Local Flint Research Articles

Zooarchaeology of the layers from Dorochivtsy III (Ukraine)

Palaeolithic archaeological sites of the Western Ukraine are clustered along the Prut and Dniester Rivers. Different sites provided data enabling reconstruction of the paleoenvironment, chronology and cultures of human group during the Upper Paleolithic (notably Molodova V). During the second part of the Pleniglacial, between 23 000 and 20 000 years BP, palaeoclimatic variations took place. The intensification of cold and arid conditions is liable to force human groups to adapt to a changing environment. Little is known about this period, with only a few assemblages. Ongoing excavations continue to provide new data. The archaeological site of Dorochivtsy III has an important sequence stratigraphy with several archaeological layers. Among the seven Upper Palaeolithic layers, layers 6, 5, 4 and 3 testify to activities of a human group during the Upper Pleniglacial. We studied the faunal assemblages applying zooarchaeological methods, identifying mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), horse (Equus sp.) and fox (Alopex lagopus/Vulpes vulpes). The Gravettian layers 3, 4, 5 have anthropogenic clues in connection with subsistence activities oriented on reindeer, then horses, and finally fox. Concerning mammoths, we cannot define the modes of acquisition and use. These occupations have been interpreted as recurrent hunting occupations linked to procurement of local flint and lithic production for butchering activities. Layer 6 dated to 22 330 ± 100 BP is remarkable because of previously unseen practises. The lithic assemblage combined with bone industry and engraved tusk is a novel set of cultural elements in this area, called ancient Epigravettian. This layer testifies to the diversity of human activities during the Upper Pleniglacial and to the particular status of mammoth ivory as an artistic medium. Palynological data and taphonomic observations on bones indicate the persistence of relatively moist conditions during some periods, which could favour the movement of human groups. Although little is known about the Upper Pleniglacial period, Dorochivtsy III testifies to the continuity of a large exploitation of the territory of the Dniester valley.

Aşezarea paleolitică de la Malu Dinu Buzea (sat Cremenea, com. Sita Buzăului, jud. Covasna). O sinteză a campaniilor 2011–2013 / The Palaeolithic settlement from Malu Dinu Buzea (Cremenea village, Sita Buzăului commune, Covasna County). A synthesis of the excavation campaigns from 2011–2013

Since its inception, the Romanian archaeological school of the Palaeolithic maintained the interpretation of archaeological layers through the lenses of the geomorphological data as an objective. Our study presents one of the situations in which archaeological researches did not benefit from a direct collaboration between the two fields of inquiry, which led to an erroneous understanding of the sedimentary genesis in the Palaeolithic settlement of Malu Dinu Buzea (Covasna Department). Recent observations offered a glimpse of both vertical and horizontal movement of the archaeological material, due to the periodical reactivation of a dejection cone, and to sedimentary peculiarities. The technological analysis of the recently excavated lithic assemblage revealed the existence of a single, heavily disturbed cultural unit, found in secondary position, along with numerous naturally fragmented flint, sandstone, quartzite, and limestone blocks. The largest part of the technological and typological features of the mostly local flint assemblage indicates a possible final Upper Palaeolithic timing for its origin, with no arguments in favour of a putative Aurignacian designation, and only several hints at a Tardenoisian one, both previously stated for what used to be recognized as a twofolded cultural sequence.

Le gisement paléolithique supérieur ancien de la « VII 1 » à Ciuperceni (Vallée du Danube)

The “ La Vii 1” (Ciuperceni) settlement, situated in the Danube Plain, has been excavated during the last years. A loessic sequence attributed to the MIS 3 because of an IRSL age includes several Upper Palaeolithic assemblages whose characteristics are very similar. The raw material of the most numerous assemblages (level CR) is a local flint for the majority of the artifacts. This assemblage is typical of a workshop site using a hard percussion for the production of blades, bladelets and flakes with different reducing sequences. Because of the scarcity of the tools, it is difficult to precise the cultural attribution of the assemblage which could belong to an Aurignacian, or probably to an original facies. The presence of particular rabots is an outstanding characteristic.

