Double Bitted Axes of the Fourche Maline: Use-Wear Analysis and Experimental Replication

This research examines the Fourche Maline double bitted tools from the Fourche Valley site, 3YE948, in Yell County, Arkansas. The assemblage consists of 65 tools surface collected from the site, which vary in form, condition, material composition and wear. Microscopic use-wear on these artifacts was analyzed using high resolution epoxy casts and complemented by a collection of experimental replicas which served as an analytical control. The use-wear analysis of the double bitted tools provides information as to the tool function, the relation between tool form and function, and the life cycle of these tools