The Morphological Express at Function Junction: Searching for Meaning in Lithic Tool Types

Abstract

Several archaeological studies of stone-tool function have recently demonstrated that certain formal categories are functionally heterogeneous. A detailed functional analysis of retouched flint artifacts from the Mesolithic settlement Bergumermeer in the northern Netherlands, one of the primary goals of which was to inspect the correspondences between form and function, serves to support this finding, and to provide information on the relationship between function and technology. The categories of microlithic points, burins, and backed blades, all of which correspond to specific techniques of manufacture, appear to be discrete functional units, whereas the formal categories of knives, side-scrapers, end-scrapers, borers, and axes, all of which are less discrete technologically but defined more by shape and location of retouch, show varying degrees of functional heterogeneity. It is argued that morphological groups are not suited for use as functional units and should not be so employed.