Stone Tools Research Articles

Using horse teeth to shape stone tools: an experimental approach to characterise use-wear traces

Horse tooth retouchers have been identified in several Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites. They have been typically characterised as ‘soft’ hammers and/or grouped into the category of ‘bone retouchers’ at a technical level. Bone and teeth have different chemical compositions; teeth are denser and heavier than bone, and consequently, their technological features should not be considered homologous. In this work, we experimentally tested the effectiveness of horse teeth as retouchers. To perform this study, we used 41 modern horse teeth to shape flakes of various raw materials by applying different techniques. The resulting use-wear traces were analysed using high-resolution methods and then characterised. The results allowed us to identify the effectiveness of hypsodont teeth in knapping a wide range of tools and to evaluate the influence of 1) the raw materials, 2) the retouching techniques and 3) the gestures of the different knappers on the morphology of the use-wear marks. This work sheds light on the purpose of using teeth as tools by both Neanderthal and early modern human populations as well as understanding how these human species used them. The study leads us to consider tooth retouchers as important elements of the chaîne opératoire in lithic manufacture. Our goal is to highlight the importance of these types of experimental studies to create analogies and infer past processes.

Beyond access: (re)designing archival guides for changing landscapes

AbstractIn 2013, the authors of this article and their colleague Gavan McCarthy published Stories in Stone: an annotated history and guide to the collections of Ernest Westlake (1855–1922). The guide provided contextual information and digital access to the entire paper archives relating to the three large stone collections formed by Westlake during his lifetime: French and English geological specimens housed in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History from 1924, and a collection of Tasmanian Aboriginal stone tools stored in the Pitt Rivers Museum since 1923. The Tasmanian collections, formed by Westlake from 1908 to 1910, are highly significant to the Palawa (or Pakana or Tasmanian Aboriginal) community because they include objects made by ancestors, and words spoken by ancestors to Westlake and recorded in his field notebooks. Stories in Stone was created to improve access to Westlake’s Tasmanian collections for the Palawa community with whom author Rebe Taylor had worked closely since 1999. Nonetheless, the structural and technical design of Stories in Stone was not Palawa-led. It was driven by Australian and international archiving standards; by stipulations set out by the collecting institutions; and by the stories of collecting and subsequent scholarship on the collections. In 2023, Stories in Stone is offline, and the authors are planning a relaunch. This time they aim to reach beyond their original aim of providing archival access to the Palawa community, and work with Palawa community to co-design how that access is delivered. This consultative work will be done at the University of Tasmania, where Palawa advisors and other Indigenous scholars have been integral to developing international Indigenous data sovereignty principals. This article precedes those formal discussions and thus offers a timely reflection on the original aims and design of Stories in Stone as well as an extensive analysis of broader changes in the management and dissemination of First Nations collections and culture. Such changes include: international human rights frameworks; movements supporting data and archival sovereignty; co-designed archival technologies; and increased focus on archives as process not merely product. These developments will lay the foundations for the next version of Stories in Stone, which aims to go beyond access, scholarship, and standards by helping to facilitate First Nations’ aspirations for dignity, sovereignty, and self-determination.

Making a U-turn on the Purfleet Interchange: Stone Tool Technology in Marine Isotope Stage 9 Britain and the Emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe

This paper re-examines earlier Palaeolithic core technology from British sites assigned to MIS 11, 9, and 7 using primarily a châine opératoire approach, with the objective of better understanding the earliest occurrence and distribution of Levallois and other prepared-core technologies across the Old World. Contrary to previous interpretations (White and Ashton in Current Anthropology, 44: 598–609, 2003), we find no evidence for a true Levallois concept in MIS 11 or MIS 9 in Britain. Cores previously described as ‘simple prepared cores’ or ‘proto-Levallois’ cores show neither evidence of core management nor predetermination of the resulting flakes. They can instead be explained as the coincidental result of a simpler technological scheme aimed at exploiting the largest surface area of a core, thereby maximising the size of the flakes produced from it. This may be a more widespread practice, or a local solution derived from existing principles. Levallois appears fully formed in Britain during terminal MIS 8/initial MIS 7. Consequently, Britain does not provide evidence for an in situ evolution of Levallois, rather we argue it was introduced by new settlers after a glacial abandonment: the solution to the emergence and significance of Levallois lies in southern Europe, the Levant and Africa.

