PETROLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF THE NATURAL STONE TOOLS FROM Al-DALMAJ ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, MESOPOTAMIAN PLAIN, IRAQ

Many stone tools were found on a hill south of the Hor Al-Dalmaj which is located in the central part of the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The types of rocks from which the studied stone tools were made are not found in the alluvial plain, because it consists of friable sand, silt, and clay. All existing sediments were precipitated in riverine environments such as point bar, over bank, and floodplain sediments. The collected stone tools were described with a magnifying glass (10 x) and a polarized microscope after they were thin sectioned. Microscopic analysis showed that these stone tools are made of sedimentary, volcanic igneous and metamorphic rocks, such as: sandstones, limestones, chert, conglomerate, rhyolite, basalt, mica schist, and quartzite. The current studied stone tools were used by ancient humans as pestles, querns, scrapers, and knives. The present study showed that these tools were transported from outside the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia. A stone tool at the archaeological site of Al-Dalmaj indicates that there were some trade routes that connected this site with its surrounding; in addition to the economic, and that might occurred cultural exchanges during the Neolithic Period.

Download Full-text

Evaluating the microscopic effect of brushing stone tools as a cleaning procedure

10.31235/osf.io/4sfrj ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Antonella Pedergnana ◽

Ivan Calandra ◽

Konstantin Bob ◽

Walter Gneisinger ◽

Eduardo Paixao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Current Trend ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Mechanical Action ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Common Procedure ◽

Use Wear ◽

Before And After ◽

The Impact ◽

Micro Topography

Cleaning stone tool surfaces is a common procedure in lithic studies. The first step widely applied at any archaeological site (and/or at field laboratories) is the gross removal of sediment from the surfaces of artifacts. Lithic surface alterations due to mechanical action applied in wet or dry cleaning regimes have never been examined at a microscopic scale. This could have important implications in traceology, as any modern surface modifications inflicted on archaeological artifacts might compromise their functional interpretations. The current trend toward quantification of use-wear traces makes the testing even more important, as even slight, apparently invisible surface alterations might be measured.In order to evaluate the impact of common cleaning procedures, we undertook a controlled experiment. The main aim of this experiment was to assess the effects that brushing actions applied for removing sediment particles have on flint and quartzite surfaces.All surfaces were analyzed with confocal microscopy before and after having been brushed to quantify possible changes in the micro-topography. Surface roughness parameters (ISO 25178-2 among others) were applied.Nine parameters changed significantly when mechanical actions were applied to lithic surfaces, meaning that some changes in the surface micro-topography were detected. Therefore, archeologists need to be cautious when applying prolonged mechanical actions for cleaning archaeological stone tools.

Download Full-text

Using 3D Microscopy to Analyze Experimental Cut Marks on Animal Bones Produced with Different Stone Tools

Ethnobiology Letters ◽

10.14237/ebl.6.2.2015.349 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 267-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Erika Moretti ◽

Simona Arrighi ◽

Francesco Boschin ◽

Jacopo Crezzini ◽

Daniele Aureli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microscopic Analysis ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Profile Data ◽

Mechanical Motion ◽

Cut Marks ◽

3D Microscopy ◽

Animal Bones ◽

Digital Microscope ◽

The Moment

This study uses a combination of digital microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology to assess stone tool cut marks on animal bones. We used two un-retouched flint flakes and two burins to inflict cut marks on fresh, boiled, and dry ungulate bones. The experiment produced three series of three engravings on each bone with each of the experimental tools. The first series involved one single stroke; the second, two strokes in the same direction; and the third, multiple strokes using a to-and-fro movement. We analyzed the striations using a Hirox 3D digital microscope (KH-7700) and collected metric and profile data on the morphology of the cut marks. In order to describe the shape of each cross section, we calculated the ratio between the breadth at the top and the breadth at the floor of cut marks. Preliminary results show that both the tool type and the method of creating the cut mark influence the shape of the resulting groove. In our experiment, morphological parameters can be used to differentiate between marks produced using un-retouched flint flakes and those produced using burins. However, neither morphological nor morphometric analysis allows us to identify the mechanical motion used to produce the cuts, nor the state of the bone (fresh, boiled, or dry) at the moment of marking.

Download Full-text

Geoarchaeological evidence of landscape transformations at the Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement of Nea Raedestos in the Anthemous River valley, central Macedonia, Greece

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2018.69 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 91 (2) ◽

pp. 600-619 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jakub Niebieszczański ◽

Iwona Hildebrandt-Radke ◽

Konstantinos Vouvalidis ◽

Georgios Syrides ◽

Stylianos Andreou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Water Body ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

River Valley ◽

Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽

Neolithic Period ◽

Late Neolithic ◽

Sedimentary Environments ◽

Prehistoric Settlements ◽

Floodplain Sediments

AbstractA paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the landscape of Nea Raedestos Toumba in the Anthemous River valley in central Macedonia, Greece is undertaken using multidisciplinary geoarchaeological methods. The archaeological site is a settlement mound (tell or toumba) that dates to the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. The tell’s location on the alluvial plain prompted a multidisciplinary investigation to reconstruct the influence of landscape changes on prehistoric settlements in the valley with an emphasis on alluvial sequences. An electrical resistivity tomography survey and three cores were drilled to study the sedimentary environments in and around the archaeological site. Sedimentologic and palynological analysis combined with accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating show that the oldest habitation layers at the site, from the Middle and Late Neolithic, were located next to a small, periodically drying water body surrounded by ruderal vegetation. Diatom analysis suggests that this water body was supplied by saline/brackish groundwater. The water body was open until the Early Bronze Age, when it was filled and buried by floodplain sediments. This flooding phase at Nea Raedestos likely occurred at the same time as an increase in fluvial aggradation in the neighboring Thessaloniki Plain, which is dated to the beginning of the third millennium BC.

