In search of a better method to distinguish artefacts from geofacts

Abstract

AbstractArchaeologists use a method of evaluating the characteristics of flakes, called scoring, to distinguish geofacts (pseudo‐artefacts or eoliths) from artefacts. Lower total scores are considered indicative of a natural source of the finds, while higher ones support the opposite. However, this method has some limitations. The most important are the small quantity of assemblages subject to such an analysis and the unclear boundary drawn by a ranking within a point‐based score evaluation between collections with finds of cultural and anthropic origin. Here, we present a method that minimizes these limitations. It consists of a statistical approach using scoring percentages, a new method of visualizing them and the application of clustering. This way, we obtained clear differences between pseudo‐artefacts and artefacts by considering flakes from six flint assemblages from Central Europe as well as an experimental assemblage.