Wild capuchin monkeys use stones and sticks to access underground food

Primates employ different tools and techniques to overcome the challenges of obtaining underground food resources. Humans and chimpanzees are known to tackle this problem with stick tools and one population of capuchin monkeys habitually uses stone tools. Although early hominids could have used stones as digging tools, we know little about when and how these could be useful. Here, we report a second primate population observed using stone tools and the first capuchin monkey population to habitually use the ‘stick-probing’ technique for obtaining underground resources. The bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) from Ubajara National Park, Brazil, use ‘hands-only’ and ‘stone-digging’ techniques for extracting underground storage organs and trapdoor spiders. Males also use ‘stick-probing’ and ‘stone-stick’ techniques for capturing trapdoor spiders. Tool use does not increase success in obtaining these resources. Stone-digging is less frequent in this population than in the only other known population that uses this technique. Females use stones in a lower proportion of their digging episodes than males in both populations. Ecological and cultural factors potentially influence technique choice and sex differences within and between populations. This population has a different pattern of underground food exploration using tools. Comparing this population with others and exploring the ecological and cultural factors under which capuchin monkeys employ different tools and techniques will allow us to better understand the pressures that may have shaped the evolution of those behaviors in primates.

Heavily eroded Pleistocene landscape and site-forming processes of the Acheulean artifacts-bearing Holocene sediments, Eastern Desert, Sudan

Since the Middle Pleistocene, the Sahara region has undergone strong environmental changes resulting from climate changes. Dry periods, constituting an ecological barrier to human presence, alternated with wet periods when the Sahara area was covered with green savanna and an extensive network of watercourses, allowing the area to be occupied by hunter-gatherer groups. Responding to the Quaternary climatic changes, hominin dispersal was channeled through vegetated corridors. Such evidence for human settlements connected to Pleistocene green corridors in the Sahara region has been discovered in the research area called EDAR (Eastern Desert Atbara River). This area comprises a cluster of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites discovered in the fluvial sedimentary context. This manuscript discusses the occurrence of Middle Pleistocene Acheulean artifacts in much younger sediments documented at the site EDAR 6. These Acheulean artifacts are present within thick Holocene calcareous sandy silts formed between 2.7 ka and 8.7 ka based on an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology, which is also supported by paleomagnetic analysis. The stone gravelly artifacts mantled above the eolian deposits have been known in other Paleolithic sites under the desert environment of Northern Africa. We propose that the relocation of the Palaeolithic artifacts was due to long-lasting erosional and redepositional processes affecting the Acheulean artifacts-bearing sediments since the Middle Pleistocene. We interpret that the cumulative results of the two processes, i.e., the gravel framework dilation and the gravel overpassing, allowed the stone artifacts to be exposed at the surface or incorporated in the Holocene sediment layers.

Exploring Wilton microlithic technologies: New analyses from Rose Cottage Cave, South Africa

The Later Stone Age of southern Africa sees the succession of varied lithic traditions. The Wilton (8ka BP – second millennium AD) corresponds to the last techno-complex of the LSA in South Africa. It has been typologically recognised over vast geographical areas and seems to last until the progressive disappearance of stone tool industries, while experiencing chronological and geographical variations. While Wilton formal tools, mainly small scrapers and microliths, have received much attention, the ways in which the stone tools themselves were produced are still unknown. This paper provides keys to describe mid-Holocene Wilton microlithic productions at the reference site of Rose Cottage Cave (Free-State). The lithic technological analysis highlights the integrated production of ‘ready-made’ blanks from one volume, including bladelets. The scraper and backed piece typologies are analysed and reveal an interesting diversity. These results provide a foundation for the building of the technological understanding of the Wilton in southern Africa. This paper ultimately aims to facilitate the exploration of regional and chronological variations at Wilton sites, and, by contrast, to differentiate other lithic traditions in southern Africa.

