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Size Matters: Measuring Debitage Area and Getting it Right with a Digital Scanner

Abstract Flakes come in all shapes and sizes and therefore, a true and precise measure of the flake area is notoriously challenging to produce. Archeologists have thus resorted to the use of a number of different tools to measure flake area but these methods lack accuracy and precision. This paper reviews the different methods developed for measuring flake area and proposes a novel method which allows a precise assessment of flake area using an optical scanner. This computer assisted measurement (CAM) is inexpensive, fast, accurate, and measures the flake area with a sub-millimetric precision. By examining data from flakes found on two sites on the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence Rivers, it becomes clear that this method is highly compatible with older methods, while providing researchers some much needed flexibility, detail and precision, as well as freeing them of the constraints of predetermined size classes.