Cyrielle Mathias, Laurence Bourguignon, J. Ivorra, D. Barsky, Sophie Grégoire, Cyril Viallet
Up to now, little was known about the Middle Palaeolithic from the Hérault Valley (France). Recently, systematic surveys have led to the discovery of several surface stations on river terraces. Some of these have yielded stone tools made from unusual raw materials, such as, brecciated quartzites and jasper-like rocks, as well as quartz and rare flints. These rocks are found in primary position in the Montagne Noire area, and are also available in the alluvial deposits of the Hérault and its tributaries in the form of more or less rounded cobbles. These raw materials are very heterogeneous even within a single cobble. Their inter and intra-variability has been found to have induced specific knapping strategies as hominins adapted to - or took full advantage of - their special petrographic characteristics. Here we present data from three Middle Palaeolithic open-air stations (Les Geissières, Saint-Saturnin and Camillo) to illustrate adaptive knapping strategies performed by Neanderthals. In addition to the technological analysis, experiments were also conducted to test some of the identified methods, such as bipolar-on-anvil, with the aims of: 1) evaluating flake production efficiency and 2) recognizing specific traces left on the products by this method. This enabled us to better identify archaeological artefacts in this particular alluvial context. The study shows the use of stone reduction methods that allowed the knappers to adapt to the constraints posed by the raw materials: Discoid sensu lato (bifacial, unifacial, partial), Clactonian and bipolar-on-anvil. Methods more diagnostic of the Middle Palaeolithic, such as the Levallois and typo-Levallois or various Kombewa methods were used on finer grained raw materials. There are a few retouched flake tools and some pebble tools (mainly choppers). These assemblages show us that, despite the influence of the raw materials (which is more of a constraint than a limit), Neanderthals achieved their goals through a variety of methods. These surface stations make it possible to better perceive adaptive strategies in the Middle Palaeolithic in Languedoc-Roussillon, in a context where the Levallois techno-complexes prevail.
到目前为止，人们对Hérault山谷（法国）旧石器时代中期的情况知之甚少。最近，系统的调查在河流阶地上发现了几个地表站。其中一些已经产生了由不寻常的原材料制成的石器，如角砾岩石英岩和碧玉状岩石，以及石英和罕见的燧石。这些岩石在蒙塔涅-诺伊尔地区的主要位置发现，也可以在Hérault及其支流的冲积层中以或多或少圆形鹅卵石的形式找到。这些原材料即使在一块鹅卵石中也非常不均匀。人们发现，当原始人适应或充分利用其特殊的岩相特征时，它们的相互变异和内部变异导致了特定的破坏策略。在这里，我们展示了三个旧石器时代中期露天站（Les Geissières、Saint-Saturnin和Camilo）的数据，以说明尼安德特人的适应性击倒策略。除了技术分析外，还进行了一些实验来测试一些已确定的方法，如砧上双极法，目的是：1）评估薄片生产效率；2）识别该方法在产品上留下的特定痕迹。这使我们能够更好地识别这种特殊冲积背景下的考古文物。该研究表明，使用了石材还原方法，使工匠能够适应原材料带来的限制：Discoid sensu lato（双面、单面、部分）、Clactonian和双极砧。方法对细粒度的原材料使用旧石器时代中期更具诊断性的方法，如Levallois和错型Levallois或各种Kombewa方法。有一些经过修整的薄片工具和一些卵石工具（主要是切碎机）。这些组合向我们表明，尽管受到原材料的影响（与其说是限制，不如说是限制），尼安德特人还是通过各种方法实现了他们的目标。这些地面站使我们能够更好地感知朗格多克-鲁西隆旧石器时代中期的适应性策略，在这种情况下，Levallois技术复合体占主导地位。
{"title":"Adaptation to raw materials intra-variability: Examples from three Middle Palaeolithic surface stations of the Hérault Valley, France (Les Geissières, Saint-Saturnin and Camillo)","authors":"Cyrielle Mathias, Laurence Bourguignon, J. Ivorra, D. Barsky, Sophie Grégoire, Cyril Viallet","doi":"10.2218/jls.4486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4486","url":null,"abstract":"Up to now, little was known about the Middle Palaeolithic from the Hérault Valley (France). Recently, systematic surveys have led to the discovery of several surface stations on river terraces. Some of these have yielded stone tools made from unusual