Lithic Production Research Articles

Interpreting the edge angle efficiency of middle palaeolithic lithic assemblage with Artifact-3D – A case study Barwaniya W1, North Karanpura Valley, Eastern India

The lithic technology is directly linked with knapping skills, cognition, and economic production of a particular culture. The central objective of lithic production was to obtain desirable edge angles and sharpness for cutting/ butchering work in an efficient manner to achieve the highest utility/ efficiency and low production ratio. The angle of an edge, whether unaltered or retouched and as part of the overall tool design, is undoubtedly a parameter that influences the behavioural dimension of a lithic artefact. Thus, lithics artefacts' work efficiency or knapping efficiency depends on their working (cutting) edge angle, length of the parallel edge, centre of gravity, length of lithic, and lesser rate of edge angle damage. The present research has analysed the working edge angle of the Middle Palaeolithic Levallois assemblage from the newly discovered site of Barwaniya W1 from the North Karanpura Valley (North of Upper Damodar Basin), Jharkhand, India with the help of semi-automated 3D edge angle analysis technique. the current study scrutinises the entirety of an artefact's edge angle through automated positioning based on surface tension and a higher number of reference measurement points on the 3D scan surface of the artefact. This research has digitally measured the Middle Palaeolithic quartzite flake-based assemblage from Barwaniya W1 and their working edge angle, parallel edge (thick blunt side used for hafting), and centre of gravity with Artefact-3D software which has provided us with precise measurement without human errors and ambiguity. Further, this research has replicated the quartzite lithic assemblage of Barwaniya W1 with the Levallois reduction technique to interpret the edge angle efficiency.

Wonderboom, South Africa: An Acheulean workshop with evidence of flake harvesting

There are several characteristics that can be used to identify Acheulean workshops. However, the direct flaking of raw-material outcrops can be an important step in Acheulean lithic production that is missing from the current trait list. Here, we define and introduce the first systematically documented evidence of what we refer to as ‘flake harvesting’ at Wonderboom in Gauteng, South Africa. The presence of flakes and cores from the excavated Acheulean deposit, with similar dimensions and in similar condition to those associated with the nearby flake-harvesting localities, indicate that the behaviour was associated with the Acheulean. We explain that collecting flakes in this manner is different from quarrying, and provide a recording protocol that can be applied to other localities. This could help to explore whether the behaviour has been missed previously, or whether it is a uniquely localised development. We provide a summary of Acheulean workshop traits reported by other researchers, demonstrating that several of these traits are present at Wonderboom, so that the site can now be thought of in terms of a workshop, amongst other things, and flake harvesting can be added to the list.

Lithic production and the use of siliceous raw material in the Neolithic of Istria, Croatia

This article contains the results of the lithic analysis of assemblages from the Neolithic sites of Kargadur and Vižula in southern Istria, Croatia. The assemblages have been analysed in terms of reduction strategies and typology, with a special focus on raw material analysis and petrographic analysis. During the Early Neolithic, and especially the Middle Neolithic, raw materials circulated the Istrian peninsula, as evidenced by the presence of obsidian and other non-local (exogenous) chert at several sites. Obsidian is certainly an exotic material in this region, and items found at Kargadur come from the Aeolian islands. With these results we have tried to gain a better understanding of lithic production of the period, the approach of the Neolithic people to raw materials and the scope of the distribution network of high-quality chert.

Raw Materials and Lithic Production During the Early Magdalenian in Cantabrian Spain: Cova Rosa (Ribadesella, Asturias)

The lithic assemblage studied here comes from Cova Rosa, one of the main Upper Palaeolithic sites in Asturias (northern Spain). The remains were found in Layer B5, which was excavated by F. Jordá Cerdá and A. Gómez Fuentes in 1978 and are associated with an osseous assemblage and archaeozoological remains. This occupation has been dated by radiocarbon to about 16,400 BP (ca. 19.8–19.6 ka cal BP), corresponding to Archaic/Lower Magdalenian. The present study combines the determination of the raw materials and the identification of the production systems to achieve an understanding of the management of lithic resources by hunter-gatherer groups in the Late Pleistocene. The sourcing of mostly local materials (mainly Piloña flint), the wide variety of rock types of diverse provenances (up to 10 types), and the presence of well-represented lithological tracers (Flysch, Chalosse) turn Cova Rosa into an important case for studying different lithic raw material procurement models. The predominance of microlaminar production and the variability in the exploitation strategies used to obtain backed tools, as well as the poor standardisation of flake production, follow the dynamics observed in other occupations of similar chronology in a wide geographical area that includes Cantabrian Spain and south-west France.

