Abstract

Discoveries of microblades in sites in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Canada have prompted investigators to consider the modes of microblade production. Primary emphasis has been on the identification of microcore types for use as spatial and temporal indicators. As a tentative venture into the problematic area of microblade use, a three fold approach has been taken in this paper: (1) ethnographic analogy - a study of side and end hafted tools from selected ethnographic collections, (2) experimental - use of microblades as end and side hafted tools in working wood and bone, and (3) archeological - analysis of wear patterns on a collection of microblades from a site in southeastern Alaska.