Lithic Industry Research Articles

Colorimetric characterization of ochres in a Palaeolithic flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, Latium, Italy

The flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, a mountain near Velletri (South-East of Rome), is one of the earliest complex artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic of the Colli Albani possibly displaying a symbolic/artistic value. It has been used as a stone-striker and retoucher, to create or modify lithic implements. It shows a diffuse and intense ochreous colour on almost half of its surface. Here we discuss the results of an innovative colorimetric approach to define the use of pigments in the area during the Upper Palaeolithic and eventually compare the raw materials with local supplies. Second-derivative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, a data treatment on colorimetric data used since the 1980s in the characterization of soils, for the first time is here applied to the lithic industry, to characterize and quantify the presence of yellow and red ochres, found in mixture on the surface. We used both a colorimeter and a fibre optic reflectance spectrometer (FORS) and then compared the results to assess their efficiency and define a protocol useful for future investigations on lithic tools. Colorimetric results can lead to an easier estimation of the redness rating, which represents the relative content of hematite and goethite, independently on the level of expertise of the operator. FORS data were more suitable to determine the variation of the inflection point in the reflectance curves. Both techniques showed that in all the points analysed on the flint pebble there is a mixture of yellow and red ochre, possibly reflecting the exploitation of the surrounding area during the Final Pleistocene.

Stone projectiles at Grotta di Pozzo (Italy). Results of a macro-fractures analysis

Grotta di Pozzo is a small cave at 720 m asl and 42° N in the Apennine range of Abruzzo (Central Italy), formerly opening on the edge of a now drained large lake, the Lake Fucino. The archaeological sequence starts on the top of a fluvial-lacustrine deposit at 23,000 cal. BP, with layers including lithic industry of the Early Epigravettian. Later on, from 15,500 cal. BP and up to 14,000 cal. BP, the lithics belong to the Final Epigravettian. Previous zooarchaeological analysis provided evidence of the seasonal hunting of chamois, followed by ibex and red deer, as well as marmot and black grouse, while trout eventually became another important food resource. Here we analyse the lithic industry in order to identify the projectile points using analysis under the microscope coupled with access to a reference collection and with experimental training. We conclude that microlithic backed tools were definitely projectile points, as widely assumed in the case of the Epigravettian but rarely confirmed by focused investigation. Furthermore, use-wears due to hafting suggest that after the Last Glacial Maximum the hunting gear possibly included complex weapons in the mountain environment of the Central Apennine.

Expansion of eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic into the desert region in early marine isotopic stage 5

Marine Isotopic Stage 5 is associated with wetter climatic conditions in the Saharo-Arabian deserts. This stage also corresponds to the establishment of Middle Paleolithic hominins and their associated material culture in two geographical provinces in southwest Asia—the Eastern Mediterranean woodland and the Arabian Peninsula desert. The lithic industry of the Eastern Mediterranean is characterized by the centripetal Levallois method, whereas the Nubian Levallois method characterizes the populations of the Arabian desert. The Negev Desert, situated between these regions is a key area to comprehend population movement in correlation to climatic zones. This investigation addresses the nature of the Middle Paleolithic settlement in the Negev Desert during MIS 5 by studying the site of Nahal Aqev. High resolution chronological results based on luminescence dating and cryptotephra show the site was occupied from MIS 5e to MIS 5d. The lithic industries at Nahal Aqev are dominated by centripetal Levallois core method. These data demonstrate that Nahal Aqev is much closer in its cultural attributes to the Eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic than to the Arabian Desert entity. We conclude that Nahal Aqev represents an expansion of Middle Paleolithic groups from the Mediterranean woodland into the desert, triggered by better climatic conditions. These groups possibly interacted with hominin groups bearing the Nubian core tradition from the vast region of Arabia.