Paleolithic recycling: The example of Aurignacian artifacts from Kebara and Hayonim caves

This is a short account of recycling observed in Levantine Aurignacian assemblages in Kebara and Hayonim cave sites in Israel. It appears that the makers of the Aurignacian industries made use of flint pieces collected outside the caves, to modify them a new. Thus Upper Palaeolithic morphotypes were modified either on Mousterian tools or Mousterian blanks produced by the Levallois technique. Though quite distinct, this behavior portrays an exception rather than the rule, as most of the modified flint recovered in both caves was collected from resources of local flint, located in the general vicinity, some 2–15 km away, of the sites. Moreover, while recurring (though to a degree) recycling of Mousterian items was observed in other Levantine Aurignacian assemblages, this was not the case for the local Ahmarian assemblages, including the ones underlying the Aurignacian levels in Kebara Cave. Speculations as regards the reason(s) for this behavior should await further studies and a better database of its extent and recurrence.

Evolution in the use of natural building stone in Madrid, Spain

Many types of stone have been used for construction in Madrid. In historical times, their use was determined by the proximity of the geological resources, the ease of quarrying and transportation links to the city. More recently, as transport connections and quarrying techniques have improved, quality and durability have become key determinants of building stone selection. Local flint was used intensively from the ninth to the eleventh century, when it was replaced by Redueña dolostone, used in turn until the seventeenth century. Granitic rocks from the Guadarrama Mountain Range that crop out in the northern and western area of the province increasingly began to be used in the city from the sixteenth century. Traditionally known as Berroqueña stone, this building stone was quarried in a number of areas; the primary point of supply was Zarzalejo, and from the eighteenth century the granite used was mainly quarried in the Alpedrete area. Eighteenth century advances in underground quarrying made it possible to extract a limestone ( Colmenar stone) located in the southeastern part of the region. Together with Berroqueña stone, this limestone became one of Madrid’s traditional building stones, and both, highly esteemed for their excellent petrophysical properties and durability, are still used today.

Melian obsidian in NW Turkey: Evidence for early Neolithic trade

Archaeological investigations carried out at the Early Neolithic coastal site of Coşkuntepe in northwestern Turkey yielded an assemblage of 110 obsidian artifacts displaying the macroscopic characteristics of the well-known obsidian deposits on the Cycladic island of Melos. Analysis of three samples from this homogeneous obsidian assemblage using both X-Ray Fluorescence and Laser Ablation High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry confirmed that these artifacts were derived from Melos. The presence of these Melian obsidian artifacts at Coşkuntepe, along with a few pieces with central Anatolian macroscopic characteristics, is intriguing because intensive production of tools made of local flint was also identified at the site through the analysis of surface scatters. This finding raises the question of the status of obsidian and associated procurement systems. The presence of obsidian can be also used to argue that certain coastal villages acted as nodes of exchange for Aegean seafarers at times in the late 7th millennium B.C.

