Stone Tools Research Articles

"How handy was early hominin 'know-how'?" An experimental approach exploring efficient early stone tool use.

The appearance of early lithic industries has been associated with the gradual development of unique biomechanical and cognitive abilities in hominins, including human-like precision grasping and basic learning and/or communicating capacities. These include tools used for activities exclusively associated with hominin contexts (cutting flakes) and hammerstones utilized for behaviors shared with non-human primates (e.g., nut-cracking). However, no previous experimental research has focused on comparing the factors affecting efficiency between these two key behavioral patterns and their evolutionary implications. Here, we address this gap with an experimental design involving participants with varying tool-related experience levels (i.e., no experience, theoretical-only experience, and extensive practical knapping expertise) to monitor their success rates, biometrics, and surface electromyography (sEMG) recordings from eight important hand and forearm muscles. Our results showed that practical experience had a substantial impact on flake-cutting efficiency, allowing participants to achieve greater success rates with substantially less muscle effort. This relationship between success rates and muscle effort was not observed for the nut-cracking task. Moreover, even though practical experience did not significantly benefit nut-cracking success, experts exhibited increased rates of self-improvement in that task. Altogether, these experimental findings suggest that the ability to practice and retain tool-using knowledge played a fundamental role in the subsistence strategies and adaptability of early hominins, potentially providing the cognitive basis for conceptualizing the first intentional tool production strategies.

A new addition to the toolbox: stone tool use in blonde capuchin monkeys (Sapajus flavius).

The use of tools played a central role in human culture and evolution. Early studies with apes demonstrated the tool use; however, currently the works have focused on Platyrrhine, particularly capuchin monkeys. Blonde capuchin monkeys, Sapajus flavius, have been observed using sticks to fish for termites in the Atlantic Forest, where this species has been extensively studied. In this study, we presented the first evidence of stone tool use by the blonde capuchin monkeys, as well as the dimensions and weight of these tools. We gathered data from three areas of Caatinga dry forest where we discovered this new tool use among the species. The mean weight of the hammers was 475.7g (± 142 SD). The mean height of the anvils was 48.3cm (± 18.7 SD), while the mean surface area of the anvils was 1.2 m2 (± 0.4 SD). We identified fruits and/ornuts from three plant species-Prunus dulces, Cnidoscolus quercifolius, and Syagrus coronate-near the anvils at the study sites. Additionally, we passively observed six instances of stone tool use by blonde capuchin monkeys. Their use of stones to crack encased foods mirrored behaviors previously reported in Sapajus libidinosus, a species well known for using stone tools to exploit hard nuts. Our findings place blonde capuchin monkeys among the list of primates that utilize stones as tools, highlighting the species' adaptability in exploiting resources within the Caatinga. Long-term studies are essentials to comprehend the use pattern of stone tools (across both general and seasonal perspectives) and the influence of variables, such as fruit hardness, distance to watercourses, and fruit availability on the use of this technology by this primate.

제주 돌문화 고찰

Jeju stone culture is a representative culture of the Jeju people, reflecting their perception of stones symbolized through their life experiences. In religious legends or geomantic tales, stones possess sacredness or function as objects of taboo and exorcism. In natural legends, stones as megaliths symbolize the tragedies of Jeju people's lives. In human legends, stones emphasize women's chastity and virtue. In folk songs, stones are borrowed or used as metaphors to express thoughts and emotions. As inanimate objects, stones represent solidity and dullness, and the metaphorical emotions are firmly pessimistic. Stone tools take advantage of strong friction, water resistance, and fire safety. In agriculture, the batdam (farmland stone walls) signifies the recognition of ownership and a boundary. As historical relics, stone structures like jatseong for raising livestock highlight the entire island as a national ranch. In folk beliefs, stones are worshiped and prayed to, with examples like dolmireuk (stone Maitreya) or bultap (stone pagoda) being objects of devotion for the desire to bear and raise children and for healing illness.

An experimental approach on dynamic occlusal fingerprint analysis to simulate use-wear localisation and development on stone tools

Information about the use of stone tools in the past is encoded in the wear patterns left on their surface; however, post-depositional processes can modify and obstruct these traces. One aim in the field of lithic functional analysis is to develop methods to detect and quantify these traces on stone tools. The occlusal fingerprint analysis (OFA) is a well-established method in dental wear studies to virtually simulate dental occlusal (contact between teeth) stroke movements and thus locate and quantify the sequential contact between opposing tooth crowns. Reaching across disciplines, we conducted controlled experiments to test the applicability of the OFA method on stone tools to address the challenge of use-wear quantification and localisation, and therefore the identification of post-depositional wear. Our findings reveal a clear overlap between zones of experimentally produced use-wear and OFA-calculated contact areas. We demonstrate OFA as a potential method to generate models of multiscale use-wear that can be used as references on experimental tools to identify post-depositional surface modifications on stone tool artefacts.