The beginning of the Beuronian with segments at Balagny-sur-Thérain (Oise, France)

Summary. The rescue excavation of the Balagny-sur-Thérain habitat site (Oise, France) was conducted in 2015. Located within the alluvial plain of the Thérain, two sectors were excavated, covering a total area of 441 m². Despite a compacted stratigraphic sequence, the layer of remains, composed of lithic pieces and some bone fragments, is remarkably well-preserved with little post-depositional disruption. Radiocarbon measurements, as well as the other analyses performed make it possible to assign the occupation to a specific lithic industry with a chronological attachment: the segment and projectile point industry, whose lithic reduction sequence includes the modification of their bases. This complex is known in northern France (“Beuronien à segments” or Beuronian with segments) and is dated between 9200 and 8700 BP uncalibrated, i.e., between 8500 and 7500 cal. BC. The excavation and study of these concentrations of material culture, which are spatially close to one another, is part of ongoing and current research on the paleoethnology and mobility of these Mesolithic groups. Balagny-sur-Thérain also documents the first part of the Beuronian with segments period, and reveals some emerging particularities relative to the projectile points. Finally, the discovery of one such fragment within a boar bone illustrates hunting activities in a concrete manner. This find is exceptional within the context of the Mesolithic period in France.

In situ-produced 10Be and 26Al indirect dating of Elarmékora Earlier Stone Age artefacts: first attempt in a savannah forest mosaic in the middle Ogooué valley, Gabon.

Discovered in 1988 by R. Oslisly and B. Peyrot, Elarmékora is a high terrace that, today, is situated 175 m above the Ogooué River in the historical complex of Elarmékora, attached to the Lopé National Park in Gabon, a World Heritage site since 2007. The site yielded a small lithic assemblage, including mainly cobble artefacts embedded within the 1 m thick alluvial material. Based on geomorphological and palaeoclimatological criteria, the preliminary dating suggested an age of 400 ka. However, Elarmékora could be a key site for Atlantic Central Africa if this lithic industry can be dated absolutely. In 2018 and 2019, two field trips were organized to collect surface samples as well as samples in vertical depth profiles with the aim of measuring their in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclide (10Be and 26Al) content. Results suggest a surface abandonment between 730 and 620 ka ago representing a minimum age for the cobble artefacts. Concurrently, technological reappraisal of the artefacts suggests an atypical lithic industry that should, for the moment, be considered as ‘undiagnostic’ Earlier Stone Age. This age bracketing may be compared with a similar age range obtained for prehistoric occupations in Angola using the same approach. This age will place Elarmékora among the oldest evidence for the presence of hominins in western Central Africa and raises the question of a ‘West Side Story’ to early human dispersals in Africa.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.

Ранние стадии верхнего палеолита бассейна Селенги: вариабельность каменной технологии, жизнеобеспечение и поселенческие системы

Northern Mongolia and southwest Transbaikalia, encompassing the Selenga River Basin, constitute the geographical core of the earliest known Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) laminar industries. Comparison of the broad spectrum of criteria presented here allows reconstructing variability within these IUP industries, determining regional traits in settlement systems, and the character of population mobility. Workshops were the main site-type identified, visible as several short-term occupational episodes. One of our foci is illuminating the role of the Selenga River Valley and its tributaries as the principal migration corridors for population diffusion in the Upper Paleolithic. Although some unique regional features are apparent, the technology and typology of the lithic industries demonstrate great similarity. We suggest that the cumulative evidence indicates the recent divergence of Mongolian and Transbaikalian IUP populations stemming from a common ancestral group of humans.

Nouveaux sites de gravures rupestres à Adrar N'Saras dans la haute vallée de l’Oued Sayyad à Taghjijt

This article is part of a series of research results that we have developed in the context of the preparation of a PhD thesis on human occupation in the upper valley of the Oued Sayyad during the Neolithic and Protohistory. These results consist in the discovery of new rock engraving sites in the region of Tainzert, in the commune of Taghjijt, in the region of Guelmim (Morocco). These sites contain a large number of engravings of various subjects, prehistoric burial mounds, shelters and archaeological finds, notably of lithic industry. This set of discoveries can add new archaeological data on the history of the region and the history of Morocco in general.

Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France.