Download Full-text

Experimental and Archaeological Verification of an Index of Retouch for Hafted Bifaces

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/40035887 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 71 (4) ◽

pp. 743-757 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

William Andrefsky

Keyword(s):

Experimental Data ◽

Land Use ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Data Set ◽

X Ray ◽

Projectile Points

The relative amount of retouch on stone tools is central to many archaeological studies linking stone tool assemblages to broader issues of human social and economic land-use strategies. Unfortunately, most retouch measures deal with flake and blade tools and few (if any) have been developed for hafted bifaces and projectile points. This paper introduces a new index for measuring and comparing amount of retouch on hafted bifaces and projectile points that can be applied regardless of size or typological variance. The retouch index is assessed initially with an experimental data set of hafted bifaces that were dulled and resharpened on five occasions. The retouch index is then applied to a hafted biface assemblage made from tool stone that has been sourced by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Results of both assessments show that the hafted biface retouch index (HRI) is effective for determining the amount of retouch and the degree to which the hafted bifaces have been curated.

Download Full-text

Habitual Stone-Tool Aided Extractive Foraging in White-Faced Capuchins, Cebus Capucinus

10.1101/351619 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Brendan J Barrett ◽

Claudio M Monteza-moreno ◽

Tamara DOGANDŽIĆ ◽

Nicolas Zwyns ◽

Alicia IBÁÑEZ ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tool Use ◽

National Park ◽

Resource Limitation ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Cebus Capucinus ◽

Hermit Crabs ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Extractive Foraging ◽

First Case ◽

One Year

ABSTRACTHabitual reliance on tool use is a marked behavioral difference between wild robust (genus Sapajus) and gracile (genus Cebus) capuchin monkeys. Despite being well studied and having a rich repertoire of social and extractive foraging traditions, Cebus sp have rarely been observed engaging in tool use and have never been reported to use stone tools. In contrast, habitual tool use and stone-tool use by Sapajus is widespread. We discuss factors which might explain these differences in patterns of tool use between Cebus and Sapajus. We then report the first case of habitual stone-tool use in a gracile capuchin: a population of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator) in Coiba National Park, Panama who habitually rely on hammerstone and anvil tool use to access structurally protected food items in coastal areas including Terminalia catappa seeds, hermit crabs, marine snails, terrestrial crabs, and other items. This behavior has persisted on one island in Coiba National Park since at least 2004. From one year of camera trapping, we found that stone tool use is strongly male-biased. Of the 205 unique camera-trap-days where tool use was recorded, adult females were never observed to use stone-tools, although they were frequently recorded at the sites and engaged in scrounging behavior. Stone-tool use occurs year-round in this population, and over half of all identifiable individuals were observed participating. At the most active tool use site, 83.2% of days where capuchins were sighted corresponded with tool use. Capuchins inhabiting the Coiba archipelago are highly terrestrial, under decreased predation pressure and potentially experience resource limitation compared to mainland populations– three conditions considered important for the evolution of stone tool use. White-faced capuchin tool use in Coiba National Park thus offers unique opportunities to explore the ecological drivers and evolutionary underpinnings of stone tool use in a comparative within- and between-species context.

Download Full-text

Sequência estratigráfica e materiais cerâmicos do sítio da Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal) = Stratigraphic sequence and ceramic materials of the settlement of Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal)

Estudios Humanísticos Historia ◽

10.18002/ehh.v0i16.6128 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 135

Author(s):

Vitor Manuel Fernandes Pereira ◽

Tiago Pinheiro Ramos

Keyword(s):

Roman Empire ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Ceramic Materials ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Local Production ◽

