532 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1963 



prepared cores. Triangular flakes produced from convergent prepa- 

 ration of the core, and oval or discoidal to irregular shaped flakes de- 

 rived from radially prepared cores are also in evidence. Irregular 

 flakes derived from biconical, discoidal, and formless cores, as well as 

 from other kinds of nonprepared cores are an important component, 

 and in some cases, these were the dominant flake type. Any of these 

 flake types may be retouched to form a variety of scrapers as well as 

 points and other tool types. As was true of the flakes collected by 

 Caton Thompson (1953, p. 209) near Tarim, the prepared flakes some- 

 times bear remnants of a faceted striking platform, but they were more 

 commonly struck from a plain platform. In addition to these flakes, 

 the various kinds of cores from which they were produced were found. 



In spite of the fact that artifacts occur on surfaces which have been 

 exposed since they were first left on them, it seems in some cases that 

 they represent a single, short period of occupation rather than an ac- 

 cumulation over a long period of time. In places, for instance, where 

 a good supply of flint or chert is available, artifacts have doubtless 

 accumulated over a long period. In such localities, artifacts with 

 widely differing patination are found, and wide ranges in flake dimen- 

 sions are apparent. Here also, one sometimes finds cores or other pieces 

 of material that display two or more degrees of patination. A core 

 which had been discarded after having yielded the larger flakes de- 

 sired at an early period became serviceable again at a later time when 

 much smaller flake sizes were required. 



However, a number of sites with relatively small concentrations of 

 artifacts were found, sometimes in places that have no obvious attrac- 

 tion as campsites. At such sites, workshop debris is usually absent 

 because flint and chert are not immediately available. Often these 

 sites occur on the plateau where there would have been no water, and 

 in places where such advantages as shelter or an unrestricted view of 

 areas where game might have been expected would not have been 

 obtained. Further, uniformity of such characteristics as flake size, 

 tool types, and patination suggests that the artifacts are, in fact, in 

 archeological context, and that these contexts represent temporary 

 campsites, or possibly killsites. Once detailed analysis of the collec- 

 tions is completed, it is thought that it will be possible to demonstrate 

 that statistically significant differences in such characteristics as mean 

 flake size, and flake and tool typology, exist between certain of the 

 assortments, and that these differences can be correlated with degree of 

 patination. On the basis of these analyses and correlations, it may be 

 that a crude seriation can be developed to accommodate some of this 

 material. 



Thanks to the activities of the Desert Locust Survey personnel and, 

 more recently, of Aramco geologists and surveyors, something is known 

 of the archeology of the southwestern extreme of the Rub' al-Khali 