raw materials, such as, brecciated quartzites and jasper-like rocks, as well as quartz and rare flints. These rocks are found in primary position in the Montagne Noire area, and are also available in the alluvial deposits of the Hérault and its tributaries in the form of more or less rounded cobbles. These raw materials are very heterogeneous even within a single cobble. Their inter and intra-variability has been found to have induced specific knapping strategies as hominins adapted to - or took full advantage of - their special petrographic characteristics. \u0000Here we present data from three Middle Palaeolithic open-air stations (Les Geissières, Saint-Saturnin and Camillo) to illustrate adaptive knapping strategies performed by Neanderthals. In addition to the technological analysis, experiments were also conducted to test some of the identified methods, such as bipolar-on-anvil, with the aims of: 1) evaluating flake production efficiency and 2) recognizing specific traces left on the products by this method. This enabled us to better identify archaeological artefacts in this particular alluvial context. \u0000The study shows the use of stone reduction methods that allowed the knappers to adapt to the constraints posed by the raw materials: Discoid sensu lato (bifacial, unifacial, partial), Clactonian and bipolar-on-anvil. Methods more diagnostic of the Middle Palaeolithic, such as the Levallois and typo-Levallois or various Kombewa methods were used on finer grained raw materials. There are a few retouched flake tools and some pebble tools (mainly choppers). These assemblages show us that, despite the influence of the raw materials (which is more of a constraint than a limit), Neanderthals achieved their goals through a variety of methods. \u0000These surface stations make it possible to better perceive adaptive strategies in the Middle Palaeolithic in Languedoc-Roussillon, in a context where the Levallois techno-complexes prevail.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44497958","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}
A. Petrović, C. Lemorini, S. Nunziante-Cesaro, D. Mihailović
Following a series of published analyses ranging from architecture to prehistoric diet of the Iron Gates’ inhabitants, our research aims to present new results regarding use-wear analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina with a particular focus on the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in this region. Use-wear and residue analysis are applied using the low and high-power approach by Optical Light Microscope (OLM) observations combined with FTIR analysis. Based on the results, some of the main activities that took place in Iron Gates are processing of hide, bone, antler, plants, and soft stone. It is very important to highlight the complexity of various processes, which make this already specific area more peculiar. A variety of both simple, but overall, more complex and composite activities are recorded with the elaborate preparation of the used materials, for example, hide. Particular processes, such as butchering, were noted both inside the houses, and also concentrated in precise, specific areas of the settlements, where only tools involved in the processing of hide and meat were found. The data obtained highlight the activities of these advanced hunter-gatherer-fishermen and first farmers communities. Together with spatial analysis, the dynamics and processes in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic are revealed, but also many questions regarding the specialization of the prehistoric settlements on the Danube are posed.
