khaksar, Somaye2023-02-162023-02-162022-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/252498University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2022. Major: Anthropology. Advisor: GILBERT TOSTEVIN. 1 computer file (PDF); xi, 120 pages.There have been various studies examining different aspects of stone flakes and their cutting edges to determine how flakes` varying characteristics affect their performance in different activities. This project is focused on one of the flake characteristics that we refer to as gross-edge curvature to investigate its role in the efficiency of stone flakes.This project is divided into three parts: the first part which involves a controlled experiment examines the effect of the element of gross-edge curvature on the cutting efficiency of a series of experimentally produced stone flakes. The second part investigates the role of cut substrate on the effect of gross-edge curvature and edge length in several cutting activities. And the third part is focused on the role of gross-edge curvature in the Levallois reduction sequence. These studies were carried out 1) to add a component to the host of factors that influence the cutting performance of flakes 2) to shed new light on the influence of surface material type in cutting experiments, and 3) to explore the role of the gross curvature in a specific reduction sequence. How this element, i.e., gross edge curvature, interacts with the so far- known range of variables that effect stone tool efficiency remains a question for future research to investigate.enThesis or Dissertation