Pub Date : 2022-12-15DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2155373
M. Eren, Michelle R. Bebber, M. Wendel, G. Logan Miller, Briggs Buchanan
ABSTRACT Two Paleoindian fluted points were recently donated to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The first is a Clovis point from Nuckolls County, Nebraska; the second is a Folsom point from Scott County, Illinois. Here, following our earlier and ongoing efforts to work with avocational archaeologists, citizen scientists, and collectors, we describe these points, compare their morphometrics to Clovis and Folsom points across North America, and report on their microwear. Our results support prevailing views and contain nothing anomalous. However, the data and descriptions we provide may be of potential use to researchers conducting larger state-, regional-, or continental-scale analyses.
{"title":"Description, Morphometrics, and Microwear of Two Paleoindian Fluted Points from Nebraska and Illinois","authors":"M. Eren, Michelle R. Bebber, M. Wendel, G. Logan Miller, Briggs Buchanan","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2155373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2155373","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Two Paleoindian fluted points were recently donated to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The first is a Clovis point from Nuckolls County, Nebraska; the second is a Folsom point from Scott County, Illinois. Here, following our earlier and ongoing efforts to work with avocational archaeologists, citizen scientists, and collectors, we describe these points, compare their morphometrics to Clovis and Folsom points across North America, and report on their microwear. Our results support prevailing views and contain nothing anomalous. However, the data and descriptions we provide may be of potential use to researchers conducting larger state-, regional-, or continental-scale analyses.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41828915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-30DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2150398
Hao Li, M. Lotter
ABSTRACT Geometric morphometric studies in the Baise Basin in South China have documented unique tongue-like tip morphologies in handaxes sampled from the fourth terrace of the Youjiang River Valley. With this study, we report on a new handaxe assemblage found at the Natang site and present data that further document the prevalence of these rounded tip morphologies in the region. We use experimental replications to recreate the unique morphology of the handaxes, and demonstrate that a specific tip rounding strategy was employed by hominins as an economic and effective way to produce wider, more rounded and thinner distal tips. We suggest that these tongue-like tips indicate a predetermined design, and consequently, reflect a level of shape standardization that is heightened in functional tool portions. Moreover, this study provides further documentation of the regionally unique tool-making preferences that Pleistocene hominins employed when flexibly adapting to local environmental conditions and resource availabilities.
{"title":"“Tip of the Tongue”: Experimental Reconstruction of Handaxes at the Baise Basin (South China) and Implications for Lithic Standardization","authors":"Hao Li, M. Lotter","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2150398","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2150398","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Geometric morphometric studies in the Baise Basin in South China have documented unique tongue-like tip morphologies in handaxes sampled from the fourth terrace of the Youjiang River Valley. With this study, we report on a new handaxe assemblage found at the Natang site and present data that further document the prevalence of these rounded tip morphologies in the region. We use experimental replications to recreate the unique morphology of the handaxes, and demonstrate that a specific tip rounding strategy was employed by hominins as an economic and effective way to produce wider, more rounded and thinner distal tips. We suggest that these tongue-like tips indicate a predetermined design, and consequently, reflect a level of shape standardization that is heightened in functional tool portions. Moreover, this study provides further documentation of the regionally unique tool-making preferences that Pleistocene hominins employed when flexibly adapting to local environmental conditions and resource availabilities.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42678485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-16DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2142391
W. Stemp
ABSTRACT This paper is a revised and updated version of the keynote speaker address for the Block 2 Session: “Data Acquisition in Surface Texture Analysis” for the Online Workshop on Quantitative Artifact Microwear Analysis (QAMA) organized by TraCEr–MONREPOS–RGZM (November 25, 2021) in Neuwied, Germany. It discusses a number of issues related to the acquisition of surface data for texture analysis, including the transition from experimentation to artifact analysis and the importance of standardization of methods. Specifically, the keynote address focuses on eight sub-topics in relation to method development and standardization: (1) Microscopes and operating systems, (2) Magnification, depth of field, working distance, and field of view, (3) Numerical aperture, (4) Cleaning methods, (5) Number and location of surface measurements, (6) Profile versus area measurements, (7) Multiple measurements in the same location, and (8) Surface replication: molds/casts, surface images, and microCT.