Old Bear: Mandan Medicine Man

OLD BEAR (MAH-TO-HE-HAH) was a Mandan medicine man—according to the nineteenth-century painter George Catlin, the most important medicine man of his tribe. Catlin believed that the Mandan were a “dying race” and he wanted to use his paintings to preserve as much as he could of their culture.1 Catlin portrayed Old Bear with his body painted in various colors, with medicine pipes adorned with eagle feathers in his hands and fox tails attached to his heels.2 The Mandan Indians lived at the mouth of the Knife River—a tributary of the Missouri River—near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. One translation of the word “Mandan” is “Those Who Dwell by the Water.”3 The Mandan were unlike many other Plains Indian tribes in that they were not nomadic hunters, but instead lived in permanent villages made up of large, round earth lodges approximately 50 feet high and 40 to 60 feet in diameter. A sacred cedar post, surrounded by an open plaza, marked the center of each village and served as the focal point of religious and public activities. At one end of the plaza stood the tribe's medicine or ceremonial lodge—the most important building in the village.4,5 Mah-to-he-hah, Old Bear, A Medicine Man. Painting by George Catlin, 1832. Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. The Mandan villages were located at the junction of several major trade routes, putting the Mandan in contact with both native and non-native groups from as early as the early 1700s. Consequently, they had access to some of the most valued trade items of the time, including buffalo hides, obsidian, copper, shells, and guns. The Mandan themselves were purveyors of important trade goods, such as their surplus crops of squash, pumpkin, corn, sunflowers, and beans, as well as high quality local flint used for stone tools found all over the North American continent. In general, the Mandan were accommodating and peaceful in their interactions with non-native peoples, as demonstrated by their willingness to take in and feed the entire Lewis and Clark Expedition in the winter of 1804 in exchange for a steady stream of trade goods.6,7 When Catlin met Old Bear in 1832, he was surrounded by students whom he was instructing in the mysteries of the material medica—herbal remedies—and ceremonial practices. At first Old Bear refused to have his portrait painted but then acquiesced and, when it was finally finished, was delighted with the results. Catlin, no doubt, had paid careful attention to the details of Old Bear's ceremonial attire, which he painted with meticulous accuracy. The painter later claimed that Old Bear would lie for hours in front of his picture, gazing at it intensely, and spoke highly to others about Catlin's talents.2 The medicine men were able to treat the normal ills of the tribe, but were often powerless against the new diseases introduced by white settlers. In the early 1780s, for example, a smallpox epidemic drastically reduced the Mandan population from about 3600 to approximately 1250.8 Their fate worsened in 1837—a mere five years after Catlin's visit—when yet another smallpox outbreak swept through their villages, reducing their numbers to approximately 150. Although the Mandan have lived with the Hidatsa and Arikara as the “Three Affiliated Tribes” on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota since 1934, their numbers have never fully recovered.5

The oldest human traces north of the Carpathians (Kończyce Wielkie 4, Poland)

In the area of the Kończyce Wielkie quarry (middle-southern Poland), the Quaternary deposits of different genesis crop out. The lower fluvial series is overtopped with the glacigenic sediments occurring below the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary. This ice-sheet advance is correlated with the Günz and with the oldest traces of glaciations in Western Europe. Culture materials were located within layer of fluvial sands with fine-grained gravels, below the boulder pavement and diamicton – interpreted as till. Raw materials inventory are local flint and hornstone, also foreign flint, hornstone, quartzite, opalite and gneissose granite. The inventory contained macrolithic and microlithic cores, flakes and tools. The tools are made from pebbles, flakes and microlithic-flakes.

Solutrean laurel leaf production at Maîtreaux: an experimental approach guided by techno-economic analysis

Large-sized Solutrean laurel leaf typology has been defined on the basis of the exceptional pieces found at Volgu, France, in 1874. The geographical distribution of this rare type of large bifacial piece is limited to the border of the French Massif Central. Located at the northern limit of this distribution area, the Maîtreaux site provides new data on the reduction schemes of these pieces. Refitted sequences indicate that the Solutrean presence was motivated by the exploitation of local flint resources to produce reserves of lithic tools and/or blanks, elements for composite projectiles and preforms for exportation and later finishing and use/retouch elsewhere. Results of techno-economic and spatial analyses are compared with those of an experimental project, mostly centred on laurel leaf techno-economy. This integrated experimental approach strongly contributes to the on-going social interpretation of the Maîtreaux group, allowing us better to characterize and quantify the remains of laurel leaf reduction processes. Also produced were in situ‘undisturbed’ knapping features for taphonomic reference and interpretation. At the site scale, experimental work coupled with spatial and techno-economic analysis is relevant for the interpretation of different geoarchaeological, technical and social aspects of the archaeological record. At a regional scale, experimental work on the available raw materials in each geographic zone is required to clarify issues related to raw-material procurement, exploitation and circulation, such as regional lithic resource exploitation strategies and inter-site discontinuities of production.

