The Measurement and Interpretation of Cortex in Lithic Assemblages

2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold L. Dibble ◽  
Utsav A. Schurmans ◽  
Radu P. Iovita ◽  
Michael V. McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Solid Geometry ◽  
Alternative Method ◽  
Core Reduction

Cortex is often used as an indicator of core reduction and transport, but current measures to evaluate the observed amount of cortex in a lithic assemblage with what might be expected under particular conditions are still ambiguous. The purpose of the present study is to develop and evaluate an alternative method based on solid geometry. This method is evaluated with an experimentally produced assemblage, and implications of its application to archaeological assemblages are presented and discussed.

Production and Transport of Blanks and Tools at the French Middle Paleolithic Site of Combe-Capelle Bas

1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Roth ◽  
Harold L. Dibble
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Paleolithic Site ◽  
Group Mobility ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Material Procurement ◽  
Core Reduction

Recent studies of Middle Paleolithic lithic assemblages have focused on questions of interest to lithic analysts everywhere, including the effect of raw material availability, occupation span, and tool maintenance on assemblage characteristics. In this paper, we add to the growing database on Middle Paleolithic assemblages using material recently excavated at Combe-Capelle Bas in the Dordogne region of southern France. The site provides a unique opportunity for addressing questions concerning lithic assemblage variability because it is located on a high quality flint source. We present data on core reduction, blank selection, raw material procurement, and lithic transport that provide information on lithic use pertinent for both Old World and New World archaeologists. Our data show that raw material availability and group mobility influenced blank selection, production, and transport at Combe-Capelle.

Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Swan Valley Community School, Swanscombe, Kent

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 219-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Wenban-Smith ◽  
David Bridgland ◽  
Simon Parfitt ◽  
Andrew Haggart ◽  
Phillip Rye
Keyword(s):  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Palaeolithic ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Volume Controlled ◽  
Valuable Role ◽  
Construction Works ◽  
Palaeolithic Archaeology

This paper reports on the recovery of Palaeolithic flint artefacts and faunal remains from fluvial gravels at the base of a sequence of Pleistocene sediments revealed during construction works at two sites to the south of Swanscombe village, Kent. Although outside the mapped extent of the Boyn Hill/Orsett Heath Formation, the newly discovered deposits can be firmly correlated with the Middle Gravels and Upper Loam from the Barnfield Pit sequence dating to c. 400,000–380,000 BP. This increases greatly the known extent of these deposits, one horizon of which produced the Swanscombe Skull, and has provided more information on their upper part.Comparison of the lithic assemblages from volume-controlled sieving with those from general monitoring demonstrated that artefact collections formed without controlled methods of recovery, such as form the majority of the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological record, are likely to be disproportionately dominated by larger, more visible, and more collectable neatly-made handaxes to the detriment of more poorly made, asymmetrical handaxes and cores, flakes, and percussors. The lithic assemblage from the fluvial gravel was confirmed as dominated by pointed handaxes, supporting previous studies of artefacts front the equivalent Lower Middle Gravel at Barnfield Pit. The raw material characteristics of the assemblage were investigated, and it was concluded that there was no indication that the preference for pointed shapes could be related to either the shape or source of raw material.This paper also reviews the significance of lithic assemblages from disturbed fluvial contexts, and concludes that, contrary to some current perspectives, they have a valuable role to play complementing less disturbed evidence in developing understanding of the Palaeolithic.

scholarly journals Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age lithic assemblages associated with a cairn and other prehistoric features at Stoneyhill Farm, Longhaven, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, 2002-03

2011 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Ballin ◽  
Ian Suddaby ◽  
M Cressey ◽  
M Hastie ◽  
A Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Lithic Technology ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages

Prehistoric remains were recorded by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in 2002-03 during a programme of fieldwork at the landfill site within the boundaries of Stoneyhill Farm, which lies 7km to the southwest of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. These included a clearance cairn with a Late Bronze Age lithic assemblage and a burial cairn, with Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age lithics and Beaker ceramics. Other lithic scatters of similar date had no certain associations, although pits containing near-contemporary Impressed Wares were nearby. Additional lithic assemblages included material dated to the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. What may be proto-Unstan Wares in an isolated pit were associated with radiocarbon dates (barley) of the first half of the fourth millennium bc. These findings represent a substantial addition to the local area's archaeological record and form an important contribution to the understanding of lithic technology and ceramics in earlier prehistoric Scotland.This paper is dedicated to the memory of Ian Shepherd, whose site visits enlightened this and other projects undertaken by one of the authors (IS).

