Why did hunting weapon design change at Abri Pataud? Lithic use-wear data on armature use and hafting around 24,000–22,000 BP

Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence and, consequently, to our evolution. Due to the allegedly central role of projectile weapons in the food-getting strategies of Upper Palaeolithic people, typo-technological changes in the European lithic record have often been linked to supposed developments in hunting weaponry. Yet, relatively little reliable functional data is currently available that would aid the detailed reconstruction of past weapon designs. In this paper, we take a use-wear approach to the backed tool assemblages from the Recent and Final Gravettian layers (Levels 3 and 2) of Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France). Our use of strict projectile identification criteria relying on combinations of low and high magnification features and our critical view of the overlap between production and use-related fractures permitted us to confidently identify a large number of used armatures in both collections. By isolating lithic projectiles with the strongest evidence of impact and by recording wear attributes on them in detail, we could establish that the hunting equipment used during the Level 3 occupations involved both lithic weapon tips and composite points armed with lithic inserts. By contrast, the Level 2 assemblage reflects a heavy reliance on composite points in hunting reindeer and other game. Instead of an entirely new weapon design, the Level 2 collection therefore marks a shift in weapon preferences. Using recent faunal data, we discuss the significance of the observed diachronic change from the point of view of prey choice, seasonality, and social organisation of hunting activities. Our analysis shows that to understand their behavioural significance, typo-technological changes in the lithic record must be viewed in the light of functional data and detailed contextual information.

The spread of agriculture in south-eastern Europe: new data from North Macedonia

North Macedonia is a crucial region for understanding the spread of agriculture into the Mediterranean and Central Europe. To date, however, the area has been subject to relatively limited archaeological research. Here, the authors present use-wear and archaeobotanical analyses on material from two Neolithic sites, Govrelevo and Vrbjanska Čuka, to investigate practices that were previously unstudied in this part of the Balkans, such as sowing, cultivation and harvesting techniques. The results suggest the presence of permanent crop fields located in wetlands, with autumn and spring sowing, and harvesting using curved sickles. The study illuminates early agricultural practices in North Macedonia and adds to our knowledge of the spread of the Neolithic package across Europe.

STONE TOOL FUNCTIONS, HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES, AND FORMATIVE LITHIC ECONOMIES IN NORTHERN TLAXCALA, MEXICO

High-magnification use-wear analyses create datasets that enable microeconomic studies of lithic consumption and household activities that complement macroeconomic studies of lithic production and exchange to collectively improve our reconstructions of ancient economies. In recent decades, compositional and technological analyses have revealed how certain obsidian sources and lithic technologies were exploited, produced, and exchanged in Mexico's central highlands region during the Formative period (1500 b.c.–a.d. 100). This article presents use-wear analyses of 275 lithic artifacts from four sites in northern Tlaxcala—Amomoloc (900–650 b.c.), Tetel (750–500 b.c.), Las Mesitas (600–500 b.c.), and La Laguna (600–400 b.c. and 100 b.c.–a.d. 150)—to compare household activities with lithic technologies and evaluate their roles in regional economies. Blades were used for subsistence and domestic crafting; maguey fiber extraction for textile production increased over time, especially in non-elite households. The preparation and consumption of meat acquired by hunting and other methods increased slightly over time, and bipolar tools were used as kitchen utensils. Bloodletting was practiced with two variations of late-series pressure blades, but these and other tools were neither exchanged as nor used to craft prestige goods, often viewed as driving forces of Formative economies in Mesoamerica.