{"title":"Use-wear and residue analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina (Serbia)","authors":"A. Petrović, C. Lemorini, S. Nunziante-Cesaro, D. Mihailović","doi":"10.2218/jls.6695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.6695","url":null,"abstract":"Following a series of published analyses ranging from architecture to prehistoric diet of the Iron Gates’ inhabitants, our research aims to present new results regarding use-wear analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina with a particular focus on the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in this region. Use-wear and residue analysis are applied using the low and high-power approach by Optical Light Microscope (OLM) observations combined with FTIR analysis. \u0000Based on the results, some of the main activities that took place in Iron Gates are processing of hide, bone, antler, plants, and soft stone. It is very important to highlight the complexity of various processes, which make this already specific area more peculiar. A variety of both simple, but overall, more complex and composite activities are recorded with the elaborate preparation of the used materials, for example, hide. Particular processes, such as butchering, were noted both inside the houses, and also concentrated in precise, specific areas of the settlements, where only tools involved in the processing of hide and meat were found. The data obtained highlight the activities of these advanced hunter-gatherer-fishermen and first farmers communities. Together with spatial analysis, the dynamics and processes in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic are revealed, but also many questions regarding the specialization of the prehistoric settlements on the Danube are posed.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44074739","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}
The authors present the evidence gathered during the interdisciplinary study of several polished stone tools from some Neolithic sites in Hungary. In particular, the cutting-edged tool production (axes, adzes, chisels) involves knapping at several stages of the operational-chain within an artefact’s ‘life cycle’ - from raw material procurement, its manufacture, use, and discard. Some specific fine-grained and non-siliceous raw materials, among which are mainly hornfels, “white stones” and a few greenstones, show evidence of being worked by knapping as shown by the recovery of rough-outs, flaked similarly to biface artefacts, reworked pieces during retooling attempts, and several flakes detached before and after polishing the artefact surfaces. These latter demonstrate that re-sharpening and re-working polished cutting-edged tools was a common practice within the settlements during the whole Neolithic period. These small flakes, that sometimes look like true bladelets, have been often confused with, and published as, chipped stone tools. Therefore, it is important to get a holistic view of the whole stone industry during the study of the lithic assemblages. As in the case for chert and flint in N Europe, which have been intensively exploited for the production of polished axes and adzes, some other lithic raw materials could be easily worked by knapping for the production of polished tools, especially micro-crystalline rocks that have technical response and physical properties very similar to true flint and chert. Moreover, there are indeed implications regarding social organization among Neolithic communities, not only from the point of view of raw material procurement. Notably, the technical capability of producing and maintaining in efficiency the polished stone tools had to be acquired by individuals belonging to each household within the community, since stone axe-adzes were polyfunctional tools for mundane and multiple tasks. Therefore, as an important means for survival, the production of stone tools, both chipped and polished, was a knowledge certainly transmitted from generation to generation, although we still have to understand the modes and social implications of the transfer in details.
{"title":"Knapping before and after polishing: Technological evidence in the Neolithic polished stone tools from Hungary","authors":"E. Starnini, G. Szakmány","doi":"10.2218/jls.6691","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.6691","url":null,"abstract":"The authors present the evidence gathered during the interdisciplinary study of several polished stone tools from some Neolithic sites in Hungary. In particular, the cutting-edged tool production (axes, adzes, chisels) involves knapping at several stages of the operational-chain within an artefact’s ‘life cycle’ - from raw material procurement, its manufacture, use, and discard. Some specific fine-grained and non-siliceous raw materials, among which are mainly hornfels, “white stones” and a few greenstones, show evidence of being worked by knapping as shown by the recovery of rough-outs, flaked similarly to biface artefacts, reworked pieces during retooling attempts, and several flakes detached before and after polishing the artefact surfaces. These latter demonstrate that re-sharpening and re-working polished cutting-edged tools was a common practice within the settlements during the whole Neolithic period. These small flakes, that sometimes look like true bladelets, have been often confused with, and published as, chipped stone tools. Therefore, it is important to get a holistic view of the whole stone industry during the study of the lithic assemblages. As in the case for chert and flint in N Europe, which have been intensively exploited for the production of polished axes and adzes, some other lithic raw materials could be easily worked by knapping for the production of polished tools, especially micro-crystalline rocks that have technical response and physical properties very similar to true flint and chert. Moreover, there are indeed implications regarding social organization among Neolithic communities, not only from the point of view of raw material procurement. Notably, the technical capability of producing and maintaining in efficiency the polished stone tools had to be acquired by individuals belonging to each household within the community, since stone axe-adzes were polyfunctional tools for mundane and multiple tasks. Therefore, as an important means for survival, the production of stone tools, both chipped and polished, was a knowledge certainly transmitted from generation to generation, although we still have to understand the modes and social implications of the transfer in details.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43317994","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}
Archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age, despite the widespread use of metal, also used stone raw materials for the manufacture of tools, household, and sacred items. A lot of stone products had a complicated shape and meticulous finishing, but the technology of their manufacture is still not always clear. This fully applies to the materials of the Bronze Age of southern Turkmenistan where long-term settlements of the proto-urban type are being studied. These include Gonur Depe (2500-1500 BCE) - the administrative and religious centre of ancient Margiana (Sarianidi 2005). Among its materials are stone miniature columns of “unknown” purpose in the shape of a chess rook, which are usually found in sacral complexes. This paper deals with the technology of producing these objects (half of the collection of intact items was investigated) and is part of a collective work on a comprehensive study of large stone cult objects from Gonur Depe. The raw materials for studied miniature columns were gypsum, limestone, marbled limestone, marbled onyx, onyx, talcochlorite, and polymictic breccia. For the first time the authors made an attempt to consider the issues of miniature columns manufacturing technology. Thanks to the use-wear study of their surfaces, it became possible to reveal numerous technological traces invisible to the naked eye. The data obtained made it possible to characterize all stages of the miniature columns manufacturing technology, which indicates a high level of development of the stone-processing industry in the settlements of the Bronze Age of Turkmenistan.
