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Testing for the Presence of Thermal Pretreatment of Flint in the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Sweden

Olausson, Deborah LU orcid and Larsson, Lars (1982) In Journal of Archaeological Science 9. p.275-285
Abstract
Through ethnographic accounts, the method of heat treatment of silica materials to improve the flaking qualities is shown to have been known almost worldwide. Some mesolithic and neolithic flint artifacts from southern Sweden were examined in order to determine if they too were heat treated. From several methods proving or indicating thermal alteration of flint, analysis using scanning electron microscopy was chosen. Two samples were taken from each artifact, one being examined unaltered, the other being heat treated. No two samples from the same artifact had the same kind of surface appearance. Thus these analyses prove that the atrifacts examined had not been heat treated.
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
stereoscan microscopy, heat treatment of flint
in
Journal of Archaeological Science
volume
9
pages
275 - 285
publisher
Academic Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:0020415743
ISSN
1095-9238
DOI
10.1016/0305-4403(82)90023-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2fa6a320-8a1e-415a-87eb-928952a61f96 (old id 167954)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:34:18
date last changed
2021-08-22 04:42:49
@article{2fa6a320-8a1e-415a-87eb-928952a61f96,
  abstract     = {{Through ethnographic accounts, the method of heat treatment of silica materials to improve the flaking qualities is shown to have been known almost worldwide. Some mesolithic and neolithic flint artifacts from southern Sweden were examined in order to determine if they too were heat treated. From several methods proving or indicating thermal alteration of flint, analysis using scanning electron microscopy was chosen. Two samples were taken from each artifact, one being examined unaltered, the other being heat treated. No two samples from the same artifact had the same kind of surface appearance. Thus these analyses prove that the atrifacts examined had not been heat treated.}},
  author       = {{Olausson, Deborah and Larsson, Lars}},
  issn         = {{1095-9238}},
  keywords     = {{stereoscan microscopy; heat treatment of flint}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{275--285}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Archaeological Science}},
  title        = {{Testing for the Presence of Thermal Pretreatment of Flint in the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(82)90023-1}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/0305-4403(82)90023-1}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{1982}},
}