Pressure technique in the stone age: review of English and Russian published sources

Purpose: This article is devoted to a study of methods helping to differentiate the techniques of lithic blank production on the basis of artifact’s morphological characteristics. In this paper a detailed characteristic of blank morphology produced in frame of pressure technique is given. The set of descriptive features is similar to ones used previously by authors to identify lithic products produced in frame of percussion techniques (direct hard hummer percussion, direct and indirect soft hummer percussion). This approach provides the ability to distinguish between different methods of force application. The list of qualitative and quantitative blank’s attributes presented in this paper is a result of data accumulation from previous studies, that is already mentioned in the English and Russian published sources. Those studies may be divided into several research units: series of laboratory experiments aimed at identifying the physical restrictions in the process of stone knapping; investigation of morphological features of experimentally produced in frame of pressure technique artifacts; accumulation of results from the first two units (this block of the work has methodological bias); detection of pressure technique hallmarks through comparative analysis of macro-morphological parameters of stone artifacts received from archaeological sites and reference collections obtained during the experimental laboratory and modeling studies. Results: Combined analysis of the results of different re search units provided an opportunity to identify a standard set of features which can be used as reliable morphological indica tors in determining of different techniques to produce blanks. Blanks that were obtained with pressure technique have greater elongation, fineness and regularity, as well as less observable ripple marks on the ventral surface. They mostly have a trape zoidal cross section, straight profile, and pointed distal end. Most of the identified signs are associated with a proximal zone of blank that gives the main information about the kind of applied force impulse. Blanks which are characterized by the presence of bent fracture initiation reflected in small dif fuse or compact expanding bulb of percussion with overhang, but without bulbar scar, hackle marks, ripples, and impact ring. Striking platform usually has angle 80-90° (possible angle greater than 90°), small size and often segment shape, with a required reduction of working edge by abrasive or direct re duction. Sometimes there are traces of a physical impact on the striking platform. Conclusion: Some features such as the size of bulb of per cussion, availability of overhang, size and type of striking plat form, reduction of the working edge, traces of a physical im pact on the striking platform, size and proportion of blanks, degree of regularity and the type of cross-section profile allow a fairly clear differentiation between pressure technique and di rect (or indirect) soft hummer percussion in the case of analy sis of a representative collection of the blanks.