Abstract

Rarámuri men of northern Mexico continue to manufacture stone gaming pieces called rijibara for use in a game called cuatro or rijibara. In 1978, eight of these gaming pieces were manufactured by two Rarámuri men during a visit to the Arizona State Museum. The implements and the resulting debitage were analyzed by the first author as a means of identifying variation resulting from individual differences in knapping technique, skill, or motor habit. We find that although the finished implements produced by the two knappers are quite similar, characteristics of the two debitage assemblages are different in terms of flake dimensions, percent cortex, length-to-width ratios, and breakage patterns. We suggest that these characteristics may be useful in recognizing individual variation in the archaeological record.

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