Stone Tool Manufacture Research Articles

3.3 million years of stone tool complexity suggests that cumulative culture began during the Middle Pleistocene

Cumulative culture, the accumulation of modifications, innovations, and improvements over generations through social learning, is a key determinant of the behavioral diversity across Homo sapiens populations and their ability to adapt to varied ecological habitats. Generations of improvements, modifications, and lucky errors allow humans to use technologies and know-how well beyond what a single naive individual could invent independently within their lifetime. The human dependence on cumulative culture may have shaped the evolution of biological and behavioral traits in the hominin lineage, including brain size, body size, life history, sociality, subsistence, and ecological niche expansion. Yet, we do not know when, in the human career, our ancestors began to depend on cumulative culture. Here, we show that hominins likely relied on a derived form of cumulative culture by at least ~600 kya, a result in line with a growing body of existing evidence. We analyzed the complexity of stone tool manufacturing sequences over the last 3.3 My of the archaeological record. We then compare these to the achievable complexity without cumulative culture, which we estimate using nonhuman primate technologies and stone tool manufacturing experiments. We find that archaeological technologies become significantly more complex than expected in the absence of cumulative culture only after ~600 kya.

40,000 years of technological continuity and change at Matja Kuru 2, Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste is known for long-term continuity in lithic manufacturing techniques that span at least the last 44,000 years. Here we confirm this pattern of long-term continuity in stone tool manufacture at the site of Matja Kuru 2, located on Timor-Leste close to the freshwater Lake Ira Lalaro. The lithic assemblage is characterised by high reduction intensity and frequent use of bipolar, ‘core-on-flake’, discoidal and multiplatform core reduction to produce small flakes while high levels of retouch, heat damage and breakage. While continuity is an important feature of the assemblage, we also document important changes in technology, raw material selection and recycling/extension strategies over time. We posit that the long periods of absence at MK2 may coincide with drier phases when Ira Lalaro likely dried and that more extensive use of the cave occurs during wet phases with attendant lake high conditions. The lithic assemblage indicates increased mobility and individual provisioning in the transitions between these phases of site use and abandonment. The Matja Kuru 2 lithic assemblage also reveals the earliest known evidence yet found for obsidian and possible inter-island transport in Wallacea.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF GUA PELANGI, JELEBU, NEGERI SEMBILAN, MALAYSIA: ITS POTENTIAL AS A HERITAGE TOURISM SITE

Archaeological studies conducted in Gua Pelangi, Negeri Sembilan have been able to find an early civilization aged between 14,000 to 9,000 thousand years ago which was used as a shelter from hot rain and wild animals, in addition to making stone tools and food preparation. The interpretation was based on the findings of 299 lithic artifacts, 52,929 faunal remains and evidence of burning such as ash, charcoal and burning sediments that are still in situ have been recorded. This site is also used as a workshop for the manufacture of stone tools with the presence of hammer stone, cores, anvil, flake, chopper and debitage. Analysis of the fauna remains found clearly shows that this community hunts and collects terrestrial, arboreal/semi-arboreal and aquatic/semi-aquatic vertebrate animals and mollusk shells. Based on the scientific evidence, ecotourism activities involving cave exploration, pioneering and jungle trekking, camping, limestone hill climbing, cooking demonstrations in the forest and visits to local community villages have been carried out. This shows that efforts to develop Gua Pelangi into a tourism product have begun and this is able to develop the economy of the local community in the area.

