Raw Material Constraints Research Articles

An Actualistic Experimental Study of Giant Quartzite Core Reduction Strategies: Implications for Large Flake Blank Production and Handaxe Manufacture at Amanzi Springs, South Africa

ABSTRACT The later Acheulian assemblages (ca. 534–< 390 ka) from Amanzi Springs in South Africa show a preferential selection for large flake blanks when undertaking large cutting tool manufacture. However, due to the small number of giant cores from the site, we have limited insight into the technical preparation of quartzite raw material packages for large flake production. Here, we present an actualistic experimental study to better understand these procedures at the site and to gain perspective on how knappers may have reduced quartzite boulders of differing internal qualities. Our results highlight the influence of raw material constraints and how the overall morphology of quartzite boulders in turn impacts giant core reduction sequences and large flake blank morphologies. Finally, the experimental study exemplifies the need for high levels of knapping expertise to deal with tough, heterogeneous quartzite varieties.

COVID-19 impact in sourcing in Global Value Chains

This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on Global Value Chains (GVCs) using the Eurostat dataset, focusing on trade barriers and the difficulty of sourcing raw materials or intermediate goods from local and international suppliers. Using a contingency table grouped by country, we can see how raw material constraints and COVID-19’s GVCs affect many countries. The study uses Chi-square test to determine if these factors have a significant association. The data imply that foreign sourcing presents less challenges for suppliers than domestic sourcing, stressing the need of examining the consumer behaviour under uncertainties to develop GVCs resilience. The findings show a statistically significant link between barriers related to raw material and the effect level of COVID-19 in global value chains across all countries analysed. Suggesting that it is unlikely to have happened by random chance alone, highlighting the importance of addressing trade barriers and adapting to the impact of COVID-19 within global value chains.

Optimizing MSME Profits using the Simplex Method

This research aims to calculate the maximum profit from selling spinach chips, onion cakes and steak cakes at Guna Asih MSMEs and to determine the use of the simplex method for raw material constraints faced by Guna Asih MSMEs. In addition, this research uses POM-QM for Windows software to estimate the maximum profit obtained from each production of spinach chips, onion cakes and sistik cakes at Guna Asih UMKM so as to have an accurate estimate. This research method involves problem identification, selection of problem-solving models, data collection, data processing and analysis, model implementation, and evaluation of results. The research results show that the simplex method can be used to determine maximum profits in Guna Asih MSMEs. The maximum profit obtained by MSMEs is IDR. 1,277,778 per day when only producing spinach chips (X1) 1.12 times more than previous production or 336 pcs and producing onion cakes (X2) 5 times more than previous production or 500 pcs. This profit is greater than the profit before optimization which only earned IDR. 900,000 from 300 pcs of spinach chips, 100 pcs of onion cakes and 60 pcs of steak cakes. Apart from that, the use of POM-QM for Windows software is very relevant in solving linear programming problems using the simplex method because it can help in completing maximum profit level calculations quickly, precisely and accurately.

Implementasi Metode Simpleks dalam Penentuan Jumlah Keuntungan pada Jus Buah

The problem that is often felt by small MSMEs, such as sellers of fresh fruit juice drinks, is the shortage of ingredients which results in a lack of production. This is an obstacle in terms of linear programming models. To maximize production and production yields, there needs to be a method that can be used to increase production yields and reduce the number of raw material constraints on Mauza Jus. This study aims to determine the implementation of the simplkes method in determining the amount of profit in the fruit jur, in order to increase efficiency and optimal results in a system by applying the simplex method in solving optimization problems. By using the simplex method Mauza Jus can increase profits by up to 60%, this happens because Mauza Jus can determine the amount of production per day and does not experience any losses at all. The processing results are done in QM For Windows. In conclusion, Mauza Jus is getting a considerable increase in profits

A Diachronic Analysis of Obsidian Use at Chaco Canyon and the Influence of Social Factors on Obsidian Procurement