Les Pradelles (Marillac-le-Franc, France): A mousterian reindeer hunting camp?

The site of Les Pradelles has an important mousterian stratigraphic sequence. In the lower levels, the very low density of artefacts as well as the carnivores scavenging of carcasses abandoned by the neanderthals point to short-term human occupations; the introduction of finished tools (made on non-local, good quality flint) later highly curated, together with an expedient strategy on strictly local flint, suggest a task-specific location, within a low mobility pattern. The large faunal sample (mainly reindeer) underlines the preponderance of hunting activities. A range of butchering activities took place on the site and the abundance of filleting marks may be an indication of the processing of meat for transport to another settlement. The hypothesis of “specialized hunting” during Middle Palaeolithic is assessed with this new data set.

Zahrat Adh-Dhraʿ 2: A New Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site on the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan

Previously, archaeological exemplars of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period that heralded the advent of agrarian societies in the Levant were very rare east of the Jordan River. Those that were known did not include any examples of the larger hamlets, usually buried under alluvial fans, which are known from the Jordan Valley. This situation has changed significantly in the past few years, with the discovery of three PPNA hamlets in the arid southern reaches of the Dead Sea Basin in Jordan. This paper introduces the small mound of Zahrat adh-Dhra c 2 (ZAD 2), the most recently discovered of the trio. ZAD 2, dating to 9,500 radiocarbon years, lies east of the Lisan Peninsula on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea. The well-dated site contains architectural units comprising stone-built oval huts bonded with mortar. It has a rich lithic assemblage of local flint, but it has also yielded several exotic materials attesting to long-distance exchange, and significant botanical remains including cereals, legumes, and nuts.

Identifying Inbred Lines Capable of Improving Ear and Stover Yield and Quality of Superior Silage Maize Hybrids

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an excellent feed, whether fresh, chopped, or ensiled. Silage maize hybrids have been developed for temperate‐cold regions of Europe and North America, but limited research has been done to develop silage hybrids for temperate and warm‐temperate regions. This study was conducted to identify inbred lines that could be used to enhance the stover and ear fractions of existing hybrids for warm‐temperate areas. Forty‐five single‐cross hybrids were developed from 10 inbred lines and evaluated in six environments. Ten inbred lines were evaluated for potential to improve the best hybrids by Dudley's and Metz's methodologies. Hybrids differed significantly (P < 0.01) for ear (EY), stover (SY), and whole‐plant dry matter yield (WY), in vitro digestibility of whole‐plant dry matter (iDW), and whole‐plant digestible dry matter yield (WDY), differences among hybrids were not significant for in vitro digestibility of ear (iDE) and stover (iDS). Four outstanding hybrids were selected as target hybrids for improvement on the basis of YSi (Kang's Yield‐Stability Statistic) of mean WDY and their stability across environments. Inbred lines that were able to increase SY were not the same ones that would increase EY. Inbred PR4 had outstanding potential to improve the SY of any hybrid. Inbred B84 had greatest potential to enhance EY. Inbred lines showed differential capacity to generate improvement according to the fractions that were evaluated. Finally, inbred lines from the North American Corn Belt did not demonstrate potential for enhancing SY when they were compared with local flint inbred lines.