구석기시대 사용된 자갈돌의 시론적 연구

Paleolithic people made and used tools from a variety of materials, including stone, bone, antler, and wood. In particular, based on stone tools found in Paleolithic sites, many researchers have made an effort to reveal the function of the site and the life and culture of the people. It has found not only cores, flakes, retouched tools, but also pebbles that were not retouched but had traces by use in Paleolithic sites. Although utilized pebbles have been continuously used in the Paleolithic, they have not been treated much as a subject of research. So we will try to understand various functions of utilized pebbles through use-wear analysis, experiments, and ethnographic research. There are many different types of utilized pebbles in Paleolithic sites, but they can be largely categorized as hammer stones, anvil stones, pitted stones, and ground stones. Hammer stones can be used alone or in combination with other tools. It is generally assumed that they were used to make stone tools, but they were used for a variety of purposes. Anvil stones were used alone as hammer stones for knapping big stones, or such as bipolar debitage in combination with hammer stones, or to crack bones or hard fruits. Pitted stones have the function of both a hammer and an anvil. Depending on the size and depth of the pits formed on the pebble, it can be assumed that it was used for various functions, such as making stone tools and breaking hard fruits, nuts. Ground stones have grinding or stripe traces on the surface, and it is likely that they were used to work with leather, bone, and antler. Utilized Pebbles had been used as tools by people for a long time since the Paleolithic and reflected the technology, activities, and culture of the people at that time. Various types of utilized pebbles, including hammer and anvil stones, have been identified in Paleolithic sites on the Korean Peninsula. If studies on the utilized pebbles are accumulated, it is expected that we have dynamic interpretations related to the technological and economic activities of Paleolithic people.

Cooked or discarded? Experimental distinction of rabbit burnt bones and its application to the archaeological record

Leporid bones from Middle Palaeolithic assemblages may result from the contributions of various predators, including humans, or natural processes. Although the acquisition, processing, and consumption of small mammals by Neanderthal groups has been widely demonstrated, there are still some unresolved issues. Cut marks are typically the most reliable indicators of human processing of carcasses. However, animals the size of rabbits often pose a challenge in this regard, as the use of stone tools is not always necessary for their consumption, particularly for meat or marrow extraction. Consequently, the quantity of these types of marks, such as cuts or hammer-stone percussion damage, indicating human processing, may be limited. Burning is another type of bone damage that could be indicative of human action, although both intentional and accidental processes could lead to the thermal alteration of remains without necessarily linking them to consumption. Therefore, efforts to distinguish the processes resulting in bone burning are of vital importance in determining the origin of these animals in archaeological assemblages. In this work, the results of several experimental series designed to characterise the roasting and subsequent cleaning of waste on rabbit bones are presented. These results confirm most of the characteristics described in previous experimental works on burnt bones, highlighting the differential damage between bones with and without meat. The current study aims to contribute new data for characterising burned rabbit bones resulting from human actions, which can then be applied to Middle Palaeolithic assemblages with this type of thermal alteration bone modifications.

Increasing obsidian diversity during the Chalcolithic Period at Yeghegis-1 Rockshelter (Armenia) reveals shifts in land use and social networks

The newly excavated rockshelter of Yeghegis-1 in Armenia reflects an occupation of five centuries, as attested by radiocarbon dates from ∼ 4100 to 4000 cal BCE in the lowest layer to ∼ 3600–3500 cal BCE at the top. It is a partially collapsed cave in which pastoralists, we hypothesize, wintered with their herds. The stone tool assemblage is predominantly obsidian (92.1%), despite the shelter being > 60 km on foot from the nearest sources. We use obsidian sourcing to investigate two purported trends in the Southern Caucasus during the Chalcolithic Period: (1) occupation of more varied high-altitude environments and (2) more expansive social networks. Our data show both trends were dynamic phenomena. There was a greater balance in use of the nearest pasturelands over time, perhaps linked to risk management and/or resource sustainability. During later occupations, artifacts from distant sources reveal more extensive connections. This increase in connectivity likely played a central role in the shifts in societal complexity that gave rise to widely shared material culture throughout the Armenian Highlands around the start of the Early Bronze Age. In such a model, greater social connectivity becomes a key mechanism for, rather than a product of, the spread of cultural and/or technological innovations.