부여 송국리 유적 주거지 출입구 고찰

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of two holes identified in the middle of the oval-shape feature in the Korean Bronze Age pithouses at Songguk-ri, Buyeo Korea. Pithouses dated to the Bronze Age have turned out to be one of the most abundant archaeological features in Korea. Therefore, a detailed research concerning pithouses has been conducted and a number of characteristics have been known so far. Although many researchers have long been interested in the location of entrance to pithouses, it has not yet been clearly known. Oval-shape features have been exposed in the center of Songguk-ri style(roundish) pithouses. It is generally accepted that they are not hearths. Rather, they have been regarded as either a temporary storage pit or a stone tool manufacturing pit(a workshop for stone tools). Researchers have been paying a close attention to the two holes discovered in the oval-shape feature. Some researchers consider them to be either central post holes or ordinary post holes. However, we formulated a hypothesis that the oval-shape feature is the trace of people's movement and two holes are the marks generated by the legs of a ladder for entrance to the pithouse. To test this hypothesis we utilized many different Chinese historical documents and ethnographic observations in conjunction with the pithouses of the aboriginal peoples who inhabited in both Siberia and Alaska regions. It turned out that the documentary sources and observations made by European explorers and Russian researchers well correspond and provide a critical information about overall structure and the location of the entrance of pithouse. Based on the outcome of the analysis against the archaeological data from Songguk-ri site, we came to a conclusion that there was a high possibility that the two holes were the marks of the legs of a ladder for entrance and an opening/window/chimney was located on top of the roof of the pithouse.

Applicability of prompt-gamma activation analysis to determine elemental compositions of silicate-based cultural heritage objects and their raw materials

• PGAA is discussed as a tool for heritage objects made of rocks & glass. • The reliability of PGAA is studied via measurements of international SRMs. • Detection limits are compared to the expected ranges of the chemical elements. • H, B and Cl, difficult to analyse with other methods, are separately discussed. Prompt-gamma activation analysis (PGAA) proved to be a very effective non-invasive tool in Heritage Science, applicable to study the bulk-representative elemental composition of a wide range of objects and their raw materials. In this study, we give an overview of the potentials and limitations of the method in the analysis of silicate-based materials. Using appropriate standard reference materials (SRMs), we have investigated the analysis workflow and the individual cases of discriminating elements that are relevant to Heritage Science and routinely measured at the Budapest PGAA laboratory. Geological SRMs representing the raw materials of stone tool manufacturing or historical architecture, as well as glass SRMs, have been studied. With this work, we aim to corroborate the position of PGAA, as an indispensable part of the Heritage Science toolkit. Applicability of prompt-gamma activation analysis to determine elemental compositions of silicate-based cultural heritage objects and their raw materials

Economy and status of Neolithic to Early Bronze age sites in the Southern Caucasus during the 6th‐3rd mill. BCE: The evidence from ground stone tools

In the Southern Caucasus, the evolution of the Neolithic to Bronze age (6th-3rd millenia BCE) economies is often investigated through the prism of adaptation to constrasted landscapes and environments (arid plain, high moutains, subtropical western coasts) and strategies of natural resource exploitation. This overview of the main technological and functional characteristics of ground stone tools from about 20 sites in the Kura Valley (Georgia, Azerbaijan) contributes to the discussion surrounding these questions. After an overview of the evolution of the grinding equipment and stone tool manufacture within a long term perspective, from the Late Neoliothic to the Early Bronze Age, several issues are adressed. The composition of the macrolithic toolkit is a key issue when discussing the importance of agriculture versus pastoralism in the economy of these populations, which evolved in different regional and environmental contexts. Its management also contributes to our understanding of the degree of sedentarity versus mobility of the populations. Finally, we discuss how the technical evolution of the macrolithic toolkit reflects the principal global changes occurring during this long period of time (neolithisation, emergence of metallurgy, and the mining phenomenon) and their cultural meaning. Our initial results underline the significance of some implements as cultural markers, and also contribute to defining the common cultural background and regional specificities within the South Caucasus region.

Multifaceted analyses of lithic artifacts from Callao Cave in northern Luzon (Philippines)

