![]() In their analyses, archaeologists often must determine the range of variation that is acceptable when assigning artifacts such as projectile points and arrowheads to a type. Typologies, which were used extensively by archaeologists working under the classificatory-historical paradigm, are thorough visual descriptions of a group of like artifacts. These sub-categories can then be further refined until all the artifacts that share similar attributes and/or physical properties are grouped together and define artifact types, creating a typology. Once sorted into those initial categories, the categories can be subdivided by other physical attributes such as decorations, color, shape, size and other physical dimensions, raw material sources (e.g., chert or obsidian for stone tools), and manufacturing techniques. Once artifacts have been excavated, processed in the lab, and catalogued, what happens next? Usually, the artifacts are sorted into broad categories by the types of materials, such as stone (lithics), bone, and ceramic. This chapter focuses on various kinds of artifacts and specific types of information archaeologists can learn from types of artifacts. ![]() ![]() Their interpretation and the information they provide largely depends on the environmental conditions to which the artifacts have been exposed, which influences their preservation. The artifacts made and used by humans are critical to archaeological work and analysis of past humans’ behavior. ![]()
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