Lithic Reduction Sequence Calculator

Cortex Coverage alone can add up to 25 of the rubric's 100 points -- the largest single allocation of the six attributes -- reflecting how strongly retained cortex (the weathered outer rind of the parent stone) is treated as an early-reduction indicator across lithic analysis generally, even though this particular point weighting is this calculator's own simplified scheme, not a universal standard.

Yes -- raising Dorsal Scar Count never increases the Stage Score across its full 0-20 range; it only holds steady or lowers it, since more prior flake removals visible on the dorsal face is a classic sign that a piece has already been worked further along the reduction sequence, not that it's still an early, unmodified flake.

Yes -- Stage Score is a sum across six weighted attributes, so a narrow platform on one flake can be offset by, say, high Cortex Coverage or a prominent bulb of percussion on another, landing both in the same labeled band even though their platforms look nothing alike. The label reflects the total score, not any single measurement in isolation.

No -- most attributes here award points in discrete bands (for example, Platform Width only jumps in value past 8 mm and again past 15 mm), but Bulb Prominence scales continuously and linearly across its 1-5 range, so every one-point increase in prominence raises the Stage Score by the same fixed amount rather than jumping at a threshold.

It approximates general terminology used across lithic technology literature -- early/middle/late reduction, biface thinning, hard-hammer versus soft-hammer/pressure technology -- but the specific point-weighted formula behind the Stage Score is this calculator's own simplified heuristic, not a citation-validated statistical model, so treat its output as a rough guide rather than a formal classification.