More results from this morning:



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar20.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar21.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar22.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar23.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar24.jpg

Here's some of today's results:



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar25.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar26.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar27.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar28.jpg

Results of another bipolar reduction experiment:




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar29.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar30.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar31.jpg



http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/bipolar32.jpg

Here's what, in my opinion, is a good example of bipolar reduction, probably performed in the Pleistocene, at the central Texas site I'm researching:




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/preclovis%20893.jpg

PreClovis Chopper- Ventral View- 7.75" X 4.75" X 3.75"- Tango-Igl




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/preclovis%20894.jpg

PreClovis Chopper- Dorsal View- 7.75" X 4.75" X 3.75"- Tango-Igl




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/preclovis%20895.jpg

PreClovis Chopper- Distal View- 7.75" X 4.75" X 3.75"- Tango-Igl




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/preclovis%20896.jpg

PreClovis Chopper- Distal View- 7.75" X 4.75" X 3.75"- Tango-Igl




http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.com/preclovis%20897.jpg

PreClovis Chopper- Distal View- 7.75" X 4.75" X 3.75"- Tango-Igl

Note the material is Edwards Gray: Very hard stuff!! The natural occurance of a cobble of this size and hardness, cracking in half down the middle , along with having many conchoidal scars, is in my opinion, virtually impossible. Until one has performed much experimental bipolar reduction and analyzed the results, they're not, in my opinion, qualified to criticize, with any authority, on the topic (for example critics of the lithics recovered from Calico, Topper, Pinedale, Timlin, etc...).

The belief that anyone can select a lithic industry of any
sort given a big enough rock pile has never been demonstrated.
I have challenged many to try, imposing the limitation
that the selection must be from time levels at which there
is no possibility of man's presence. No one has been able to
do so. No artifact-like material, no patterned lithic industry
emerges, even in areas of easily flaked rock. This is a myth
comparable to that of the infinite number of monkeys with
typewriters reproducing Shakespeare's work.

George Carter


As to the dating, there is a consistent pattern that exists with lithic material (manmade or natural) from the deepest strata of the central Texas site I’m researching: Edwards Gray chert (and occasional Edwards Black), iron stained (cooler, wetter period?) with an overlying coat of carbonate (warmer, drier period?). Initial U-series analyses conducted by USGS places specimens with this pattern well into the Pleistocene and, hopefully, the results from Berkeley Geochronology Center's analyses will refine the dating.

Here's a chopper made from bipolar reduction:



This chopper was recovered in the ca. 18,000 B.P. strata from one of the pits at Topper. My friend sent me the image. Here's what he had to say:

Here's the "Topper Chopper". Holding it is Tom, the archaeologist in charge of this site. He is holding it with a napkin and wouldn't let me hold it because it's headed to the lab for micro-analysis. They will hopefully be able to see if it chopped wood, bone, or whatever. He said that I can tell my friends that there are indeed handaxes in North America.