Springs on the Move

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason O'Donoughue
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Cost Modelling ◽  
Cost Paths ◽  
Least Cost Paths

This chapter expands the scope of inquiry to other springs, both within and outside the St. Johns River valley. It presents the results of archaeological reconnaissance at Silver Springs. The artifacts recovered during this survey include an abundance of lithic debitage and tools, far outstripping the known assemblages from other springs in the region. Raw material suitable for the production of flaked stone tools is absent in the St. Johns River valley. The chapter uses least-cost modelling to examine the optimal pathways for the movement of toolstone from source areas in western peninsular Florida to Silver Springs and three sites in the St. Johns River valley with ample lithic assemblages. This is done to evaluate the hypothesis that Silver Springs and places like it were gateways or conduits for the movement of people and objects into the valley. The proposed least-cost paths are evaluated with lithic provenance and debitage data.

Raw Material Selection and Stone Tool Production: Limestone Bifaces in the Mopan Valley, Belize

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-204
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Horowitz ◽  
Bernadette Cap ◽  
Jason Yaeger ◽  
Meaghan Peuramaki-Brown ◽  
Mark Eli
Keyword(s):  
Material Selection ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Raw Material Selection

Stone tool producers in the Maya Lowlands had several types of raw materials from which to choose. Limestone, chert, and obsidian are the most naturally abundant, whereas chert and obsidian outnumber limestone in archaeological contexts. The presence of flaked-stone tools made of limestone is typically attributed to the scarcity of more suitable raw materials. Nevertheless, in chert-rich areas, such as the upper Belize River valley, limestone bifaces and production debitage are present. To understand their presence, we examine limestone biface production and use at Buenavista del Cayo.

scholarly journals INTERACTIVE CADASTRAL BOUNDARY DELINEATION FROM UAV DATA

2018 ◽  
Vol IV-2 ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Crommelinck ◽  
B. Höfle ◽  
M. N. Koeva ◽  
M. Y. Yang ◽  
G. Vosselman
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Contour Detection ◽  
Local Boundary ◽  
Manual Delineation ◽  
Cost Paths ◽  
Cadastral Surveying ◽  
Least Cost Paths

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are evolving as an alternative tool to acquire land tenure data. UAVs can capture geospatial data at high quality and resolution in a cost-effective, transparent and flexible manner, from which visible land parcel boundaries, i.e., cadastral boundaries are delineable. This delineation is to no extent automated, even though physical objects automatically retrievable through image analysis methods mark a large portion of cadastral boundaries. This study proposes (i) a methodology that automatically extracts and processes candidate cadastral boundary features from UAV data, and (ii) a procedure for a subsequent interactive delineation. Part (i) consists of two state-of-the-art computer vision methods, namely gPb contour detection and SLIC superpixels, as well as a classification part assigning costs to each outline according to local boundary knowledge. Part (ii) allows a user-guided delineation by calculating least-cost paths along previously extracted and weighted lines. The approach is tested on visible road outlines in two UAV datasets from Germany. Results show that all roads can be delineated comprehensively. Compared to manual delineation, the number of clicks per 100 m is reduced by up to 86 %, while obtaining a similar localization quality. The approach shows promising results to reduce the effort of manual delineation that is currently employed for indirect (cadastral) surveying.

scholarly journals For our world without sound. The opportunistic debitage in the Italian context: a methodological evaluation of the lithic assemblages of Pirro Nord, Cà Belvedere di Montepoggiolo, Ciota Ciara cave and Riparo Tagliente.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Carpentieri ◽  
Marta Arzarello
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Core Technology ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Lower Pleistocene ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Italian Context ◽  
Methodological Evaluation

Abstract The opportunistic debitage, originally adapted from Forestier’s S.S.D.A. definition, is characterized by a strong adaptability to local raw material morphology and its physical characteristics and it is oriented towards flake production. Its most ancient evidence is related to the first European peopling by Homo sp. during Lower Pleistocene starting from 1.6 Ma and gradually increasing around 1 Ma. In these sites a great heterogeneity of the reduction sequences and raw materials employed is highlighted, bringing to the identification of multiple technical behaviours. However, the scientific community does not always agree on associating the concepts of opportunism and method to describe these lithic complexes. The same methodological issues remain for the Middle Pleistocene where, simultaneously to an increase of the archaeological evidence and the persistence of the opportunistic debitage, the first bifacial complexes are attested. Further implications concerning the increasing complexity highlighted in core technology management are now at the centre of an important debate regarding the genesis of more specialized method (Levallois and Discoid) especially during MIS 12 and MIS 9. We suggest that the opportunistic debitage could be the starting point for this process, carrying within itself a great methodological and cultural potential.

Mining, Economy, and Society

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Regional Economies ◽  
Primary Metal ◽  
Alloy Type ◽  
Scientific Analysis ◽  
Wealth Generation ◽  
The Impact

The opening chapter of this book considered different factors that influenced the availability of copper resources in prehistory. While geological distribution and technological expertise were critical, consideration must also be given to the wider societal context of production. The operation of early mines must be explained in terms of access to ore deposits and the desire and ability of different population groups to become involved in primary metal production. The impact on local and regional economies is also relevant, in terms of wealth generation through trade and the repercussions for society as a whole. Understanding the organization of this activity is a challenge. Key elements of the chaîne opératoire are often missing, such as the location of smelting sites or the workshops where objects were made. This makes it difficult to establish links between mines and the circulation of intermediate and final metal products in a wider settlement context. With stone tools it is possible to apply production indices to quantify the different stages involved in the use of a specific raw material, with a view to modelling a lithic production system in space (see Ericson 1984). This approach cannot be easily applied to metal objects, which generally have a more complex life cycle than stone tools. This began with a fundamentally different use of a raw material to create a finished object, requiring chemical as well as physical transformation. For this reason, scientific analysis of prehistoric metalwork is problematic in terms of source provenancing to specific ore deposits and mines. There is the further complication of recycling, which in some instances involved the mixing of metal from different mine sources. One approach has been to identify metal circulation zones where copper of a similar chemistry, lead isotope signature, and/ or alloy type was used (e.g. Northover 1982). Within these circulation zones various patterns of primary and secondary (recycled) metal use can be explored in the context of local workshop traditions. This provides a spatial and typochronological context in which to view the input of metal from particular mines.

Differential Raw Material Use in the Middle Pleistocene of Spain: Evidence from Sierra de Atapuerca, Torralba, Ambrona and Aridos

1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Mosquera Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Material Procurement ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
The Way

This article reviews the evidence for planning behaviour in Middle Pleistocene hominids. It documents the way in which raw material procurement and tool production were structured during the Middle Pleistocene occupations of the Spanish sites of Sierra de Atapuerca, Torralba, Ambrona and Aridos. Differences in the use of raw materials for different kinds of tool or end-product allow inferences to be drawn about pre-Neanderthal intentionality and cognitive ability. The overall pattern of technological behaviour demonstrated by this study is far removed from the purely ‘opportunistic’ and can reasonably be described as involving both forethought and planning. The work is presented from a techno-economic perspective based on the differential use of raw material types present in the lithic assemblages of these sites, and the proximity of sources of these raw materials in the surrounding landscape.

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