Lithic stories of broken relations after the Storegga tsunami in Mesolithic western Norway?

ABSTRACT Major changes in lithic technologies are often explained by either migration or crisis. Here we argue that continuity and minor adjustments in lithic production can tell equally dramatic tales of altered social situations. We base our interpretations on identified lithic blade production concepts and raw materials at 30 sites dating 7500–5000BC, i.e. from before and after the massive Storegga tsunami hit the coast of western South-Norway around 6150BC. Regional continuation, but also local variations in lithic production are interpreted inspired by a machine-oriented ontological framework. The tsunami disrupts the environment, society and its lithic traditions are affected. Although no immediate major breaks are observed, sometime after the tsunami, societies or lithic production as ‘machines’ in separate regions had begun to hum to different tunes. We suggest that variation in tsunami impact had created differing local social contexts which in turn pushed the lithic traditions down diverging paths.

Obsidian in the Caribbean islands? Mysterious Ceramic Age glass artefacts in the Lesser Antilles

AbstractThe Caribbean islands witnessed a population expansion of ceramic‐using horticulturalists during the Early Ceramic Age (ca. 500 BC to 750 AD) from the Orinoco Valley to Puerto Rico. We examined 18 lithic artefacts from Guadeloupe and Dominica initially thought to be obsidian, a material believed to be absent from those islands. We investigated the volcanic or meteoritic origin of this unique and yet unknown material through observation (binocular, SEM, microtomography) and geochemical analyses (PIXE, SEM‐EDS, ED‐XRF, EPMA, LA‐ICP‐MS). Elemental analyses rule out the hypothesis of an origin from a meteoritic impact (i.e. identification as tektites). Most of the artefacts have an andesitic composition (<63% SiO2), which appears to be unique among ‘massive’ glasses. The only artefact with a rhyolitic composition has been traced back to the Guadeloupe's Volcan du Tuf, where glassy fragments have been collected and analysed. The geological source of the other vitreous artefacts that exhibit an andesitic composition could be from a sublocal subduction‐arc volcanism (maybe from Martinique), although no volcanic vitreous material of this kind has ever been reported worldwide. These results once again highlight the regional mobility of Early Ceramic populations and the production of standard lithic products using a highly original, albeit low‐quality, local lithic resource, and provide valuable references for future identification of similar materials.

Towards an understanding of hunting equipment used by early Holocene foragers of the Egyptian Southwestern Desert: Triangles of the El-Ghorab Unit

One of the Early Holocene archaeological cultures distinguished in the Egyptian Western Desert is defined as the El Ghorab Unit, and is dated to the 10th millennium cal BP. These hunter-gatherer groups lived on the shores of seasonal lakes (playas) and wetlands typical for the Early and Middle Holocene landscape of that part of the Saharan North Africa. They manufactured characteristic lithic artifact assemblages that have not been studied, so far, from a microwear perspective. The El Ghorab Unit lithic artifact assemblages are dominated by morphologically distinct triangular microliths, ca. 30–40 mm long and made from relatively wide blades, ca. 10 mm in width.This paper presents the results of morphological and functional analyses of El-Ghorab triangles from site E-16-03 located in the Gebel Ramlah/Nabta Playa region. At this locality, remnants of a few activity areas have been recorded on the northwestern margin of the Gebel Ramlah paleo-lake basin. The site consists of lithic artifact concentrations scattered around burned-earth hearth features (fireplaces). The function of the triangles is examined and interpreted here by also taking into account the specific paleoenvironmental and paleozoological record from site E-16-03.The El-Ghorab area of the Gebel Ramlah basin at E-16-03 contains three seasonally-specific, short-term hunting camps where hunting equipment was repaired and hunted game was brought to the site during spring time. Triangles were the main goal of lithic production. In the course of this research it has become evident that triangular microliths were mounted in hafts in different ways. This observation can be used as supporting evidence to conclude that various prehistoric human groups visited the Gebel Ramlah area during several seasonal cycles.

