scholarly journals Lithic Raw Material in the Cantabrian Region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Prieto ◽  
Alvaro Arrizabalaga ◽  
Iñaki Yusta

The increase, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of research attending to the geological nature of rocks found in archaeological contexts is changing our perspectives about social and economic territories articulated by Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region. Practically the only raw material researched in a solid geoarchaeological approach in this area is flint. This paper addresses how the near absence of in-depth geoarchaeological research into raw materials other than flint is modifying our perception of the procurement and management mechanism of raw material in the Cantabrian Region during the Palaeolithic. To consider this matter in depth, we present the bibliographic and quantitative analysis of 30 representative archaeological sites from the Cantabrian Region whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of play depicts a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the general tendencies of raw material distribution of the region. Especially, we can detect how the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint has modified the perception of the economic and social dynamics articulated around raw material by Palaeolithic people. This bias does not only affect the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also promotes the over-interpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, building up narratives exclusively based on human mobility. This situation has generated an incomplete and unbalanced picture of the procurement and management strategies followed by Palaeolithic societies because quartzite, the second most-often used lithic raw material, and other raw materials have only been studied using geoarchaeological methods within the last few years. This research finally points to the continuation of in-depth research of quartzite and other raw materials as the next steps to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. The research presented here addresses this situation and proposes the in-depth research of quartzite as the next step to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. To do so, we have proposed a general raw material framework in the Cantabrian Region based on the 30 most representative sites whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of the art depicted a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the bias derived by the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint. These biases are not only related with the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also with the overinterpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, promoting narratives exclusively based on human mobility.

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 03017
Author(s):  
Henrieta Pavolová ◽  
Zuzana Šimková ◽  
Andrea Seňová ◽  
Gabriel Wittenberger

This paper points to the development tendencies of selected macroeconomic indicators of raw material policy in Slovakia, which forms an integral part of the national economic policy of the state. It describes in detail selected macroeconomic indicators of exploitation of raw materials, which form the basic platform of functioning of all national economic sectors in Slovakia. It also points out the benefits for the Slovak economy in the form of revenues from mining activities to the state budget, municipal budget and environmental fund. At the end the article summarizes the partial findings from the development tendencies of macroeconomic indicators of raw material policy, which is currently an integral part of the industrial policy of the European Union.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 856-870
Author(s):  
Marta Sánchez de la Torre ◽  
Pilar Utrilla ◽  
Rafael Domingo ◽  
Luis Jiménez ◽  
François‐Xavier Le Bourdonnec ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Mustafin ◽  
◽  
A.V. Rasskazov ◽  
◽  

The state and prospects of development of phosphorite ore resources as agrochemical raw materials of the Russian Federation are analyzed. The geological structure, composition of ores and the prospects for forecasting, assessing and integrated development of phosphorite deposits of the South Ural phosphorite basin are characterized.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Dariusz Bobak ◽  
Marta Połtowicz-Bobak

In terms of supply of good quality raw materials for stone tool manufacture, the area of southeastern Poland is rather poor. Considering research conducted so far, there are only few sites that can be the basis for analysis. Nevertheless, certain phenomena seem to be characteristic on sites in southeastern Poland in the later phase of the Upper Palaeolithic and in the Late Palaeolithic. There are usually more than one kind of raw material present. Apart from local erratic flint, imported Świeciechów (grey white-spotted) and ‘chocolate’ flint dominate. The presence of both Jurassic (areas near Cracow) and Volhynian flints are poorly recorded, whereas resources from the south are almost absent. These imported raw materials indicate the existence of particularly strong relations linking the areas of southeastern Poland with the Sandomierz Upland, and much weaker relationships with the territories of Lesser Poland and Western Ukraine


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-36
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Turyshev ◽  
V. D. Belonogova ◽  
A. A. Orlova ◽  
K. O. Sidorov ◽  
A. Yu. Skornyakova