{"title":"Manufacturing technology of stone miniature columns from the Bronze Age site Gonur Depe (southern Turkmenistan)","authors":"N. Skakun, V. Terekhina","doi":"10.2218/jls.4490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4490","url":null,"abstract":"Archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age, despite the widespread use of metal, also used stone raw materials for the manufacture of tools, household, and sacred items. A lot of stone products had a complicated shape and meticulous finishing, but the technology of their manufacture is still not always clear. This fully applies to the materials of the Bronze Age of southern Turkmenistan where long-term settlements of the proto-urban type are being studied. These include Gonur Depe (2500-1500 BCE) - the administrative and religious centre of ancient Margiana (Sarianidi 2005). Among its materials are stone miniature columns of “unknown” purpose in the shape of a chess rook, which are usually found in sacral complexes. This paper deals with the technology of producing these objects (half of the collection of intact items was investigated) and is part of a collective work on a comprehensive study of large stone cult objects from Gonur Depe. The raw materials for studied miniature columns were gypsum, limestone, marbled limestone, marbled onyx, onyx, talcochlorite, and polymictic breccia. For the first time the authors made an attempt to consider the issues of miniature columns manufacturing technology. Thanks to the use-wear study of their surfaces, it became possible to reveal numerous technological traces invisible to the naked eye. The data obtained made it possible to characterize all stages of the miniature columns manufacturing technology, which indicates a high level of development of the stone-processing industry in the settlements of the Bronze Age of Turkmenistan.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45741047","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}
N. Skakun, L. Longo, V. Terekhina, I. Pantyukhina, E. Vinogradova, Dmitrii Shulga
The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains. This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region.
{"title":"Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)","authors":"N. Skakun, L. Longo, V. Terekhina, I. Pantyukhina, E. Vinogradova, Dmitrii Shulga","doi":"10.2218/jls.4504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4504","url":null,"abstract":"The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains. \u0000This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44048605","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}
Helena Wehren, Oleksandr Nezdolii, Jehanne Affolter
Korobchyne-kurhan stone age site in the Velyka Vys River basin, in Central Ukraine is investigated for raw material and contacts. The surrounding geography and the site are presented. The extensive search of outcrops around the monument resulted in nearer outcrops than was previously expected. Scientific investigations on 15 artefacts from Korobchyne-kurhan using non-destructive microfacies analysis allows us to have a first insight in the raw materials used by the prehistoric people and to give a detailed description from the encountered silicite varieties. Interestingly artefacts, composed of two different materials were found. That work confirms the use of the local materials as well as of some other material of yet unknown origin. The exogenous material is as well testified in younger sites in the Southern Buh River valley farther to the west.