What lies in between: Levallois, discoid and intermediate methods

Lithic artefacts are usually associated with the different knapping methods used in their production. Flakes exhibit metric and technological features representative of the flaking method used to detach them. However, lithic production is a dynamic process in which discrete methods can be blurred, and in which features can vary throughout the process. An intermediate knapping method between the discoid and Levallois is commonly referred to under an umbrella of terms (the present research uses the term hierarchical discoid), and is associated with a broad geographical and chronological distribution throughout the Early and Middle Palaeolithic. This intermediate knapping strategy exhibits features of both the discoid and Levallois knapping methods, raising the question of the extent to which flakes from the three knapping methods can be differentiated and, when one is mistaken for another, the direction of confusion. An experimental assemblage of flakes detached by means of the three methods was used along with an attribute analysis and machine learning models in an effort to identify the knapping methods employed. In general, our results were able to very effectively differentiate between the three knapping methods when a support vector machine with polynomial kernel was used. Our results also underscored the singularity of flakes detached by means of Levallois reduction sequences, which yielded outstanding identification values, and were rarely erroneously attributed to either of the other two knapping methods studied. Mistaking the products of the discoid and hierarchical discoid methods was the most common direction of confusion, although a good identification value was achieved for discoid flakes and an acceptable value for hierarchical discoid flakes. This shows the potential applicability of machine learning models in combination with attribute analysis for the identification of these knapping methods among flakes.

A 600–700‐year‐old basalt adze production site from Mount Bates, Norfolk Island

ABSTRACTWhile pre‐European settlement of Norfolk Island has been recognised for many decades, particularly the larger settlement site at Emily Bay, until this point there has been limited understanding, and very little systematic recording of evidence for inland settlement. This report presents the location, chronology, stratigraphy and artefact assemblage of a previously undocumented lithic production site from Mount Bates in the north‐western uplands of Norfolk Island. The site dates to approximately 600–700 calBP. Excavations recovered over 1200 basalt artefacts, representing various stages in the adze production process. Sites such as this contribute to a better understanding of the range of activities carried out by Polynesian settlers of Norfolk Island, the stone tool economies of marginal Polynesia and the importance of local stone sources for understanding Oceanic settlement.

New technological considerations on some Lupemban museum collections from the Congo Basin

In the Congo Basin, a regional industry attributed to the Middle Stone Age, the Lupemban, has been empirically considered as a technological adaptation to African tropical rainforests. The “forest industry” hypothesis is based on the presence of diverse heavy-duty tools and their location on the valley bottoms of the Congo Basin. Nowadays, the Lupemban complex in Central Africa remains poorly contextualized preventing us from integrating this geographical crossroad into a pan-African Middle Stone Age framework. Other features such as blade production, backing, hafting and pigment-use are also associated with the Lupemban complex, suggesting an important role of this industry for understanding the emergence and intra-continental diffusion of modern human behaviours. However, this was lacking strong supporting evidence such as chronological, stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental context, as well as thorough technological and functional evaluation. Indeed, only few sites contributed to define the Lupemban and these latters are mainly peripheral to the Congo Basin. In addition, most of the Congo Basin Lupemban collections have been collected several decades ago. Even though poorly documented, these collections constitute a major fund for documenting the prevailing technological features of the Lupemban. Here, we present a technological analysis of lithic production using a qualitative approach to describe five Lupemban lithic collection stored at the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle and at the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine that were collected between the 1930s and 1970s in the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo. We highlight some repeated technological patterns and discuss their representativity for characterizing Central African Upper Pleistocene lithic assemblage.

