scholarly journals Investigation of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Sites in the Don Basin on the Territory of Volgograd Region

2020 ◽  
pp. 167-187
Author(s):  
Stanislav Remizov
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Volga Basin ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Russian Plain ◽  
Small Rivers ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Volgograd Region ◽  
Stone Industry ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Favorable Conditions

The locations of the Stone Age on the Volgograd region territory have been known since the beginning of the XIX century. However, purposeful Stone Age sites explorations had only started after the Sukhaya Mechetka site was discovered by A.P. Koptev and M.N. Grischenko in 1951. The data accumulated on series of stratified sites in Volgograd Region makes it possible to outline two significant groups of them. One of the groups belongs to the Lower Volga basin. The other group is associated with the ramified network of gullies and ravines and multiple tributaries of the Don. The Don is the fourth longest river on the Russian Plain; its basin taken in the Volgograd Region is several times larger than the Volga basin taken in the area. The relatively flat landscape of the Don plain, saturated with small rivers, gullies and ravines, as well as stone raw materials available for mining, have been creating favorable conditions for human habitation since the Middle Paleolithic. The well-known Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites are found both in the watersheds and in the floodplain-terrace areas of the Middle Don. The near-mouth section of the Kurmoyarsky Aksai river – the Don tributary in Kotelnikovo District – and the surroundings of Kremenskaya village in Kletskaya District are standing out in terms of being studied. The stone industry detected in the lower layers of the multilayered site Schlyakh indicates that the Don plain was inhabited by people during the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic transition. The prospects of further searches for Stone Age sites in the Middle Don Basin had already been proven by the discovery of at least forty sites in previous decades. Further archaeological research will help to discover new stratified sites with impressive collections of stone and bone items, which will make it possible to draw analogies with synchronous sites in the territories adjacent to the Volgograd region.

scholarly journals APPLIED ASPECTS OF THE THEORY OF REDUCTION ANALYSIS OF STONE INDUSTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-133
Author(s):  
A.V. Kolesnik ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Entire Complex ◽  
Stone Industry ◽  
Intended Use ◽  
Choice Of Technology

In the process of manufacturing of stone tools and their subsequent intended use, they were intensively transformed and subjected to reduction. They sequentially changed their shape and decreased in their size. This technologically determined process applied equally to both lithic cores and tools. Regardless of the goals, stadium splitting (with changes in the cleavage technique, according to E. Giria) and permanent splitting were used. During the reduction, morphology of stone tools changed significantly. In many cases, this led to appearance of new types of lithic cores and tools. The genetic relationship between these types is revealed on the base of morphometric analysis and refitting-model data. Based on empirical observations, it is possible to determine a steady trend of changes in the types of stone tools during their intensive processing. The type of reduction should be understood as a stable vector of changes in shape of stone tools during sequential splitting or cyclical renewal of their working properties. The method of reduction analysis is applicable to stone industries not only of the Stone Age, but also of the Early Iron Age. Reduction analysis of stone industries is associated with two levels of generalization. The first of them concerns reduction sequences in splitting of lithic cores and making-renewal of stone tools. The second one is related to the degree of transformation of structure of entire complex of stone tools, depending on the depth of processing of stone raw materials. The type of reduction reflects not only the technological, but also the cultural context, i.e. the stylistic features of stone industry. They appeared in the case when there is a variable choice of technology or technique for solving the task of stone tools producing. Reduction analysis of stone industry provides additional arguments for functional diagnostics of Stone Age sites.

scholarly journals Adhesion abilities and biosorption of Cd and Mg by microorganisms - first step for eco-friendly beneficiation of phosphate ore

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakim Rabia ◽  
Malek Ould Hamou ◽  
Katarzyna Kasperkiewicz ◽  
Jolanta Brożek ◽  
Maria Augustyniak
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Rhodococcus Erythropolis ◽  
Phosphate Ore ◽  
Chemical Reagents ◽  
Natural Mixture ◽  
Microbial Strains ◽  
Ph Range ◽  
Favorable Conditions ◽  
Unique Composition ◽  
Apatite Surface

Abstract Chemical reagents used in traditional mineral processing can be toxic and hazardous for the environment. Therefore, the use of biotechnological methods is becoming increasingly important. Great hopes are being placed in the use of microorganisms for bio-beneficiation of raw materials. However, assessment of adhesion abilities of bacteria onto minerals surface as well as biosorption of metals are essential steps before designing final process of each ore beneficiation. The main aim of this work was an investigation of biosorption of Cd and Mg, as well as adhesion abilities of five microorganism species with minerals included in the natural mixture of phosphate ore form Djebel Onk, Algeria. The ore, due to its unique composition, created conditions for adhesion of all five tested microbial strains onto apatite surface during incubation at pH 3. Moreover, Rhodococcus erythropolis CD 130, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Escherichia coli adhered distinctly onto apatite surface during incubation at pH 7. Incubation lasting 20 min at pH 4-6 created the most favorable conditions for biosorption of metals by B. subtilis and adhesion of cells. In case of C. albicans, biosorption of metals as well as adhesion of cells onto the mineral surface were more effective after longer time and in a wider pH range.

scholarly journals THE IMAGE OF THE HORSE: A CASE STUDY OF CARVED BONES FROM THE BYKI UPPER PALEOLITHIC SITES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Н.Б. Ахметгалеева
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Russian Plain ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
Layer I ◽  
Technological Methods

