Beveling Universality…

[Mojave]

This topic comes up a lot so I thought I’d show a couple comparison examples to illustrate my views on edge beveling. I believe that beveling was a more or less universal method that humans used throughout pre-history as a method of rejuvenating a cutting edge without thinning a blade. Thinning a blade made it weaker. I don’t think any Indian ever started out with the intent of making a beveled blade or point. Out west this is relatively rare on archaic points. In my opinion this is due to the fact that points in the west started out so much smaller in general so when they were damaged there wasn’t enough to salvage. In Texas this is common.
I also think the same thing applies to Nolan bases. The beveling was a method to indent (or narrow) the base for hafting without thinning (weakening) it.

[Mojave]

Here are the two artifacts. They were made and reworked using pretty much identical techniques. These tools (Nevada Parman and Texas 4-bevel Harahey) are separated by about 10,000 years in time and 1,000 miles in distance.

[ghost recon]

Great pictures and info, thanks.

[silver lake]

Captured that subject very well.

[Stonecracker59]

I agree beveling was a resharping technique just never heard anyone say so

[henry english]

imo resharpening and creating a beveled edge started in the late paleo and continued to the woodland culture , the archaics exausted most of their artifacts to useless pieces , of course this is a personal opinion open to other opinions and they will be welcomed for debate ,
henry

[Trask]

Very interesting.. i would love to hear more on this & similar Paleo assessment methods.

[uniface]

As Harry brought up, in the East, the strategy of beveling edges to increase their use life appears around the transition from Pleistocene to Holocene. It shows up with Crowfield / Holcombe, HiLo and Dalton, and runs from then on.

While it looks like a simple add-on option that could have been adopted at any time, in practice, it didn't work that way. In the absence of anything that would tempt (or force) them to change, people kept on doing what they were used to doing the way they were used to doing it. It didn't much matter to them that there may have been an easier way so long as the old, tried-and-true way still worked. This stubborn conservatism is why points (and sometimes tools) are cultural indicators and, in many places, why you can recognize the age of a site by the waste flakes on it. It's also why fake points can often be recognized as fakes by their wrong flaking strategies and techniques. Lithic technologies are, in one sense, ruts.

The story has it that Jacques Bordaz, one of the pioneer archaeologist-replicators, was in Australia at an archaeological symposium. Since he was doing a knapping demonstration, the conference organizer invited some Blackfellows who were still knapping to observe, thinking it might interest them. The more they watched, the more upset they got until they got up and walked out. Asked why, they said, "He's doing everything all wrong !" And by Australian standards, he was.

Mojave's point is interesting (and probably significant) that, out West where Paleo transitioned into what came next without a clean break, beveling is rare. In much of the rest of the country, it didn't just appear as a new idea added to an existing repertoire of procedures, but as part and parcel of a completely different approach to lithic reduction and utilisation.

At least, that's the way it looks on this end.

[Maumee Bay]

Interesting! I know here in Ohio it started in the late paleo and went on through woodland
we have a lot of beveled point here in the mid west The Thebes being one of our most well know.But it was done on all kinds of points dovetails,corner notch, side notch you get the idea here it was common place to bevel it is amazing how little was done to the west of us
it seems to fall off after Missouri.Is this just a regional difference?or is it like Mojave said a size difference in the points?
Paul

[Worthy55]

Here in the south we have points that start out being beveled so what are your ideas on that?