Knowing to what extent lithic cores have been reduced through knapping is an important step toward understanding the technological variability of lithic assemblages and disentangling the formation processes of archaeological sites. In addition, it is a good complement to more developed studies of reduction intensity in retouched tools and provides information on raw material management or site occupation dynamics. This paper presents a new methodology for estimating the intensity of reduction in cores and tools on cobbles, the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM). It is based on a correction of the dimensions (length, width, and thickness) of each core from an assemblage. The median values of thickness and platform thickness of the assemblage’s flakes are used as corrections for the cores’ original dimensions, after its diacritic analysis. Then, based on these new dimensions, the volume or mass of the original blank are reconstructed using the ellipsoid volume formula. The accuracy of this method was experimentally tested, reproducing a variety of possible archaeological scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate a high inferential potential of the VRM, both in estimating the original volume or mass of the original blanks and in inferring the individual percentage of reduction for each core. The results of random resampling demonstrate the applicability of VRM to not size-biased archaeological contexts.

中文翻译：

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一种测量鹅卵石核心和工具上还原强度的新方法：体积重建法

知道通过绑扎使岩心减少到何种程度，是迈向理解岩体组合的技术变异性和弄清考古遗址形成过程的重要一步。此外，它是对润饰工具中降低强度的更深入研究的良好补充，并提供了有关原材料管理或现场占用动态的信息。本文提出了一种新的方法来估算鹅卵石上的岩心和工具的减少强度，即体积重建法（VRM）。它基于组件对每个芯的尺寸（长度，宽度和厚度）的校正。在进行变音符号分析后，将组合件薄片的厚度和平台厚度的中值用于校正芯的原始尺寸。然后，基于这些新尺寸，使用椭圆体体积公式重建原始毛坯的体积或质量。通过实验测试了该方法的准确性，再现了各种可能的考古场景。实验结果表明，在估算原始坯料的原始体积或质量以及推断每个芯的还原百分比方面，VRM都有很高的推断潜力。随机重采样的结果证明了VRM在没有大小偏见的考古环境中的适用性。实验结果表明，在估算原始坯料的原始体积或质量以及推断每个芯的还原百分比方面，VRM都有很高的推断潜力。随机重采样的结果证明了VRM在没有大小偏见的考古环境中的适用性。实验结果表明，在估算原始坯料的原始体积或质量以及推断每个芯的还原百分比方面，VRM都有很高的推断潜力。随机重采样的结果证明了VRM在没有大小偏见的考古环境中的适用性。