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The Trouble with Ham Steaks: A Reply to Morrow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Steven L. Kuhn
Steven L. Kuhn*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Abstract

Toby Morrow argues that I (Kuhn 1994) made an error in calculating the utility/mass ratio of retouched tools, and he proposes an “alternative” formula. Unfortunately, Morrow confounds utility per se with ratio of utility to weight, and, as a result, his alternative approach is erroneous. This response to Morrow examines the central issue of how artifact utility is assessed. The main message of my original paper is reaffirmed. Utility/mass ratios eventually begin to decline as artifacts get large, and optimal size ranges can be estimated based on a few simplifying assumptions.

Toby Morrow arguye que yo (Kuhn 1994) cometí un error al calcular el radio de utilidad/masa de herramientas retocadas, y propone una fórmula alternativa. Desafortunadamente, Morrow confunde la utilidad per se del radio de utilidad a peso y, como resultado, su alternativa está errada. Esta respuesta a Morrow examina el problema central de cómo evaluar la utilidad del artefacto. Se reaflrma el mensaje principal de mi artículo original. Los radios de utilidad/masa eventualmente empiezan a declinar cuando los artefactos aumentan de tamaño, y rangos de tamaño óptimo sepueden estimar en basepocos presupuestos simplificadores.

Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , July 1996 , pp. 591 - 595
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1996

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References

References Cited

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