{"title":"Ghosts in the Room and Elephants in the Machine: Data Acquisition in Surface Texture Analysis of Stone Tools","authors":"W. Stemp","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2142391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2142391","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper is a revised and updated version of the keynote speaker address for the Block 2 Session: “Data Acquisition in Surface Texture Analysis” for the Online Workshop on Quantitative Artifact Microwear Analysis (QAMA) organized by TraCEr–MONREPOS–RGZM (November 25, 2021) in Neuwied, Germany. It discusses a number of issues related to the acquisition of surface data for texture analysis, including the transition from experimentation to artifact analysis and the importance of standardization of methods. Specifically, the keynote address focuses on eight sub-topics in relation to method development and standardization: (1) Microscopes and operating systems, (2) Magnification, depth of field, working distance, and field of view, (3) Numerical aperture, (4) Cleaning methods, (5) Number and location of surface measurements, (6) Profile versus area measurements, (7) Multiple measurements in the same location, and (8) Surface replication: molds/casts, surface images, and microCT.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43437486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-10DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2142386
K. Akhilesh, S. Pappu
ABSTRACT South Asian prehistoric sites have rich and diverse lithic assemblages. The paucity of associated fossil evidence necessitates a strong focus on lithics for studies of hominin cognition. However, pedagogical approaches in Indian prehistory primarily focus on print/online content, wherein students get scarce opportunities to handle artefacts or experience processes of tool manufacture and use. Here, we discuss our initiatives in designing courses on South Asian prehistory focused on experimental knapping and structured to enhance skills and foster critical thinking. We present an overview of the conceptual and methodological approaches adopted, with implications for experimenting with different pedagogical approaches and exploring learning trajectories. We highlight issues of interest not only for the present and future but also for exploring aspects of knowledge transmission in the past. We advocate for the inclusion of sustained experimental components whilst teaching prehistory in South Asia.
{"title":"Let’s Knap: Experiences in Teaching Lithic Studies in South Asia","authors":"K. Akhilesh, S. Pappu","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2142386","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2142386","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT South Asian prehistoric sites have rich and diverse lithic assemblages. The paucity of associated fossil evidence necessitates a strong focus on lithics for studies of hominin cognition. However, pedagogical approaches in Indian prehistory primarily focus on print/online content, wherein students get scarce opportunities to handle artefacts or experience processes of tool manufacture and use. Here, we discuss our initiatives in designing courses on South Asian prehistory focused on experimental knapping and structured to enhance skills and foster critical thinking. We present an overview of the conceptual and methodological approaches adopted, with implications for experimenting with different pedagogical approaches and exploring learning trajectories. We highlight issues of interest not only for the present and future but also for exploring aspects of knowledge transmission in the past. We advocate for the inclusion of sustained experimental components whilst teaching prehistory in South Asia.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59141002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-25DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2135263
Marie Bencomo, P. Jardón
ABSTRACT Throughout prehistoric times, woodworking was an essential activity. We know this because of the existence of preserved wooden objects, as well as the use-wear traces recorded on lithic tools. In general terms, functional studies and experimental programs have aimed to analyze and understand the use-wear traces generated by green and dry wood. However, some of the wood remains preserved across time show signs of thermal alteration caused by fire. For this reason, we have carried out an experimental program in which green, dry and thermoaltered wood have been worked in order to study the traces generated on the lithic tools. The results show significant differences between the use-wear traces generated by green and dry woods, and thermally altered wood. This indicates that it would be possible to recognize signs of work with thermoaltered wood on archaeological lithic tools and, therefore, to better understand the working processes of past populations.