Chaco Canyon in New Mexico was the center of an extensive regional cultural system. The strength of Chaco's regional interactions has been partly defined by the presence of non–local goods including obsidian. We take a diachronic look at Chaco obsidian use from AD 500–1250 using the largest sample of XRF sourced obsidian available to date and combine this with technological analyses to identify significant changes in where and how Chacoans obtained and used obsidian. In the AD 700s obsidian from the more distant Jemez Mountains began to supplant the closer Mt. Taylor obsidian. The obsidian is of roughly equal quality, suggesting this shift relates to social factors and not raw material constraints. We find more variation over time in obsidian source use and acquisition strategies than previously noted. The patterning appears to relate to regional and local cultural diversity, social and organizational heterogeneity, and the development of new exchange networks.

Exploring the relative influence of raw materials, percussion techniques, and hominin skill levels on the diversity of the early Oldowan assemblages: Insights from the Shungura Formation, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia.

The eastern African Oldowan has been documented in multiple raw material contexts and physical environments and displays considerable differences in terms of technological complexity. The relative influence of percussion techniques and raw material quality are central to debates concerning hominin skill levels as a potential driver of change during the period between 2.6 and 2 million-years (Ma). The early Oldowan assemblages from the Shugura Formation play a key role in these debates due to a number of distinctive features, including the small size of the artefacts and poorly controlled flaking. Here we mobilize quantified and replicable experimental data in order to (a) assess the significance of the bipolar technique in the Omo archaeological assemblages and (b) discriminate the respective impact of raw materials, technical choices and knapper skill levels on the unique character of these assemblages. By combining descriptive statistics with regression tree models, our analysis demonstrates knapper skill level to be of minimal importance in this context for the production of sharp-edged flakes. The absence of a link between skill and knapping success reflects the combined effect of raw material constraints, the frequent use of the bipolar technique, and relatively simple technical objectives. Our analysis confirms the key role played by local environmental conditions in the unique appearance of the Shungura assemblages, a relationship which has been frequently suggested but never demonstrated. Beyond the operational and sensorimotor skills considered in most studies, we suggest that the diversity of early Oldowan assemblages should be better sought in the cognitive abilities developed by early toolmakers as a response to landscape learning and use, two elements of early human evolution that remain largely unexplored.

PENERAPAN METODE SIMPLEKS DALAM UPAYA MEMAKSIMALKAN PENDAPATAN

This study aims to calculate the maximum profit from selling Bella Bakery's white bread and donuts and to determine the use of the simplex method on raw material constraints experienced by Bella Bakery. In addition, this study utilizes the POM-QM software for windows software to estimate the maximum profit obtained from each production of white bread and donuts at Bella Bakery so that it has an accurate estimate. This research method includes problem identification, problem solving model selection, data collection, data processing and analysis, model implementation, and results evaluation. Based on the analysis results show that the simplex method can be used to determine the maximum profit at Bella Bakery. The maximum profit earned by Bella Bakery is Rp. 200,000 by producing only one type of product, namely donuts with a total of 50.1 boxes or 501 pieces. In addition, the POM-QM for windows software is very useful to help determine the maximum profit quickly, precisely and accurately.

Ceramics Copyright Protection: in China’s Perspective

Developed countries and regions are gradually shifting their labor-intensive industries to developing countries due to energy and raw material constraints and rising human resource costs. Companies keep their technological development and pattern design in their home countries and transfer their raw materials and product manufacturing processes to developing countries. As a result of these factors, the production of ceramic products in developing countries has increased significantly. From the Chinese side, in 2013, China proposed the "One Belt, One Road" foreign development strategy, which has brought more business opportunities for the ceramics industry and promoted the development of China's ceramics industry. However, behind the strengthening of competitiveness, the weakness of insufficient protection of intellectual property rights in ceramics has also been exposed. As of February 2022, a total of 3,029 court decisions. Therefore, the legislature needs to think about how to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in ceramics. This study analyzes the current state of the ceramics industry, and the protection of intellectual property rights in ceramics and incorporates a survey of data on Jingdezhen as a center for the protection of intellectual property rights in ceramics in China. It will provide a good external environment for ceramic enterprises to develop and innovate, achieve a benign mechanism for market competition, protect the legitimate interests of rights holders, stimulate enthusiasm for ceramic innovation and creation, and promote the development of the ceramic industry.