Zhoukoudian: the birthplace of palaeoanthropology and the stimulus for Paleolithic archaeology in China

Abstract The Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) site, which was excavated in 1921, is one of the most important ancient human sites in China and in the world as well. From the perspective of the history of transnational science, this paper summarizes the history of the excavation of Zhoukoudian and the research that has been done into related fossil and human remains. It argues that Zhoukoudian was the birthplace of palaeoanthropology and the stimulus for the establishment of Paleolithic archaeology as a field in China. The Zhoukoudian site preserves traces of prehistoric human activities that date from 700 000 to 10 000 years ago, including human fossils, stone artefacts, ornaments and mammalian fossils. Thus, it still remains the most abundant, systematic and valuable site of its kind in the world, as well as being a very important geoheritage site.

A Middle Palaeolithic incised bear bone from the Dziadowa Skała Cave, Poland: the oldest marked object north of the Carpathian Mountains

A fragment of an ursid radius with seventeen incisions (one of them incomplete) was excavated in the 1950s in the Dziadowa Skała Cave in the Częstochowa Upland in southern Poland from a deposit with faunal remains from the Eemian (ca 130–115 kyr). This object has been cited as the earliest evidence of Neanderthal cognitive abilities in the region, but it has been never studied in detail. The artefact has now been re-examined using microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. For this study we revised the determination of the bone and studied the morphology and metric parameters of the incisions (length, width, depth and opening angle). We also used experiments, statistical analysis and an analysis of the incisions' topography to establish the techniques behind their manufacture. The obtained results show that the bone was marked using a retouched stone tool, and that the incisions were produced during a single episode by a right-handed individual using repeated unidirectional movements of the tools’ cutting edge. The incisions are evidently an effect of a deliberate action, not a side-effect of some practical activity. The bear radius from Dziadowa Skała is thus yet another piece of evidence for the emergence of symbolic culture, evolved by hominins in Africa and Eurasia, and represents the oldest example of marked bone north of the Carpathian Mountains.

An experimental approach to the study of amber processing in the Neolithic: technical analysis of the Siliņupe amber assemblage, 4 th mill. BC, Latvia

Abstract Amber appears in the archaeological material of the Eastern Baltic region in the Middle Neolithic and continues in intensive use until the end of the Neolithic. Four major amber-working centres are known in the Eastern Baltic, the least studied of which is the settlement of Siliņupe (4th mill. BC). Not yet widely applied in research on Stone Age amber technologies, but very promising, is an analytical approach combining experimental archaeology and traceology to study processing choices made in specific production stages (i. e., individual technological elements), revealing that fine-grained sandstone was favoured for surface grinding, while flint tools were most widely used for shaping and surface treatment, distinguishing three techniques, namely shaving, scraping and pressure flaking, each identifiable by characteristic features. The study suggests that amber and flint processing were largely intertwined, as pressure flaking along with indirect percussion (used for splitting amber) derive from flint processing, and in the case of pressure flaking, required specific know-how.

The use of Rosetta Stone as learning media to improve students' speaking

The study addressed the impact of the Rosetta Stone tool on improving English speaking skills. The research aimed to determine the contribution of the Rosetta Stone tool as a learning medium to enhance the English speaking skills of high school students at Liceo Cristiano Israel. A mixed qualitative-quantitative approach and a non-experimental design were employed. Data collection methods included surveys, document review, and checklists. Analysis focused on learning outcomes, student satisfaction, learning difficulties, and measuring the contribution of Rosetta Stone to the English curriculum. The sample consisted of 29 intentionally selected high school students: 10 from the first level, 7 from the second level, and 12 from the third level. Results showed a significant correlation between the use of Rosetta Stone and progress in English speaking, supporting the tool's effectiveness. There was a highlighted need to integrate technological tools to enhance language teaching and adapt educational approaches to promote communicative skills. The reliability of instruments was high (0.83), supporting the validity of the collected data. Rosetta Stone proved to be an effective resource for developing English speaking skills in high school students, suggesting the importance of its integration into language teaching programs to promote meaningful learning and effective communication.

