Lithics ‘Down Under’: Australian Perspectives on Lithic Reduction, Use and Classification

2005 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lithic Reduction

The Fractal Dimensions of Lithic Reduction

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford T. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Dimensions ◽  
Lithic Reduction

Regional Variability in Lithic Miniaturization and the Organization of Technology in Late Glacial Southern Africa (~18-11 kcal BP)

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marika Low ◽  
Justin Pargeter
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Regional Variability ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Organization Of Technology ◽  
Controlled Fracture ◽  
Technological Study

Abstract Miniaturized stone tools made by controlled fracture are reported from nearly every continent where archaeologists have systematically looked for them. While similarities in technology are acknowledged between regions, few detailed inter-regional comparative studies have been conducted. Our paper addresses this gap, presenting results of a comparative lithic technological study between Klipfonteinrand and Sehonghong – two large rock shelters in southern Africa. Both sites contain Late Glacial (~18-11 kcal BP) lithic assemblages, though they are located in regions with different geologies, climates and environments. Results demonstrate that lithic miniaturization manifests differently in these different regions. Both assemblages provide evidence for small blade production, though key differences exist in terms of the specific technological composition of this evidence, the raw materials selected, the role played by bipolar reduction and the manner in which lithic reduction was organized. Patterned variability of this nature demonstrates that humans deployed miniaturized technologies strategically in relation to local conditions.

Context, Provenance and Technology of a Western Stemmed Tradition Artifact Cache from the Cooper’s Ferry Site, Idaho

2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 596-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loren G. Davis ◽  
Alex J. Nyers ◽  
Samuel C. Willis
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Before Present ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Salmon River ◽  
Material Sources ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Age Estimates ◽  
Western Stemmed Tradition

AbstractThe discovery of an artifact cache containing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) projectile points in a clearly defined pit feature at the Cooper’s Ferry site offers a unique perspective on early lithic technology and logistical organization in western North America. A description and analysis of the cache feature reveals several new insights, including: a rocky cairn capped the surface of the pit feature; some of the artifacts were made from cryptocrystalline silicates found 16 km away; debitage analysis, including aggregate and attribute based measures, identified two distinct lithic reduction stages present in the cache; new radiocarbon assays suggest that the cache is probably not early Holocene in age and may date to associated age estimates of 11,410–11,370 radiocarbon years before present (B.P.). Unlike Clovis caches, the Pit Feature A2 cache at Cooper’s Ferry appears to be a generalized toolkit that was probably placed at the site for future use. If the 11,410–11,370 radiocarbon years B.P. assays date the creation of the Pit Feature A2 cache, then its creators were probably not pioneers in the lower Salmon River canyon but possessed local knowledge about the landscape and raw material sources; these patterns suggest greater time depth for WST foragers.

Lava, Corn, and Ritual in the Northern Southwest

2002 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Elson ◽  
Michael H. Ort ◽  
S. Jerome Hesse ◽  
Wendell A. Duffield
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Lava Flow ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Basalt Lava ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
The World ◽  
Ritual Behavior ◽  
Habitation Site ◽  
Ritual Practices

Fifty-five pieces of lava with impressions of prehistoric corn have recently been recovered from NA 860, a small habitation site near Sunset Crater Volcano in northern Arizona. Archaeological, geological, and botanical information suggest that husked ears of corn were deliberately placed in the lava's path when the volcano erupted in the mid-to-late eleventh century A.D. Over 40 kg of basalt lava containing the hardened corn casts were then taken to NA 860 located 4 km away from the lava flow. At the site, the rocks underwent lithic reduction to expose the casts. We suggest that these "corn rocks" are indicative of ritual practices, perhaps serving as an offering made to appease the forces responsible for the eruption. Although both prehistoric and modern offerings are commonly associated with volcanoes in other parts of the world, this is the first evidence from the Southwest United States of possible ritual behavior related to volcanism.