Brief interviews with hideous stone: a glimpse into the butchery site of Isernia La Pineta — a combined technological and use-wear approach on the lithic tools to evaluate the function of a Lower Palaeolithic context

The onset of the Middle Pleistocene (780 ka) in the European continent is associated with significant environmental variations (Middle Pleistocene Revolution), innovative behavioural strategies (bifacial productions, land-use patterns, raw material management) and a global increase in the archaeological evidence from 600 ka onward. Whether these changes are related to the rise of the Acheulean, the informative potential carried by these contexts is currently being explored through multidisciplinary approaches, allowing us to infer the role of these sites and the type of activities conducted. From this perspective, the Italian peninsula is a hot spot to compare the different technical behaviours and strategies human groups employ, given its crucial geographic location and solid archaeological record, both culturally and functionally speaking (the presence of sites with and without bifaces and core-and-flake assemblages). The site of Isernia La Pineta (590 ka), offering a rich lithic and faunal record, is an excellent case to join together the lithic technological study (i.e. “cultural” and technical tradition) with the functional analysis (i.e. activities conducted and exploited materials). Here, we present the result of the combined approach of these two disciplines on flint assemblages from layers t.3a and t.3coll. The new data will be discussed within the chrono-cultural framework of the Middle Pleistocene Revolution, linking the degree of complexity of the lithic production of Isernia with its function as a butchery site.

Guomo open-air site (15–12 ka) in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China: A new cobble-based industry for rethinking the definition of “Hoabinhian”

The Hoabinhian technocomplex is one of the most discussed topics in the Paleolithic research of Southeast Asia because it is the most representative phenomenon in terms of cobble tools. Recent discoveries of Hoabinhian sites in Yunnan Province, southwest China largely expanded its tempo-spatial presence in this part of the world. Whether Hoabinhian sites are present in other parts of southern China has remained elusive. Located close to northern Vietnam, where more than 150 Hoabinhian sites were reported to have been discovered since the 1920s, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is a strategic area for exploring the issues concerning Hoabinhian phenomenon in this Chinese territory. This article presents a novel cobble-based industry of a recently discovered site—the Guomo open-air site, situated in the China-Vietnam border area. The lithic assemblages from layers 3 and 4 were dated to around 15–12 ka by the OSL dating method, and they manifest consistent and identical typo-technological characteristics. Four reduction sequences were defined for this lithic production, including 1) partial unifacial knapping on cobbles to produce various types of cutting tools; 2) cobble-split débitage via bipolar-on-anvil technique to produce semi-cobbles, and then they are unifacially shaped into unifaces; 3) cobble-throwing débitage by the throwing technique to obtain flat cortical flake blanks and tools; 4) recurrent unidirectional flaking on single-platform cores without preparation. Considering limited similarities and remarkable difference between “Hoabinhian” lithic industries of South China and of Southeast Asia, we suggest that Guomo site is an important case to raise the question of the definition of “Hoabinhian” and to study the variability of cobble-tool industries in this vast region.

Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene lithic industries from Southernmost Patagonia. Discussing technical variability, continuity and innovations

The study of early lithic assemblages from South America's Southern Cone used to be strongly focused on projectile points, including the famed fishtail type, often using a typological approach. The last three decades have seen a growing diversification of theoretical and methodological approaches to lithic studies, as well as new analytical techniques, used to study issues including lithic production systems, technical variability, tool manufacturing and management, raw material economy and circulation, among others. Recent studies on lithic industries are exemplified by discussing Southernmost Patagonia's first human occupations, dated ∼13,000cal BP, and Middle Holocene early marine explorations, dated ∼8000–7000cal BP. An overview and comparison of Southernmost Patagonia's early hunter-gatherer lithic technologies is made.