Introduction. Medicinal plant raw materials are one of the most important sources of herbal remedies used both for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases [1, 2]. Even with the development of modern science and chemistry, medicinal plant raw materials are widely used in both folk and official medicine. The advantage of medicinal plants is their wide range of biological activity, low toxicity and the possibility of long-term use without significant side effects. Human economic activity has a noticeable negative effect on the condition of wild-growing plants: their stocks are decreasing, and some species disappear altogether. Today, given the high level of development of industry and agriculture, the procurement of raw materials for wild medicinal plants is not always possible. Information on the quantitative assessment of the raw material base of wild medicinal plants in the Middle Urals, the content of biologically active substances in medicinal plant raw materials is partially outdated, which determines the need for their systemic resource study and chemical-pharmacognostic study.Aim. Comprehensive assessment of the state of populations of wild medicinal plants in the Middle Urals.Materials and methods. Determination of stocks of raw materials of the studied species of medicinal plants was carried out on specific thickets according to the generally accepted method. The authenticity of the raw materials was established by a macroscopic method when collecting raw material samples. In the course of the study, samples of medicinal plant materials of 5 types were prepared. The determination and assessment of the main indicators of the good quality of medicinal plant raw materials (the content of active and extractive substances, moisture in the mass upon drying, total ash and ash insoluble in a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid) was carried out according to the methods and requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation XIV edition. In the raw materials Artemisiae absinthii herba and Leonuri herba, the amount of extractives was determined by the gravimetric method. The quantitative assessment of the content of essential oil in the samples of Origani vulgaris herba and Tanaceti vulgaris flores was carried out by the method of hydrodistillation. To determine the quantitative content of the sum of flavonoids in Hyperici herba, Artemisiae absinthii herba, Leonuri herba and the sum of flavonoids and phenolcarboxylic acids in Tanaceti vulgaris flores, a spectrophotometric method was used.Results and discussion. In the course of resource and phytochemical studies of representatives of the medicinal flora of the Middle Urals, a comprehensive assessment of the state of populations of wild medicinal plants – sources of medicinal plant raw materials (Origani vulgaris herba, Hyperici herba, Tanaceti vulgaris flores, Artemisiae absinthii herba and Leonuri herba) was carried out. The results are included in the electronic inventory of wild medicinal plants of the Middle Urals.Conclusion. The conducted complex of studies will allow updating information about the medicinal flora of the Middle Urals in order to use raw materials for the creation of medicines.


Author(s):  
Tingting Cheng ◽  
Jun Chen ◽  
Ke Wu ◽  
Jianguo Liu ◽  
Siheng Lu ◽  
...  

This article describes the hazards and causes of VOCs as well as the state of VOCs. It is the main culprit in the production of VOCs, which is the main culprit of the production of VOCs source materials in automobile, and analyzes the production of VOCs in the raw material production process from the source. Finally, proposed reduction measures from three aspects of the raw materials, production, management.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Marcelo Cardillo ◽  
Jimena Alberti

This paper seeks to characterize strategies of artifact manufacture and lithic raw material exploitation along San Matías Gulf coast, Argentina, using multifactorial and cluster analysis. Multifactorial analysis is a relatively new method that has yet to be used for archaeological analysis; it has the advantage that it allows us to describe data using different groups of qualitative or quantitative variables at the same time. Additionally, cluster analysis was conducted on multifactorial axis in a bid to identify grouping patterns. The results obtained from the combination of these two methods suggest that they may be useful in characterizing technological strategies in the study area. Furthermore, they may also be a powerful exploratory and characterization tool able to generate explanations at low spatial scales. The application of these methods on San Matías Gulf study case suggests that along the western and northern coasts of this Gulf the most important variables in determining differences in resource use were the fragmentation ratio and lithic raw materials used in artifact manufacture.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abay Namen ◽  
Radu Iovita ◽  
Klaus G. Nickel ◽  
Aristeidis Varis ◽  
Zhaken Taimagambetov ◽  
...  

