Utilized Prismatic Blades Vs. Utilized Flakes at the Phil Stratton Cumberland Site,Kentucky

The ratio of utilized prismatic blades (N = 499, whole tool count) to utilized flakes (N = 276) at the Phil Stratton site is approximately 2:1; however, if we allow for undercounting of fragmented utilized flakes, the ratio likely approaches 3:2. Such a finding—the first to be reported for any Middle Stage Cumberland assemblage—might be matched at Clovis habitation sites of a later era. This ratio is robust in the favor of prismatic blades and attests to the importance of a prismatic blade industry during the Middle Stage of the Cumberland Tradition with an estimated age of 14,500 calendar years before present.