Lithic Implements Research Articles

Traceological analysis of “unusual” wear traces on lithic artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic site Inden-Altdorf and the functional context of the site

Inden-Altdorf in western Germany revealed the first open-site habitation features with associated hearths and stone tools for the Middle Palaeolithic in Central Europe. Various dating methods place the site into an earlier phase of MIS 5, between ca. 120–100 ka, and the time of early Neanderthals in Europe. Use-wear and residue analysis demonstrated that various activities using different materials were undertaken at the camp, including hafting/retooling, multiple tool use and complex, multi-stage tasks. Numerous lithic artefacts were implements attached to hafts. Residues found on those implements were identified as remains of an organic adhesive, likely birch pitch, that was used for the fixation of the lithic implements. This report describes and discusses selected artefacts from the Micoquian camp site of Inden-Altdorf that underwent microwear analysis. In addition to more commonly observed use-wear traces on Middle Palaeolithic artefacts like those deriving from the working of hides, bone, wood or antler, several artefacts from Inden-Altdorf exhibited some rather ‘unusual’ traces which are rarely reported from such contexts in central Europe. Several activity zones could be identified by combining the spatial distribution data of artefacts with microwear analysis giving further evidence to the function of Inden-Altdorf as a camp. The results of the study indicate a high cognitive level and the ability for constructive planning of the hominins of Altdorf, ca. 100 ka.

Quantifying Oldowan Stone Tool Production at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

Recent research suggests that variation exists among and between Oldowan stone tool assemblages. Oldowan variation might represent differential constraints on raw materials used to produce these stone implements. Alternatively, variation among Oldowan assemblages could represent different methods that Oldowan producing hominins utilized to produce these lithic implements. Identifying differential patterns of stone tool production within the Oldowan has implications for assessing how stone tool technology evolved, how traditions of lithic production might have been culturally transmitted, and for defining the timing and scope of these evolutionary events. At present there is no null model to predict what morphological variation in the Oldowan should look like. Without such a model, quantifying whether Oldowan assemblages vary due to raw material constraints or whether they vary due to differences in production technique is not possible. This research establishes a null model for Oldowan lithic artifact morphological variation. To establish these expectations this research 1) models the expected range of variation through large scale reduction experiments, 2) develops an algorithm to categorize archaeological flakes based on how they are produced, and 3) statistically assesses the methods of production behavior used by Oldowan producing hominins at the site of DK from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania via the experimental model. Results indicate that a subset of quartzite flakes deviate from the null expectations in a manner that demonstrates efficiency in flake manufacture, while some basalt flakes deviate from null expectations in a manner that demonstrates inefficiency in flake manufacture. The simultaneous presence of efficiency in stone tool production for one raw material (quartzite) and inefficiency in stone tool production for another raw material (basalt) suggests that Oldowan producing hominins at DK were able to mediate the economic costs associated with stone tool procurement by utilizing high-cost materials more efficiently than is expected and low-cost materials in an inefficient manner.

The oldest Hoabinhian technocomplex in Asia (43.5 ka) at Xiaodong rockshelter, Yunnan Province, southwest China

The Hoabinhian is the most representative technocomplex in Southeast Asian prehistory for the later hunter–gatherer period. As a mainland technology based exclusively on seasonal tropical environments, this core-tool culture was previously defined in northern Vietnam in 1932 and characterized originally by its large, flat and long, largely unifacial cobble tools associated with tropical forest fauna. The recent discoveries and dates obtained at Xiaodong rockshelter in Yunnan Province (southwest China) allow us to discuss the origin and the homeland of this singular Asian technocomplex which spread to Southeast Asia during the end of the Late Upper Pleistocene. Here we present the first Chinese Hoabinhian lithic implements in their stratigraphic and chronological context within a rockshelter site, and we address the question of the dispersal of modern humans from South China to Southeast Asia.