Determining the extent of overlap between modern humans and other hominins in Eurasia, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, is fundamental to understanding the nature of their interactions and what led to the disappearance of archaic hominins. Apart from a possible sporadic pulse recorded in Greece during the Middle Pleistocene, the first settlements of modern humans in Europe have been constrained to ~45,000 to 43,000 years ago. Here, we report hominin fossils from Grotte Mandrin in France that reveal the earliest known presence of modern humans in Europe between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago. This early modern human incursion in the Rhône Valley is associated with technologies unknown in any industry of that age outside Africa or the Levant. Mandrin documents the first alternating occupation of Neanderthals and modern humans, with a modern human fossil and associated Neronian lithic industry found stratigraphically between layers containing Neanderthal remains associated with Mousterian industries.

Sites de surface du Paléolithique inférieur au sud-ouest de Tademaït : première approche morpho-technologique

In 2014, a mission in preventive archaeology is organized in the southwestern part of Tademaït. Archaeologists were able to confirm ancient traces of an important anthropisation of Saharan territories. The numerous discoveries of sites during the last century are confirmed by the new discoveries. The new surveys in the southwestern region of Tademaït conducted by the National Center for Archaeological Research and the GTIM oil group have led to the discovery of several prehistoric sites. Four zones (Zipper) have been selected to carry out a thorough prospection. Some sites have a rich concentration of lithic pieces on the surface, which, according to a preliminary assessment, can be attributed to the Paleolithic. The areas (Zipper 1, 2, 3 and 4) cover several km2 and provide an abundant lithic industry on the surface, the exposed face of which is highly patinated and the surface laid on the ground has kept its natural appearance. This observation suggests that these sites have been little disturbed since their establishment. Continued research in the field and the (future) programming of an excavation to study a site could provide new elements of understanding of the behavior of early hominids. For the moment, we propose a morpho-technological analysis of ancient pieces reported in the Lower Paleolithic (Oldowayen and Acheulean). The approach of all the sites studied in the southwest of Tademaït offers the first elements of reading to better understand the cognitive behavior of these hominids. Our study will shed light on the probable technical similarities with peripheral sites in the central Sahara and the first observations are presented in this text.

L’outillage façonné utilisé en percussion lancée du site paléolithique moyen du Bois de l’Hôpital (Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe, Tarn)

The preventive archaeological excavation of the Bois de l’Hôpital site (Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe, Tarn, France), between November 2015 and April 2016 (Bernard-Guelle et al. 2016), uncovered several archaeological layers dating back to the Upper Pleistocene set in an unprecedented/original context for the Tarn’s lower valley’s Middle Paleolithic. The main level (archeological unit UA3) displays a lithic industry mainly manufactured on quartz, sometimes quartzite or flint, related to a Mousterian technological complex. The product of anvil discoid and Levallois debitage technique, the tools made from flakes (mostly scrapers and denticulates) coexist with pebble tools. Rarely the subject of a detailed study – particularly in Mousterian collections – the pebble tools’ operating chain (chaîne opératoire) has been described, functional purposes included. This technological, morphological and functional analysis identifies several tool groups and is able to link some of them to specific mode of action on material, comparing them with an experimental data repository. The study of the macro-tools from archaeological unit UA3 emphasizes: 1) their high proportion among the tools; 2) an important structural variety among those specific tools; and that 3) most of them are consistent with a cast percussion motion, possibly related to bone-fracturing process. These results prompt us to continue developing the technological and morphological analysis of those tools, whose inherited or reinvested (compared to Lower Paleolithic technological complexes) or alleged functions seem to result in a lack of interest from the researchers. They call for the collection of more experimental data repositories in order to compare other quartz and quartzite macro-tools sets, often described in the Tarn basin during MIS5 and MIS3.

New zooarchaeological perspectives on the early Upper Paleolithic Rostamian sequence of Ghar-e Boof (southern Zagros Mountains, Iran)

