Australian point and core reduction viewed through refitting

Abstract

Refitting of knapping floors in northern Australia is used to analyse the production technology employed during the mid- to late-Holocene. Examination of refits at quarries is the basis of a study not only of the general sequence of reduction but also the solutions that knappers apply to solve problems they encounter. A series of refitted knapping floors at increasing distances from quarries reveal the progressive modification of bifacial points and cores as material is transported through the landscape. This case study is employed as an illustration of the value of refitting studies as a means of explicating regional technological and economic patterns. It is argued that future refitting analyses will more powerfully exploit the potential of the technique when quantitative measurements are used to evaluate not only technological trajectories during the reduction process but also the variability that occurs within and between sequences.