Recently, several studies have presented quantitative data of lithic assemblages from Islands Southeast Asia (ISEA), based on technological and morphological analyses. While this has led to a better overall understanding of the nature of these assemblages, there is still lack of clarity about the relationship between manufacturing technology and usage. Accordingly, this study collected detailed data of lithic assemblages from Callao Cave in northern Luzon, Philippines. Multifaceted analyses including technological and morphological analysis and use-wear analysis were conducted to clarify the actual nature of lithic technology and tool use in relation to human behavior. Results of the technological and morphological analysis show that several core tools share same types of secondary reduction (retouch) with flake tools, while there are several retouched tools (flake tools and core tools) with several types of secondary reduction (retouch). In addition, there are no major differences between the sizes of the core tools and flake tools. Result of the use-wear analysis indicates that several retouched areas on both the core tools and flake tools were actually used. These stone-tool manufacturing and usage characteristics suggest that the hunter-gatherers who left the assemblages did not clearly distinguish between cores and flakes (or between core tools and flake tools), and did not treat lithic tools as single-function items. That is, it appears that secondary reduction was completed depending on the shapes, thicknesses, and angles of the edges of these lithic artifacts. The users/manufacturers thus placed emphasis on functional edges. It also seems that the core tools were used as both tools and objects for flake production. The characteristics of the assemblages in manufacturing and their usage suggest that lithic artifacts and lithic raw materials were used in Callao Cave efficiently and economically. Furthermore, in terms of their primary and secondary reduction processes, the assemblages from Callao Cave are considerably different from Upper Paleolithic assemblages found in the northern regions of Eurasia. This indicates that the characteristics of stone tool manufacturing and usage in Callao Cave reflect another strategy of early modern humans for using lithic raw material. However, these characteristics of the assemblages may most closely reflect the characteristics of the occupations and activities in the site. Accordingly, similar analyses, including technological and morphological analysis and use-wear analysis, need to be conducted on other lithic assemblages which are composed of many lithic artifacts in ISEA.

Quantifying differences in hominin flaking technologies with 3D shape analysis

Genetic and climate-driven estimates of past population dynamics are increasingly influential in broader models of hominin migration and adaptation, yet the contribution of stone artifact variability remains more contentious. Scientists are increasingly recognizing the potential of unretouched stone flakes (‘flakes’) in exploring existing models of hominin behavioral evolution. This is because flakes (1) were produced by all stone tool manufacturing groups in the past, (2) are abundant from the inception of the archaeological record up into the ethnographic present, and (3) preserve under most conditions. The statistical tools of 3D geometric morphometrics capture detailed approximations of flake form that are challenging to document with conventional artifact analyses. We analyze a collection of 717 3D scans of experimentally produced flakes from 5 production strategies that were practiced by hominins through large parts of the Pleistocene and that scientists have drawn on also to make demographic arguments about past human behavior (n = 45 reduction sequences, n = 3 knappers naive toward the study objectives). First, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that we can estimate the strategies used to produce these flakes at a high success rate even when flakes from early stages of core reduction are included. We frame the significance of this finding against archaeological classifications from several key Middle Paleolithic assemblages in France (n = 4 sites, n = 28 layers, n = 16,467 flakes). Second, we show that 3D geometric morphometrics captures subtle differences in these strategies that influence flake formation on a flake-by-flake basis and that reflect decisions made by knappers about platform selection, preparation, and core-surface management. We explore the broader potential of our model with a cross-validation approach, and we describe a means of assessing flake form on a continuum wherein variability among assemblages separated by large expanses of space and time can be meaningfully explored.

Lithic Technological Analysis of a New Archaeological Site (Cueva Alí Mustafá, ∼12,000 cal yr BP) of the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition in Eastern Tandilia, Buenos Aires, Argentina

ABSTRACT This paper presents and discusses the analysis of the lithic assemblage from a newly discovered archaeological site, Cueva Alí Mustafá, located in the eastern sector of the Tandilia Range (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Lithic artifacts associated with several hearths and scattered fragments of charcoal were dated in 10,450 ± 38 and 9032 ± 30 radiocarbon years ago, respectively. The site is interpreted as an ephemerally occupied camp in which lithic knapping activities were carried out, related to the late and final stages of stone-tool manufacture. The use of a wide variety of lithic raw materials from different sources was identified, most frequently two sedimentary varieties, one of which is a fine-grained rock whose source is more than 100 km from the archaeological site, and another, a medium-grained rock that is locally available. Other rocks were identified in lower frequencies, including, remarkably, the presence of silicified limestone which can be traced to more than 500 km away.

