Late Stage Paleo Biface?

[Bayport]

[JoshinMO]

A few of the Flakes removed look's like It could be Paleo but It look's like It's finished. Any Grinding around The Base?

[Bayport]

Yes there is some on the lower lateral base edge going around the "ear"

[Bayport]

This came from the old Ken Spaulding collection. The location, Saginaw Co. Michigan. Material is Bayport Chert. There are 2 pictures of each side, with the light source changed from the top, to the base of the piece. That change in light always lets me see different aspects of the reduction and material. This was a large nodule, used out to the cortex on both ends.

[Scorpion68]

I like your lighting technique from different angles. I hilites the flaking really well and makes it so much more visible. Really nice.

[Bayport]

Thank-you. I have always liked that because I can see more aspects of a piece that way.

[Havenhunter]

Beautiful! Thanks for the great pics!

[Bayport]

Thank-you and you're welcome. Takes a bit more time, but it is probably worth it

[pkfrey]

I don't think I'd call that Late Stage. It looks finished, and I can see evidence of Paleo flaking all over the piece! I do think however, it has been damaged and reworked. The outer excurvate blade edge exhibits a lot more consistent pressure flaking than the straight edge. But the base isn't typical. There are two guide flakes at the base on the one side, which created a medial ridge to remove the final flute. But the edge doesn't appear to be prepared to remove a second flute from the other side. There isn't enough of an angle to prepare the base for a second flute removal. So I think the point was a bit longer, but from the base, not the tip. A part of the base broke off for some reason, and we normally see the blade reworked from the tip down, but this appears to be reworked only at the basal area, and then the edge was flaked to be used as a hafted knife, rather than a projectile type lanceolate blade.

[Bayport]

Thank-you so much for providing your comments. My thoughts were also leaning towards a hafted knife, but I wanted to see if any anyone else had similar opinions. My theory about the excurvate edge... is the edge would be used as a knife until sharpened down to the level of the band in the nodule that is creating all those hinging issues. At that stage, the biface may be successfully modified or fluted. That was too large of a Bayport piece to waste even if it had a glitchy band for awhile.

[pkfrey]

I would envision the knife maker pressure chipping that edge every time it get's dull. And when he hits that stack ( high spot ) he will whack it good at the right angle and drive off a thinning flake, and continue using that blade until there's not any material left.