Ghar-e Boof is a Paleolithic cave site in Iran, known for being the type locality for the early Upper Paleolithic (UP) Rostamian lithic industries. Defining the Rostamian cultural group has significant archaeological implications for the Zagros Mountains. First, it highlights the cultural diversity of the UP in the Zagros. Second, it evinces a more complex scenario for the spread of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) across Southwest Asia. Despite this, little is known about human subsistence strategies during the Rostamian. In this paper, we present the results of a zooarchaeological analysis that allows us to reconstruct prey choice, transport decisions, and carcass processing at Ghar-e Boof. Wild sheep/goat was the main prey at the site, but other taxa such as partridges, tortoises, and gazelles represented important dietary supplements. Mortality data indicate that Rostamian hunters primarily targeted prime-aged adult ungulates. Anatomical representation also shows that there was no selective transport of animal carcasses to the site, so hunting activities most likely took place nearby. Although many specimens in the assemblage were covered by thick concretions, the presence of cut marks demonstrates defleshing, filleting, dismemberment, and even the removal of internal organs of prey. Percussion impacts and cone fractures also suggest the processing of bones for marrow. Chronologically, moving from the oldest to the youngest layers, there is a decrease in large game in parallel with a progressive increase in small, fast-moving animals. Following the prey choice model of optimal foraging theory, this diachronic variation might track regional resource stress or an increase in hunting pressure. Our results, along with the analysis of lithic artifacts and changes in the rates of sedimentation during the Rostamian sequence, indicate an increase in occupation intensity through time. Thus, the archaeological record of Ghar-e Boof and the ubiquity of UP sites across the Dasht-e Rostam region most probably reflect population growth within a few millennia after the arrival of AMHs.

Late Holocene lithic points from a Southern Brazilian mound: The Pororó site

Most lithic industries associated with hunter-gatherergroups in Eastern South America, especially the ones with points present, date tothe Early Holocene, with some minor industries and lithic points typologiespersisting until the Middle Holocene and, more rarely, until the Late Holocene.This is the case for the Garivaldinense lithic industry associated pointstypologies. In this article we present the technological analysis of the pointsidentified at the Pororó site, located in central Rio Grande do Sul State,Brazil. The site is an artificial mound dated to around 2,500 BP. We applied anestablished protocol for analysis of stemmed points considering metric,morphological and technological features that allowed us to classify the artefactsin typologies. We identified two types of points associated to theGarivaldinense lithic industry: the Montenegro and Garivaldinense types. Wehave also identified a new type that has never been described before andproposed to refer to it as the Pororó type. At least one Pay Paso point wasidentified at the site, although this type of point is not yet known at other sitesof this region and chronology. The results indicate persistence of theGarivaldinense Culture from the Early to Late Holocene, as well astechnological innovation during the Late Holocene.

Characterization of the Obsidian Used in the Chipped Stone Industry in Kendale Hecala

Kendale Hecala is located on the Ambar River in the Upper Tigris Basin, province of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia. Various raw materials, including obsidian, radiolarite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, and quartzite, were used in the lithic industry. Obsidian artefacts constitute an average of 64% of the chipped stone assemblage. Technological analysis reveals that obsidian was brought to the settlement as nodules and chipped into various tools at the settlement. Understanding the operational sequence of the lithic industry, chaîne opératoire, including the distribution of raw material from source to site, is important to demonstrate the socio-cultural organization of the settlement in Southeastern Anatolia during the Ubaid period. In order to identify source varieties, the obsidian artefacts uncovered from Ubaid layers of Kendale Hecala were analyzed by macro-observations, and the characterization of archaeological samples was performed using a handheld XRF. Multivariate analysis of the data indicates the use of obsidian from different resources at the settlement, including Nemrut Dağ, Bingöl B, and Group 3d.

The Early Paleolithic Go Da Site and the Bifacial Lithic Industries of Southeast Asia

The lithic industry of the stratified site Go Da in Central Vietnam is described, and its place among the contemporaneous Early Paleolithic sites of East and Southeast Asia is determined. Results of a morphological technotypological analysis of the Go Da assemblage are provided. Go Da is attributed to the An Khe-type sites situated in the eponymous area of Vietnam. Cores and tools were made from pebbles, less often from fl akes. Primary reduction focused on simple pebble cores with natural striking-platforms, whereas radial cores were less common. Predom inant among the tools are picks, scrapers of various modifi cations, choppers, and chopping tools, as well as denticulate and notched tools; also, bifaces occur. These tools belong to a single homogeneous industry, showing common features in primary reduction, preparation, and design of key artifacts. On the basis of analysis of the stratigraphic sequence of Go Da and the absolute date of 806 ± 22 ka BP, generated by the potassium-argon analysis of tektites, it is proposed that the site is older than other dated locations with the An Khe industry. Apparently, it resulted from a convergent evolution of the pebble-fl ake industry introduced by the fi rst wave of Homo erectus from Africa. Go Da and other An Khe sites likely belong to a vast habitation zone of Southeast Asian hominins with technologically and typologically similar industries dating to the boundary between the Lower and the Middle Pleistocene.