Experimental Investigation of Knapping Characteristics of Dolerite and Implications for the Interpretation of Middle Stone Age Technologies

ABSTRACT This study examines knapping techniques in the production of stone tools made on dolerite to understand the knapping characteristics of this igneous tool stone. Extensive experimental research exists on the knapping of silica-rich materials like flint, yet studies on materials low in silica remain scarce. Dolerite, an igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase, feldspar, and pyroxene, has been used during the Palaeolithic globally and the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Africa specifically. We address two questions: (i.) Does the application of different knapping techniques to dolerite produce artifacts with distinguishable attributes? (ii.) Are these attributes similar to or different from those of flint? Using three direct percussion techniques, we created an experimental reference assemblage on dolerite and conducted a quantitative attribute analysis. Our findings indicate that knapping techniques can be distinguished at the assemblage level, with attributes significantly different from flint, highlighting the need for further studies on diverse lithic materials.

Human exploitation of a straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon) in Middle Pleistocene deposits at Pampore, Kashmir, India

Stone tools in association with Pleistocene elephant remains were recovered from Pampore, Kashmir, India, in 2000 from channel deposits in the Pampore Member of the Upper Karewa Group of sediments, which are interpreted as Middle Pleistocene in age. In March 2019 the elephant remains were re-examined to establish taxonomy, cause of death and evidence of human intervention, alongside study of the stone tools and age of the site. This paper reports the results of this work. Most of the elephant remains, including skull and tusks, are from a large adult, but at least two other elephants are also represented. Taxonomic analysis shows that the adult belongs to the genus Palaeoloxodon, but with a mix of features not seen in typical Palaeoloxodon skulls from the Indian Subcontinent. Pathology of the skull indicates severe sinusitis, which may have contributed to the death. No cut-marks from butchery were found on the elephant bones, although three elephant bone flakes were identified, linking human intervention with elephants at the site. The small lithic assemblage is in fresh condition with some refitting artefacts, both suggesting minimal post-depositional movement. Most of the artefacts consist of flakes, flake tools and cores, but with several points and blades suggestive of an early Mode 3 prepared core technology. This might indicate a late Middle Pleistocene age for the site. Further dating evidence using amino acid racemisation on elephant tooth enamel is ongoing, but consistent with this age. The association of stone tools with humanly-modified elephant remains is rare, while prepared core technology is currently scarce further north or east in Asia in the late Middle Pleistocene. The significance of the discovery is discussed in the wider context of Middle Pleistocene elephant-human interaction.

Controlled comparative tensile tests of backed versus non‐backed edges’ adhesion: Inferences into stone tool functional properties

Controlled comparative tensile tests of backed versus non‐backed edges’ adhesion: Inferences into stone tool functional properties

Back(s) to basics: The concept of backing in stone tool technologies for tracing hominins' technical innovations.

The evolution of Paleolithic stone tool technologies is characterized by gradual increase in technical complexity along with changes in the composition of assemblages. In this respect, the emergence of retouched-backed tools is an important step and, for some, a proxy for "modern" behavior. However, backed tools emerge relatively early and develop together with major changes in Middle-Upper Pleistocene stone tool technologies. We provide an updated review of the emergence and development of the "backing" concept across multiple chrono-cultural contexts and discuss its relationship to both the emergence of hafting and major evolutionary steps in the ergonomics of stone tool use. Finally, we address potential mechanisms of context-specific re-invention of backing based primarily on data from the late Middle Paleolithic of Western Europe.

Petrology and Provenance Study of Stone Artifacts from the Mesolithic Cave of Kouvaras in Attica: A Preliminary Report

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the lithology and raw material provenance of stone artifacts discovered in the prehistoric cave of Kouvaras in Eastern Attica, dating back to the 10th-9th millennia B.C. The study aims to determine whether these prehistoric artifacts were made on local or non-local raw materials. The research consists of two main components: a field study to detect the geological features of the region and collect raw material samples, and a laboratory investigation using XRD, SEM and p-XRF techniques to conduct a petrological analysis. The results suggest that relying solely on chert chemistry to effectively determine the sources of chert artifacts is not a reliable method. By combining several analytical methods and taking a holistic approach, researchers can gain valuable insights into prehistoric human interactions with the local geological environment and the use of available natural resources to make artifacts in prehistoric times.

