Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone - IRIT

Fig. 60 — Inclination of a burin facet to the lower face of a blade. 1 : perpendicular. 2 : slightly angled.
3 : sharply angled.
spall, instead of ending along the edge to
which the burin blow has been applied,
arches in the opposite direction and removes
the entire end section of the tool
(fig. 61:4, 5). See plunging .
- Hinge d spall s : the opposite accidental
effect occurs when the spall is shortened by
an outward arching of the fracture plane,
which leaves a characteristic hook on the
burin (fig. 61:6). See hinged .
- Twiste d spall s : these are caused by helicoidal
fractures, which may accidentally
occur when the burin blow is applied (fig.
61 : 7).
Careful scrutiny of the spalls provides valuable
information on the production, sharpening
and transformation methods and
techniques of burins brought into play in
the various lithic assemblages.
BURIN TIP . That part of the burin from
which the removal(s) made by the burin
blow(s) stem. It consists of at least three
surfaces (fig. 57).
BUTT. The butt of a flake (in the broader
sense) is the part of a striking or pressure
platform detached during removal. The nature
and morphology of a butt therefore
depends on that of the striking or pressure
platform (whether prepared or not), and on
the technical procedures applied (fig. 62).
1) If the butt bears no traces of preparation,
it is natural, cortical, and of varied morphology.
2) When it bears traces of preparation, the
butt can be indicative of knapping techniques
and methods. In this event, butts can
be:
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- flat, showing a single knapped surface;
- dihedral , showing the negatives of two
previous removals, separated by an arris;
- facetted , showing several preparation
negatives (facets), and therefore of varied
morphology (rectilinear, convex, concave,
etc.).
A butt can consist of a tiny surface. In this
case, the terms linea r or punctifor m are
applied.
In addition to these general terms by which
butts are defined, there are conventional
expressions that apply to special types of
butt, and correspond to technical procedures.
For instance :
- the "chapeau de gendarme" 124
: the profile
of this very distinctive butt should be
looked at face-on; while this type of butt is
common in Levallois debitage (for a good,
preferential impact point), it occurs during
every period, irrespective of the methods
applied;
- the winged butt, which should be looked
at end-on; this type of butt, which results
from the removal of two exactly superposed
flakes, occurs throughout prehistory,
but this method of debitage is only systematic
in specific regions and periods (Egyptian
Neolithic, Near Eastern Early Bronze
Age);
- the spu r butt, which should be looked at
from underneath; this morphology is characteristic
of Upper Palaeolithic blade debitage
(particularly Magdalenian).
Also indicative of techniques and methods,
the angles between the butt and the upper
124 Bordes, 1947.