Some Comments on Blade Technology and Eastern Clovis Lithic Reduction Strategies

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt W. Carr ◽  
Christopher A. Bergman ◽  
Crista M. Haag
Keyword(s):  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Reduction Strategies

scholarly journals SMALL BLADE TECHNOLOGY IN THE EARLY UPPER PALEOLITHIC INDUSTRIES FROM DENISOVA CAVE: DATA FROM ANALYSIS OF A LITHIC REDUCTION SEQUENCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128
Author(s):  
Galina D. Pavlenok ◽  
◽  
Maxim B. Kozlikin ◽  
Michael V. Shunkov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Reduction Sequence ◽  
Technological Characteristics ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Early Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Core Reduction ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
Early Upper ◽  
Striking Platform

The paper discusses the results from an analysis of five cores associated with Layer 11 in the Southern Chamber of Denisova Cave, intended to obtain small elongated blanks such as bladelets and small blades. Analysis of a lithic reduction sequence employed in the research has made it possible to clearly recognize the phases in producing flake scars on lithic artifacts through the preparation of core blanks, and in core reduction, as well as to determine stages at which some of these pieces were used as tools. The analysis provided insights into a general flaking pattern for the cores under study. Such artifacts were predominantly made on large massive flake blanks, had a plain striking platform, and the working edge showing traces of reduction associated with detaching the target flakes. These technological characteristics are fully consistent with the technological repertoire of a hominin group, based on cores from the same assemblage, intended to obtain larger target removals such as flakes and blades. A cross section of the flaking surface shows no evidence for a deliberately created and maintained convex relief, while typologically four of the five artifacts were defined as sub-prismatic. The analysis of a lithic reduction sequence shows that artifacts from the examined collection related to the production of blanks in the form of small flake-blades, without using new techniques and the controlled reduction of a flaking surface.

scholarly journals Natufian Settlement and Mobility: A Lithic Perspective from Saaïdé II, Lebanon

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildiko Horvath
Keyword(s):  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Site Location ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Tool Manufacture ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Mobility Strategies ◽  
Marginal Areas ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Hunting And Gathering ◽  
Residential Camp

This study is concerned with settlement and mobility patterns from the perspective of the organization of the lithic technology. Radiating mobility patterns in the context of the Levantine Late Natufian are investigated by looking at the intensity of lithic reduction and the use of blanks for tool manufacture. By conjoining the results of the technological and morphological analysis of lithic tools with additional lines of evidence, such as site location, proximity to various resources, seasonal availability of resources, functional use of flint and non-flint artifacts, an integrated view has been reached on the intensity of human occupation at the Late Natufian site of Saaïdé II. With its large size, thick cultural deposits, varied tool kit and generalized subsistence, Saaïdé II was a residential camp for bands that subsisted on hunting and gathering. What enabled people to reside in this spot for more than one season was the overlap of seasonally available resources. The model of radiating mobility proposed for Saaïdé II illustrates that radiating mobility strategies were not abandoned with the onset of the climatic deterioration triggered by the Younger Dryas around 9,000 Be. Sites located in more marginal areas, beyond the boundaries of the Natufian "homeland", were able to sustain larger agglomerations of people and intensive human occupation.

scholarly journals The Organization of Novaculite Tool Production: Quarry-Workshop Debitage Comparisons

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Trubitt
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Ouachita Mountains ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
By Products

Arkansas novaculite, outcropping in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, has been an important regional lithic resource for thousands of years. Because of the stone’s durability, by-products of past novaculite procurement and tool production and use activities litter the landscape in southwest Arkansas. Recent work situates novaculite quarries in the broader context of tool production and exchange systems. This article focuses on the organization of tool production, and explores analytical techniques that can be used to identify spatial separation of the lithic reduction process between quarry, workshop, and habitation sites.

scholarly journals Flaked stone assemblage variability across the Weipa region of western Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Justin Shiner ◽  
Simon Holdaway ◽  
Patricia Fanning
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
Shell Mounds ◽  
Cape York ◽  
Core Reduction

Shell mounds located on the coastal and estuarine fringes are the best-known archaeological feature in the Weipa region, northwestern Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Other archaeological deposits have received less attention, with stone artefacts thought to be all but absent reflecting the lack of raw material suitable for flaking in the region. Cultural heritage surveys on the bauxite plateau in the Weipa region undertaken since 2003 have changed this view. Here we report on stone artefacts manufactured from quartz, quartzite, silcrete, and mudstone. Surprisingly, flakes and cores in assemblages from across the surveyed region retain a relatively large proportion of cortex, indicating limited lithic reduction despite the lack of local raw material. Comparisons made with assemblage characteristics from other regions in Australia indicate that this lack of core reduction may reflect use of the Albatross Bay landscape by people who were confident of being able to access the lithic sources outside the region to replenish their tool kits.

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