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Abstract
The miniaturization of stone tools, as reflected through the systematic production of bladelets and bladelet tools (microliths), characterized many industries of the Late Pleistocene, with the Levantine Epipalaeolithic serving as a well-studied example. It is commonly held that microliths were used as modular inserts in composite projectiles, while their incorporation in other tools for different tasks is generally overlooked, the latter aspect being the main focus of this paper. We present here a more inclusive approach through a case study of the Geometric Kebaran (Middle Epipalaeolithic, ca. 18,500–15,000 cal BP) site of Neve David, Mount Carmel, Israel. Recent excavations at the site exposed a variety of features, and one well-preserved shallow pit provided a large lithic assemblage with ca. 90 microliths. We studied this assemblage using both the low- and high- magnification use-wear protocols, accompanied by a range of experiments. Our results show that a) the fragmentation rate is very high in this assemblage (ca. 90%), b) most of the microliths have identifiable use-wear, c) the microliths were commonly used as inserts in composite projectiles, d) many microliths were used for functions not related to weaponry and hunting, such as wood-working, weed harvesting and meat processing. These findings strongly support the suggestion that the small insets, regardless of their specific type (trapeze, rectangle, backed/retouched bladelet), were used in a wide variety of composite tools. We argue that such a versatile approach and flexibility in the use of microliths reflect a technological advantage where a minimal set of microlithic types, produced in large numbers, could provide the required elements for weapons, as well as for a variety of cutting, processing and harvesting tools needed for mundane tasks at a large Middle Epipalaeolithic camp.
Highlights
The miniaturization of stone tools, as reflected through the systematic production of bladelets and bladelet tools, characterized many industries of the Late Pleistocene, with its sprouts emerging already in the Middle Stone Age of Africa, the Middle Paleolithic of Eurasia [1,2,3,4] and manifested in small flake production in various contexts of the Pleistocene [5,6]
In correlation to the course of the development of the archaeological discipline, most of the advantages from past studies are discussed from their morphological and technological aspects [67,77,78,79,80]. These studies established a firm base portraying the hunter-gatherer societies of the Late Pleistocene as capable of developing and exploiting technologies to increase their adaptation in a way much different from that of former societies
Our goal was to examine whether former analyses results of the versatile use of microliths, especially those indicating their exploitation in a large range of tasks [26], can be considered as an integral part of this technological organization
Summary
The miniaturization of stone tools, as reflected through the systematic production of bladelets and bladelet tools (microliths), characterized many industries of the Late Pleistocene, with its sprouts emerging already in the Middle Stone Age of Africa, the Middle Paleolithic of Eurasia [1,2,3,4] and manifested in small flake production in various contexts of the Pleistocene [5,6] (and references therein). Clarkson and colleagues [1] recently presented a summary of these advantages addressing aspects of transportability, raw-material exploitation, manufacture procedures, standardization, haftability, maintainability, and reliability These can be grouped into two interrelated sets: one addressing the advantages gained in the process of manufacturing the small implements and the second addressing the advantages related to their hafting and use in composite tools. The practice of hafting using relatively easy exchangeable inserts was argued to provide an advantage for mobile hunter gatherers, equipping them with a highly reliable technology [2,11] These advantages were already of significance from the onset of the systematic manufacture of bladelets and bladelet tools, and have become a hallmark of the technological organization at the end of the Pleistocene in cases such as the Epipaleolithic of the Levant and North Africa, where microliths usually formed the majority of the tools
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