{"title":"Raw material provenance of silicite artefacts: Korobchyne-kurhan, Central Ukraine","authors":"Helena Wehren, Oleksandr Nezdolii, Jehanne Affolter","doi":"10.2218/jls.4435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4435","url":null,"abstract":"Korobchyne-kurhan stone age site in the Velyka Vys River basin, in Central Ukraine is investigated for raw material and contacts. The surrounding geography and the site are presented. The extensive search of outcrops around the monument resulted in nearer outcrops than was previously expected. Scientific investigations on 15 artefacts from Korobchyne-kurhan using non-destructive microfacies analysis allows us to have a first insight in the raw materials used by the prehistoric people and to give a detailed description from the encountered silicite varieties. Interestingly artefacts, composed of two different materials were found. That work confirms the use of the local materials as well as of some other material of yet unknown origin. The exogenous material is as well testified in younger sites in the Southern Buh River valley farther to the west.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48887875","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}
B. Gómez de Soler, Miguel Soares-Remiseiro, Andión Arteaga-Brieba, G. Borràs, Javier Cámara, G. Campeny, M. Chacón, J. L. Fernández-Marchena, Vicenç Guinart, G. López, Bàrbara Mas, M. Soto, Alfredo Suesta, Kateryna Shkarinska, Iván Ramírez-Pedraza, Cristina Val-Peón, J. Vallverdú
In 2014, an anthropic accumulation of chert material was discovered in La Guinardera area, at the southwest of the Sant Martí de Tous town (Barcelona, NE Iberian Peninsula). In 2018 a first archaeological intervention was carried out in two locations: La Guinardera and La Guinardera Nord. After the fieldworks, these two accumulations were interpreted as chert workshops. These workshops are in the St. Genís Formation, included within La Noguera lacustrine system and dated to the Priabonian age (upper Eocene). The St. Martí de Tous area presents shallow lacustrine conditions typical of sabkha environments, in which layers of gypsums and sandy lutites are interspersed with tabular red sandstone levels, yielding different varieties of chert. The Guinardera chert is characterized by a fairly homogeneous matrix, presenting a fine texture, with a microcrystalline and spherulitic length-slow chalcedony matrix, and a combination of grey colours, in general of dark hues, with an opaque diaphaneity but translucent at the edges. The archaeological assemblage from La Guinardera Nord site allows us to identify a chert workshop for the production of gunflints. The heterogeneity of the assemblage at La Guinardera site precludes assigning it to any single chrono-cultural period or function. The technological characterization of La Guinardera Nord site reveals distinctive attributes of a gunflint workshop that can be differentiated from prehistoric workshops. The presence of square and thick preforms, oxide traces on butts and ventral faces, marked bulbs and thick platforms, together with fresh edges on flakes and blades and the near-absence of patinated materials, corroborate it. The presence of these two deposits within the above-mentioned formation shows us a repeated landscape exploitation pattern for raw material extraction, since references chert use range from the Middle Palaeolithic (e.g., Abric Romaní) to historical times (e.g., La Guinardera Nord).
{"title":"The Guinardera quarry (Sant Martí de Tous, Barcelona): A new chert exploitation location during historical times","authors":"B. Gómez de Soler, Miguel Soares-Remiseiro, Andión Arteaga-Brieba, G. Borràs, Javier Cámara, G. Campeny, M. Chacón, J. L. Fernández-Marchena, Vicenç Guinart, G. López, Bàrbara Mas, M. Soto, Alfredo Suesta, Kateryna Shkarinska, Iván Ramírez-Pedraza, Cristina Val-Peón, J. Vallverdú","doi":"10.2218/jls.6546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.6546","url":null,"abstract":"In 2014, an anthropic accumulation of chert material was discovered in La Guinardera area, at the southwest of the Sant Martí de Tous town (Barcelona, NE Iberian Peninsula). In 2018 a first archaeological intervention was carried out in two locations: La Guinardera and La Guinardera Nord. After the fieldworks, these two accumulations were interpreted as chert workshops. These workshops are in the St. Genís Formation, included within La Noguera lacustrine system and dated to the Priabonian age (upper