A Core Reduction Experiment Finds No Effect of Original Stone Size and Reduction Intensity on Flake Debris Size Distribution

2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 562-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam C. Lin ◽  
Cornel M. Pop ◽  
Harold L. Dibble ◽  
Will Archer ◽  
Dawit Desta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Paleolithic Site ◽  
Stone Size ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Reduction Experiment ◽  
Package Size ◽  
Core Reduction ◽  
Taphonomic Processes

Studies have long noted the influence of stone package size and reduction intensity on lithic assemblage composition, particularly in the form of flake size distributions. However, it remains difficult to distinguish objectively the effect of either factor in archaeological contexts without controlling for the variation in one of the two variables. Here we report on an experimental study designed to test the null hypotheses that original stone size and reduction intensity have no impact on the size distribution of lithic flake debris produced during core reduction. Results indicate statistically significant influence from original stone size but not reduction intensity, although the effects from the former are low enough to be considered trivial. In reviewing a sequence of archaeological assemblages from a Middle Paleolithic site, all exhibit an excess of smallsized materials in comparison to the experimental data. When exceptionally high frequencies of the smaller size classes occur, taphonomic processes are clearly responsible.

Trou du Renard and the Belgian Aurignacian

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Dinnis ◽  
Damien Flas
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
The North ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
C 32 ◽  
North And South ◽  
North Western ◽  
Early Upper

A wealth of cave sites makes southern Belgium the most important area for understanding the north-western European Early Upper Palaeolithic. However, despite their abundance, the interpretation of many assemblages remains problematic. Here we present a new study of lithic material from layer B of Trou du Renard (Furfooz, Namur Province) and consider its place in the Belgian Aurignacian. The assemblage is typical of Late Aurignacian assemblages found across western Europe, underscoring the contrast between the Aurignacian and the periods that pre- and post-date it, when we instead see profound differences between north and south. The assemblage is apparently unmixed, distinguishing Trou du Renard from other key Belgian Aurignacian cave sites. A large proportion of the site’s lithic assemblage documents the production of small bladelets from carinated/busquéburin cores, suggesting that Trou du Renard served as a short-term hunting camp. Radiocarbon dating cannot pinpoint the assemblage’s age, though here it is argued to be c. 32–33,000bp(c. 36–37,000 calbp) on the basis of its similarity to the well-dated Aurignacian assemblage from Maisières Canal (Atelier de Taille de la Berge Nord-Estarea). For the same reason a third assemblage – Trou Walou layer CI-1 – is also argued to be contemporaneous. Trou du Renard, Maisières Canal and Trou Walou may represent three points in the same Late Aurignacian landscape. Differences between their lithic assemblages can be explained by the acquisition and transport of flint, and by a desire to produce small bladelets of highly standardised form irrespective of the size and shape of available blanks.

Intra- and Inter-Site Variability within the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic: Evidence from Jebel Humeima (J412), South-west Jordan

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher W. Kerry
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
South West ◽  
Core Reduction ◽  
Tool Types ◽  
Site Variability

Expanded excavations at the rockshelter of Jebel Humeima (J412) in south-west Jordan provide the basis for re-evaluation of its Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblage. Initially identified as Levantine Aurignacian, the sample is more closely aligned with the Early Ahmarian. The framework currently used for the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic, combined with spatial clustering of specific blank and tool types, is directly responsible for initial misidentification. This spatial clustering is thought to represent two distinct activity loci: early-stage core reduction and later-stage blade and tool production. This kind of technological and typological variability may also help account for some of the ambiguity within the current Upper Palaeolithic framework of the southern Levant.

scholarly journals A 1.4-million-year-old bone handaxe from Konso, Ethiopia, shows advanced tool technology in the early Acheulean

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18393-18400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuhiro Sano ◽  
Yonas Beyene ◽  
Shigehiro Katoh ◽  
Daisuke Koyabu ◽  
Hideki Endo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Southern Ethiopia ◽  
Bone Tools ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Core Reduction ◽  
Active Research ◽  
Tool Technology ◽  
Advanced Tool

