Side Scraper

A side scraper is a flake tool with a retouched working edge along one or both of its long sides. Outlines vary widely: elongated, triangular or irregular, depending on the flake. The working edge is usually straight to slightly convex; a single flake may carry several retouched edges (Morrow 2016; Boen and Williams 2022).

The edge was made by removing a row of small flakes, usually from the upper (dorsal) face only, which leaves a steep, strong edge. Most side scrapers lack any shaping for a handle and were probably held in the hand, though some may have been hafted (Bell 1980; Morrow 2016). Large side scrapers made on broad, flat flakes struck from big bifacial cores are typical of Paleoindian and Early Archaic toolkits; smaller ones occur on sites of all ages. A keeled scraper has a raised ridge down the middle of the upper face (Boen and Williams 2022).

Side scrapers served many tasks. Sources list hide dressing and scraping or planing wood and bone, the long edge working much like a drawknife, and use-wear studies show many were also used as knives for butchering (Morrow 2016). The key trait is a long, steep, retouched edge running along the side of a flake rather than across its end.

Length from under 20 mm to well over 100–150 mm, limited only by the size of the flake (Morrow 2016, Minnesota). Six Hardaway site side scrapers, North Carolina (probably Late Paleoindian to Middle Archaic): length 38.7–84.1 mm (mean 66.6 mm); width 21.1–59.1 mm (mean 39.5 mm); thickness 4.5–14.8 mm (mean 10.7 mm) (n = 6, UNC Research Laboratories of Archaeology).

Found across North America on sites of every period. Large unifacial side scrapers are a regular part of Paleoindian and Early Archaic assemblages in the Midwest and on the northern Plains (Morrow 2016; Peck 2011).

Identification tips: Look for a long edge with a regular row of small flake scars on one face only, forming a steep angle. Sharp, unretouched flake edges with only nicks are utilized or modified flakes, not formal scrapers.

Similar types: End Scraper has its steep edge across the end of the flake and is usually shaped for a handle. Spokeshave has a concave, notch-like working edge. Bifacial knives are flaked on both faces with a thin, sharp edge (Bell 1980). Chopper is a cobble, still partly covered in cortex, with one heavy chopping edge (Bell 1980).

Naming: Also written sidescraper. A keeled scraper is a side scraper with a ridged, plano-convex cross-section (Boen and Williams 2022). Concave-edged side scrapers are usually split off as spokeshaves (Morrow 2016).

Dating evidence: Side scrapers as a class are not diagnostic. Bifacial side scrapers are listed among the defining tools of the Cody complex on the northern Plains (Peck 2011), and Clovis blades at the Adams and Joe Priddy sites in Kentucky were retouched along the side to make cutting and scraping tools (Pollack 2008).