Eocene). The St. Martí de Tous area presents shallow lacustrine conditions typical of sabkha environments, in which layers of gypsums and sandy lutites are interspersed with tabular red sandstone levels, yielding different varieties of chert. \u0000The Guinardera chert is characterized by a fairly homogeneous matrix, presenting a fine texture, with a microcrystalline and spherulitic length-slow chalcedony matrix, and a combination of grey colours, in general of dark hues, with an opaque diaphaneity but translucent at the edges. \u0000The archaeological assemblage from La Guinardera Nord site allows us to identify a chert workshop for the production of gunflints. The heterogeneity of the assemblage at La Guinardera site precludes assigning it to any single chrono-cultural period or function. \u0000The technological characterization of La Guinardera Nord site reveals distinctive attributes of a gunflint workshop that can be differentiated from prehistoric workshops. The presence of square and thick preforms, oxide traces on butts and ventral faces, marked bulbs and thick platforms, together with fresh edges on flakes and blades and the near-absence of patinated materials, corroborate it. \u0000The presence of these two deposits within the above-mentioned formation shows us a repeated landscape exploitation pattern for raw material extraction, since references chert use range from the Middle Palaeolithic (e.g., Abric Romaní) to historical times (e.g., La Guinardera Nord).","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43045668","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}
The prehistory of South-western France is known worldwide for its rich record of Palaeolithic sites, especially from the Dordogne region. However, while research on the Palaeolithic is extremely prolific, the Neolithic was at the same time relegated to the background. Since the beginning of the discipline, few researchers worked on the Neolithic from SW France. Besides, they focused on ceramic typological analyses to describe cultural groups, rarely considered lithic tools and armatures, and never performed any techno-economical study of lithic productions. For over thirty years, rescue archaeology excavations revealed a large presence of Neolithic sites for this period; nonetheless Neolithic research remains little developed in relation to its potential. As part of my PhD thesis, the aim will be to fill this gap by characterizing lithic productions through techno-economical analyses, in order to describe the cultural groups existing in Northern Aquitania during the 4th and the 3rd millennia. With the example of La Lède du Gurp, a littoral occupation site dated to the middle and recent Neolithic, I will try to highlight in this paper what the study of lithic industries can say about a cultural group at a local scale. The reconstitution of the operating chains and the statistical analysis of small assemblages of non-standardised lithic reduction, allowed us to highlight a similar low investment in lithic production between the Middle and the Recent Neolithic of La Lède du Gurp. Our approach has enabled us to observe that a low investment in lithic production may reflect the complexity of the Neolithic groups and the complementarity of lithic industry with other technical subsystems directly related with the group's natural environment, as may it be the case for salt production during Recent Neolithic at La Lède du Gurp.
法国西南部的史前史以其丰富的旧石器时代遗址记录而闻名于世，尤其是多尔多涅地区。然而，尽管对旧石器时代的研究非常丰富，但新石器时代同时也被置于背景之下。自该学科开始以来，很少有研究人员从法国西南部研究新石器时代。此外，他们专注于陶瓷类型学分析来描述文化群体，很少考虑石器时代的工具和盔甲，也从未对石器时代的生产进行过任何技术经济研究。三十多年来，抢救性考古发掘揭示了这一时期大量的新石器时代遗址；尽管如此，就其潜力而言，新石器时代的研究仍然很少发展。作为我博士论文的一部分，我的目标是通过技术经济分析来描述石器时代的生产，以描述4世纪和3世纪存在于北阿基坦尼亚的文化群体，从而填补这一空白。以La Lède du Gurp为例，这是一个可以追溯到新石器时代中期和晚期的沿海占领遗址，我将在本文中强调对石器时代工业的研究可以对一个地方规模的文化群体说些什么。运营链的重组和对非标准化石器时代减少的小型组合的统计分析，使我们能够强调La Lède du Gurp新石器时代中期和晚期在石器时代生产方面的类似低投资。我们的方法使我们能够观察到，对石器生产的低投资可能反映了新石器时代群体的复杂性，以及石器工业与其他与该群体自然环境直接相关的技术子系统的互补性，La Lède du Gurp新石器时代的盐生产可能就是这样。