Searching for the earliest archaeological record: insights from chimpanzee material landscapes.

The origin of tool use is a central question in human evolutionary studies. Plio-Pleistocene core and flake technologies represent the earliest evidence of tool use in the human lineage. Some suggest this form of tool use is probably pre-dated by a phase of percussive tool use. However, there is currently no evidence for such a record. The archaeological signature of solely percussive behaviours is not as well understood as that associated with cores and flakes. The durable nature of primate percussive stone tools and their by-products provide an opportunity to investigate what such a record looks like. Here, we present a landscape-scale study of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) material culture from the Djouroutou Chimpanzee Project, Taï Forest, Cote d'Ivoire. This study explores the interplay between behavioural and environmental factors in shaping the stone record of nut cracking. Through a survey of nut-cracking sites, the available nut species, and raw materials, we show how resource availability influences the resulting material signature of nut cracking. These results also reveal the diversity of material signatures associated with a purely percussive material record. We gain insight into the range of signatures that may be associated with a pre-core and flake archaeological record, providing new expectations for an earlier record of tool use.

A Strategic Approach to Stone Tool Economy: An Example from Southwest Germany

ABSTRACT The acquisition and use of stone raw materials by prehistoric groups requires many strategic decisions that affect various costs and benefits. These decisions entail consideration of a number of characteristics of the available materials themselves, including quality, nodule size, source location, spatial distribution and abundance. In addition, they must take into account the intended uses – the types and requirements of the different tools to be made. An example using assemblages of Late Paleolithic and Early Mesolithic artifacts from southwestern Germany explores the nature of such decisions. Aspects of blank production and use of different materials for different classes of artifacts are explored.

A macroevolutionary analysis of European Late Upper Palaeolithic stone tool shape using a Bayesian phylodynamic framework.

Phylogenetic models are commonly used in palaeobiology to study the patterns and processes of organismal evolution. In the human sciences, phylogenetic methods have been deployed for reconstructing ancestor-descendant relationships using linguistic and material culture data. Within evolutionary archaeology specifically, phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony and discrete traits dominate, which sets limitations for the downstream role cultural phylogenies, once derived, can play in more elaborate analytical pipelines. Recent methodological advances in Bayesian phylogenetics, however, now allow us to infer evolutionary dynamics using continuous characters. Capitalizing on these developments, we here present an exploratory analysis of cultural macroevolution of projectile point shape evolution in the European Final Palaeolithic and earliest Mesolithic (approx. 15 000-11 000 BP) using a Bayesian phylodynamic approach and the fossilized birth-death process model. This model-based approach leaps far beyond the application of parsimony, in that it not only produces a tree, but also divergence times, and diversification rates while incorporating uncertainties. This allows us to compare rates to the pronounced climatic changes that occurred during our time frame. While common in cultural evolutionary analyses of language, the extension of Bayesian phylodynamic models to archaeology arguably represents a major methodological breakthrough.

Examining the distribution of Middle Paleolithic Nubian cores relative to chert quality in southern (Nejd, Dhofar) and south‐central (Duqm, Al Wusta) Oman

AbstractLithic raw material properties are often invoked to explain the presence, absence, form, or ontogeny of Paleolithic stone tools. Here, we explore whether the frequency of the Middle Paleolithic Nubian core form and core‐reduction systems co‐varies with toolstone quality in two neighboring regions in Oman: the southern region of Nejd, Dhofar, and the south‐central region of Duqm, Al Wusta. Specifically, we predicted that if raw material differences were influencing the distribution of Nubian cores, the chert would be of higher quality in the southern region, where Nubian cores were frequent, and of lower quality in the south‐central region, where they were scarce. We tested this prediction by collecting 124 chert samples from 22 outcrops and then quantitatively assessed two geochemical variables that are widely thought to influence knapping: impurity amount and silica content. We also examined the mineralogical composition, and the crystallite size and lattice strain for quartz (crystalline α‐SiO2) of representative chert samples. Our results suggest that the cherts in the two regions are similar, which is not consistent with the hypothesis that lithic raw material quality contributed to Nubian core spatial distribution in Oman. We discuss potential alternative hypotheses to explain Nubian core geographic patterning, and provisionally suggest that the scarcity of Nubian cores in south‐central Oman may be due to a concomitant scarcity of toolmakers, given a lack of water availability.