Palaeoloxodon exploitation at the Middle Pleistocene site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Italy)

The site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Central Italy) clearly documents a close connection between elephant remains and the subsistence strategies of human beings. A carcass of a straight-tusked elephant was recently discovered in sediments that represent the edge of a former swampy area. Some limbs are still in anatomical connection and the skeleton is associated with a lithic industry that, according to taphonomic data, was produced in situ. The spatial distribution of elephant bones, exceptionally well preserved because of the characteristics of the sediment, allows hypothesizing the dynamics of death and burial. The almost complete articulated skeleton lies gently bent on its left side, though the anterior and posterior limbs maintain a nearly standing position. The forelimbs are pointing slightly downward. The left hind limb is stretched, while the knee of the right one is bent downward with the foot sole facing up. The anatomical connection of the bones association excludes any fluvial transport, even though some skeletal elements, such as vertebrae, ribs, pelvis, and scapulae are missing. The carcass belongs to an adult Palaeoloxodon antiquus as suggested by the morphological and biometric characteristics of molariform teeth and long bones. A large quantity of lithic tools was recovered around the carcass, mainly along its right side. The presence of more than six hundred lithic implements (cores, tools, flakes, and working debris), some of them presenting wear traces indicating their use on soft animal tissues (meat and hide) and associated with the elephant skeleton, documents human activity related to the exploitation of the carcass by scavenging. The lithic industry, on small flint pebbles, was produced at the site as indicated by the refitting and by the presence of working debris, and indicates very simple chaînes opératoires. Traces of intentional fracturing on the femurs, evidence the exploitation on the elephant carcass by humans. A marrow extraction and the procurement of raw material for the production of bone tools are also documented by various remains found in sediments deposited during both fluvial and palustrine phases.

Characterising the exploitation of avian resources: An experimental combination of lithic use-wear, residue and taphonomic analyses

Pilot experiments involving the butchering of bird carcasses and the use of non-retouched flint flakes were performed. The executed actions comprised skinning and defeathering various avifaunal species (Circaetus gallicus and Gyps fulvus). The main aim of this experimental programme was to document the use-wear on flint implements employed in the treatment of the avifaunal carcasses in order to help researchers identify this activity in the archaeological record. An additional focus of this study concerned the experimental organic residues (soft tissue and feathers) associated with the bird species used in the experiments. For each residue type, a detailed chemical elemental analysis and morphological characterisation were performed, with the aim of creating an experimental database for comparison with the micro-residues that will potentially be found on archaeological stone tools. For microscopic observations, we employed both Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Optical Light Microscopy (OLM). A detailed description of the use-wear features and residue types was achieved through a systematic comparison of micrographs taken with both techniques. In addition, EDS (energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy) was applied to determine the elemental composition of the residues. Taphonomic analysis of the bones of the carcasses used in the experimental programme was performed with the principal aim of comparing the distribution of cut marks on bones with the use-wear pattern on the lithic implements employed. Future developments of our research will improve the methodology by expanding the experimental programme and by applying it to archaeological collections (at sites where the processing of these kinds of animals has already been identified).

Assessment of the Acheulean in Southern Italy: New study on the Atella site (Basilicata, Italy)

In this research, still at a preliminary stage, we have studied the lithic assemblage of Cimitero di Atella site (Basilicata, Southern Italy) with a technological and techno-functional approach, never applied to this material before. Previously, lithic implements were principally classified with a typological methodological approach. This site was ascribed to the Lower Acheulean, even if large tools found in situ are very few and not properly bifacially worked. This new analysis allowed us to note the presence of technical recurrences both in production and tool formation. The results have been consequently compared with those concerning other similar and almost coeval sites, finding many analogies in production strategies, but also some differences mainly due to shape and quality of the raw material. We underline the great scientific potential of this site and the whole area of the Atella basin, which can surely be included in the large debate on the first peopling of Europe and the diffusion of the bifacial technology.

The larger mammal palimpsest from TK (Thiongo Korongo), Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Ever since Mary Leakey's initial excavations in the 1960s, TK (Thiongo Korongo) has been recognized as one of Olduvai Gorge's most important Acheulean sites. The significant concentrations of lithics and fauna reported by Mary Leakey have been augmented in recent years by Santonja et al., who argue that human activities appear to be largely related to the manufacture of lithic implements. In contrast, the faunal remains have been interpreted to be of uncertain origin, and their anthropogenic nature remains in question. This paper presents new data on the formation of the TK bone accumulation. Our results reveal a diverse list of taxa, many of which reflect open habitats. Only limited evidence of anthropogenic activity is documented.

