Split Platter Reduction Strategy

[uniface]

I was delighted to receive a number of interesting artifacts from Cluton recently. Among them were several examples of this procedure :
clovis platters in Flintknapping - Theory, Replication and Scientific Discussion Forum Forum
E.g.., this one, where what resulted (this piece) was too small to make what they wanted from

[uniface]

And this one, where a subsequent attempt to start taking the edge off by running overshots from the opposite edge crashed and burned.

[Cluton]

Those came off a good paleo site! 2 folsoms and a Clovis came off the same big hill, surrounded by springs! I have yet to find one, but a hell gap, broke Golondria, and midland type point came out of there! That's very interesting, I see what you were talking about now Uni!! Glad your studying them! Awsome!

[drdave514]

I've mastered the hell out of that technique. It generally comes from hitting too high on the platform with not enough support. It is immediately follwed by F&^%$#&(^$@$!!!!!

[Maedevil]

Wilke has a paper out there on perverse fractured bifaces as an intentional Clovis manufacturing technique. Wilke's stuff was based on what he saw in the Anzick cache (I see the reference posted in the other thread you posted). I suggested essentially the same thing for blade production a couple years ago - basically using a straight-running perverse fracture to split a thick biface across the center rather than diagonally like what you have, making a flat platform from which blades could be struck. A hypothetical idea really, and I have yet to see Clovis material presenting that type of knapping, although I have seen blades used to thin bifaces.

Very cool - thanks for the pics. I'd like to see that overshot platform at a closer view - hard to tell from the picture that that was a flaking attempt rather than just part of the break.

[uniface]

Hi Mae

As luck would have it, I just sent it to an archie friend in Texas for an up-close-&-personal.

FWIW though, in the second picture you can see the original right-angle edge above where the thumb is, followed (going downward) by the overshot that ran awry, torque-ing back and finishing at a right angle itself.

Thanks for the clarifying & additional information !