26Al/10Be burial dating and technological strategies of hominins at the Jijiazhuang Paleolithic site, Nihewan Basin, China: Implications for understanding Middle Pleistocene human adaptations in east Asia

With the discovery of more than a hundred Pleistocene Paleolithic sites, the Nihewan Basin of North China has become an area of reference for the study of human evolution and behavioral adaptations during and after the spread of hominins out of Africa and into Eurasia. However, most research has focused on the Early and Late Pleistocene archaeological record, whereas studies of the Middle Pleistocene sequence are relatively limited. Here we contribute to fill this gap by introducing the archaeological assemblage and 26Al/10Be burial dating of the newly discovered Jijiazhuang (JJZ) Paleolithic site. Systematic excavations in recent years have yielded well-preserved stone artifacts and mammalian fossils in fluvio-lacustrine sediments at the site. Cosmogenic 26Al/10Be burial dating indicates that hominins occupied the site between 0.49 ± 0.10 and 0.63 ± 0.11 Ma, corresponding to the extra-long interglacial period of MIS 15-13. The JJZ lithic assemblage shows evidence of relatively long-distance resource procurement, and the increased number of retouched tools indicate standardized, extensive and refined modification, even shaping strategies. The JJZ lithic technology shows advanced features that may shed light on the regional emergence of Middle Paleolithic technologies, in a paleoecological context where the extra-long duration of interglacial/mild stadial climate events (MIS 15−13) may have provided favorable conditions for increased technological capabilities among Middle Pleistocene hominins from the Nihewan Basin. Our study is the first to present a detailed techno-typological analysis of a Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblage in the Nihewan Basin and contributes to the characterization of technological adaptions in the high latitudes of East Asia.

A 47,000 year archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record from Juukan 2 rockshelter on the western Hamersley Plateau of the Pilbara region, Western Australia

Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigations at Juukan 2 rockshelter have yielded new information on the ancient Aboriginal occupation of the Pilbara uplands in northwest Australia. Using multiple lines of evidence, including lithic, faunal, pollen, ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence, and Bayesian chronological modelling, we show that Aboriginal people occupied the western Hamersley Plateau as early as 47,000 years ago (47 ka). Late Pleistocene populations utilised a diverse range of tool technologies, including bone points, grindstones, and flaked stone artefacts. Palaeoclimatic conditions at Juukan 2 rockshelter varied greatly over the past 47 ka, with repeated site visits by people, including during the peak hyper-arid phase of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) c. 21 ± 2 ka. Ancient starch analyses of the ground stone artefacts show the processing of Ipomoea (Bush Potato) from around 42 ka to the present day. Pronounced increases in the discard of stone artefacts and bone in the last 3500 years are interpreted to be the result of increased frequency of site use. A braided hair fragment dated to this period has demonstrated genetic links between the earlier rockshelter occupants and contemporary Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples, who have maintained strong cultural connections to the area.

Tool skill impacts the archaeological evidence across technological primates

The archaeological record offers insights into our evolutionary past by revealing ancient behaviour through stone and fossil remains. Percussive foraging is suggested to be particularly relevant for the emergence of tool-use in our lineage, yet early hominin percussive behaviours remain largely understudied compared to flaked technology. Stone tool-use of extant primates allows the simultaneous investigation of their artefacts and the associated behaviours. This is important for understanding the development of tool surface modification, and crucial for interpreting damage patterns in the archaeological record. Here, we compare the behaviour and the resulting material record across stone tool-using primates. We investigate the relationship of nut-cracking technique and stone tool modification across chimpanzees, capuchins, and long-tailed macaques by conducting standardized field experiments with comparable raw materials. We show that different techniques likely emerged in response to diverse nut hardness, leading to variation in foraging success across species. Our experiments further demonstrate a correlation between techniques and the intensity of visible percussive damage on the tools. Tools used with more precision and efficiency as demonstrated by macaques, show fewer use wear traces. This suggests that some percussive techniques may be less readily identified in the archaeological record.