{"title":"Lithic economy in South Western France during the Neolithic: A case study from a coastal site - La Lède du Gurp (Aquitaine)","authors":"Sofia Solanas","doi":"10.2218/jls.6921","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.6921","url":null,"abstract":"The prehistory of South-western France is known worldwide for its rich record of Palaeolithic sites, especially from the Dordogne region. However, while research on the Palaeolithic is extremely prolific, the Neolithic was at the same time relegated to the background. Since the beginning of the discipline, few researchers worked on the Neolithic from SW France. Besides, they focused on ceramic typological analyses to describe cultural groups, rarely considered lithic tools and armatures, and never performed any techno-economical study of lithic productions. For over thirty years, rescue archaeology excavations revealed a large presence of Neolithic sites for this period; nonetheless Neolithic research remains little developed in relation to its potential. As part of my PhD thesis, the aim will be to fill this gap by characterizing lithic productions through techno-economical analyses, in order to describe the cultural groups existing in Northern Aquitania during the 4th and the 3rd millennia. With the example of La Lède du Gurp, a littoral occupation site dated to the middle and recent Neolithic, I will try to highlight in this paper what the study of lithic industries can say about a cultural group at a local scale. \u0000The reconstitution of the operating chains and the statistical analysis of small assemblages of non-standardised lithic reduction, allowed us to highlight a similar low investment in lithic production between the Middle and the Recent Neolithic of La Lède du Gurp. Our approach has enabled us to observe that a low investment in lithic production may reflect the complexity of the Neolithic groups and the complementarity of lithic industry with other technical subsystems directly related with the group's natural environment, as may it be the case for salt production during Recent Neolithic at La Lède du Gurp.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45875155","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}
Transverse grooved stones (TGS) believed to be used as shaft straighteners, first made their appearance at Epipalaeolithic sites in the Near East from where they spread to the Mediterranean coasts of Africa and Europe, but mostly to Northern Eurasia (the steppe, forest-steppe, and semi-desert zones). It has been discovered that the spread of TGA has been carried out along different paths. Moreover, grooved stones along each of these transmission routes can be distinguished by their unique decorative and morphological characteristics. The aim of this paper is to clarify the circumstances and the date of appearance of the first TGS, localization of their initial areas, and identification of their respective decorative and morphological features. This is a necessary condition for identifying the starting points of the subsequent transit carriers of TGS' tradition and tracing the directions of interaction in Eurasia during the end of the Pleistocene – the first half of the Holocene period using TGS as markers. The initial database was formed on the basis of the scientific publications on the Near East. The following is a presentation of the analytical review of at least 200 grooved stones and 80 sites in their starting area in south-western Asia. The analysis used a systematic approach with emphasis on chronology, environment, petrography, morphology, functional-typological data where such were available, and TGS’ decor. But first of all, the study pays attention to the distribution of TGS and their cultural and chronological boundaries in this region. For this purpose, it was performed the mapping of findings in two chronological levels – up to 8000 thousand BCE and after, with the marking of decorated products. The results enabled us to detect that the geographical spread of grooved artefacts of this type is limited in the Near East to the area of central Anatolia and Fertile Crescent, with a boundary along the desert-steppes. At least three concentrations can be clearly distinguished: the Levant, Zagros Mountains, and Upper Mesopotamia - central Anatolia, where the products are characterized by specific features of decorative and morphological design and in one case (Levant) an additional observed petrographic specificity. Currently, the earliest cases are recorded in Early Natufian contexts in the Levant and in Epipalaeolithic contexts of the Anatolian plateau since the 13th millennium cal BCE. Thus, one can confidently state that the introduction of TGS in the Middle East is generally linked to the Epipalaeolithic sites (Natufian, Harifian, and Western Zarzian) and is definitely associated with hunter-gatherers. The heyday of TGS falls on the PPNA and lasts to the beginning of the early Bronze Age, when they finally disappear.