Blades, bladelets and flakes: A case of variability in tool design at the dawn of the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy

Neanderthals left diverse sets of cultural evidence just before the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe. Within this evidence, the production of lithic implements plays a key role in detecting possible affiliations (or lack thereof) with the techno-complexes that occurred during the few millennia before the large-scale spread of the Proto-Aurignacian. This crucial phase has also been recorded in the North of Italy, where around 44–45 ky cal BP, the last Neanderthals were still using the Levallois knapping technique, in common with the technology adopted at several sites in the central Mediterranean region. A similar picture is seen at the Grotta di Fumane, which provides the evidence presented in this paper. The production technology employed produced different levels of variability with respect to the production of blades, sometimes pointed, and the use of recurrent centripetal flaking at the end of the reduction sequence, in addition to bladelet and Discoidal volumetric structures. This variability does not outweigh the dominant tendency towards the use of elongated Levallois blanks and other by-products for shaping into basic retouched tools such as simple or convergent scrapers and points. A break from this apparently well-rooted use of the unipolar Levallois method is recorded in the Uluzzian where, instead, flakes and cores were made using the centripetal modality.

Hafted armatures and multi-component tool design at the Micoquian site of Inden-Altdorf, Germany

Excavation of the Micoquian site Inden-Altdorf (Weisweiler-124) near the former German capital Bonn in western Germany has revealed the first valid open-site habitation features with hut-like structures and associated hearths for the Middle Palaeolithic in Central Europe. It has been dated to the Eemian interglacial (OIS 5e), a warm interglacial between 128 and 115 ka BP. Various wear traces and especially organic residues have been detected on a large number of stone tools using microscopic use-wear analysis of lithics recovered from the site. A multi-level analysis developed through an experimental framework and archaeological study using optical light microscopes, scanning electron microscopes and energy-dispersive X-ray microprobes identified the adhering residues as birch pitch. Birch pitch is the oldest synthetically produced material and was used as an adhesive to attach lithic implements to wooden shafts. While such hafting technology is commonly associated with modern humans in the Upper Palaeolithic, the birch pitch residues found on the Micoquian tools of Inden-Altdorf suggest that hafting technologies and the frequent use of multi-component tools already existed in the Middle Palaeolithic, c. 120 ka BP in central Europe.

Interpretation of lithic remains in fluvial terrace contexts: an example from Central Portugal

Interpretation of lithic remains in fluvial terrace contexts : an example from Central Portugal. Archaeological remains, mainly lithic artefacts, are recovered in quaternary fluvial deposits all around the world. Fluvial systems are dynamic and diversified ; the same goes for their deposits, thus differentially affecting the implements found. The deposits, coexisting at the same time, are correlated to different lithologies, from the coarsest of the channel fillings (pebbles, gravels and sands) to the finest of the floodplain sediments (silts). During a fluvial sedimentary cycle, water energy can change, with repercussion on deposit formation, position of lithic remains and their physical alteration. In order to define a taphonomy of archaeological remains, the geoarchaeological understanding of these implements has to be based on an accurate characterization of the deposits along with a detailed record of artefact orientation and observation of physical alteration. We aim to discuss these issues by referring to the Middle and Late Pleistocene archaeological site of Ribeira da Ponte da Pedra, where we identified lithic implements in several different fluvial depositional morphologies. Preliminary geoarchaeological interpretation allows us to define five archaeological contexts formed by different alluvial processes.

Early Paleolithic of Korolevo site (Transcarpathia, Ukraine)

The most ancient in situ Palaeolithic industries in Ukraine are known from the multi-layer Palaeolithic site of Korolevo in Transcarpathia, along the Tisza River. The Korolevo site was excavated from 1974 to the early 1990s. The Palaeolithic artefacts were related to a complex loess–palaeosol succession on top of a volcanic mount above the present-day alluvial plain. In the eastern sector (Beyvar), abundant lithic implements were collected in various excavation areas, but the loess–palaeosol succession was often limited or discontinuous. In the northern sector (Gostry Verkh) the loess–palaesol sequence reached a total thickness of 14 m, although the Palaeolithic assemblages were poorly documented. Huge Middle and Early Palaeolithic collections were mainly produced on local raw material (andesite). At Gostry Verkh, the reference stratigraphic sequence of Korolevo encompasses a complex succession of loamy units alternating with seven palaeosols. The Brunhes–Matuyama boundary was fixed at the base of palaeosol VII. The 15 cultural-chronological complexes were further positioned within the pedosedimentary sequence, taking into account their inferred stratigraphic background as well as the degree of weathering of the lithics. The earliest assemblages were distributed respectively in the upper part of palaeosol VII (complex VI) and within the alluvial deposits prior to the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary (complexes VII and VIII). A new section opened at Gostry Verkh has allowed a complementary reading of the sequence. In this way, the reproducibility of the main pedosedimentary units previously described could be tested, as well as the presence of reversed magnetisation. Palaeoclimatic analysis of the sequence has been improved by micromorphological analysis of the main pedological units. The new research also aimed at providing better control of the stratigraphic positioning of the cultural assemblages. Consequently, five Middle and Early Paleolithic assemblages were discarded, including complex VIII, as their situation regarding the local pedosedimentary context is poorly documented. At present in Korolevo, only levels VI and VII were determined to be Early Paleolithic.