Siliceous rocks from the southern part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Southern Poland) as potential raw materials in the manufacture of stone tools – A characterization and possibilities of identification

The Upper Jurassic sediments from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland developed as carbonates, mostly limestones, which represent the microbial-sponge megafacies that were typical of the northern margin of the Tethys Ocean. Outcrops of these rocks are scattered along an extended belt ranging from Portugal to the Caucasus Mts. One of the common features of the bedded limestones belonging to this megafacies is the local occurrence of chert concretions.The siliceous rocks embedded within the Upper Jurassic sequences from the southern part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland originated from a broad spectrum of limestone silicification processes and are represented by chert concretions, bedded cherts and epigenetic siliceous rocks. These rocks served as raw materials in the production of stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards. These tools have been studied extensively by archaeologists.This paper presents the identification of the above mentioned types of siliceous rocks used in the manufacture of tools based upon (i) microscopic observations of thin sections which reveal the primary microfacies of limestones subjected to silicification, and (ii) X-ray diffraction analyses, including the determination of the crystallinity index of SiO2. Unfortunately, the available research methods do not permit the identification of the varieties of chert concretions to an extent that would permit them to be even roughly connected with particular outcrops or, at least, with particular regions of the occurrence of siliceous raw materials on a Pan-European scale. Macroscopic criteria have recently been adopted in archaeological classifications aimed at determining the origin of stone tools and drawing conclusions as to the source outcrops or regions. However, regrettably, these have proven groundless from the geological point of view.

Expert Retrieval Structures and Prospective Memory in the Cognition of Acheulian Hominins

The range of evidence at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (GBY) provides a window into the minds of 800,000-year-old Acheulian hominins. Detailed action sequences used in stone tool manufacture, and in the exploitation of animals (over 70 taxa) and plants (over 130 taxa) are reconstructed, suggesting hierarchically organized decision chains with multiple alternative pathways to completion. In terms of complexity and organization, these action sequences rival those of modern hunters and gatherers and are typical of a cognitive strategy known in psychology as expert cognition, or expertise. In the modern world expert cognition drives many of our most esteemed activities, including chess, sport, musical performance, and medical diagnosis. Cognitive models of expertise emphasize the role of retrieval structures, which are chunks of information activated in working memory and linked by association to much larger chunks of information held in long-term memory. The evidence from GBY documents the importance of long-term memory, prospective memory, and cognitive control, and suggests that expert cognition has been an important strategy in hominin cognition for at least 800,000 years.

Средний неолит полуострова Камчатка

Purpose. The study of archaeological sites of the Middle Neolithic of Kamchatka should offer a chronology and a set of criteria for identifying the period. Results. The research data is based on the materials of the studied cultural layer, buried dwellings and individual artifacts of 46 archaeological sites. It has been established that the average Neolithic of Kamchatka can be dated back to 4 000–1 500 cal BP. The sites were found on high water-glacial terraces with a height of 4 to 30 meters on the banks of large rivers and lakes, the sea coast of the eastern part of the peninsula. Their number had increased compared to the previous period. Dwellings had become more complex. Perhaps this is due to the need to have more reliable shelters in the conditions of the marine climate and frequent precipitation of volcanic ash. The ground buildings, semi-underground dwellings and workshops for the manufacture of stone tools were found at the sites. Near the dwellings, special fortifications in the form of artificial ditches and ramparts made of stones and soil were also found. These may have been defensive structures. The increased population size, its settlement mainly along the coast in order to develop marine resources, may have caused conflicts between certain groups of the population in the struggle for the best fishing sites. The stone industry is represented by cores (amorphous and prismatic knife-shaped blades) and primary cleavage products (knife-shaped blades of different sizes without retouching, with edge retouching and on both sides). Among the tools there were retouched triangular stone arrowheads without stem and with stem, leaf-shaped, including miniature, arrowheads; knives – narrow and wide-bladed with a dedicated handle, leaf-shaped oval; roughly beaten and polished sharp-edged adzes of different sizes with a sub-triangular and oval cross-section; end scrapers of various geometric shapes; calibrators of arrow shafts. The strategy of life support of society was aimed at hunting for marine mammals, fishing and gathering, including shellfish. In the sphere of spiritual culture, signs of ceremonial activity (labrets) and art (small figurines and ornaments) have also been identified. Conclusion. It is assumed that with an increased population size and changes in the environmental situation, a new way of life of the population developed, associated with a highly specialized and complex appropriating economy which essentially formed its own archaeological culture (Taryinskaya culture).