Geospatial Analysis of Archaeological Sites in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria has rich and diverse archaeological heritage. The research employed geospatial technologies, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing, to analyze and document the archaeological sites in Ikara. The research aims to assess the Geospatial distribution of Archaeological sites in the study area by mapping to locate the Archaeological sites in the study area, determine the pattern of distribution of the Archaeological sites and examine the finds and features in the sites. The research employed a mixed-method approach that combines field surveys, archival research, and geospatial analysis. The research findings show fifteen (15) archaeological sites dispersedly distributed across the Eight (8) wards in the study area with Ikara ward having the highest number of archaeological sites. Also, the dominant cultural materials across the sites are finds in forms of potsherds and features in form of House foundation. The cultural remains on the Archaeological sites are House foundations, mounds, granary, potsherds, iron slag, open grave, stone tools and grinding stones. Based on the findings, dispersed pattern of the Archaeological sites in the study area was deduced from the data collected especially at the southern part of the area of study where the sites are found to be most concentrated. Base on the research findings, it is recommended that further research shall be undertaken using GIS and Remote Sensing Technology for effective Archaeological site discovery, management and preservation.

South Cuidrach

A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner Sound with lithic (stone tool) evidence diagnostic of a human presence before the mid-Holocene. These sites currently represent a unique concentration of pre-Late Mesolithic sites in Scotland. The lithic evidence which forms the backbone of the cultural and temporal characterisation of the site at South Cuidrach is outlined here. This includes characteristic points and microliths, burins, cores and other items diagnostic of specific cultural groups. Additionally, it has become evident that Rum bloodstone, a raw material well known from the Late Mesolithic period in the region, may be absent before the Early/Late Mesolithic transition, with baked mudstone from Staffin in North Skye being the primary raw material used before this time. The need for detailed knowledge of the region’s lithic technology and typology is well illustrated here, as small details frequently reflect important chronological differences.

Palaeoliths and Pareidolia: Photography and Archaeological Stone Collecting From the Discovery of Deep Time to the Eolith Controversies

Photography played an important part in the revelation of deep time in the later nineteenth century, leading to the invention of a new epoch – the palaeolithic. This article investigates how photography participated in creating palaeoliths, eoliths, and stone collectables in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when the boundaries between artefacts and non-artefacts, culture and nature, were at issue. I examine the emergence of visual conventions for depicting ancient stone implements in archaeological publications and museums and the development of standardized artefact photography. I investigate how the mechanical objectivity of photography was deployed in archaeological experiments demonstrating that eoliths, like photographs, could be produced using non-human agencies. I explore the utopian and left-wing cultures of collecting and photographing figure-stones and picture-stones; collecting cultures based around an alternative connoisseurship of pareidolia – the “primitive” skill of discerning animals, faces and body parts in stones. Comparing case studies of authenticated, unauthenticated, and, hoax artefacts, I examine how authentication practices preserved the personal authority of archaeological specialists, by emphasizing encounters between experts and stones, over those between experts and photographs. Photography always had the potential to destabilize the power relations of archaeological authentication, but, in practice, reinforced and extended them.

Identifying the stone toolkit of Copper Age and Bronze Age metallurgists: A new contribution from use-wear and XRF analysis carried out on experimental tests

Use-wear analysis of stone tools involved in metallurgical processes is a recent field of research within functional analysis. In order to consolidate the methodological framework of such research, experiments were carried out on the production of copper and bronze objects. Several production steps were tested, on the basis of archaeological questions relating to sites dated from the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC in north-west Europe. The crushing of copper ore was tested in order to compare use-wear traces created by three different actions: breaking block, fragmenting into small pieces and grinding into powder. In addition, various parts of a test group of copper and tin bronze axeheads and daggers were shaped by hammering: this hammering involved deburring and regularization of the sides of the axeheads and daggers, as well as thinning out the cutting edges immediately after casting or at a later stage. Finally, the sides and edges of the copper and bronze axeheads were abraded and polished. The combination of use-wear and XRF analysis of the tools involved in this series of experiments consolidates the methodological background of the functional analysis of stone tools. They allow better differentiation of wear traces resulting from the processing of ores within the broader spectrum of hard mineral materials. They also raise questions about the preservation of metal residues on the surface of stone tools depending on the different activities carried out. Finally, the distinction between copper and bronze objects is also discussed. Examples of the analysis of various metallurgists’ stone tools from the Early Bronze in north-west Europe support the demonstration.

