An experimental-based characterization of breakage patterns of prehistoric bladelets: The combined impact of knapping, exposure to fire and trampling

The production of bladelets and their use as retouched and shaped microliths are among the hallmarks of the Levantine Epipaleolithic. The vast majority of bladelets and microliths are found broken in prehistoric sites, yet the causes of the high percentage of breakage are only partially understood, and systematic analyses concerning their breakage by various agents are rare. We set an experimental sequence of three major breakage agents: knapping, exposure to fire and trampling, aiming to mirror the life history of bladelets in an intensively occupied prehistoric camp. The results of our experiments are illuminating in several aspects. First, particular breakage patterns are associated with specific agents. Second, new types of breakage which were hardly addressed in previous studies are characterized. Third, a sequence of multiple breakage agents is identifiable in our experiments.