Pub Date : 2021-04-01DOI: 10.51315/MGFU.2020.29002
F. Venditti
Recycling is defined as a process in which waste materials can again become usable. In the common belief of many peoples, recycling is only considered a contemporary manifestation linked to the economic and ecological politics of industrialized societies. Both archaeological and historical records, however, prove that recycling has its roots back in time, being a common behavior of our ancestors as well as of many past societies. At the Late Lower Paleolithic site of Qesem Cave, Israel, research has identified a particular lithic trajectory oriented towards the production of small flakes by means of recycling, in the exploiting of old discarded flakes to be re-used as cores. The high density of this specific production throughout the stratigraphic sequence of the cave demonstrates that lithic recycling was a conscious and planned technological choice aimed at providing small and sharp items, most probably in order to meet specific functional behaviors. This particular lithic behavior persisted for some 200 kyr of human use of the cave and is not related to any shortage of flint, as the vicinity of the cave is exceptionally rich in flint sources. The exceptional conservation of use-wear signs and residues has allowed the author to reconstruct the functional role of this specific production, highlighting its specialized nature mostly related to the processing of animal carcasses through accurate and careful actions. The aptitude towards specialization in a tool’s function and technology shows how advanced the cognitive capacities were of the Qesem hominins. Applying functional analysis based on the determination of wear on artifacts by means of optical light microscopes, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analysis (FTIR and EDX) provides a useful and effective approach for understanding the adaptive strategies of the Qesem Cave hominins who, while facing various situations, were able to find thoughtful solutions for different needs.
{"title":"Flint Recycling in the Lower Paleolithic Levant: A Microscopic Investigation of Small Recycled Flakes at Qesem Cave (Israel)","authors":"F. Venditti","doi":"10.51315/MGFU.2020.29002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51315/MGFU.2020.29002","url":null,"abstract":"Recycling is defined as a process in which waste materials can again become usable. In the common belief of many peoples, recycling is only considered a contemporary manifestation linked to the economic and ecological politics of industrialized societies. Both archaeological and historical records, however, prove that recycling has its roots back in time, being a common behavior of our ancestors as well as of many past societies. At the Late Lower Paleolithic site of Qesem Cave, Israel, research has identified a particular lithic trajectory oriented towards the production of small flakes by means of recycling, in the exploiting of old discarded flakes to be re-used as cores. The high density of this specific production throughout the stratigraphic sequence of the cave demonstrates that lithic recycling was a conscious and planned technological choice aimed at providing small and sharp items, most probably in order to meet specific functional behaviors. This particular lithic behavior persisted for some 200 kyr of human use of the cave and is not related to any shortage of flint, as the vicinity of the cave is exceptionally rich in flint sources. The exceptional conservation of use-wear signs and residues has allowed the author to reconstruct the functional role of this specific production, highlighting its specialized nature mostly related to the processing of animal carcasses through accurate and careful actions. The aptitude towards specialization in a tool’s function and technology shows how advanced the cognitive capacities were of the Qesem hominins. Applying functional analysis based on the determination of wear on artifacts by means of optical light microscopes, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analysis (FTIR and EDX) provides a useful and effective approach for understanding the adaptive strategies of the Qesem Cave hominins who, while facing various situations, were able to find thoughtful solutions for different needs.","PeriodicalId":415531,"journal":{"name":"Mitteilungender Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125329557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-01DOI: 10.51315/MGFU.2020.29003
Benjamin Schuerch, S. Wolf, P. Schmidt, N. Conard
The site of Vogelherd in the Lone Valley of southwestern Germany has become world famous for its many unique artworks made from mammoth ivory, personal ornaments, flute fragments, lithic artifacts, and antler and bone artifacts. In the study below, the molluscs from Vogelherd are presented, offering us new insights on the mobility and social behavior of Aurignacian groups in the Lone Valley. Some of the mollusc finds come from the 1931 excavation of Gustav Riek; however, most of them were uncovered during the later re-excavations of the site between 2005 and 2012. In order to provide context for these finds, we compare the molluscs from Vogelherd with those from across Central Europe. The identifiable fragments from Vogelherd belong to the genus Glycymeris. The Glycymeris molluscs originated from the Mainz Basin. This determination makes it possible to reconstruct one of the farthest long-distance connections known for the Upper Paleolithic in Germany. In addition to the Glycymeris finds, we present a tool that was also made from a mollusc. This mollusc-tool, coming from the excavation of 1931 and attributed to the Aurignacian, is a unique find for this time period of southern Germany. With this piece, along with microscopic examinations and discussions of the Glycymeris molluscs, we present a wide range of possible uses for these finds. For example, we discuss the possible use of the molluscs as ochre containers. To test this, we used EDX-analysis and a raster electron microscope. We compare the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd with those from Gravettian and Magdalenian contexts at Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle, Petersfels, and Gnirshöhle, and we provide a list of all sites from Germany, Switzerland, Eastern France, and Belgium with Glycymeris finds. We use size comparisons to show differences as well among the Glycymeris finds of Vogelherd and other Upper Paleolithic sites in southwestern Germany. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd best fit into the Aurignacian, and we provide other Aurignacian sites that contained similar finds. By discussing other long-distance connections in the Aurignacian of southern Germany, it becomes evident that Glycymeris molluscs are not specific only to the Swabian Aurignacian.
{"title":"Molluscs of the Genus Glycymeris from Vogelherd Cave near Niederstotzingen (Lonetal, Southwestern Germany)","authors":"Benjamin Schuerch, S. Wolf, P. Schmidt, N. Conard","doi":"10.51315/MGFU.2020.29003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51315/MGFU.2020.29003","url":null,"abstract":"The site of Vogelherd in the Lone Valley of southwestern Germany has become world famous for its many unique artworks made from mammoth ivory, personal ornaments, flute fragments, lithic artifacts, and antler and bone artifacts. In the study below, the molluscs from Vogelherd are presented, offering us new insights on the mobility and social behavior of Aurignacian groups in the Lone Valley. Some of the mollusc finds come from the 1931 excavation of Gustav Riek; however, most of them were uncovered during the later re-excavations of the site between 2005 and 2012. In order to provide context for these finds, we compare the molluscs from Vogelherd with those from across Central Europe. The identifiable fragments from Vogelherd belong to the genus Glycymeris. The Glycymeris molluscs originated from the Mainz Basin. This determination makes it possible to reconstruct one of the farthest long-distance connections known for the Upper Paleolithic in Germany. In addition to the Glycymeris finds, we present a tool that was also made from a mollusc. This mollusc-tool, coming from the excavation of 1931 and attributed to the Aurignacian, is a unique find for this time period of southern Germany. With this piece, along with microscopic examinations and discussions of the Glycymeris molluscs, we present a wide range of possible uses for these finds. For example, we discuss the possible use of the molluscs as ochre containers. To test this, we used EDX-analysis and a raster electron microscope. We compare the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd with those from Gravettian and Magdalenian contexts at Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle, Petersfels, and Gnirshöhle, and we provide a list of all sites from Germany, Switzerland, Eastern France, and Belgium with Glycymeris finds. We use size comparisons to show differences as well among the Glycymeris finds of Vogelherd and other Upper Paleolithic sites in southwestern Germany. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd best fit into the Aurignacian, and we provide other Aurignacian sites that contained similar finds. By discussing other long-distance connections in the Aurignacian of southern Germany, it becomes evident that Glycymeris molluscs are not specific only to the Swabian Aurignacian.","PeriodicalId":415531,"journal":{"name":"Mitteilungender Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte","volume":"86 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121255540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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