblages indi- Greater detail in the composition of flake assem-
cate systematic variation in tool-production and -use blages may be gained by separate analyses of corti-

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 604 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 64, No. 4, 1999

cal and noncortical flakes. Cortex-bearing flakes ship suggests that the tool-production strategies to
should provide information about the forms of the be used at these small sites were anticipated by tool-
lithic materials introduced to or acquired at sites. makers, and raw materials in appropriate forms were
The character of noncortical flakes should provide transported to those sites. The tool requirements for
greater detail about the forms of tools produced at the use of each site were well understood, and pro-
sites. visions were made to accommodate those require-
Figure 5 summarizes the character of the flake ments.
assemblages as a bivariate plot of flake assemblage Inspection of Figure 5 indicates strongly patterned
index scores (first principal components factor differences among culture-historical periods. The
scores) obtained by separate principal components Late Archaic assemblages are clustered in the mid-
analyses of cortical flake and noncortical flake dle of the bivariate distribution. Raw materials were
assemblages. The Late Archaic, Early Woodland, transported to the Late Archaic components in a vari-
and Late Woodland components are indicated by dif- ety of forms, but were used in a fairly consistent man-
ferent symbols in the scatterplot. ner. Late Archaic flake assemblages indicate a
Low values (negative values) on the x-axis of generalized bifacial tool-production strategy with a
Figure 5 indicate cortical flake assemblages domi- secondary emphasis on the production of flake tools
nated by thick flakes with large amounts of cortex from cores. The Late Archaic tool-production strat-
on the dorsal surfaces, angular dorsal surface cross- egy was eclectic but relatively consistent from site
sections, cortical platforms, and little or no platform-to site.
edge preparation. High index scores for cortical Early Woodland flake assemblages indicate that,
flakes represent assemblages in which flakes tend to for the most part, raw materials were reduced to read-
bear only small patches of dorsal surface cortex, ily transported preforms before being carried to the
where the flakes are thin, tend to have smooth dor- sampled sites. Those preforms were used to produce
sal surfaces, and have complexly shaped platforms very thin bifacial tools (Meadowood bifaces). The
and carefully prepared platform edges. Assemblages Early Woodland flake values exhibit a high degree
with very high values are dominated by "biface thin- of consistency among components, but, unlike the
ning flakes," distinguished only by the fact that the Archaic tool-production strategy, the Early Wood-
dorsal flake surfaces retain small patches of cortex. land strategy appears to be highly specialized, both
Low principal components scores for noncorti- in the forms of raw materials introduced to sites and
cal flake assemblages (y-axis of Figure 5) represent in the forms of the tools produced at those sites.
flakes that are thick and angular in cross-section, In one Early Woodland case, the cortical flake
that commonly have cortical striking platform sur- index is considerably lower than the other Early
faces (although lacking cortex on the dorsal surfaces) Woodland components (Figure 5). At that site,
and exhibit little platform edge preparation. These located on a gravel-rich moraine well to the south of
characteristics are expected to predominate in assem- the Onondaga escarpment, local gravel cherts were
blages where most flakes were detached from unpre- employed to make simple expedient tools. However,
pared or minimally prepared cores. High values none of the noncortical flakes appeared to be com-
represent assemblages dominated by flakes that are parable to the gravel chert, and the thinning and shap-
thin, have smoothly contoured dorsal surfaces, and ing of bifacial tools was limited to material
that exhibit complexly scarred platform surfaces and transported from the Onondaga escarpment.
careful platform edge preparation. The highest val- Late Woodland flake assemblages show the great-
ues for noncortical flakes are assemblages domi- est amount of intercomponent variability in the char-
nated by classic biface thinning flakes. acter of both the cortical and noncortical flake
Comparison of the cortical and noncortical flake samples. That variability is not random, however.
assemblage values (Figure 5) indicates a positive, lin- Figure 5 indicates two distinct clusters of site com-
ear relationship between the two sets of index scores ponents (indicated by enclosing lines on the graph).
(F = 38.38; df = 1, 43; p < .001). Forty-six percent The cluster with low values for both cortical flakes
of the variance in the index values of noncortical and noncortical flakes indicates the use of minimally
flakes is accounted for by variance in the index val- modified blocks of chert as cores for simple flake
ues for cortical flakes. The strength of this relation- tool production. A second cluster has mid-range val-