{"title":"The earliest transverse grooved stones of Eurasia: Near Eastern distribution, types and chronology","authors":"I. Usacheva","doi":"10.2218/JLS.3094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/JLS.3094","url":null,"abstract":"Transverse grooved stones (TGS) believed to be used as shaft straighteners, first made their appearance at Epipalaeolithic sites in the Near East from where they spread to the Mediterranean coasts of Africa and Europe, but mostly to Northern Eurasia (the steppe, forest-steppe, and semi-desert zones). It has been discovered that the spread of TGA has been carried out along different paths. Moreover, grooved stones along each of these transmission routes can be distinguished by their unique decorative and morphological characteristics. \u0000The aim of this paper is to clarify the circumstances and the date of appearance of the first TGS, localization of their initial areas, and identification of their respective decorative and morphological features. This is a necessary condition for identifying the starting points of the subsequent transit carriers of TGS' tradition and tracing the directions of interaction in Eurasia during the end of the Pleistocene – the first half of the Holocene period using TGS as markers. \u0000The initial database was formed on the basis of the scientific publications on the Near East. The following is a presentation of the analytical review of at least 200 grooved stones and 80 sites in their starting area in south-western Asia. The analysis used a systematic approach with emphasis on chronology, environment, petrography, morphology, functional-typological data where such were available, and TGS’ decor. But first of all, the study pays attention to the distribution of TGS and their cultural and chronological boundaries in this region. For this purpose, it was performed the mapping of findings in two chronological levels – up to 8000 thousand BCE and after, with the marking of decorated products. \u0000The results enabled us to detect that the geographical spread of grooved artefacts of this type is limited in the Near East to the area of central Anatolia and Fertile Crescent, with a boundary along the desert-steppes. At least three concentrations can be clearly distinguished: the Levant, Zagros Mountains, and Upper Mesopotamia - central Anatolia, where the products are characterized by specific features of decorative and morphological design and in one case (Levant) an additional observed petrographic specificity. Currently, the earliest cases are recorded in Early Natufian contexts in the Levant and in Epipalaeolithic contexts of the Anatolian plateau since the 13th millennium cal BCE. Thus, one can confidently state that the introduction of TGS in the Middle East is generally linked to the Epipalaeolithic sites (Natufian, Harifian, and Western Zarzian) and is definitely associated with hunter-gatherers. The heyday of TGS falls on the PPNA and lasts to the beginning of the early Bronze Age, when they finally disappear.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48083170","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}
In the Southern Caucasus, the evolution of the Neolithic to Bronze age (6th-3rd millenia BCE) economies is often investigated through the prism of adaptation to constrasted landscapes and environments (arid plain, high moutains, subtropical western coasts) and strategies of natural resource exploitation. This overview of the main technological and functional characteristics of ground stone tools from about 20 sites in the Kura Valley (Georgia, Azerbaijan) contributes to the discussion surrounding these questions. After an overview of the evolution of the grinding equipment and stone tool manufacture within a long term perspective, from the Late Neoliothic to the Early Bronze Age, several issues are adressed. The composition of the macrolithic toolkit is a key issue when discussing the importance of agriculture versus pastoralism in the economy of these populations, which evolved in different regional and environmental contexts. Its management also contributes to our understanding of the degree of sedentarity versus mobility of the populations. Finally, we discuss how the technical evolution of the macrolithic toolkit reflects the principal global changes occurring during this long period of time (neolithisation, emergence of metallurgy, and the mining phenomenon) and their cultural meaning. Our initial results underline the significance of some implements as cultural markers, and also contribute to defining the common cultural background and regional specificities within the South Caucasus region.
{"title":"Economy and status of Neolithic to Early Bronze age sites in the Southern Caucasus during the 6th‐3rd mill. BCE: The evidence from ground stone tools","authors":"C. Hamon","doi":"10.2218/jls.3086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.3086","url":null,"abstract":"In the Southern Caucasus, the evolution of the Neolithic to Bronze age (6th-3rd millenia BCE) economies is often investigated through the prism of adaptation to constrasted landscapes and environments (arid plain, high moutains, subtropical western coasts) and strategies of natural resource exploitation. This overview of the main technological and functional characteristics of ground stone tools from about 20 sites in the Kura Valley (Georgia, Azerbaijan) contributes to the discussion surrounding these questions. After an overview of the evolution of the grinding equipment and stone tool manufacture within a long term perspective, from the Late Neoliothic to the Early Bronze Age, several issues are adressed. The composition of the macrolithic toolkit is a key issue when discussing the importance of agriculture versus pastoralism in the economy of these populations, which evolved in different regional and environmental contexts. Its management also contributes to our understanding of the degree of sedentarity versus mobility of the populations. Finally, we discuss how the technical evolution of the macrolithic toolkit reflects the principal global changes occurring during this long period of time (neolithisation, emergence of metallurgy, and the mining phenomenon) and their cultural meaning. Our initial results underline the significance of some implements as cultural markers, and also contribute to defining the common cultural background and regional specificities within the South Caucasus region.","PeriodicalId":44072,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lithic Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41531943","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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