To be or not to be: reassessing the origins of portable art in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain)

The characterization of the first portable artistic depictions in Cantabrian Spain is crucial for comprehension of the symbolic development of Neandertals and Homo sapiens in the context of the passage from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the importance of these first graphic representations, their study has tended to lack the application of suitable methodologies to be able to discriminate between graphic activity and other kind of alterations (use-wear, taphonomic, or post-depositional). The present study has examined a significant sample of Middle and Upper Paleolithic lithic and osseous objects from Cantabrian Spain that have been cited as evidence of graphic activity in the literature. The contexts in which the objects were found have been considered, and the objects have been analyzed through the microscopic observation of the marks to distinguish between incisions, pecking, and engraving made for a non-functional purpose (graphic activity) and those generated by diverse functional actions or taphonomic processes (cutmarks, trampling, root marks, percussion scars, and use-wear). The results show that some regional Middle Paleolithic osseous objects display incisions that are neither functional nor taphonomic and whose characteristics are similar to graphic evidence attributed to Neandertals in Europe and the Near East. In turn, the first portable art produced by Homo sapiens in the Cantabrian Spain seems to be limited mostly to linear signs, and no figurative representation can be recognized until the Gravettian. This appears to indicate a particular idiosyncrasy of the region in the Early Upper Paleolithic, which, in comparison with other regions such as south-west France and the Swabian Jura, shows a later and less abundant production of portable art.

Optimization of use-wear detection and characterization on stone tool surfaces

Debates and doubt around the interpretation of use-wear on stone tools called for the development of quantitative analysis of surfaces to complement the qualitative description of traces. Recently, a growing number of studies showed that prehistoric activities can be discriminated thanks to quantitative characterization of stone tools surface alteration due to use. However, stone tool surfaces are microscopically very heterogeneous and the calculated parameters may highly vary depending on the areas selected for measurement. Indeed, it may be impacted by the effects from the raw material topography and not from the altered zones only, if non-altered part of the surface is included in the measurement. We propose here to discuss this issue and present a workflow involving the use of masks to separate worn and unworn parts of the surface. Our results show that this step of extraction, together with suitable filtering, could have a high impact on the optimization of the detection and thus characterization of use traces. This represents the basis for future automatic routines allowing the detection, extraction and characterization of wear on stone tools.

The effect of eraser sampling for proteomic analysis on Palaeolithic bone surface microtopography

Bone surface modifications are crucial for understanding human subsistence and dietary behaviour, and can inform about the techniques employed in the production and use of bone tools. Permission to destructively sample such unique artefacts is not always granted. The recent development of non-destructive proteomic extraction techniques has provided some alternatives for the analysis of rare and culturally significant artefacts, including bone tools and personal ornaments. The Eraser Extraction Method (EEM), first developed for ZooMS analysis of parchment, has recently been applied to bone and ivory specimens. To test the potential impact of the EEM on ancient bone surfaces, we analyse six anthropogenically modified Palaeolithic bone specimens from Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) through a controlled sampling experiment using qualitative and 3D quantitative microscopy. Although the overall bone topography is generally preserved, our findings demonstrate a slight flattening of the microtopography alongside the formation of micro-striations associated with the use of the eraser for all bone specimens. Such modifications are similar to ancient use-wear traces. We therefore consider the EEM a destructive sampling approach for Palaeolithic bone surfaces. Together with low ZooMS success rates in some of the reported studies, the EEM might not be a suitable approach to taxonomically identify Pleistocene bone specimens.

Incised stone artefact in the context of Middle Holocene burials at Cappalombo 1, South Sulawesi, Indonesia | Artefak batu bergores dalam konteks penguburan Holosen Tengah di Situs Cappalombo 1, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia

Since the recent discovery of Late Pleistocene rock art in Island Southeast Asia was announced, evidence for symbolic behaviour in the region has become a focus of international archaeological interest. South Sulawesi is one region that hold much evidence for this important human activity. In addition to the cave paintings, several engraved stone artefacts have also been recovered in the same area, nearly all of which date back to the Late Pleistocene. However, while cave use by ‘hunter-gatherer’ societies continued into the Holocene period, archaeological evidence for symbolic expression during this Toalean period is extremely rare. Here, we report for the first time on engraved stone artefacts from the Middle Holocene period, associated with six human burials. Of ten incised artefacts recovered, eight are stone flakes and two are stone plaquettes, all made of hematite material. Our study suggests that unlike comparative Pleistocene engraved stones, the incisions on the Cappalombo artefacts are more likely the result of use-wear that occurs from producing red pigment powder than portable artworks. As no Toalean-age cave art has yet been identified, it is suspected that pigment powder was applied to the corpses as part of a burial practice or perhaps smeared on the body of the person/s performing the ceremony itself as part of a symbolic ritualistic activity. Sejak penemuan gambar cadas Pleistosen Akhir terbaru diumumkan di Pulau Asia Tenggara, bukti perilaku simbolis di wilayah tersebut telah menjadi fokus kajian arkeologis internasional. Sulawesi Selatan adalah salah satu wilayah yang menyimpan banyak bukti aktivitas manusia yang penting ini. Selain lukisan gua, beberapa artefak batu berukir juga telah ditemukan di daerah yang sama, hampir semuanya berasal dari Pleistosen Akhir. Namun, ketika penggunaan gua oleh masyarakat 'pemburu-pengumpul' berlanjut hingga periode Holosen, bukti arkeologis untuk ekspresi simbolis selama periode Toalean ini sangat langka. Di sini, kami melaporkan untuk pertama kalinya tentang artefak batu berukir dari periode Holosen Tengah, yang terkait dengan enam penguburan manusia. Dari sepuluh artefak gores yang ditemukan, delapan berupa serpihan batu dan dua berupa plakat batu, semuanya terbuat dari bahan hematit. Studi kami menunjukkan bahwa tidak seperti batu terukir Pleistosen, sayatan pada artefak Cappalombo lebih mungkin hasil dari penggunaan yang terjadi dari memproduksi bubuk pigmen merah daripada karya seni portabel. Karena seni gua periode Toalean belum dapat diidentifikasi, diduga bubuk pigmen dioleskan pada mayat sebagai bagian dari praktik penguburan atau mungkin dioleskan pada tubuh orang yang melakukan upacara itu sendiri sebagai bagian dari aktifitas ritual simbolis.

New insights into the Upper Palaeolithic of the Caucasus through the study of personal ornaments. Teeth and bones pendants from Satsurblia and Dzudzuana caves (Imereti, Georgia)

The region of western Georgia (Imereti) in the Southern Caucasus has been a major geographic corridor for human migrations during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Data of recent research and excavations in this region display its importance as a possible route for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into northern Eurasia. Nevertheless, within the local research context, bone-working and personal ornaments have yet contributed but little to the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) regional sequence’s characterization. Here we present an archaeozoological, technological and use-wear study of pendants from two local UP assemblages, originating in the Dzudzuana Cave and Satsurblia Cave. The ornaments were made mostly of perforated teeth, though some specimens were made on bone. Both the manufacturing marks made during preparation and use-wear traces indicate that they were personal ornaments, used as pendants or attached to garments. Detailed comparison between ornament assemblages from northern and southern Caucasus reveal that they are quite similar, supporting the observation of cultural bonds between the two regions, demonstrated previously through lithic techno-typological affinities. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance attributed to red deer (Cervus elaphus) by the UP societies of the Caucasus in sharing aesthetic values and/or a symbolic sphere.

Three-dimensional surface morphometry differentiates behaviour on primate percussive stone tools

The Early Stone Age record preserves a rich behavioural signature of hominin stone tool making and use. The role of percussive technology in the daily subsistence strategies of our earliest ancestors has seen renewed focus recently. Studies of modern primate tool use highlight the diverse range of behaviours potentially associated with percussive technology. This has prompted significant methodological developments to characterize the associated damage marks (use-wear) on hammerstones and anvils. Little focus has, however, been paid to identifying whether these techniques can successfully differentiate between the damage patterns produced by specific and differing percussive behaviours. Here, we present a novel workflow drawing on the strengths of visual identification and three-dimensional (3D) surface quantification of use-wear. We apply this methodology firstly to characterize macaque percussive use-wear and test the efficacy of 3D surface quantification techniques in differentiating between percussive damage and natural surface topography. Secondly, we use this method to differentiate between use-wear associated with various wild macaque percussive behaviours. By combining analyst-directed, 3D surface analysis and use-wear dimensional analysis, we show that macaque percussive behaviours create specific diagnostic signatures and highlight a means of quantifiably recording such behavioural signatures in both primate and hominin contexts.