School of Rocks: a Transmission Time Investment Model for Pleistocene Lithic Technology

We propose a transmission time investment model for integrating the tenets of human behavioral ecology and cultural evolutionary theory to investigate agency and optimality in the social transmission of lithic technologies. While the cultural transmission process is often overlooked in discussions of optimality, we view it as a critical area for the application of adaptive reasoning to further understand the mechanisms responsible for change in lithic technologies. The proposed model modifies a technological intensification model based on the marginal value theorem (Bettinger et al. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33(4), 538–545, 2006; Mohlenhoff and Codding Evolutionary Anthropology, 26(5), 218–227, 2017) to explore how transmissibility may have affected the complexity of socially transmitted lithic production systems during the Pleistocene. This transmission investment model is contrasted with a passive demographic model derived from traditional explanations for changes in lithic technologies. To highlight how optimal considerations of transmissibility may have affected the long-term evolution of lithic technologies, we apply this model to three Pleistocene archaeological case studies investigating increases and decreases in lithic technological complexity. We propose that technological changes in each of these case studies is consistent with the predictions of the model, suggesting that time management strategies may have played a role in the long-term evolution of Pleistocene technologies. It is unlikely that transmission constraints alone were wholly responsible for the observed patterns, and future research should refine the measures of time availability and cost used here, as well as explore the interplay between transmission investment and other optimizing and social constraints.

Archaeological prospection of a prehistoric lithic workshop site using ground penetrating radar with a high‐frequency antenna unit

AbstractWe surveyed in detail the Chalcolithic lithic workshop Fofanovo XIII an East Fennoscandian region by ground‐penetrating radar (GPR). A high‐frequency antenna unit was applied to map small‐scale features, mainly waste flakes. To substantiate the efficiency of the GPR technique, we performed a primary analysis of a set of equivalent models in a sandbox. The laboratory‐scale GPR investigation highlights differences in GPR patterns depending on the spatial arrangement of small features and supports the further interpretation of real‐life data. The GPR survey in the field covered 2200 m2, revealing areas with a high density of artefacts in the cultural layer and locating individual structural elements of the Fofanovo XIII archaeological site. We suggested using microdebitage samples from manual probing to verify the detected anomalous values of GPR attributes. The results point to a significant correlation between microdebitage and the envelope peak amplitude of the echo signal. Ultimately, our study confirmed the cultural layer in the Fofanovo XIII workshop site to be rich in lithic production wastes, indicating it was a place of mass‐scale production of lithic chopping tools.

El diseño utilitario

Given the limitations of the expediency/conservation dichotomy for understanding the lithic assemblages from the first millennium in Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca, Argentina), the utilitarian design proposal constitutes progress toward understanding the specific technology of agropastoral societies. The term raised the issue that the lack of conservation-related elements poses for describing the material product of an expeditious strategy. The proposal subsequently supported efforts to estimate the work that the formative societies of Northwestern Argentina invested in lithic production. This research revisits its contributions, applying them to the knapped stone assemblage of Structure 4 (E4) at the Las Escondidas site (Quebrada de Miriguaca, Antofagasta de la Sierra) – a site occupied at the beginning of the first millennium, that shows different activities, including artisan production. Reconstructing some aspects of the technological behavior involved in the production, use and disposal of the instrument set at E4 gave rise to several reflections on the scope and applicability of the utilitarian design concept in relation to work investment.

Post-depositional disturbance and spatial organization at exposed open-air sites: Examples from the Middle Stone Age of the Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana

The influence of natural factors such as bioturbation or sediment movement caused by wind and water is a perennial concern for Stone Age site selection and subsequent interpretation. This paper discusses the spatial artefact distribution of five recently excavated, open-air exposed Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Ntwetwe Pan, Botswana. The finds comprise lithic assemblages dominated by MSA points, manufactured in a variety of silcretes. The sites were examined following the assumption that archaeological sites are the product of a combination of natural and cultural factors, occurring both during and after artefacts are deposited. The results indicate that some of these exposed pan floor sites do preserve cultural artefact distribution patterns, and that the level of post-depositional disturbance varies locally. Refitting was an important tool of analysis, especially on the largest site, MAK33, where it was possible to identify working areas that focussed on different modes of lithic manufacture. In combination with a chaîne opératoire analysis of lithic production stages, it was then possible to map movement of artefacts across the site. We argue that the spatial organization of open-air sites may preserve behavioural records that are not present at caves and rock shelters, and provide a view into the short-term, single-use locations that likely formed the basis of MSA occupation patterns.