{"title":"Using Fire for Woodworking: An Experimental Exploration of Use-Wear on Lithic Tools","authors":"Marie Bencomo, P. Jardón","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2135263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2135263","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT\u0000 Throughout prehistoric times, woodworking was an essential activity. We know this because of the existence of preserved wooden objects, as well as the use-wear traces recorded on lithic tools. In general terms, functional studies and experimental programs have aimed to analyze and understand the use-wear traces generated by green and dry wood. However, some of the wood remains preserved across time show signs of thermal alteration caused by fire. For this reason, we have carried out an experimental program in which green, dry and thermoaltered wood have been worked in order to study the traces generated on the lithic tools. The results show significant differences between the use-wear traces generated by green and dry woods, and thermally altered wood. This indicates that it would be possible to recognize signs of work with thermoaltered wood on archaeological lithic tools and, therefore, to better understand the working processes of past populations.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46435142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-20DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2136419
J. Shea
ABSTRACT This paper asks why we expect to find standardization among prehistoric stone tools. It argues this expectation results from early archaeologists’ experience living in industrialized societies, a wild mismatch with the world their Pleistocene forebears inhabited. It further argues that in searching for evidence of lithic standardization, archaeologists must be alert for “mirages,” things that can create the illusion of standardization. Pre-industrial lithic standardization seems most likely to have emerged from attaching stone tools to handles (“hafting”), and from using stone tools as “passive lithic social media.”
{"title":"Chasing Mirages: Seeking Standardization among Prehistoric Stone Tools","authors":"J. Shea","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2136419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2136419","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper asks why we expect to find standardization among prehistoric stone tools. It argues this expectation results from early archaeologists’ experience living in industrialized societies, a wild mismatch with the world their Pleistocene forebears inhabited. It further argues that in searching for evidence of lithic standardization, archaeologists must be alert for “mirages,” things that can create the illusion of standardization. Pre-industrial lithic standardization seems most likely to have emerged from attaching stone tools to handles (“hafting”), and from using stone tools as “passive lithic social media.”","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46378767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-18DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2113699
J. Paige, Charles Perreault
ABSTRACT How surprising are the contents of lithic assemblages? If an archeologist excavated an archeological site somewhere in Eurasia and uncovered evidence of Levallois core technology, how surprising would it be? The surprise in the content of a new assemblage is a function of what is underground as well as our prior knowledge about prehistory. How improved is our understanding of the past when another site is excavated? The answer is a measure of the information contained in lithic assemblages. We present a primer on information theory, which provides tools necessary to conceptualize, measure, and analyze information. We then apply the theory by measuring the information contained in a large comparative dataset describing the presence or absence of technological modes across Late Pleistocene modern human assemblages. We find that technological modes tend to have little conditional dependency with one another, suggesting that lithic assemblages do have relatively high information content.
{"title":"How Surprising are Lithic Reduction Strategies? The Information Entropy of the Modes A-I Framework","authors":"J. Paige, Charles Perreault","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2113699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2113699","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT How surprising are the contents of lithic assemblages? If an archeologist excavated an archeological site somewhere in Eurasia and uncovered evidence of Levallois core technology, how surprising would it be? The surprise in the content of a new assemblage is a function of what is underground as well as our prior knowledge about prehistory. How improved is our understanding of the past when another site is excavated? The answer is a measure of the information contained in lithic assemblages. We present a primer on information theory, which provides tools necessary to conceptualize, measure, and analyze information. We then apply the theory by measuring the information contained in a large comparative dataset describing the presence or absence of technological modes across Late Pleistocene modern human assemblages. We find that technological modes tend to have little conditional dependency with one another, suggesting that lithic assemblages do have relatively high information content.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46340785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-29DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2125670
Alastair J. M. Key, J. Gowlett
ABSTRACT We report here on an intercomparison between two large handaxe sets – one from a million-year-old site in Africa, the other a modern set made for experimental purposes. Our investigation was designed primarily to determine whether ancient handaxe series have measurable characteristics which tend not to appear in replica sets (and vice versa). We also wished to compare the fields of form variation in the two sets. The particular comparison was chosen because the two sets present similar numbers of handaxes (∼500) from well-defined cultural and raw material contexts, experimental and ancient. We conclude that modern replica sets can approximate ancient material well, offering meaningful “toolkits” for experimental work, but some differences also suggest that original Acheulean sets were influenced by functional and cultural factors which are not immediately obvious. Some allometric shifts present in the ancient set were found to occur also in the replica set, whereas others did not. Some of these variations can be emulated and incorporated in future experimental work.