The study of lithic raw material quality has become one of the major interpretive tools to investigate the raw material selection behaviour and its influence to the knapping technology. In order to make objective assessments of raw material quality, their mechanical properties (e.g., fracture resistance, hardness, modulus of elasticity) should be measured. However, such comprehensive investigations are lacking for the Palaeolithic of Kazakhstan. In this work, we investigate geological and archaeological lithic raw material samples of chert, porphyry, and shale collected from the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (henceforth IAMC). Selected samples of aforementioned rocks were tested by means of Vickers and Knoop indentation methods to determine one aspect of their mechanical properties: their indentation fracture resistance (a value closely related to fracture toughness). These tests were complemented by traditional petrographic studies to characterise the mineralogical composition and evaluate the level of impurities that could have potentially affected the mechanical properties. The results show that materials, such as porphyry, previously thought to be of lower quality due to the anisotropic composition and coarse feldspar and quartz phenocrysts embedded in a silica rich matrix, possess fracture toughness values that can be compared to those of chert. Thus, it appears that different raw materials cannot be distinguished from the point of view of indentation fracture resistance, calling for detailed supplementary analyses of different fracture properties. This work also offers first insight into the quality of archaeological porphyry that was utilised as a primary raw material at various Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in the IAMC.


Author(s):  
V. V. Tytok

Trends in housing development should be based on the geographical location and climatic conditions of the region, national characteristics and culture, natural resources, transport links, density and living standards. Construction significantly affects the socio-economic development of the region. In this regard, increasing the sustainability of the regional construction complex, which is based on the building materials industry and the construction industry is a relevant and promising area of research.Demand in the building materials market continues to stimulate increased interest in the development of new types of efficient and inexpensive building materials. Since construction is one of the most material-intensive sectors of the economy, which consumes a large number of construction materials and products, various measures are taken to reduce their cost.In this regard, recently in the construction seek to make greater use of local building materials. This allows you to unload transport from long-distance transportation and significantly reduces the cost of construction. However, the building materials industry cannot develop by focusing only on natural sources of raw materials, as the costs of their extraction and processing are constantly growing. The use of man-made waste provides production with a rich source of cheap and often already prepared raw materials, which reduces the cost of manufacturing building materials.One of the promising areas in the construction of affordable housing is the maximum use of building materials and products that can be obtained from local raw materials and industrial waste. As local building materials are offered: clay, sand, soil, straw, reeds, flax. The use of industrial waste solves both environmental, fuel and energy problems and expands the raw material base of building materials.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abay Namen ◽  
Patrick Cuthbertson ◽  
Aristeidis Varis ◽  
Patrick Schmidt ◽  
Zhaken Taimagambetov ◽  
...  

The study of raw materials focuses on different aspects of hominin behaviour such as mobility strategies, land-use patterns and raw material transfer. They were comprehensively studied in the Palaeolithic of Europe and Africa. However, systematic studies of raw material sourcing have not been undertaken for the Palaeolithic of Kazakhstan, such surveys being embedded in reconnaissance works aimed at discovering new Palaeolithic sites. Our study presents preliminary results of the first lithic raw material survey in Kazakhstan. The study is based on outcrop surveying, collecting and sampling of potential sources of raw materials, and on a substantial literature review. The current study distinguishes the geographic patterns of land-use and their correlation with the lithic assemblages from stratified sites. Here, we describe primary and secondary sources of raw materials, and compare them macroscopically with the assemblages of stone tools. The survey results show a heterogeneous distribution of raw materials throughout the study regions. Macroscopic observations of lithic assemblages, and data extracted from literature suggest that hominins primarily selected locally occurring raw materials. Additionally, regional difference in the utilisation of a particular type of raw material which can be observed through the macroscopic examination of the lithic collections are confirmed by survey results.


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