Lithic miniaturization and hafted tools in early Late Pleistocene Salawusu, North China

Since its discovery in the 1920s, Salawusu (Sjara-osso-gol), located on the southern edge of the Mongolian Plateau, has been one of the most important Paleolithic findings in East Asia. Unfortunately, because of the miniaturized sizes of the Salawusu artifacts that have traditionally been considered too small to study, little has been known about the lithic technology and tool making skills of these hominins. Here we reexamined the lithic assemblage from the Fanjiagouwan Locality at Salawusu, that has been tentatively dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence to between 100 ka and 90 ka, to identify hominin activities during Marine Isotope Stage 5 that appear to be specific to this spatial–temporal facie. We analyzed the artifacts at higher magnification and 3D scans to overcome the difficulties of “reading” the reduction traces left on these miniature sized lithics. We also conducted a microwear analysis in addition to a standard techno-typological study. It is quite evident that advanced reduction techniques were applied in the reduction of the miniaturized lithics, and evidence of hafting and composite tools are present as well. These latter observations reveal important features of the Salawusu lithic assemblage. These hominin behaviors are likely directly related to raw material constraints in the region that forced these hominins to get as much as possible out of these small cores. It is possible this technology originated in the Salawusu area and then later spread across northern China, Korea, and Japan during the Late Pleistocene. Given the age of the Fanjiagouwan deposits, it is unclear, at this time, exactly who these stone knappers were.

Capitalism, Imperialism and the Food Question

The success and failure of capitalism have been commonly measured by the yardsticks of industrialisation, technical progress and innovations in the financial markets. The emergence of industrial agriculture under successful capitalist transitions is supposed to have taken care of all food and raw material constraints that could have arrested the development of industrial economies and societies in the North. Simultaneously, the problems of underdevelopment and food insecurity in the South is attributed to internal constraints and barriers. The work of Utsa Patnaik challenges these views as she explored multiple aspects of the contribution of colonies to the advance of capital accumulation in the North. She delves into the nineteenth century ‘international division of labour’, the role of tropical food and raw materials exports by commercialised southern agriculture and implication for food security in the colonies. The objective of this article is to engage with the anti-imperial scholarship of Utsa Patnaik with a specific focus on the food question in capitalism. The article traces the evolution of the food question as capitalism evolved and dominated the world economy. JEL Codes: P1, F54, Q18

The Technological Behaviours of Homo antecessor: Core Management and Reduction Intensity at Gran Dolina-TD6.2 (Atapuerca, Spain)

The ability of early hominins to overcome the constraints imposed by the characteristics of raw materials used for stone tool production is a key topic on the discussion about the evolution of hominin cognitive capabilities and technical behaviours. Thus, technological variability has been the centrepiece on this debate. However, the variability of lithic assemblages cannot be correctly interpreted without understanding site occupational models and function and considering that individual tools represent specific discard moments in a continuous reduction process. In Europe, the earliest technological record is represented by the scarce and scattered Mode 1 technologies, often deriving from occasional occupations or restricted activity areas yielding unrepresentative assemblages. In this paper, we approach the technological behaviours exhibited by Lower Palaeolithic hominins from the subunit TD6.2 of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Burgos) by including the perspective of reduction intensity studies on the analysis of technological variability. Gran Dolina TD6.2 is a unique and extremely significant archaeological context, as it represents the oldest multi-layered unit of domestic hominin occupations in the Early Pleistocene of Europe. We use the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM) to estimate the original volume of the blanks and quantify the reduction intensity of each core individually to characterise the reduction distribution patterns using Weibull probability distribution functions. Our results suggest differential raw material management in terms of reduction intensity, according to the characteristics of each lithology. This could reflect a solid understanding of raw material qualities and a certain degree of planning. Altogether, the continuity between knapping strategies through reduction denotes constant adaptation to raw material constraints as well as particular knapping conditions, rather than specific compartmentalised mental schemes. In conclusion, Homo antecessor toolmakers would have been situational knappers whose technological behaviour would be highly adaptive. This research constitutes the first reduction approach for the European Early Pleistocene assemblages that will lead to a referential framework for other European Early Pleistocene sites.