{"title":"Intercomparison of Form, Size and Allometry in a Million-year-old and Modern Replicated Handaxe Set","authors":"Alastair J. M. Key, J. Gowlett","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2125670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2125670","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We report here on an intercomparison between two large handaxe sets – one from a million-year-old site in Africa, the other a modern set made for experimental purposes. Our investigation was designed primarily to determine whether ancient handaxe series have measurable characteristics which tend not to appear in replica sets (and vice versa). We also wished to compare the fields of form variation in the two sets. The particular comparison was chosen because the two sets present similar numbers of handaxes (∼500) from well-defined cultural and raw material contexts, experimental and ancient. We conclude that modern replica sets can approximate ancient material well, offering meaningful “toolkits” for experimental work, but some differences also suggest that original Acheulean sets were influenced by functional and cultural factors which are not immediately obvious. Some allometric shifts present in the ancient set were found to occur also in the replica set, whereas others did not. Some of these variations can be emulated and incorporated in future experimental work.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46427554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-16DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2123296
G. C. Yeşilova
ABSTRACT This brief review paper is about the latest work of Brian Hayden, which is titled Understanding chipped stone tools. The book provides a summary of his previous works for students. Brian Hayden is a Professor Emeritus in the Archaeology Department at Simon Fraser University-Burnaby and University of British Columbia-Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has worked with leading researchers on lithic technology. His ethnographic field works, particularly in Australia, have made pioneering contributions to the functions of lithic elements.
{"title":"Understanding Chipped Stone Tools","authors":"G. C. Yeşilova","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2123296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2123296","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This brief review paper is about the latest work of Brian Hayden, which is titled Understanding chipped stone tools. The book provides a summary of his previous works for students. Brian Hayden is a Professor Emeritus in the Archaeology Department at Simon Fraser University-Burnaby and University of British Columbia-Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has worked with leading researchers on lithic technology. His ethnographic field works, particularly in Australia, have made pioneering contributions to the functions of lithic elements.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43163479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-10DOI: 10.1080/01977261.2022.2109354
Liesbeth Messiaen, H. Vandendriessche, P. Crombé
ABSTRACT This paper discusses the results of a detailed analysis of the lithic assemblages from four key sites in the Lower-Scheldt basin of NW Belgium in the context of the Neolithization process beyond the agro-pastoral frontier of the European loess area. The study demonstrates both continuity and change in raw material use, lithic technology and the toolkit throughout the 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC, supporting the theory of acculturation of indigenous hunter-gatherers under the influence of southern farming groups.
{"title":"The Neolithization Process in the Lower-Scheldt Basin (Belgium, mid-6th to mid-4th Millennium cal BC) from a Lithic Technological Perspective","authors":"Liesbeth Messiaen, H. Vandendriessche, P. Crombé","doi":"10.1080/01977261.2022.2109354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2109354","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper discusses the results of a detailed analysis of the lithic assemblages from four key sites in the Lower-Scheldt basin of NW Belgium in the context of the Neolithization process beyond the agro-pastoral frontier of the European loess area. The study demonstrates both continuity and change in raw material use, lithic technology and the toolkit throughout the 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC, supporting the theory of acculturation of indigenous hunter-gatherers under the influence of southern farming groups.","PeriodicalId":45597,"journal":{"name":"Lithic Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48490493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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