A Use Wear Analysis of Hopewell Bladelets from Paint Creek Lake Site #5, Ross County, Ohio

Abstract

A sample of bladelets from the Middle Woodland component of the Paint Creek Lake Site #5 was analyzed for use wear traces with high power microscopy. The results of the analysis were compared to those obtained by other researchers who have addressed the question of Middle Woodland bladelet usage. Yerkes (1990) and Odell (1994) have suggested that bladelets were not specialized tools, but rather were multi-functional tools. Odell (1994) compared the uses of bladelets from three site types and determined that usage may have varied by site type, being more specialized among sites associated with mounds. The results of the present study bear out these interpretations. The Paint Creek Lake Site #5 is a habitation that is not associated with mounds; the bladelets revealed a variety of use wear traces.