Identifying Inbred Lines Capable of Improving Ear and Stover Yield and Quality of Superior Silage Maize Hybrids

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an excellent feed, whether fresh, chopped, or ensiled. Silage maize hybrids have been developed for temperate-cold regions of Europe and North America, but limited research has been done to develop silage hybrids for temperate and warm-temperate regions. This study was conducted to identify inbred lines that could be used to enhance the stover and ear fractions of existing hybrids for warm-temperate areas. Forty-five single-cross hybrids were developed from 10 inbred lines and evaluated in six environments. Ten inbred lines were evaluated for potential to improve the best hybrids by Dudley's and Metz's methodologies. Hybrids differed significantly (P < 0.01) for ear (EY), stover (SY), and whole-plant dry matter yield (WY), in vitro digestibility of whole-plant dry matter (iDW), and whole-plant digestible dry matter yield (WDY), differences among hybrids were not significant for in vitro digestibility of ear (iDE) and stover (iDS). Four outstanding hybrids were selected as target hybrids for improvement on the basis of YSi (Kang's Yield-Stability Statistic) of mean WDY and their stability across environments. Inbred lines that were able to increase SY were not the same ones that would increase EY. Inbred PR4 had outstanding potential to improve the SY of any hybrid. Inbred B84 had greatest potential to enhance EY. Inbred lines showed differential capacity to generate improvement according to the fractions that were evaluated. Finally, inbred lines from the North American Corn Belt did not demonstrate potential for enhancing SY when they were compared with local flint inbred lines.

La Préhistoire ancienne en Gironde : apport des recherches récentes

In the low Dordogne and Garonne valleys the oldest prehistoric occupation appears during the Mindel but the human presence becomes more obvious during the Riss, in numerous open air settlements close to local flint sources or mixed assemblages in the alluvial deposits. During the old Würm the Mousterian people almost exclusively settle in open air stations, less frequently in caves like Pair-non- Pair's lowest layers. In this geographical area the Chatelperronian remains discrete. Aurignacians and Gravettians settled in open air sites, on foot-clives or in small rockshelters with lithic assemblages and bones. The long controversy on a Solutrean occurrence on the footcliff of Grand-Moulin is nowadays closed. Badegoulian occupation is usually known in small open air sites, on top hills, more scarcely on footclives, by polymorphous lithic industries. Magdalenian sites are numerous, in rockshelters along some small tributaries of the Dordogne valley, sometimes on open air slopes close to limestome dives and in one case, actually dug, in the sandy plateau between the river Garonne and the atlantic coast. Two main sites, with representative sequences of lower and middle Magdalenian have been recently revised and the Upper Magdalenian known in small rockshelters, shows the invention of new projectile points.

Evaluación de líneas de maíz flint colorado por aptitud combinatoria

En las especies que exhiben heterosis, el conocimiento de la aptitud combinatoria del germoplasma en cruzamientos con probadores genéticamente divergentes permite su clasificación según grupos heteróticos. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar 48 líneas de maíz (Zea mays) flint colorado en base a su comportamiento en cruzamientos de prueba con los probadores dentados sB73 y sMo17 del patrón heterótico Reid x Lancaster y con los probadores flint HP3 y P5L2 del patrón heterótico local HP3 x P5L2 en cuatro ambientes durante la campaña 1991/92. Se realizaron los análisis de variancia por ambiente y en forma combinada a través de ambientes para: rendimiento en grano, altura de inserción de espiga, días a floración masculina, número de hileras de grano, largo y diámetro de espiga, peso de 300 granos y peso hectolítrico. Se estimaron los coeficientes de correlación de Spearman para el rendimiento de los cruzamientos de prueba con cada probador. Las interacciones línea por probador fueron altamente significativas para la mayoría de las variables y no hubo correlación entre el ordenamiento de mérito de las líneas basado en su comportamiento en cruzamientos de prueba. Ello refleja la importancia de efectos génicos no aditivos y la capacidad discriminatoria de estos probadores en cruzamientos con las líneas evaluadas.

