Bifacial Knives Research Articles

MIDDLE AND UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SURFACE FINDS FROM IŁŻA 3 “KRZEMIENIEC I”

In the present paper, we would like to discuss results of a preliminary field research in the vicinity of the chocolate flint outcrops in Iłża, Site 3, “Krzemieniec I” (Kielce Upland, south-eastern Poland), including the discovered lithic finds – debitage products (flakes and blades), cores, and formal tools, such as bifacial knives. We made an attempt to infer the chronology of those lithic specimens which were found during the surface survey or in trenches without preserved stratigraphy. Based on their spatial distribution, as well as typological and technological analysis, we distinguished the oldest traces of occupational activities of prehistoric societies in the vicinity of Iłża related to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Additionally, we conducted a microscopic analysis of the state of preservation of characteristic lithic artefacts. This showed possibilities of linking specific states of preservation of flint surfaces with a generalised chronology of the Stone Age and Bronze Age.

Middle Stone Age at Equatorial Guinea: Technical and use-wear analysis of lithic bifacial points

Lithic industries during the Upper Pleistocene in Equatorial Guinea may be broadly included in the Central African Middle Stone Age (MSA) Lupemban tradition. However, these industries present certain particularities related to their raw materials, and stone-knapping sequences. In the case of bifacial tools, bifacial points are commonly found with a cortical reserved proximal portion that keeps the cortex covering the base and part of both faces. Bifacial points made on thin stone slabs that keep the cortex on the center of one or both faces are also commonly found. This knapping technique gives the idea of unfinished preform artifacts. The edges, however, suggest that both points and other bifacial artifacts were used for some tasks. A sample of these tools was taken from the open-air Mabewele I site to decide whether the MSA points from Equatorial Guinea were finished artifacts, in spite of the preservation of their cortex. Petrographic studies and macro and microscopic analyses of the use-wear traces and residues from retouched edges were also performed. The analysis clearly shows that the Mabewele I bifacial artifacts were used for plant processing, among other activities. The results confirmed the fact that cortical reserved-base points with cortex on one or both faces were intentionally manufactured, finished tools, rather than unfinished preforms. The petrographic analysis also shows the schistous nature of raw material and explains the shape and stepped edges of bifacial knives, extending our understanding of the unique technical characteristics of the MSA in Equatorial Guinea. It also provides new insights into some of the hunter-gatherer's subsistence strategies in the Central African tropical rainforest at the end of the Pleistocene.

Palaeolithic innovations in response to faunal fluctuations

Animal acquisition, butchering and processing was a crucial activity continuum in the subsistence of Lower Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers bolstered by a persistent Acheulian stone toolkit. Scrapers, bifaces, flakes and other Acheulian implements were successfully used during carcass manipulation, entailing functional compatibility with the prey taxa to be processed. Major changes to the Acheulian butchery toolkit occurred in the late Lower Palaeolithic Levant, with the introduction of novel lithic trajectories stemming from anchored Acheulian traditions. This paper presents two late Acheulian innovations: Quina-like scrapers and flat bifacial knives. Both tool types emerge at a different pace and are rarely recognised in Acheulian contexts. However, numerous fully-fledged Quina scrapers used for butchery and hide working are characteristic of the proceeding Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex in the Levant, where they are supplemented by a limited number of flat bifaces. Changes to local faunal communities, marked by a decline in megaherbivore availability, may have accelerated the introduction of a new set of butchery implements oriented towards effective processing of smaller-sized ungulates, a habitual Acheulo-Yabrudian subsistence pattern. Dependency on animal-induced calories and underlaying human–animal relationships may have facilitated the development of new butchery implements acting as ‘mediators’ between humans and their preferred prey. The gradual emergence of new butchery tools may signal the practical and ontological adaptability of late Lower Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers to new ecological conditions and trophic interactions in a time of shifting faunal communities and highlight the paramount role of human–animal relationships in Lower Palaeolithic cultural evolution.