La place de la pierre dans l'Âge de la pierre: la perspective de la documentation dans la recherche du Paléolithique

Abstract : How much does the stone of the Stone Age matter ? The perspective of the archaeological record on the Palaeolithic research Prehistoric archaeology researches usually face the difficult challenge of random and heavily fragmented data, which persuades a rather materialist approach, especially when it comes to Palaeolithic studies. The latter are typically reduced to more or less imaginative or sophisticated interpretations of the lithic samples, so that the entire chronological and cultural Palaeolithic framework stands on the grounds of lithic implements characteristics. Furthermore, the narrow perspective induced by the lithic data is more often than not used to infer the general cognitive, social and cultural features of the Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. Questioning the standard view on human technology as adaptive, the paper consequently cast into doubt the relative importance of the lithic toolkits during the Palaeolithic and asks for a more socially informed perspective on technological behaviours. As the authors argue, the complexity of the past technological systems cannot and should not be reduced to the variability expressed in a single set of behaviours (i. e. lithic technology). They paper advocates an integrated approach, able to incorporate all the categories of archaeological information.

A New Cultural Frontier for the Last Neanderthals: The Uluzzian in Northern Italy

The Middle–Upper Paleolithic shift was a crucial event intimately involved in Neanderthal biogeography and the patchy scenario that emerges from the last marked cultural and behavioral evolution our extinct relatives underwent during the interval 50‐30 k.yr. BP. In Mediterranean Europe, this behavior, considered modern, gave rise to the Uluzzian, a cultural complex confined to central‐southern Italy and Greece as a consequence of the supposed retreat of archaic humans in the face of the rapid diffusion of Homo sapiens. The recent discovery of dwelling structures and lithic implements at Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy redraws this scenario and depicts at 33.4 k.yr. BP the northernmost frontier to which the Uluzzian spread around the Great Adriatic Plain, a pivotal region near the western edge of the Middle Danube basin, where the last Neanderthals were using very different cultural items.

Chaînes opératoires and resource-exploitation strategies in chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes) nut cracking

We apply archaeological methods to extend our knowledge of chimpanzee material culture. The chaîne opératoire conceptual framework, as introduced by ethnography, established technology as a phased process. Prehistoric archaeology adopted this concept to elucidate technological variability in tool-making procedures, based on knowledge of tool functions or subsistence patterns. We focused on the detection of operational sequences by wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes verus) when nut cracking with lithic implements at the sites of Bossou and Diecké, Guinea, West Africa. Thus, while it has recently been claimed that chimpanzees leave behind recognizable assemblages of stone hammers that can be morphologically distinguished from Oldowan hammers, this is the first study to focus specifically on the existence of operational sequences during the utilization of stone tools by wild chimpanzees. By combining primatological and archaeological methods and examining ecological areas inhabited by different chimpanzee groups, we sought technological variability and identified variables influencing regional diversity in tool typology and technology. We compared three case studies: (1) Bossou—direct recording of experimental nut-cracking sessions; (2) Bossou— direct and indirect monitoring of nut-cracking sites in the wild; (3) Diecké—indirect monitoring of nut-cracking sites in the wild. Results suggest that chimpanzees perform sequences of repeated tool transport and nut cracking. Data show discrimination of tool functions based on tool features. We identified the most technologically complex tool for nut cracking, which was composed of four stones. We found regional diversity in chimpanzee stone assemblages. Raw-material type and tool mobility constrain technological development in human and nonhuman primates. Spatial analysis of tool distribution indicates a pattern of resource-exploitation strategy, revealing affinities with Oldowan.