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 Cowan] MAKING SENSE OF FLAKE SCATTERS 605

ues for cortical flakes and mid-range to relatively mobility requirements than is evident for the Archaic
high values for noncortical flakes. These flake assem- components. The Early Woodland assemblages are
blages represent sites in which raw materials were dominated by thin Meadowood bifaces and the by-
introduced as moderately shaped cores and/or pre- products of their manufacture. Raw materials were
forms and in which the primary production goal con-
introduced to the sites as extensively prepared blanks
sisted of extensively shaped bifacial tools. Two and preforms. It is unlikely that these sites were res-
distinct strategies of tool production are indicated by idences for whole social groups or that extensive
the Late Woodland site component clusters. These ranges of tool-use activities were carried out with
distinctions conform exactly to anticipated tool-pro- such specialized tool kits. Instead, the Early Wood-
duction strategies for small sites of the Iroquoian land components appear to represent extremely
Late Woodland settlement system in western New mobile circumstances, for which small, lightweight,
York: flake tool production from cores for use at sea-and easily transported tool kits were required. The
sonal base camps and bifacial tool production for use technological strategies of the Early Woodland
at logistical camps. Meadowood components indicate that these small
Separate consideration of cortical and noncortical sites were short-term logistical camps, rather than
flakes may provide more detail and greater resolu- multifunctional residential camps.
tion to the nature of a flake assemblage than is The small Late Woodland sites are quite differ-
obtained from a single measure of the character ofent
a from those of earlier periods. Provisioning vil-
flake assemblage. In this instance, different dimen- lage-dwelling populations required at least two
sions of technological strategies can be detected in distinctive classes of small sites. One class consisted
the nature of lithic materials transported to sites, theof seasonal base camps used by small family groups
forms of tools produced at those sites, and the con- tending agricultural crops beyond the immediate
cordance of those two sets of technological decisions. vicinity of the main villages. Other sites were short-
term logistical camps used for the procurement and
Technological Strategies and
processing of game and other forest products to be
Mobility Patterns
transported back to the villages or to seasonal base
Analyses of chipped stone tool and flake assem- camps. The former group of sites exhibits techno-
blages from 45 archaeological components in west- logical strategies commensurate with the diverse
ern New York indicate strongly patterned differences activities associated with base camps and an absence
in the tool-production strategies employed at small of the constraints to technological strategies that are
Late Archaic, Early Woodland, and Late Woodland associated with high mobility. These sites exhibit an
emphasis on flake tool production from cores. The
sites within the interior of the region. These differ-
ences support hypothesized models of mobility and second group of sites exhibits technological strate-
the patterns of use of interior sites among three cul- gies suited to higher levels of mobility, most con-
ture-historical periods. spicuously, a greater reliance on bifacial tools. Flake
The mix of tool-production strategies at Late characteristics indicate two clusters of flake assem-
Archaic components suggest that these sites repre- blages, a pattern congruent with these two strategies.
sent the residential camps of small social groups who The people who made and used stone tools tai-
moved often to exploit dispersed subsistence lored the designs and production methods of their
resources. While tool kits were designed to accom-
tools to facilitate larger economic and social goals.
modate relatively frequent residential mobility, a We need to understand the conditions under which
broad range of tool forms and production methods one tool design would have been selected over
are consistently found at these sites, indicating that another. Differential mobility is one dimension of
a broad range of tool-using activities took place at prehistoric economic and social strategies shown to
most sites. Mobility clearly underpins this portion have profound effects on the design of tools and the
of the Late Archaic settlement system, but the fre- methods of tool production. Understanding these
quency of residential moves was not so great as to relationships allows us to distinguish settlement
preclude a diverse range of tool-production methods. strategies and learn about the roles of small sites
The Early Woodland components suggest quite a within larger settlement systems. Understanding
different technological strategy and a different set ofthese relationships is especially important for com-

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 606 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
prehending the organizational roles of poorly pre-
served sites.
Acknowledgments. Philip Arnold, Susan Bender, Shannon
Fie, Lynne Goldstein, Joseph Granger, Eric Hansen, Margaret
Nelson, Ben Nelson, George Odell, Douglas Perrelli, and two
anonymous reviewers provided many theoretical and substan-
tive insights as well as useful editorial comments of earlier
versions of this paper. All were very helpful, and they
improved this paper immensely. Any remaining failings are
mine alone. I also thank Theresa Jolly for preparing the
Spanish-language translation of the abstract.
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