Evolution of Ancient Egyptian Bifacial Flint Knives

Bifacial knives are a significant category of artefacts known from ancient Egypt, drawing the attention of researchers since the beginnings of Egyptology. A popular type of knife with a well-defined handle was produced from the Early Dynastic onwards. Bifacial knives were crucial in many aspects of life. The knives from the site of Tell el-Murra, located in the North-Eastern part of the Nile Delta, are no exception. The chronology of the site dates back to the Predynastic period and lasts to the end of the Old Kingdom. There are two main groups identified amongst the bifacial knives: the first one dated to the Early Dynastic period and the second to the Old Kingdom. Both of them have some specific features which allow them to be assigned to their proper chronological phases.

Exploring the Manufacture of Bifacial Stone Tools from the Middle Rio Negro Basin, Uruguay: An Experimental Approach

ABSTRACTThe Río Negro is the most important inner fluvial course of the Uruguay Republic. Along its basin, the archaeological record is characterized by flaked stone tools of remarkable workmanship. As part of a long-term experimental program to explore and understand diverse aspects of lithic technologies from the Americas, this paper reports an experiment devoted to reproducing carefully reduced bifacial knives to explore the techniques and stages of manufacture from obtaining the blank to the finished product. Resulting from the experiment a reduction sequence manufacturing model is proposed. It takes into account the techniques, flaking implements, stages of manufacture and other significant data useful to discuss topics related to the traditional technological knowledge involved in the manufacturing process of the studied bifaces. In light of this investigation, various issues related to the reduction trajectory reflected in the archaeological record are discussed.

LITHIC ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION AT LA LAGUNA, TLAXCALA

AbstractSite-wide, assemblage-based lithic analyses help to elucidate community dynamics including variability in domestic economies, technological skill and decision making, exchange networks, and ritual practices. In this study we present the results of an analysis of over 36,000 lithic artifacts from the site of La Laguna, Tlaxcala. We compare Middle to Late Formative period (ca. 600–400b.c.) and Terminal Formative period (ca. 100b.c.–a.d.150) deposits to examine transformations associated with urbanization and state formation during this interval. The residents of La Laguna had relatively equal and ample access to obsidian, and most production was organized independently by households. We identify blade production zones and variability in consumption patterns suggestive of different domestic, communal, and ceremonial activities. The introduction of bloodletters, elaborate large bifacial knives, and zoomorphic eccentrics to the Terminal Formative assemblage may indicate the emergence of higher statuses, new social roles, and militaristic symbolism during this period.

Early Hunter-Gatherer Tool Use and Animal Exploitation: Protein and Microwear Evidence from the Central Savannah River Valley

AbstractResults of protein residue and lithic microwear analyses are reported for Paleoindian and Early Archaic stone tools from a Carolina bay sand rim on the Aiken Plateau of South Carolina, USA. Protein residue analysis is performed using crossover Immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP), and indicates positive results for Bovidae, Cervidae, Galliformes, and Meleagris gallopavo. These results are complemented by a larger immunological study of 135 diagnostic hafted bifaces from South Carolina and Georgia. Among other species identified, bovid residue was found on multiple Paleoindian hafted bifaces, an Early Archaic hafted biface, and a Middle Archaic hafted biface. Results suggest continuity of species selection and availability across the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary and provide no support for the exploitation of extinct fauna. The data do provide compelling evidence for a demographic shift and/or regional extirpation of Bovidae possibly as late as the early mid-Holocene in the Southeast. In addition, microwear analysis of artifacts from Flamingo Bay indicate intensive hide scraping, antler boring, bone graving/planing/pointing, wood whittling, and hafting traces. Microwear data suggest intentional snap-fracture or bipolarization of exhausted or broken Clovis points for reuse as hide scrapers, and use of large bifacial knives and unifacial scrapers in intensive defleshing activities consistent with large animal butchery.