Beyond reasonable doubt: reconsidering Neanderthal aesthetic capacity

AbstractAn aesthetic sense—a taste for the creation and/or appreciation of that which strikes one as, e.g., attractive or awesome—is often assumed to be a distinctively H. sapiens phenomenon. However, recent paleoanthropological research is revealing its archaeologically visible, deeper roots. The sensorimotor/perceptual and cognitive capacities underpinning aesthetic activities are a major focus of evolutionary aesthetics. Here we take a diachronic, evolutionary perspective and assess ongoing scepticism regarding whether, and to what extent, aesthetic capacity extends to our evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals. The goal of this article is twofold. First, it serves as a defence of the attribution of Neanderthal aesthetic capacity by marshalling archaeological data best explained by positing a Neanderthal aesthetic sense. Second, it offers an opportunity to make progress on understanding some epistemically relevant features of the wider debate in evolutionary aesthetics. First, we outline and analyse a range of distinct ‘sceptical arguments’ derived from attitudes and claims found in the literature and broader debate that aim to dial down the case for Neanderthal aesthetic capacity. We show that these arguments not only miss their target, they divert the debate away from more compelling questions. We then consider the case for protoaesthetic capacities and sensitivities in the Acheulean stone tool industry and argue that Neanderthals likely inherited the protoaesthetic package from ancient ancestors that they shared with H. sapiens. Finally, we sketch and defend a research agenda for framing Neanderthal aesthetic niche(s) beyond H. sapiens-derived standards, which we see as a priority for future archaeological, cognitive, and philosophical research. While we resist sceptical arguments and the often-implied inferiority of Neanderthals to humans, we also deny that Neanderthals and ancient humans were indistinguishable. Understanding the differences is an important goal of interpretation, and we apply this line of reasoning to the case of aesthetics.

De ontdekking van Doggerland: de wetenschappelijke waarde van strandvondsten

The discovery of Doggerland: the scientific value of beach findsCoined in 1998 by archaeologist Bryony Coles, ‘Doggerland’ has become a widely recognised name for the prehistoric landscapes, now submerged beneath the North Sea. For more than 100 years, scholars have suspected remains of these landscapes and their inhabitants to have survived, but direct evidence such as bone and stone tools has long been relatively sparse. Today, much more is known about the preservation of prehistoric landforms, as well as the material remains of animals, humans and artefacts. As part of the NWO-funded project ‘Resurfacing Doggerland’, thousands of finds, collected on Dutch beaches and retrieved from fishing nets, are now being studied in detail. The results will provide new insights into the relationship between climate-induced sea-level rise and socio-cultural processes.

A Newly Dated Late Pleistocene and Holocene Archaeological Assemblage from Bukhtarma Cave in the Southern Altai Piedmont, East Kazakhstan

The Altai mountains contain a number of cave and rockshelter sites that have given crucial information about human evolution in Asia. Most of these caves are located in the Gornyi Altai of Siberia, while the southern flank of the range remains much less known. Bukhtarma Cave was a karstic cave located near the former village of Peshchera, on the banks of the Bukhtarma River running through the foothills of the southern (Kazakh) Altai mountains. The Soviet East Kazakhstan Archaeological Expedition carried several excavation campaigns in the cave in the early to mid 1950s, discovering Paleolithic stone tools as well as animal bones. The collections were split between the East Kazakhstan Regional Museum of Local History in Öskemen (the lithic and part of the faunal collection) and the Zoological Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) (most of the fauna). Subsequently, the site was flooded by the construction of the Bukhtarma Reservoir in 1958, such that further fieldwork is impossible. However, in 2020, we reanalyzed the zooarchaeological collections and obtained several 14C dates. Based on the excavation documentation and the newly obtained dates exclusively taken from cut marked and carnivore-modified bone, we reconstruct at least three Paleolithic archaeological horizons, spanning the time between ca. 47–30 ka cal BP and exhibiting Middle and Upper Paleolithic characteristics, as well as the remains of several Holocene occupations, the latest of which dates to the Bronze Age. We present here a summary of the lithic and faunal assemblage and draw general conclusions about the site’s placement within the regional Paleolithic.

When is a handaxe a planned-axe? exploring morphological variability in the Acheulean.

The handaxe is an iconic stone tool form used to define and symbolise both the Acheulean and the wider Palaeolithic. There has long been debate around the extent of its morphological variability between sites, and the role that extrinsic factors (especially raw material, blank type, and the extent of resharpening) have played in driving this variability, but there has been a lack of high-resolution examinations of these factors in the same study. In this paper, we present a 2D geometric morphometric analysis of 1097 handaxes from across Africa, the Levant, and western Europe to examine the patterning of this variability and what it can tell us about hominin behaviour. We replicate the findings of previous studies, that handaxe shape varies significantly between sites and entire continental regions, but we find no evidence for raw material, blank type, or resharpening in determining this pattern. What we do find, however, is that markers of reduction trajectory vary substantially between sites, suggesting that handaxes were deployed differently according to hominin need at a given site. We argue this is reflective of a continuum of reduction strategies, from those focused on the maintenance of a sharp cutting edge (i.e. direct use in cutting activities), to those focused on maintaining tip shapes, and perhaps a corresponding production of flakes. Implications for hominin behavioural flexibility are discussed.