Vác 1 Epigravettian loci at the Danube Bend in North-Central Hungary

In the article, the Vác 1 loci (Danube Bend area in North-Central Hungary) and its surface lithic artifacts systematically collected over the last 20 years have been analyzed. The loci and lithic artifact chaîne opératoire analyses showed that the site served as a hunter-gatherer temporary camp with some base camp characteristics and some similar with lithic artifact primary and secondary treatment processes adding to one another for both rather local and distant raw material types (RMTs). Furthermore, the lithic assemblage data indicate an Early Epigravettian industrial attribution. Likewise, some assemblages’ techno-typological data certainly augment some of the more peculiar features for the already known Early Epigravettian variability in the Eastern Central Europe.

Hunting on the coast: An image gallery of Rompecráneos

The Rompecráneo is a special kind of lithic artifact which was, presumably, involved in the capture of pinnipeds carried out along the Patagonian coast of Argentina during prehistoric times. Recent papers had offered some information about their morphology but up to now they are poorly studied. In order to offset this situation in a previous work we addressed their role in hunting technics developed at the archaeological locality of Punta Entrada (Santa Cruz, Argentina). This allowed us to propose that rompecráneos were used in combination with spears when hunting on the coast. With the aim of expanding this information, here we present an image gallery of some rompecráneos recovered there. Two of these pieces share a similar morphology but were made of different lithic raw materials. The other one has the appearance of a bola stone but its weight is higher than other bola stones in Patagonia. That is why it is considered a different kind of artifact. The importance of studying these kinds of artifacts is that they have the potential of providing information about the way people interacted with the different resources (biotic and abiotic) in the past so that a better understanding of human behavior can be developed. Gallery Figure 1. Geographic location of Punta Entrada. Figure 2. Rompecráneo made of andesite. The base can be seen in the lower part of the image. Weight: 593 g. Figure 3. Different view of the rompecráneo shown in Figure 2 Figure 4. Rompecráneo made of coquina. The base can be seen in the lower part of the image. Weight: 421 g. Figure 5. Different view of the rompecráneo shown in Figure 3. Figure 6. Bola stone made of andesite. Weight:1.476 kg. Figure 7. Detail of the groove of the bola stone shown in Figure 6 Figure 8. Context of recovery of bola stone presented in Figure 6.

Event review: The Archaeology Centre Chert Crawl and Knap-in (Ontario, Canada)

Archaeologists from quite a few departments in the University of Toronto and from the Greater Toronto Area archaeological community use the Archaeology Centre as a hub for collaboration and for organizing member-led group activities. In April 2017, the Lithics Interest Group hosted its annual Knap-In and Goat Roast, this year augmented by a trip to the nearby Niagara Escarpment for chert to knap. Beginning with this new chert sourcing expedition, through flintknapping, food processing, and finally cooking via delightful communal barbecue the Lithics Interest Group members were able to get a sense of a few of the stages a lithic artifact goes through as it may be used before its discard into the archaeological record.

Analysis of the Prehistoric Artifact Assemblage of Ceramic and Lithic Artifacts from 41LR351, Lamar County, Texas

Site 41LR351 was first recorded during the 2005 Texas Archeological Society summer field school on the Stallings Ranch in Lamar County, Texas. This prehistoric site is on a natural knoll (420-430 feet amsl) in the headwaters of Pine Creek, a northward-flowing tributary of the Red River, in the Post Oak Savannah. The site has been excavated by the Valley of the Caddo Archeological Society, and a large prehistoric Caddo ceramic assemblage has been recovered, along with a substantial chipped stone tool and debris assemblage. The analysis of the ceramic and lithic artifact assemblages from the site is the subject of this article.

The Radiocarbon Chronology of El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain): New Dates for the Initial Magdalenian Occupations

Three additional radiocarbon assays were run on samples from 3 levels lying below the classic (±15,500 BP) Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian horizon in the outer vestibule excavation area of El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera of northern Spain. Although the central tendencies of the new dates are out of stratigraphic order, they are consonant with the post-Solutrean, Initial Magdalenian period both in El Mirón and in the Cantabrian region, indicating a technological transition in preferred weaponry from foliate and shouldered points to microliths and antler sagaies between about 17,000–16,000 BP (uncalibrated), during the early part of the Oldest Dryas pollen zone. Now with 65 14C dates, El Mirón is one of the most thoroughly dated prehistoric sites in western Europe. The until-now poorly dated, but very distinctive Initial Cantabrian Magdalenian lithic artifact assemblages are briefly summarized.

Tools Underfoot: Human Trampling as an Agent of Lithic Artifact Edge Modification

A series of eight replication experiments tests the proposition that human trampling of stone flakes can produce edge damage that mimics deliberate retouch. Retouchlike edge damage, breakage, and other forms of macroscopic mechanical damage were observed on large numbers of pieces in all trampled sets. Experiments measured the relative contributions of three variables-raw material, artifact density, and substrate-in generating damage. Results indicate that while all three factors contribute to some degree, substrate plays the most decisive role, and that artifacts are more likely to exhibit damage if trampled on an impenetrable substrate. It was further found that trampling transforms flakes into pseudo-tools that can be classified as formal tools using a standard typology. Many of these are notched and denticulate pieces, indicating that special caution is needed in behavioral interpretations based on these tool types, and that the European Paleolithic Denticulate Mousterian industry requires critical reassessment.

Natural Indicators of Lithic Artifact Authenticity

Lithic artifact replicas represent a threat to the scientific study of regional artifact collections. Elimination of their potentially negative effect on the validity of the data resulting from these studies requires effective artifact authentication analysis. Artifact surface alterations and authigenic deposits that have resulted from post-depositional pedological processes can serve as a basis for these analyses. These surface conditions include erosion, gloss, desert vanish, stain, bleach, corrosion, encrustation, and mineral deposits. A combination of these surface conditions is strong evidence of antiquity, and coupled with the absence of evidence of modern manufacturing, provides a sound basis for authentication.