Финальная стадия раннего верхнего палеолита Северной Монголии: каменная технология и региональные аналогии: Толбор-4, слои 4a и 4b

The article considers the lithic assemblage of archaeological horizon 4a of Tolbor 4 site in Northern Mongolia (excavation campaign of 2017) in the context of development of Early Upper Paleolithic lithic industries during MIS-3 stage. On the basis of radiocarbon dates, stratigraphic position and techno-typological features of lithic assemblage this complex along with the industry of archaeological horizon 4b of Tolbor 4 is classified as terminal Early Upper Paleolithic. Th is industry is characterized by predominantly flake-based orthogonal and small-blade unidirectional reduction techniques. Th e collection of complex 4a revealed a geometric microlith — trapeze, previously considered a characteristic feature of the late Upper Paleolithic of the region. It was determined that the Early Upper Paleolithic of Tolbor 4 archaeological complexes shows a smooth sequential evolution from the Initial Upper Paleolithic of Archaeological Horizon 5, through the terminal Early Upper Paleolithic of Horizon 4c/5 to the terminal Early Upper Paleolithic of Horizons 4b and 4a. The radiocarbon dates obtained allow the chronological framework of the Terminal Upper Paleolithic to be shifted closer to the lower boundary of the Last Glacial maximum. The Terminal Early Upper Paleolithic technocomplex defined on the basis of complexes 4a and 4b of Tolbor-4, as well as Archaeological Horizon 4 Kharganyn-gol-5 have undoubted cultural and/or stadial reminiscence with the lithic industries of the Kunaley culture of Russian Transbaikal.

The first lithic industry of mainland Southeast Asia: Evidence of the earliest hominin in a tropical context

Recent discoveries of ancient sites in mainland Southeast Asia confirm the presence of old lithic industries as early as 0.8 Ma, i.e., at the transition between the Early to Middle Pleistocene. Although these open-air sites still require geochronological and biostratigraphic precisions, they allow us to understand the oldest vestiges of human presence in the tropics and the technical orientations chosen by these hominins. This article aims to present an objective and critical synthesis of the material discovered at the main sites. Some sites in Cambodia and Thailand have been the subject of archaeological field missions by the Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères (MEAE). The diversity of lithic tool types and manufacture methods encountered from the Middle Pleistocene in peninsular Asia shows a technical variability that stands out as a counterexample to diffusionist hypotheses of a cultural fabrication inherited from the West. The diversity of production methods, tools, and raw material matrices remains incomparable to those encountered in the West, Africa, or South Asia. To date, only evidence from China has allowed us to put forward the hypothesis of a common technical basis that would have spread from its southern territories; however, this hypothesis is currently under debate. Researchers have proposed the idea of continuous technical progress and the shift from heavy industry to a lighter and polished stone in Southeast Asia. However, the omnipresence of the pebble prevents a clear conclusion because these technical objects from Southeast Asia are quite simply incommensurable; a chopper in these regions may not be comparable with another chopper from the terraces of the Garonne or the Roussillon in France, for example. In other words, these tools are above all ‘tropical’ tools, and they belong to a distant cognitive world(s) with specific use(s), gesture(s), and meaning(s), making it impossible for them to be compared or evaluated by our faculty of Western judgment.

Produção de ferramentas e indicadores de economias polivalentes durante o Holoceno Superior no sítio arqueológico de Jericoacoara 1, planície costeira de Jericoacoara, litoral oeste do estado do Ceará, Brasil

Abstract The main goal of this study is to offer a preliminary characterization of the lithic industry of Jericoacoara 1, an Upper Holocene archaeological site located in the dune fields of the Jericoacoara National Park on the west coast of the state of Ceará. The present study analyzed 1,320 lithic artifacts collected in 2010 and 2017 after superficial surveys and three excavations conducted on two of the six areas of vestige dispersal composing the site. This industry’s investigation involved applying lithic technology principles, emphasizing the transformative unit tools. This approach made it possible to identify some variants of production by percussion and shaping, sometimes associated with the practice of retouching. The implementation of the transformative units of these tools indicates adaptations and recycling that could be related to specializations involving the activities of hunting, gathering, and fishing food resources in the coastal plain. This seems to be one of the characteristics of a polyvalent technological culture within an economic system.