Mitigating Mishaps: Diachronic Trends in Handaxe Shaping and Knapping Error Management at Amanzi Springs Area 2 (Eastern Cape, South Africa)

ABSTRACT Tracing the acquisition of knapping skill in the Acheulian technocomplex is complicated by incomplete records of lithic production. Some studies have turned attention to examining knapping errors as a means of identifying signatures of toolmaking expertise in the deep past. Such insights have recently been applied to handaxes from the Area 1 spring eye at Amanzi Springs, which have suggested this locality functioned as a Large Cutting Tool workshop. Here we extend our analysis to handaxes from the Surfaces 2/3 (∼530–480 ka), Surface 1, and Cutting 5 (<480–408 ka) excavation areas within the Area 2 spring eye, which focuses on the development and frequency of step and hinge fractures and the management of cross-sectional shape. We identify differences in both the flaking strategies and the mitigation of knapping errors that demonstrate a gradual adaptation to local quartzite raw material and the acquisition of technological skill through time.

The Pointe de Saint-Colomban site (Carnac, France): redefinition of the Colombanian culture, in the framework of the European Acheuleans

The technocomplexes of the European Lower Palaeolithic are often attributed to the so-called Acheulean. Through several prehistoric sites located in the South Armorican coast, a distinct and contemporary Acheulean cultural facies was proposed at the end of the 1980s. Based on the study of lithic industries at the Pointe de Saint-Colomban site in Carnac, it is called “Colombanian” and is characterised by the coexistence of macro-tools on pebbles and a variety of small tools on flakes. As is often the case, the presence or absence of handaxes is a determining criterion to qualify a lithic assemblage as “Acheulean”. However, this categorial attribution loses all meaning when a technological analysis is conducted. Consequently, we used a techno-structural approach to illustrate the technological and functional variability of lithic artefacts from the early occupations of the Pointe de Saint-Colomban site (layers 5, 6 and 7). The application of the “chaîne opératoire” principle allowed us to reveal the processes and objectives of the lithic production system and to establish a homogeneous reading grid among the different pieces of the assemblage. We present here the data from our study which clearly shows that the “Colombanian” is no longer valid and that we need to initiate a change of definition. The lithic industry of the Pointe de Saint-Colomban site is dominated by the concept of flaking (débitage) represented by numerous cores and flake tools. The concept of shaping (façonnage) is illustrated by only two sandstone pebble tools. All this highlights the diversity and originality of the lithic technical systems of the Lower Palaeolithic of the Atlantic Armorican coastline.

Flexibility within Quina lithic production systems and tool-use in Northern Italy: implications on Neanderthal behavior and ecology during early MIS 4

The Quina Mousterian is one of the well-defined Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes. Despite the pivotal research carried out in south-western France, the presence of this techno-complex across the rest of Europe is still poorly documented. Here we apply a techno-functional approach, combining technological and use-wear analyses, for reconstructing lithic core-reduction, tool-reduction, and tool use at De Nadale Cave, a single-layered Mousterian site with Quina features located in northern Italy and dated to the early MIS 4. Our results indicate that the flexible core reduction strategies identified at De Nadale show some similarities with the Quina knapping method, in addition to the adoption of centripetal methods on single surfaces. Variations of this scheme identified at De Nadale are the exploitation of lateral and narrow fronts which are aimed to the production of elongated, small blanks. A parallel, ramified reduction is applied to limace cores and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers having diversified purpose (mixed matrix). These blanks are exploited as tools and cores-on-flakes from which thinner, usable flakes or bladelets are detached. The use-wear identified on both scrapers and reaffutage flakes further confirm this behavior, demonstrating the use of both tools, albeit for different tasks (i.e., scraping and cutting). We discuss the ecological implications of this behavior within the Quina Mousterian. The high frequency of retouched tools and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers seems to accompany the highly mobile human groups associated with this techno complex and their seasonally organized subsistence strategies. Finally, by combining available multidisciplinary data on paleoenvironment, subsistence, and chronology, we were able to embed the neanderthal settlement of De Nadale in a regional and Western European frame, underlining the importance of the Quina Mousterian in Western Eurasia between MIS 4 and early MIS 3.