A new aspect of post-depositional alterations of lithic artefacts: the case of Medzhibozh Lower Palaeolithic assemblages

Abstract

Flint artefacts have been identified in the materials of the Lower Palaeolithic sites of Medzhibozh, which have experienced the effects of post-depositional alterations (PDA). We suggest a particular combination of anthropogenic and natural effects on lithic artefacts. In the vicinity of Medzhibozh in the Khmelnytskyi region in the West of Ukraine, several multilayered stratified Lower Palaeolithic sites are currently known. Artefacts and accompanying fauna have been identified in subaerial buried soils, initial hydromorphic soils, and alluvial deposits. The ages of the artefact-bearing sediments are preliminarily estimated to be between 1.2 and 0.4 Ma. The lithic assemblages of all horizons contain technologically and typologically archaic artefacts, the industry being referred to as Mode 1. Various types of rock were used as raw materials, including locally occurring flints in the form of pebbles and flattened nodules. Flint products from many assemblages are characterized by rounding and sheen due to their extended exposure to water-permeable horizons. Most of the flint artefacts belonging to a particular assemblage are of a similar type of preservation. The assemblages also contain artefacts with surfaces of different states of preservation, suggesting that they are of different ages. These could either be products of reutilisation or natural alterations. However, more recent surfaces tend to be isolated and do not form a removals system. Moreover, most of the individual PDA pieces show a technological and morphological consistency of differently preserved surfaces, indicating that a force initiating detachment was applied simultaneously. We, therefore, consider artefacts showing a variate state of scar preservation to be PDA products. We assume we are dealing with a new aspect of post-depositional alterations of lithic artefacts. Natural alteration had subjected artefacts, which received internal damage to the structure earlier when processed by man. The bipolar-on-anvil technique was actively used at Medzhibozh. Many artefacts show signs of multiple attempts of knapping, accompanied by a change in the position of the segmenting item. Such signs are impact pits, visible cracks, and Herzian cones disturbing the rock's texture. We believe that the internal cracks that appeared in the area of the not detached spall contribute to the accelerated natural alteration of the item in this area and, ultimately, to the detachment of the flake. The probability of spalling depends on the intensity of the internal distress, the structure of the rock, the climatic conditions, and the post-depositional environment. The most responsible factor for the effect of the “time-delayed spalling” seems to be repeated cycles of temperature changes. A comprehensive study of post-depositional modifications of lithic artefacts is essential in studies of Lower Palaeolithic sites, particularly the technological Mode 1 (Oldowan). This is due to the highly heterogeneous raw materials used, the bipolar-on-anvil knapping technique, and a long period of post-discard behaviour of artefacts. Key words: Lower Palaeolithic, Medzhibozh, stone artefacts, post-depositional alterations, time-delayed spalling, taphonomy.