Heat treatment of Kalahari and Cape silcretes: impacts upon silcrete chemistry and implications for geochemical provenancing

Recent studies in southern Africa and eastern Australia have demonstrated the feasibility of using a geochemical fingerprinting approach to determine the source locations from which silcrete raw materials were procured prior to their use in stone tool manufacture. The impact of intentional heat treatment of silcrete upon its chemistry, however, is unknown, meaning that heat-treated silcrete artefacts have to date been excluded from provenancing studies. This investigation presents the first high-resolution experimental analysis of the impacts of heat treatment upon the chemical composition of silcrete. The study compares the composition of unheated control samples against samples heat-treated to target temperatures of up to 600 °C taken from four silcrete blocks from South Africa and Botswana. Chemical compositions of samples are determined using ICP-MS and ICP-AES. Experimental results indicate that heat treatment has a limited impact upon silcrete chemistry. Only 7 out of 65 minor, trace and rare earth elements analysed (Al2O3, Fe2O3, K2O, As, Cr, Cs and Cu) were depleted beyond expected error limits following controlled heating. There was no consistent pattern of elemental depletion across the four silcrete samples, although a greater number of elements were depleted from chalcedony-cemented Kalahari silcretes compared with microquartz-cemented Cape silcretes. We conclude that it is safe to use chemical data from heat-treated artefacts from the Cape as part of geochemical fingerprinting studies; however, we recommend that Cu and Cs concentrations be omitted from any statistical analyses until the effects of heat treatment upon these elements are fully understood. We echo the conclusions of previous studies by recommending that chalcedony-cemented silcrete artefacts that show signs of burning or intentional heat treatment be excluded from provenancing studies in the Kalahari and potentially elsewhere.

Early humans in northern Africa

Archaeology Evidence for the earliest stone tools produced by human ancestors (from ∼2.6 million years ago) has hitherto come from East Africa. Sahnouni et al. report the discovery of Oldowan stone artifacts and associated cutmarks on fossil bones excavated in Algeria, with the earliest dated to 2.4 million years ago. Thus, hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in North Africa earlier than commonly believed. Furthermore, either stone tool manufacture and use dispersed early from East Africa or stone tool manufacture and use originated in both North and East Africa. Science , this issue p. [1297][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aau0008

1.9-million- and 2.4-million-year-old artifacts and stone tool-cutmarked bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria.

East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin-induced stone tool cutmarks dated to ~2.6 million years (Ma) ago. The ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Here we report older stone artifacts and cutmarked bones excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit estimated to ~1.9 Ma ago, and the older to ~2.4 Ma ago. Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.

Próby modelowania dynamiki narzędziowej wczesnych hominidów w świetle archeologii kognitywnej

The first traces the production of numerous stone tools from the period of thePlio-Pleistocene represent a deep antiquity technical processes in the contextof human evolution. Determining cognitive ability needed to convey the firsthominids manufacture of stone tools is a challenge for the cognitive archaeology.Currently, thanks to archaeological discoveries and the developmentof cognitive science we can try to restore all the necessary treatments aimedat the production and use of stone tools along with a broad understanding oftheir underlying cognitive processes. Analyses based on empirical data derivedfrom Lokalalei – one of the oldest archaeological sites – indicate that the hominidscomprehensive understanding of the principles of producing stone toolsalready at their very beginning.