Oldowayen archaïque et Oldowayen classique de l’Afrique à l’Europe méditerranéenne

Analyzing lithic industries of Lower Pleistocene and beginning of Middle Pleistocene times allows to define three groups not clearly chronological but which reflect the cognitive evolution of prehistoric Men who knapped them and the constraints of the environment: - “Archaic Oldowan” industries in which raw flakes are dominant and no small tools retouched on flakes or debris are present; - “Classical Oldowan” industries in which raw flakes are dominant and small tools retouched on flakes and debris – especially scrapers – are present; - “Acheulean industries”, in which bifaces are present – generally in small proportions – and small retouched tools are increasingly standardized.

The birth of the Acheulian techno-complex in the Caucasus region

The lithic industries of the sites Kermek, Ciscaucasia (2.1–2.0 Ma) and Karakhach, South Caucasus (1.85–1.78 Ma) contain almost all the components of the Acheulian, indicating that this techno-complex appeared in the different areas of the Caucasus region not later than at the end of the Gelasian. Such extremely old ages of these industries as well as a number of their features due to the influence of the local raw material (tabular clasts) suggest that they were formed independently of the Early Acheulian industries known in Africa and the Near East. The very early appearance and further dispersal of Early Acheulian in the Caucasus can be explained by the presence there of raw materials with qualities supporting the production of large tools inherent of Acheulian, and by the very favorable natural conditions of the region in the final Gelazian-initial Calabrian (low or medium altitude terrain with subtropical climate and savanna-like landscape).

Conservative Style, Liberal Production: Hemudu’s Binary System for Maintaining its Scapular Shovel Tradition in the Southern Yangzi Delta, 7000–6000 BP

In the past two decades, archaeological studies of knowledge and skill transmission for pottery and lithic production in preindustrial societies have significantly improved our understanding of how technological traditions were transmitted and how the transmission processes influenced technological persistence and changes. However, case studies of craft transmission for osseous technology are rare despite their equal importance to pottery and lithic industries in preindustrial societies. Our research fills the gap by examining early Hemudu Culture’s (7000–6000 BP) scapular implements in the southern Yangzi Delta to understand the linkage between learning and maintaining the scapular shovel tradition in Hemudu’s socio-economic context. We first traced the history of scapular tools to the precedent Kuahuqiao Culture (8200–7000 BP), then used published experimental results to identify the product traits pertinent to craft learning and infer Hemudu scapular shovel blades’ learning and production patterns. Hemudu scapular shovels had a unique, complicated hafting style and an evidential raw material preference for old water buffalo scapulae. However, the blades’ morphological details and technical solutions varied significantly. In addition, most finished products display manufacturing mistakes resulting from crafters’ lacking skills, experience, and intervention. Practice pieces are rare compared to finished and used products. Although additional evidence implies that practice might have been more common than the studied sample suggested, it was carried out with less-than-ideal bones and insufficient for developing technical competency. We argue that the Hemudu societal norms for a scapular shovel applied only to the highly visible aspects of the implement. The shaft and ligatures could reduce the visibility of many manufacturing flaws on the shovel blade to reach the desired visual effect of the shovel. The shovel blades were made by household crafters emulating from an artifact or a memorized template but had insufficient training and practice in manufacturing. Communities of practice were minimal to nonexistent among the shovel makers; alternative mechanisms to maintain the technical norms or hold a high product standard were also lacking. Therefore, we concluded that the scapular shovels were less important as a technical implementation than a visual communicator of social identity. The binary system of conformist style and material preference mixed with loose quality control in the shovel blade production reveals that social conformity and the associated learning pattern are circumstantial and fluid even for a community’s iconic implement. Further research with other artifact types in Yangzi Delta would help shed light on whether similar learning patterns were applied besides the creation of scapular shovels.