Holocene paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and geoarchaeological significance of the Sheikh El-Obeiyid area (Farafra Oasis, Egypt)

The present paper focuses on the combination of archaeological and geological data sets in order to obtain a synthesis of Holocene occupational and environmental history in the Sheikh El-Obeiyid region of the Farafra Depression, Egypt. In this region, the Epipalaeolithic and Saharan Pastoral Neolithic sites are distributed along different landscape elements of the Sheikh El-Obeiyid Plateau, escarpment and Bir El-Obeiyid Depression, respectively. Three phases of playa formation were recorded at the Bir El-Obeiyid basin and at the top of the Sheikh Obeiyid Plateau, corresponding to humid conditions during the early–mid Holocene. The 14C dates obtained from the excavated hearths at Sheikh El-Obeiyid indicate the presence of three occupation phases, confirmed by the different characteristics of the lithic assemblages and playa generations: PI, PII, and PIII. Early Holocene occupation is associated with lithic artefacts of high blade and microlithic index and backed retouched tools. The Middle Holocene is represented by two occupations: the early and late middle Holocene. The former is linked with bifacial knives, gouges, discoidal side scrapers, tools with foliated retouch, and lens-shaped arrowheads. The last horizon points to a final Middle Holocene exploitation phase of the area, probably by small groups of herders who periodically visited the region when the climate had already started to deteriorate. The Sheikh El-Obeiyid Village lies on the second erosion surface of the Northern Plateau. It is characterised by 30 circular or elliptical structures, of various sizes, grouped together and located near the edge of the terrace, commanding the Bir El-Obeiyid playa below. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal recovered from the structures indicates that the village was used between 7930 ± 123 and 7930 ± 144 cal. BP.

A Technological Evaluation of the Flint Blade-Core Reduction Sequence at Wadi El-Sheikh, Middle Egypt

During the summer of 2006, the authors had the opportunity to visit portions of the extensive flint quarries found associated with Wadi el-Sheikh near El-Minya, Middle Egypt. The subject of little formal study, these impressive quarries extend for several kilometers in the northern portion of the wadi and likely were used since prehistoric times. Initial evidence suggests that these quarries, where millions of flint blades and bifacial knives were produced, were at the height of their production activities during the Pharaonic periods. A cursory technological lithic analysis onsite has allowed for a preliminary interpretation of what appears to have been a common reduction sequence for the production of flint blade-cores used at the quarries. The current model for this flint reduction process is presented here.

The Donovan Site (5LO204): An Upper Republican Animal Processing Camp on the High Plains

The Donovan site (5LO204) is a Late Prehistoric animal processing campsite located in northeastern Colorado. The site has been extensively excavated by the University of Wyoming High Plains Archaeology Project since 1992. Containing at least 11 stratified occupation surfaces dating between about A.D. 1000 and 1300, Donovan represents a frequently visited western expansion of the Upper Republican phase of the Central Plains tradition. Material culture includes thousands of fragmented bison bones, lithic debitage, diagnostic ceramics, side-notched projectile points, and bifacial knives. Long thought to represent the activities of either indigenous High Plains occupants or central Plains hunting parties, this site and others on the western High Plains provide evidence for the complex interactions between foraging and farming communities on the Plains.

Evidence for Late Paleoindian Ritual from the Caradoc Site (AfHj-104), Southwestern Ontario, Canada

The Caradoc site, dating ca. 10,500 to 10,000 B.P., provides a rare glimpse of sacred ritual among the earliest well-documented inhabitants of the Americas. It is a kind of site never before reported, where the majority of the artifacts have been purposefully broken or sacrificed. The site yielded 302, mainly chert, lithic fragments that fit together to form at least 71 artifacts. The material includes an unfluted concave-based point, three bifacial knives, 31 unfinished bifaces, 27 unifaces and nine non-siliceous items. Distributional analyses indicate that: 1) the material was initially spread over an area of as much as 12 m2; 2) the items were constrained in their distribution and could have been in a structure; and 3) the artifacts were broken at the location where they were found.

The Donnelly Ridge Site and the Definition of an Early Core and Blade Complex in Central Alaska

AbstractExcavations carried out at the site of Donnelly Ridge in central Alaska have led to the delineation of an early core and blade culture which includes the Campus site and two sites previously excavated on the Teklanika River to the west. Sites of the Denali complex are linked by distinctive microblade cores, core tablets and microblades derived from the latter, large blades, biconvex bifacial knives, certain end-scraper forms, a distinctive burin type, and other traits. The clearest affiliations of the Denali complex are with a series of late Upper Palaeolithic sites west of Lake Baikal, but relationships may be seen with sites in Hokkaido and Kamchatka as well. The bearers of this culture probably entered Alaska prior to the final submergence of the Bering land bridge.