Social Structures and Social Evolution Among Early Bronze-Age Communities in South-Eastern Poland

AbstractThe Mierzanowice culture evolved in the early Bronze Age north of the Carpathians. By looking at settlement geography, it is proposed here that the people of the Mierzanowice culture practised arable agriculture and stock rearing in equal measure, and that they lived in micro-regions, defined by two or three main, peramanent settlements and a number of smaIl short-lived settlements and camps for exploiting local flint resources and pasturage. They had maintained an earlier Corded Ware pastoral tradition but had been pushed into greater reliance on agriculture. The resultant culture was much more egalitarian and highly seH-sufficient. A situation that was only finally to change when long-distance bronze trade brought an end to the culture.

La semilla de maíz y su micoflora y germinación

Se evaluaron seis siembras de maíz opaco modificado desarrollados por el Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT) y dos de maíz corriente local en Lajas e Isabela durante los meses de marzo a mayo en 1983. Las siembras fueron: i) las barbas inoculadas con el moho rosado 7 a 10 días después de la floración; ii) asperjadas con benomil dirigido a la mazorca en la misma fecha y 14 días después; iii) testigos sin tratar. Se anotó el número de granos con hongos visibles por mazorca y el porcentaje y el número de granos con hongos visibles por mazorca y el porcentaje de los granos dañados por insectos, mayormente el gusano de la mazorca de maíz (Heliothis zea) . En pruebas in vitro se determinó la viabilidad de las semillas (germinación) y la frecuencia de infecciones por hongo que sobrevivió el tratamienro de la semilla con cloro. En Lajas, 6.3% de las semillas se dañaron por insectos y 3.8 semillas por mazorca tenían hongos visibles (mohosos). La infección de semilla por Fusarium moniliforme llegó a un 53.5% y se asoció esta alta incidencia con la baja rasa de germinación de la semilla (68.6%). En Isabela, 8.3 semillas por mazorca tenían hongo y 0.1% de la semilla se dañó por gusanos. La infeccióon de semilla por F. moniliforme era baja (17.2%) y se asoció con una alta tasa de germinación (93.9%). Cephalosporium acremonium (32.8%) fue el hongo dominante en Isabela. Semillas infectadas con este hongo mostraron un vigor excepcional y no tenían las raíces descoloridas, lo cual ocurre con los otros hongos. En comparación con los testigos, la inoculación con el moho rosado aumentó la incidencia de infección en la semillas un 25% y más de 100% en Lajas e Isabela, respectivamente. La inoculación aumentó también el número de semillas con hongos. La aplicación de benomil a la mazorca no mostró una represión efectiva de hongos en la semilla y aumentó el daño por el gusano de la mazorca. El daño por insecto fue 4.4, 3.0 y 2.1% en los tratados con benomil, en los no tratados y en los inoculados, respectivamente. La aplicación de benomil a la semilla reprimió bien los hongos principales menos Curvularia lunata, que es una especie tolerante al benomil. La siembra de White H. E., tenía más semillas con hongos visibles que las otras. Se observó mejor calidad de la semilla en Amarillo Dentado QPM-2 y Mayorbela, pero no era una diferencia estadísticamente significativa.

Modified Stability Analysis of Farmer Managed, On‐Farm Trials1

AbstractThe Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSR/E) approach to technology generation and promotion is creating interest in onfarm research. Described is a form of research design and analysis that explicitly incorporates variation in farmer management as well as in soils and climate, to help agronomists evaluate responses to treatments and partition farmers into recommendation domains. Mean treatment yields at each location are used as an “environmental index.” Individual treatment results are regressed on environmental index. A graphic distribution of confidence intervals within partitioned groups helps in selecting superior treatments. Data from unreplicated trials on 14 farms in two villages in Malawi were analyzed. The design was a 2 ✕ 2 factorial with two maize (Zea maysL.) cultivars and two fertilizer treatments (0 and 30 kg N/ha). Results show that in poorer maize environments, local flint cultivars were superior to an improved semi‐flint composite, with or without fertilizer. The composite yielded more than local material with or without fertilizer in better environments. In all cases there was a marked and significant response to fertilizer.