A New Cultural Frontier for the Last Neanderthals: The Uluzzian in Northern Italy

The Middle–Upper Paleolithic shift was a crucial event intimately involved in Neanderthal biogeography and the patchy scenario that emerges from the last marked cultural and behavioral evolution our extinct relatives underwent during the interval 50‐30 k.yr. BP. In Mediterranean Europe, this behavior, considered modern, gave rise to the Uluzzian, a cultural complex confined to central‐southern Italy and Greece as a consequence of the supposed retreat of archaic humans in the face of the rapid diffusion of Homo sapiens. The recent discovery of dwelling structures and lithic implements at Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy redraws this scenario and depicts at 33.4 k.yr. BP the northernmost frontier to which the Uluzzian spread around the Great Adriatic Plain, a pivotal region near the western edge of the Middle Danube basin, where the last Neanderthals were using very different cultural items.

Lithic Implements and the Circulationof Raw Materials in the Great Hungarian Plain During the Late Neolithic Period

Lithic Implements and the Circulationof Raw Materials in the Great Hungarian Plain During the Late Neolithic Period

Katalin T. Biró, Lithic Implements and the Circulation of Raw Materials in the Great Hungarian Plain During the Late Neolithic Period. (Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 1998, 350 pp., ISBN 9–6390–4620–5, £10.00, hbk)

Katalin T. Biró, Lithic Implements and the Circulation of Raw Materials in the Great Hungarian Plain During the Late Neolithic Period. (Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 1998, 350 pp., ISBN 9–6390–4620–5, £10.00, hbk) - Volume 4 Issue 1

Human population groups and the distribution of lithic arrowheads in the Arabian Gulf

The distribution of lithic implements in the Arabian Gulf suggests two regions, each using a specific set of tools. It is argued here that this distinct pattern is the result of relations on various levels between several human population groups and not solely of ecological adaptions. Consequently, these contacts between indigenous groups might be held responsible, among others, for distributing goods, like‘Ubaid pottery, initially brought along by Mesopotamian visitors from the Central Gulf down to the Lower Gulf.

Edge Modification as an Indicator of Function and Handedness of Acheulian Handaxes from Kariandusi, Kenya

There has been a welcome change in recent years away from classifying lithic implements on purely morphological and stylistic criteria an a much greater interest in, for example, the pro cesses by which they were manufactured and a greater recognition that most deliberately pro duced artifacts were intended for a functional use or uses (Compton & Gowlett 1993; Wynn 1995, Clark 1996). The more carefully and laboriously produced the object, the more likely that energy was invested in manufacture in anticipation of a functional return. Wherever it is possible to do so, it is informative to consider the functional aspects of major artifact classes, e.g., the capacities of ceramic vessels, the relationships of handaxes to hands. With this aim in mind, an assessment was made of a collection of so-called Chellean and Acheulian artifacts recovered in 1931 from the site of Kariandusi, Kenya, and reported briefly by L.S.B. Leakey (1931:34-47).

An analysis of prehistoric greenstone artifacts in Northeast Alabama

AbstractLithic artifacts consisting of celts, atlatls, pipes, knives, scrapers, and ceremonial placards were excavated from 54 archaeological sites throughout four counties of northeast Alabama. An analysis of mineralogy, texture, and structure of the lithic implements was employed. Samples were studied visually and microscopically by thin section. Rock samples indigenous to the study area were also examined and compared to the artifacts to determine similarities and differences. All artifacts analyzed were formed from meta‐morphic rock types derived from outcrops ranging from less than 1 km to 60 km away from a respective archaeological site. Variance in mineralogy was notable; however, the most significant difference was in the texture and internal structure of the minerals within the artifacts. A total of 50 lithic samples were ultimately accepted as actual worked artifacts. Forty‐one (82%) exhibit a texture, structure, and mineralogy indicative of the Hillabee (Greenstone Schist) Formation, while nine (18%) exhibit physical characteristics indicative of the Heflin Phyllite. Trade and migration routes with minimum distances to known outcrops hosting rocktypes most indicative of the artifacts collected from these prehistoric camps and villages are inferred. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.