An ethnographic experiment of endscraper curation rate among hadiya hideworkers, ethiopia

Abstract

The extent of reduction in retouched stones serves as a proxy for curation. In the archaeological record, reduction intensity must be inferred from discarded remnants of tools. The contemporary use of scraper blades by hideworkers in southern Ethiopia provides archaeologists rare opportunities where original tool dimensions can be directly measured and other variables investigated. This study closely examines previously suggested factors for inter-group variability in the degree of hidescraper curation amongst the Hadiya. Potential sources of variability are controlled for through the provision of experimental blanks to groups associated with different raw material access and costs. Results strengthen previous conclusions that differential raw material cost significantly affects scraper curation rates. However, whether original blank size represents a major source of such variability could not be discerned, as the group with higher raw material costs did not exploit higher potential utility from experimental blanks. Age-old traditions of specific raw material procurement and blank dimensions seem to represent another source of variability in scraper curation rates. The potential effect of passive style on tool use patterns in archaeological assemblages is difficult to identify, albeit important to consider.