In the past decade, the early Acheulean before 1 Mya has been a focus of active research. Acheulean lithic assemblages have been shown to extend back to ∼1.75 Mya, and considerable advances in core reduction technologies are seen by 1.5 to 1.4 Mya. Here we report a bifacially flaked bone fragment (maximum dimension ∼13 cm) of a hippopotamus femur from the ∼1.4 Mya sediments of the Konso Formation in southern Ethiopia. The large number of flake scars and their distribution pattern, together with the high frequency of cone fractures, indicate anthropogenic flaking into handaxe-like form. Use-wear analyses show quasi-continuous alternate microflake scars, wear polish, edge rounding, and striae patches along an ∼5-cm-long edge toward the handaxe tip. The striae run predominantly oblique to the edge, with some perpendicular, on both the cortical and inner faces. The combined evidence is consistent with the use of this bone artifact in longitudinal motions, such as in cutting and/or sawing. This bone handaxe is the oldest known extensively flaked example from the Early Pleistocene. Despite scarcity of well-shaped bone tools, its presence at Konso shows that sophisticated flaking was practiced by ∼1.4 Mya, not only on a range of lithic materials, but also occasionally on bone, thus expanding the documented technological repertoire of African Early PleistoceneHomo.

Late Pleistocene Technology, Economic Behavior, and Land-Use Dynamics in Southern Italy

2004 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Riel-Salvatore ◽  
C. Michael Barton
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Economic Behavior ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Modern Human Origins ◽  
Lithic Assemblages

This paper proposes a new methodology to study prehistoric lithic assemblages in an attempt to derive from that facet of prehistoric behavior the greater technoeconomic system in which it was embedded. By using volumetric artifact density and the frequency of retouched pieces within a given lithic assemblage, it becomes possible to identify whether these stone tools were created by residentially mobile or logistically organized foragers. The linking factor between assemblage composition and land-use strategy is that of curation within lithic assemblages as an expression of economizing behavior. This method is used to study eight sites from southeastern Italy to detect changes in adaptation during the Late Pleistocene. We compare and contrast Mousterian, Uluzzian, proto-Aurignacian and Epigravettian assemblages, and argue that the first three industries overlap considerably in terms of their technoeconomic flexibility. Epigravettian assemblages, on the other hand, display a different kind of land-use exploitation pattern than those seen in the earlier assemblages, perhaps as a response to deteriorating climatic conditions at the Last Glacial Maximum. While we discuss the implications of these patterns in the context of modern human origins, we argue that the methodology can help identify land-use patterns in other locales and periods.

scholarly journals Insights into early lithic technologies from ethnography

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1682) ◽  
pp. 20140356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Nut Cracking ◽  
Core Reduction

Oldowan lithic assemblages are often portrayed as a product of the need to obtain sharp flakes for cutting into animal carcases. However, ethnographic and experimental research indicates that the optimal way to produce flakes for such butchering purposes is via bipolar reduction of small cryptocrystalline pebbles rather than from larger crystalline cores resembling choppers. Ethnographic observations of stone tool-using hunter-gatherers in environments comparable with early hominins indicate that most stone tools (particularly chopper forms and flake tools) were used for making simple shaft tools including spears, digging sticks and throwing sticks. These tools bear strong resemblances to Oldowan stone tools. Bipolar reduction for butchering probably preceded chopper-like core reduction and provides a key link between primate nut-cracking technologies and the emergence of more sophisticated lithic technologies leading to the Oldowan.

Lithic Tool Industries

2020 ◽  
pp. 141-195
Author(s):  
Christina M. Friberg
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Lithic Analysis ◽  
Illinois River ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Economic Control

This chapter addresses whether the Lower Illinois River Valley’s proximity to Cahokia enabled access to craft exchange networks vital to the political economy of Greater Cahokia. This issue requires a detailed lithic analysis of the Audrey site’s lithic assemblage, examining both the craft production and/or exchange of Mill Creek hoes, basalt celts, and microlithic chert drills for marine shell bead manufacture, and the consumption of local Burlington chert. A comparative analysis with data from the Greater Cahokia and northern hinterland areas assesses the extent of Cahokian economic control, the organization of Mississippian lithic tool industries, and regional variation in the nature of economic activities. Finally, an analysis of exotic cherts within lithic assemblages suggests interregional exchange and interaction among northern groups.

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