Данная работа посвящена анализу зооморфных скульптурных изображений из бивня мамонта со стоянок Быки-1 и Быки-7, I культурный слой (бассейн реки Сейм, Русская равнина). Радиоуглеродные некалиброванные даты этих памятников находятся в диапазоне 18–16 тыс. л. Поделки отличаются по форме, но их объединяет набор технологических приемов изготовления, стилистика и схематизация зооморфных изображений. Аналогичен и их археологических контекст. Предметы оставлены древними людьми преднамеренно при покидании стоянки. Несмотря на выявленные различия, мы полагаем сходную семантику и их предназначение, связанные с конкретными охотничьими ритуалами. Особое внимание уделено образу коня/лошади, который, по одной из гипотез, имеет важное значение в мировосприятии древних обитателей этих стоянок. The paper represents an analysis of the zoomorphic sculpture ivory objects from the Upper Paleolithic sites of Byki-1 and Byki-7, layer I (Seym River Basin, Russian Plain). Radiocarbon uncalibrated dates for these sites fall within 18 and 16000 BP. Figurines differ in form, but they are united by technological methods of manufacturing and the style / schematic of the zoomorphic image. Their archaeological context is similar. The items were left by the ancient people deliberately while leaving the site. We believe their similar semantics and purpose of zoomorphic figurines associated with specific hunting rituals. Particular attention is paid to the image of a horse / horse, which, according to one hypothesis, is important in the worldview of the ancient inhabitants of these sites.

scholarly journals The Neolithic greenstone industry of Chiomonte (northwestern Italy): mineralogy, petrography and archaeometric implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-166
Author(s):  
Roberto Giustetto ◽  
Stefania Padovan ◽  
Luca Barale ◽  
Roberto Compagnoni
Keyword(s):  
Energy Dispersive Spectrometry ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Combined Application ◽  
The Many ◽  
Stone Industry

Abstract. The polished stone industry of Chiomonte (Piedmont region, northwestern Italy), dating back to the middle to late Neolithic, has been studied with a multi-analytical approach, including mineralogical, petrographic and morpho-typological issues, with the aim of providing information about the sources of the raw materials and determining the function of this particular settlement in the prehistoric Western Alps. Most of the lithic tools are made of sensu stricto greenstones (i.e. “Na pyroxene rocks” and “Na pyroxene and garnet rocks”), though a large number of serpentinite tools (25 %) also exist. The combined application of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), polarising microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) led to the detection of specific mineral and chemical “markers”, pointing to the Chiomonte tools likely having come from the Monviso area. However, other closer supply sources, e.g. small meta-ophiolite units in the Orsiera–Rocciavré mountain range or in the lower Susa valley, cannot be ruled out. The presence, on the many retrieved roughouts and broken tools, of raw, yet unpolished surfaces that are ascribable to pebbles and cobbles from alluvial or glacial deposits, suggests that these rocks had been picked up from local “secondary” sources. The abundance of roughouts and broken tools identifies Chiomonte as a second-order manufacturing site, although it is still unclear whether such an activity was restricted to serving local needs or if it contributed to the circulation of greenstone implements on a wider scale.

scholarly journals Raw material optimization and stone tool engineering in the Early Stone Age of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (162) ◽  
pp. 20190377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Key ◽  
Tomos Proffitt ◽  
Ignacio de la Torre
Keyword(s):  
Functional Performance ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Cutting Tools ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Olduvai Gorge ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Material Optimization ◽  
Early Stone Age

For more than 1.8 million years hominins at Olduvai Gorge were faced with a choice: whether to use lavas, quartzite or chert to produce stone tools. All are available locally and all are suitable for stone tool production. Using controlled cutting tests and fracture mechanics theory we examine raw material selection decisions throughout Olduvai's Early Stone Age. We quantify the force, work and material deformation required by each stone type when cutting, before using these data to compare edge sharpness and durability. Significant differences are identified, confirming performance to depend on raw material choice. When combined with artefact data, we demonstrate that Early Stone Age hominins optimized raw material choices based on functional performance characteristics. Doing so flexibly: choosing raw materials dependent on their sharpness and durability, alongside a tool's loading potential and anticipated use-life. In this way, we demonstrate that early lithic artefacts at Olduvai Gorge were engineered to be functionally optimized cutting tools.

The Use and Character of Wood in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland

1978 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 1-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Coles ◽  
S. V. E. Heal ◽  
B. J. Orme
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Organic Materials ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Stone Age

Wood was one of early man's most valuable and important raw materials. It furnished him with shelter, heat and a range of tools and weapons necessary for his survival. It was perhaps the first material to be employed for tools, even before stone was actively worked, yet wood hardly figures in the minds of many archaeologists, and it plays no part in the traditional, outmoded but convenient Three Age system of European Prehistory: Stone-Bronze-Iron. Yet there is hardly a tool or weapon used by Stone Age, Bronze Age or Iron Age man or woman which did not have a wooden part, and it is the purpose of this paper to point out the wealth of information that is available, or could be obtained, from studies of wooden artifacts.The reason for neglect of such studies is obvious. Wood is perishable; it decays if left exposed, it is easily broken, it burns to nothing, it rots in the soil, it loses its surface in moving water. Its survival for long periods of time is exceptional, and requires certain conditions of deliberate or accidental burial. Yet wood as a fact and a feature of prehistoric economy cannot be disputed. Without the survival of wooden remains, our knowledge of the Neolithic and Bronze Age lake-side settlements in Switzerland would be quartered, and our information about the Iron Age villages at Glastonbury and Biskupin would be substantially reduced. Only in circumstances where conditions are exceptionally favourable has wood survived in an identifiable state, and in these situations it can tell us much about economic life. Grahame Clark expressed the view long ago that ‘less attention (should be) paid to amassing residual fossils from sites unfavourable to the survival of the organic materials which play so important a part in the economy of simple societies, and more to exploring sites where these materials are likely to survive’ (Clark 1940, 58).

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