Stratigraphic Sequence ◽

Trade Routes ◽

The Past ◽

Historic City ◽

Railroad Station

Accidentalmente descubierto en 1951, durante la construcción de la carretera de enlace entre la ciudad histórica y la estación de ferrocarril, el yacimiento arqueológico de Mileu se convirtió rápidamente en uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más emblemáticos de la Beira Interior. En este artículo, tenemos la intención de presentar los resultados de la investigación que hemos desarrollado en el sitio en los últimos 15 años, destacando el análisis del material cerámico como elemento de datación de las diferentes fases de ocupación de Mileu. Su análisis confirma una secuencia ocupacional desde la primera mitad del siglo I A.D hasta los siglos XII / XIII. Los materiales romanos analizados son principalmente de importación, permitiendo no solo una datación de contextos, sino también comprender su origen, el contexto de su uso o cuestiones relacionadas con las rutas comerciales dentro del Imperio Romano y el cruce del territorio de la Beira Interior. En cuanto a los materiales medievales, de producción local, muestran la continuación de la ocupación del yacimiento en épocas pos-romanaAccidentally discovered in 1951, during the construction of the link road between the historic city and the railroad station, the archaeological site of Mileu quickly became one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of Beira Interior. In this article we plan to present the results of research that we have developed on the site over the past 15 years, highlighting the analysis of the ceramic material while dating element of the different occupation phases of Mileu. Their analysis confirms an occupational sequence from the first half of the century A.D. to the XII / XIII centuries. The analyzed Roman materials are primarily imported, allowing not only a dating of contexts, but also how to understand their origin, the context of its use, or issues related to the trade routes within the Roman Empire and crossing the territory of Beira Interior. As for the medieval materials, local production, show the continuation of the occupation site in post-Roman times

Download Full-text

Some New Heritage Discoveries in The Central Highlands, Vietnam

VNU Journal of Science Earth and Environmental Sciences ◽

10.25073/2588-1094/vnuees.4565 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

Author(s):

La The Phuc ◽

Nguyen Khac Su ◽

Luong Thi Tuat ◽

Vu Tien Duc ◽

Bui Van Thom ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cutting Tools ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Field Trips ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Neolithic Age ◽

Archaeological Artifacts ◽

Central Highlands ◽

The Neolithic Age

A series of new heritage discoveries were found during several field-trips from November 2018 to May 2019 in whole area of The Central Highlands with supporting from the project, coded TN17/T06. The most remarkable discoveries are two archaeological sites: The first one is located on Ho Tre crater in Krong Ana district, Dak Lak province and the second one – along the Ba river ancient valley, in Phu Thien district, Gia Lai province. On Ho Tre crater, we collected many types of archaeological artifacts, including stone hand-axes in oval and short shapes, stone cores, flakes, grind-stones, making-fire stones (?), and several broken fragments pieces of pottery, which featured for the shape and technique types in the Neolithic Age. In archaeological sites in Phu Thien district, a series of stone tools, including uni-facial and bi-facial tools, rough-cutting tools such as side-chopper, end-chopper scrapers, spearhead tools, flake tools, etc., characterized as the shape and technique types in duration the Paleolithic Age were found. These findings play an important role in science to clarify development process of human history since pre-history up to now in Vietnam and in the region as well. Moreover, it is more significant to possibly establish a conservation strategy and to locally develop tourism. Keywords: Archaeological site, stone tool, Paleolithic, Neolithic, The Central Highlands.

Download Full-text

Neanderthal behaviour and stone tool function at the Middle Palaeolithic site of La Quina, France

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00113213 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 78 (301) ◽

pp. 547-565 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Bruce L. Hardy

Keyword(s):

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Middle Palaeolithic

Neanderthal diet is explored by examining stone tools found at the site of La Quina for residues and microwear. The Neanderthal people are found to be using their scrapers for working plants and woods as well as meat.

Download Full-text

Stone Tools

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199218714.013.0023 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Rodney Harrison

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Material Culture ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

History Of Archaeology ◽

Culture Studies ◽

Old World ◽

Material Culture Studies ◽

History Of

The focus of this article is stone tools. The history of stone tool research is linked integrally to the history of archaeology and the study of the human past, and many of the early developments in archaeology were connected with the study of stone artefacts. The identification of stone tools as objects of prehistoric human manufacture was central to the development of nineteenth-century models of prehistoric change, and especially the Three Age system for Old World prehistory. This article draws on concepts derived from interdisciplinary material culture studies to consider the role of the artefact after being discarded. It suggests that it is impossible to understand the meaning or efficacy of stone tools without understanding their ‘afterlives’ following abandonment. This article aims to complement contemporary metrical studies of the identification of stone tools and the description of their production. A brief history of the stone tools is explained and this concludes the article.

Download Full-text

Artifact Analysis

Harney Flats ◽

10.5744/florida/9781683400226.003.0004 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

I. Randolph Daniel ◽

Michael Wisenbaker

Keyword(s):

Stone Tools ◽

Tampa Bay ◽

The State ◽

Metamorphic Rocks ◽

Size And Shape ◽

Chipped Stone ◽

Artifact Analysis

This chapter presents the results of the artifact analysis which consists almost exclusively of some 1,110 chipped stone tools and cores and several thousand pieces of stone debitage. Morphological and technological criteria were used to classify the assemblage into bifaces, unifaces, cores, hammerstones, and abraders. Toolstone appears to have been acquired locally from the abundant limestone replaced cherts available in the vicinity of Tampa Bay. An exception to this is the presence of four rather amorphous shaped “exotic” metamorphic rocks—presumably acquired from outside the state. The function of these artifacts is unclear but given their size and shape, three of them could have functioned as planes or abraders. The fourth specimen is too large to be hand-held but could have functioned as an anvil. The presence of these artifacts in the assemblage is an enigma, and it is speculated the stone arrived via interband exchange.

Download Full-text