The staff at StoneWorks Archaeology is available to conduct experimental archaeological for your organization. If you have an interesting or peculiar cultural phenomenon that you feel will benefit from experimental investigation, we are ready to conduct such for you or assist on the project. Experimental archaeology is becoming a readily accepted practice for interpretation in North American archaeology. The crew at StoneWorks Archaeology has a cumulative of 25 years experience in conducting experimentation both avocationally and professionally. Such notables figures in North American archaeology and Old World archaeology as Don Crabtree, Francois Bordes, and J.B. Sollberger pioneered the use of the experimental approach for lithic technology; this tradition has continued and grown due to the efforts of George Frison, Jacques Pelegrin, Jeff Flenniken, Errett Callahan, Bruce Bradley, Rob Bonnichsen and others. Let us know if we can help you.
During the Spring 1998 Semester at Texas A&M University, a group of students were gathered under the direction of Jim Weiderhold, Allen Bettis, Bill Dickens, and Charlotte Donald to conduct an experiment in bison butchering utilizing traditional, prehistoric bison processing implements associated with Plains cultural groups. Due to the costs involved (all of which came out of the groups pockets) in procuring a bison, the experiment will be subdivided over a few years to defray this impediment. The first phase consisted of examining the use of hafted Plainview points, hafted, thonged, and unthonged Corner-Tang Knives, thin bifaces, and flakes and the subsequent effects (wear and breakage) the butchering process had on these implements. Future phases will consist of utilizing hafted Clovis and Folsom points, hafted Pedernales, Castoville, and Andice points, beveled-knives, butted-knives, and others. The outcome of the first phase produced some interesting results concerning the way archaeologists interpret tool-use. The results of the first project and subsequent projects will be submitted together (or by phases) for publication and will also be used in experimentors theses and dissertations.
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Hafted Plainviews points used in all phases of the butchering process. |
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Hafted scraper used in the hide processing phase of experiment. |
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Bill Dickens using a hafted Corner-Tang knife during the skinning phase of experiment. |
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