Resilient reverse logistics with blockchain technology in sustainable food supply chain management during COVID‐19

AbstractCOVID‐19, which is a global problem, affects the all supply chains throughout the world. One of the supply chains most affected by COVID‐19 is food supply chains. Since the sustainable food supply chain processes are complex and vulnerable in terms of product variety, it has been negatively affected by the operational effects of COVID‐19. While the problems experienced in the supply chain processes and raw material constraints caused stops in production, the importance of new business models and production approaches came to the fore. One of the issues of increasing importance is the adoption of reverse logistics activities in sustainable food supply chains and increasing the resilience of food supply chains by integrating blockchain technology into processes. However, adapting blockchain technology to increase the resilience of reverse logistics activities in the food supply chain has advantages as well as risks that need to be considered. Therefore, it is aimed to determine these risks by using fuzzy synthetic evaluation method for eliminating the risks of blockchain adaptation for flexible reverse logistics in food supply chains to increase resiliency. The novelty of this study is that besides discussing about the benefits of BC‐T, it is to identify the risks it can create, to eliminate these risks and to guide the establishment of resilience in reverse logistics activities of SFSCs. According to results, the risks with the highest value among the subrisks are determined as data security risks. Data management risks are calculated as the risk with the highest value.

ANALYSIS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES IN SUSTAINING MSMEs BUSINESS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study aims to determine the marketing strategy in MSMEs, especially the applied marketing mix. This study uses a qualitative method: a case study that produces descriptive data described in words. The data source of this study used design sampling techniques and data collection techniques. The authors conducted personal interviews with the MSME Bhayangkara Florist during this study. It includes sales data for several years of return and concluded several discussions, including strategies, constraints, and solutions. The strategy used is the 4P mix (Product, Promotion, Price, and Place). The product strategy is in the form of a bouquet of masks innovation. The promotion strategy is in the form of price discounts. The price strategy is that every bouquet purchase gets a bonus mask. The place strategy is in the form of flexibility in product delivery to maintain and improve product quality. Even though there are financial and raw material constraints, they can still find solutions and alternatives, including managing finances and effectively using natural materials. Then, the MSME's answer in dealing with Covid-19 is to maintain cash flow, product innovation, optimize social media and optimize delivery services

Cultural mosaics, social structure, and identity: The Acheulean threshold in Europe

The period between 600 and 400 ka is a critical phase for human evolution in Europe. The south and northwest saw a dramatic increase in sites, the spread of handaxe technology alongside bone and wooden tool manufacture, efficient hunting techniques, and the use of fire. Lithic assemblages show considerable variation, including the presence/absence of handaxes and tool morphology. To explain this variation, we propose the Cultural Mosaic Model, which suggests that there is a range of expressions of the Acheulean, with local resources being instrumental in creating distinct material cultures with or without handaxes. We argue that if typologically and technologically distinct assemblage types are regionally distributed, chronologically separated, and persistent over time, then they are unlikely to be caused purely by raw material constraints or functional variation but rather reflect populations with different material cultures. We initially assess the model using British data. Britain was a northwestern peninsula of Europe, and oscillations in climate led to episodic occupation. The terraces of the pre-MIS 12 Bytham River provide a framework for dating occupation to MIS 13 and 15, while during MIS 11, archaeological sites with rich environmental records can be dated to substage level. We suggest there are six chronologically and typologically distinct assemblage types that reflect a series of population incursions into Britain. We review the broader European lithic record, which is consistent with the Cultural Mosaic Model. In developing the model, we suggest that during stable climate, localized cultures developed, while climatic change led to shifts in population, with increased knowledge exchange and gene flow. We suggest that group expression through material culture was an important stage in social development by promoting group cohesion, larger group size, better cooperation, improved knowledge transfer, and enabling populations to survive in larger foraging territories in northern Europe.

