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The un-resharpened Edgefield Scraper (above left) showing both sides of the plano-convex blade, is from Crisp County, Georgia. The beautiful frame of Edgefield Scrapers (above right) is from Houston County, Georgia. The example at the center is 5.5 inches in length.
Name: James L. Michie named the Edgefield Scraper for Edgefield County, South Carolina where examples were first reported. Lyman Warren discovered them in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Piper-Fuller air field at the surface of the hardpan layer with a Hendricks Scraper. They have also been recovered with San Patrice points in Texas where they were referred to as an Albany scraper.[1]
Description: The Edgefield Scraper is a heavy side-notched tool. The Houston County example pictured above demonstrates the appearance of the blade before use. This example is unusually large at over 4 inches in length. The blade is plano-convex in cross-section while the hafting area is worked on both faces and basely smoothed. The blade edges are convex prior to resharpening. Resharpening generally occurs along the left side of the worked face, creating a triangular appearance. Side notching is typical, however, very rare corner notched examples have been reported. The hafting area is very thick to support extensive pressure. Barbara Purdy noted that the rejuvenated blade edge averages 60 degrees and has small step fractures indicating heavy pressure as a possible bone-working tool.[2]
Age: The association of the Edgefield Scraper with other early tools and blade types suggests that they date between 10,000 to 9500 BP.[3]
[1] Schroder, Lloyd E., The Anthropology of Florida Points and Blades (Revised),CafePress, 2006:36
[2] Purdy, Barbara A., Florida’s Prehistoric Stone Technology: A Study of the Flintworking Technique of Early Florida’s Implement Makers, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1981:26-28
[3] Whatley, John S., An Overview of Georgia Projectile Points And Selected Cutting Tools, Early Georgia, Vol. 30, No. 1, The Society for Georgia Archaeology. April, 2002