Energy Cost of Stone Knapping

Stone tool manufacture and use are considered key adaptations in human evolution. The understanding of the biomechanical features and anatomical constraints of hominins during stone tool production have received increased attention in recent years. Similarly, research on the cognitive capabilities and manipulative complexity involved in toolmaking is in progress. However, data on the palaeophysiological constraints of stone knapping are scarce. The balance between energy acquisition and energy expenditure is a key factor to determine the fitness of any individual, and stone knapping is essential for resource procurement in any Palaeolithic society. Thus, the combination of energetic analyses and experimental archaeology provides an excellent tool to improve our understanding of prehistoric behaviours. Here, we present experimental research on the energetics of stone tool production that involves nine experienced subjects. Each subject produced three handaxes through direct hard- and soft-hammer percussion in a total of 27 experiments of toolmaking. All knappers were described by their anthropometric data, and their energetic expenditure was monitored in a breath-by-breath indirect calorimetry procedure. Because knapping is considered a light-intensity level activity, based on its MET (Metabolic Equivalent Task of Intensity) value, our results show some differences in net energy expenditure between direct hard percussion and soft percussion knapping during the configuration of a handaxe. Furthermore, our results suggest that the brachial index of the subjects represents an anatomical constraint for stone knapping because the lever of a shorter forearm reduces energy expenditure during striking and represents an advantage during handaxe production. Differences in the energetic efficiency of knapping, even if they are low, may increase the general fitness of the individual and, indeed, its survival.

North American grooved-axe replication: A taphonomic experiment in central Connecticut

Taphonomic experiments in lithic technology have been used to understand many facets of the archaeological record including site-formation processes, artifact displacement, and wear damage. The North American grooved-axe - an artifact type of which little technological attention has been given in the literature - is examined as a case study for a taphonomic experiment conducted in Central Connecticut. The use of an actualistic taphonomic experiment is used to generate an analogous experimental signature for archaeological grooved-axe manufacturing areas in North America. More specifically, the taphonomic experiment is used here to see if the isolated technological stage of impaction is archaeologically visible before short-term formation processes affect the manufacturing area in question. Impaction is a ground stone tool manufacturing technique that is otherwise known as pecking or hammer-dressing. Hypothesized archaeological traces of impaction include the recovery of flakes with macroscopic impaction wear and a lens of impaction slurry that is both visibly and texturally distinct. In addition to generating an experimental analogue for grooved-axe impaction, the replicative dimension of the taphonomic experiment is used to informally assess the plausibility of certain technological decisions in axe manufacture. Here, the use of quartzite impaction tools and expedient anvils in the production of North American grooved-axes are scrutinized.

What We Can Learn from the Flint Industries at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath

Within Levantine archaeology, the analysis of chipped stone tools from the Metal Ages is reasonably well established. Chipped stone tool manufacture is a reductive process, leaving large quantities...

An investigation of human responses to climatic fluctuations at Allen’s Cave, South Australia, from ca 40,000 to 5,000 BP, by a technological analysis of stone artefacts

Following its initial occupation ca 40,000 years ago, Aboriginal people using Allen’s Cave in South Australia’s arid zone experienced two major climatic changes. From the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at ca 30,000 cal. BP, until its peak at ca 22,000–18,000 cal. BP, aridity in Australia reached its most intense phase during the human occupation of the site. Conversely, conditions around the Allen’s Cave region during the early Holocene, 11,000–8,000 cal. BP, were the most favourable for human occupation. In this paper, we present the results of a technological and statistical re-analysis of previously excavated Allen’s Cave stone artefact assemblages, focusing on the period ca 40,000–5,000 cal. BP, to examine whether people made adjustments to stone tool manufacture in response to these climatic fluctuations. Our results and interpretations are consistent with some of the conclusions of previous scholars, primarily that the site was used for infrequent visitation rather than long-term occupation, and that little change occurred in the production of stone artefacts (despite changing environmental conditions). We also concur that lithic evidence exists for trade/exchange and/or a change in foraging range or stone curation practices at the start of the early Holocene. However, we do not support all prior claims for significant cultural and demographic changes at this time and we argue that Allen’s Cave was probably abandoned from ca 30,000 to 26,000 cal. BP. The ca 4,000 year hiatus, combined with probable increased visitation after the LGM, suggests that whilst stone tool technology remained largely consistent during the period of focus, Aboriginal people did alter their occupation patterns in response to environmental changes. On the basis of these new interpretations about the site’s occupation history, we provide updated observations in order to contribute to desert occupation modelling.