Book review: The prehistoric apprentice: Investigating apprenticeship, know-how and expertise in prehistoric technologies; L’apprenti préhistorique: Appréhender l’apprentissage, les savoir-faire et l’expertise à travers les productions techniques des soci

&#x0D; Describing cultural change and variability and inferring sociocultural dynamics about past people and communities may be among archaeology’s main goals as a field of practice. In this regard, the concept of skill has proved its usefulness to, time and again, expand the breath of archaeologists and lithic technologists’ analyses. It covers a wide range of applications, from apprenticeship, cognition, paleo-sociology, spatial organization. It is one of the main causes for material culture variability, up there with raw material constraints, design, technological organization or cultural norms. Yet, while skill has certainly been the focus of some research in the last decades, it remains quite peripheral, when considering how central the concept should be to technological inquiries. Whatever the reasons may be, this book, edited by Laurent Klaric and fully bilingual (French and English), aims at changing that, and argues for skill to become a central concern in lithic technology. Its chapters do so strongly and the end-result is a book that should become a reference for lithic technologists, whatever their research interests or schools of thought may be.

Experimental and statistical analysis of robotic 3D printing process parameters for continuous fiber reinforced composites

3D printing technology has gradually taken its place in many sectors. However, expected performance cannot be obtained from the structural parts with this method due to the raw material properties and constraints of Cartesian motion systems. This technology cannot replace structural parts produced by traditional manufacturing methods. In order to avoid these constraints, it is preferred to use continuous fiber reinforced polymer composites in many areas such as automotive and aerospace industries due to their low weight and high specific strength properties. These automated composite manufacturing methods currently have limited production of geometric shapes due to the need for additional molds and production as flat surfaces. To overcome all these constraints, fiberglass reinforced ultraviolet ray-curing polymer matrix composite material are selected for robotic 3 D printing process and various parameters are examined. Fiber-polymer combination and layer structure formation was examined. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of sections of 3 D printed test samples were taken and fiber resin curing was examined. The nozzle diameter, printing speed, fiber density and Ultra Violet (UV) light intensity parameters, which will provide effective 3 D printing process, are optimized with the Taguchi method. Tensile strength, flexural strength and izod impact values are considered as result parameters for optimization. It was found that it would be appropriate for 3D printing with a 1.0 mm nozzle diameter, 600 tex fiber density, 4 UV light, 600 mm/min printing speed. With these 3D printing process parameters, approximately 125 MPa tensile strength and 450 MPa flexural strength can be obtained. With this study, support and contribution was provided to researchers, composite producers, tool manufacturer and literature who want to use and develop this 3D printing process.

At the onset of the Micoquian in Central Europe: raw material constraints and technological versatility at Neumark-Nord 2/0 (Germany)

After the Eemian, Neanderthals of Central Europe produced new stone tools for coping with the increased seasonality and climatic deterioration of the Last Glacial. This new cultural tradition is named Micoquian, and is characterized by a broad range of asymmetric backed bifaces, foliate artefacts and bifacial scrapers. Despite the abundant number of sites and the broad geographical expansion, technological information on the early stages of development of the Micoquian are still few. This paper presents new data on the lithic assemblage of Neumark-Nord NN2/ 0, a Micoquian occupation dated to the MIS 5c/ 5a. The results point out a technical continuity with the previous Eemian settlements whereas the production of backed bifaces shows to be associated to new strategies of raw material economy in the technological context of Quina scrapers. This behaviour is different from other sites in Central Europe suggesting that the emergence of the Micoquian at the beginning of the Weichselian followed different trajectories.

