Editing Lithic core (section)

== Types of cores ==
Cores may be subdivided into specific types by a lithic analyst.  Type frequencies, as well as the general types of materials at an [[archaeological site]], can give the lithic analyst a better understanding of the lithic reduction processes occurring at that site.

Cores may be described on the basis of the direction of flake removals, the number of faces with negative flake scars or the general morphology of the core.<ref name=":0" /> Examples of this include multidirectional, conical, cylindrical, biconical, or bifacial cores.<ref name=":0" /> A multidirectional core is the product of any random rock, from which flakes were taken based on the geometry of the rock in any pattern until no further flakes could be removed. Often, multidirectional cores are used in this way until no obvious platforms are present, and then are reduced through bipolar reduction, until the core itself is too small to produce useful flakes. Conical cores have a definite pattern. One flake was removed from a narrow end of the tool stone, and this was then used as the platform to take flakes off in a unifacial fashion all around the edge of the rock. The end result is a cone-like shape.  Cylindrical lithic cores are made in a similar fashion, but there is a platform on both ends of the tool stone, with flakes going up and down the side of the cylinder from either direction.
[[File:Lithic Core Negev.jpg|thumb|Lithic core (Mousterian) from Makhtesh Gadol, southern Israel.]]
[[File:Upper paleolithic cylindrical blade core France courtesy of Burke Museum.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Line drawing of a cylindrical blade core. Image shows six view angles. Drawn from a specimen in the Burke Museum archaeological collection.|Upper paleolithic cylindrical blade core, France. Courtesy of the [[Burke Museum]].]] Biconical cores have several platforms around the edge of the stone, with flakes taken alternately from either side, resulting in what looks like a pair of cones stuck together at the bases. Bifacial cores are similar to biconical cores, except that instead of forming a pair of cones, the flakes are taken off in such a way that the core itself grows thinner, without the edges shrinking much.  Bifacial cores are usually further reduced into trade bifaces, biface blanks, or bifacial tools. Bifacial cores have been recognized as a technology allowing for efficient material usage (specifically in the creation of edge scrapers) and for their suitability for highly mobile hunter gatherer groups in need of tools made of high quality lithic materials.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morrow|first1=Juliet E.|title=End Scraper Morphology and Use-life: An Approach for Studying Paleoindian Lithic Technology and Mobility|journal=Lithic Technology|date=1997|volume=22|issue=1|pages=70–85|doi=10.1080/01977261.1997.11754534}}</ref>