Starch Granule Yields from Open-Air Metates Unaffected by Environmental Contamination

Abstract The morphological characteristics of starch granules preserved on ancient ground stone tools can reveal which plant species were processed and consumed and even infer tool function. Bedrock metates are commonly associated with the processing of localized seasonal resources, providing potential evidence for past human lifeways, including foods collected and processed, social gatherings, settlement patterns, land investment, and territorial behavior. In contrast to ground stone artifacts preserved in a buried context that have been studied extensively, limited starch research has been conducted on the potential for environmental contamination of open-air bedrock mortars and metates exposed to natural erosional elements. This project examines the residue samples of bedrock metates from three archaeological sites in southern Oregon in the United States to compare the starch yields of extraneous material cleaned from the grinding surface to those extracted from interstitial matrices deeper within the bedrock. Significantly greater number of starch granules were recovered from deep within the cracks and crevices than from the surface. Our study suggests that environmental contamination can be managed if separate surface and control samples are collected and analyzed in conjunction with the interstitial samples. Examining the potential for environmental contamination on exposed grinding surfaces is crucial for confidence in starch granule results and improving our understanding of human dietary behavior.

Assessing the role of meat consumption in human evolutionary changes. A review

The historical study of changes in food patterns is an integral part of the study of biological and social adaptations during the formation and further development of Homo sapiens species. For quite a long time, diets have been considered the driving force of human evolution. Changes in the type of food consumed and the way it was obtained have been associated with encephalization and the emergence of bipedalism, as well as ecological, social and cultural evolution of hominins1 . Archaeological and paleontological evidence indicates that at least about 3 million years ago, hominins increased their meat consumption and developed the necessary fabricated stone tools, while their brains and bodies evolved for a novel foraging niche and expanded hunting grounds. Animalsource foods have always been an integral part of the human diet. However, the way they are obtained and processed changed dramatically during human evolution. Meat became a common food source when systematic hunting began using technologies and tools focused on killing animals and meat cutting, which reduced the time and effort spent on chewing food, and later, on its cooking. At some point after this, humans began to hunt together, which made it possible to obtain meat from big game, and as a result, develop the social and altruistic skills to distribute the prey between sexes and ages. The eating habits of our ancestors have been studied using a variety of methods, including anthropometry, the use of archaeological data, and isotope analysis of bones and teeth to determine trophic status. The adaptive biological significance of meat-eating, which played an important role in human evolution, was analyzed, including the “expensive tissue hypothesis” draw attention to the evolutionary forces responsible for the increase in hominin brain size. Furthermore, data on changes in human anatomy, digestion and metabolism are systematized, indicating an evolutionary dependence on and compatibility with significant meat consumption. At the same time, a number of changes in the human body are associated with the skill of using fire in cooking. Heat processing of food stimulated our ancestors to overcome the food specialization intrinsic to animals. The question of what is the right diet for the human species and what are the potential consequences of limiting meat consumption is briefly addressed.

The Origin and Dispersal of Austroasiatic Languages from the Perspectives of Linguistics, Archeology, and Genetics

The Austroasiatic (AA) languages comprise a large language family in mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) and South Asia. Theoretical, methodological, and material constraints have limited research on the origin and dispersal of AA-speaking populations within historical-comparative linguistics. With the deepening of archaeological and genetic studies, interdisciplinary collaboration has become key to solving this problem. We review the latest hypotheses in linguistics, archaeology, and molecular anthropology and propose insights on the origin and dispersal of AA languages. The ancestors of the AA-speaking populations were suggested to be rice farmers living in the Neolithic Age in southern China. Between 3,000 and 4,500 BP, some of these ancestors who spoke Proto-AA migrated from southern China to northern Vietnam, together with shouldered stone tools and domesticated rice. They mixed with local hunter-gatherers and expanded to the south of MSEA, giving rise to the Mon-Khmer, Aslian, and Nicobarese populations. They also spread to the northeast of India to form the Munda-speaking populations. Another group arrived near Dian Lake in Yunnan about 2,500 BP, where they created the Bronze Drum culture with the Proto- Tai-Kadai (TK)–speaking populations and later spread eastward to northern Vietnam via Guangxi. Finally, the Proto-AA–speaking people who remained in southern China mixed with the Proto-TK–speaking groups from Fujian and Guangdong, leading to a language shift, which we hypothesize was one of the main reasons for the “disappearance” of AA in southern China.