Use-wear analysis of a specific mobile toolkit from the Middle Paleolithic site of Abric Romaní (Barcelona, Spain): a case study from level M

A use-wear analysis was carried out on a specific mobile toolkit belonging to level M of the Middle Paleolithic site of Abric Romani (Barcelona, Spain), which is dated to MIS 3, between 51 and 55 Ka BP. In an environment rich in local and regional chert sources and in a technological context marked by expedient behavior, a set of flakes, which also included debordant elements with asymmetric transversal sections, were introduced into the site having already been knapped. A combination of technological, refitting, and raw material unit analyses (RMU) have distinguished them from the rest of the chert artifacts knapped in situ. Given that the aim of the reduction sequences in level M, as in most of the stratigraphic sequence, is the production of small flakes of poor quality chert, the introduction of these finished tools indicates the existence of planned behavior in relation to raw material constraints and, to a major extent, with specific needs. The question is whether there is any functional difference between these flakes knapped outside and those produced on-site. A first step to solving this issue is the evaluation of the potential of these tools for use-wear analysis. Thirty-seven flakes were selected for this study prioritizing the state of surface preservation. To provide reliable data with which to compare the archeological traces, we have performed a specific experimental program using the main chert varieties identified in the archeological sample. Digital 3D, optical, and scanning electron microscopies were combined to characterize wear patterns in a mobile toolkit. Our preliminary results show that, despite the significant patination on some of the pieces, a limited array of tools have a good state of surface preservation and show use-wear evidence related to a variety of butchery activities.

Étude techno-économique du Moustérien de Pradayrol (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot) : entre mobilité des ressources lithiques et adaptation aux matériaux locaux, un exemple de gestion complémentaire des quartz et silex au Paléolithique moyen récent en Quercy

The Mousterian locus at Pradayrol (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot, France) produced an important lithic assemblage, composed primarily of quartz, alongside a varied flint component. Our technological analysis reveals the presence of several chaînes opératoires adapted to the morphology and mechanical properties of different raw materials. This is especially evident in the use of the bipolar on-anvil technique on quartz cobbles and discoidal flaking methods on both quartz and relatively local flints. Flint from the Périgord region provides evidence for a fragmented and ramified Levallois chaîne opératoire, different from that observed with local raw materials. These techno-economic features are similar to those documented for many late Middle Palaeolithic assemblages in the Quercy. The Neanderthal occupation of Pradayrol seems to reflect a balance between technical know-how and adaptations to the raw material constraints.

The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological Behavior at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK

The morphological variability of large cutting tools (LCT) during the Middle Pleistocene has been traditionally associated with two main variables: raw material constraints and reduction intensity. Boxgrove — c.500 ka — is one of the most informative sites at which to analyze shaping strategies and handaxe morphological variability in the European Middle Pleistocene, because of the large number of finished handaxes, and the presence of complete operational chains. We focused on the entire handaxe and rough-out sample from Boxgrove-Q1/B with the aim of assessing the role of raw material characteristics — size, form, and homogeneity of nodules — in the shaping process, and to ascertain if they represent real constraints in the production of handaxes. Additionally, given the large number of handaxes and the intensity of the thinning work at Boxgrove, we also aimed to determine if reduction intensity affected the final shape to the degree that some authors have previously postulated. The methodology combines traditional technological descriptions, metrical analysis, and experimental reproduction of shaping processes together with geometric morphometry and PCA. The conclusions we draw are that the Q1/B handaxe knapping strategies were flexible and adapted to the characteristics of the blanks. These characteristics affected the reduction strategy but there is no clear relationship between initial nodule or blank morphology and final handaxe shape. Throughout the experiments, we explored the capacity to solve problems arising from reduction accidents, which led to re-configuring the knapping strategy to achieve the predetermined “mental template.” Furthermore, no substantial morphological differences related to reduction intensity were noticed with the Q1/B handaxes. Systematic re-sharpening as the cause of shape variation seems highly unlikely, perhaps related to the short use-life of the Boxgrove-Q1/B handaxes. Preferred forms constitute part of a broader pattern emerging for specific handaxe types at different times during the British Acheulean. The patterns have tentatively been interpreted as the result of changing environments and the movement of hominin populations.