Stone Tool Industry Research Articles

Ранняя стадия среднего палеолита Алтая: новые данные

Purpose. Until recently, the earliest assemblages from Denisova Peshchera (cave) in the Altai mountains included a small collection of stone artifacts recovered from layers 22 and 21 in the Main Chamber of the cave. Comprehensive archaeological research carried out over the past decade has made it possible to study deposits recognized at the base of the stratigraphic section in the East Chamber. The oldest archaeological evidence documented in this area was found within lithological layers 15 and 14. Based on data from biostratigraphic studies and absolute dating, accumulation of sediments from layers 15 and 14 appears to have occurred in favorable environmental conditions of MIS-7. This paper presents the results of our analysis undertaken for a stone tool industry associated with these layers and correlation of these materials with contemporaneous assemblages from the other sections of the site. Results. The collection of stone artifacts from layers 15 and 14 includes more than 35 000 specimens. Primary flaking in this industry can be generally characterized by the use of both unifacial and bifacial cores utilized in a radial system. The analysis shows that small cobbles or large flakes with a massive cross-section were used as blanks for manufacturing such cores. Flake blanks include primarily truncated or short flakes with a smooth or natural platform showing no rejuvenation of overhang. Flakes mainly demonstrate longitudinal, unidirectional or orthogonal faceting of the dorsal surface. Blades were found in small numbers. Large, rare medium-size flakes, as well as fragments from massive flakes were used as tool blanks. The tool assemblage is dominated by denticulate, notch, spur-like tools and scrapers of different types. Flakes showing the ventral thinning of lateral edges, as well as flakes with removed striking platform, constitute a group of specific artifacts. Both geochronological data, which were obtained for the Pleistocene deposits in the cave, and technical-typological characteristics of the stone tool industry show that the closest cultural and chronological counterpart to the Early Middle Paleolithic assemblage from layers 15 and 14 in the East Chamber is evidences recovered from layers 21 (363 specimens) and 20 (1 039 specimens) in the Main Chamber. Conclusion. Geochronology of the lower deposits from Denisova Peshchera, which is based on the lithological and biostratigraphic record, as well as on the absolute age determinations, makes it possible to recognize this cave as the earliest stratified Middle Paleolithic site in Siberia. Data resulted from the analysis of new archaeological evidences found in the East Chamber have significantly contributed to the knowledge of the Early Middle Paleolithic in the region, thus enabling further determination of the position of this complex among contemporaneous sites in North Asia.

Karain Mağarası Tayacian Alet Endüstrisi Tekno-Tipolojisi

Çalışmamız kapsamında Karain Mağarası'nın Alt Paleolitik seviyelerinden bulunmuş olan toplam 261 adet yontmataş aletin tekno-tipolojik analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yapılmış olan çalışmalara göre yontmataş alet topluluğunun Alt Paleolitik Dönem'in Tayacian kültür özelliklerini gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. Karain çevresindeki radyolarit kaynakları Tayacian endüstrisinin yapımında yoğunlukla tercih edilmiştir. Ayrıca daha az oranlarda çakmaktaşının da kullanıldığı görülmüştür. Yontmataş aletler üzerinde tespit edilen teknolojik veriler sert vurgaçla doğrudan yongalama tekniğinin tercih edilmiş olduğunu göstermiştir. Levallois teknolojiyi yansıtan herhangi bir kanıt yoktur. Tipolojik gözlemlere göre birçok farklı yontmataş alet tipi tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca aletler üzerinde yapılan çalışmalara göre baskın düzelti tipinin pulcuklu tip düzelti olduğu görülmüştür. Çalışma kapsamında elde edilen sonuçlar Karain Alt Paleolitik yontmataş alet endüstrisinin daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlayan bir veri tabanı niteliğindedir.

Archaic semisedentary foragers and analytical nodule analysis: The Aught-Six site of Northwestern Colorado

Nodule analysis is designed to highlight the ways in which different lithic sources were utilized and incorporated into the stone tool industries of past societies. In 2008 and 2009, excavations in the Piceance Basin of Northwestern Colorado, an area with local chert and quartzite quarries, provided an opportunity to use a nodule analyses for a Section 106-driven project. The Aught-Six site lithic assemblage suggests that Archaic tool kits in Northwestern Colorado are likely to be heavily reliant on a variety of raw materials found across the region, though Bridger chert nodules were the primary objective pieces for the new tools during the basin house occupation. The results of the analyses not only highlight specific areas of projectile point production, but they also indicate that nodule analysis remains a powerful analytical method for understanding how raw materials are incorporated into the technological systems of semisedentary Archaic foragers.

Early Palaeolithic evidence from the Euphrates River basin, Eastern Turkey

Early Palaeolithic finds older than Acheulean were unknown in Eastern Anatolia until recently. During exploratory works carried out by a joint Russian-Turkish expedition in the Euphrates River basin (2014–2016), several stratified Early Palaeolithic localities were found. Lithic finds are represented by choppers, picks, retouched tools, and flakes. A similar stone tool industry has been found in the Caucasus (Armenia, Dagestan). In addition to the archaeological typological dating of lithic tools in eastern Turkey, geomorphological, stratigraphic, paleontological, and paleomagnetic records also confirm the Early Pleistocene age of the localities. Some of these sites are dated to before the Olduvai subchron, i.e., ∼2 Ma. New Early Palaeolithic discoveries in Eastern Turkey are important for the study of the oldest human cultures of the Middle East and the Caucasus. Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic stone tools were also found in the lower river terraces of tributaries of the Euphrates, south of the Taurus Mountains. These finds were used to date the terraces.

Новые данные по каменным индустриям среднего и верхнего палеолита из южной галереи Денисовой пещеры

Новые данные по каменным индустриям среднего и верхнего палеолита из южной галереи Денисовой пещеры

Каменные индустрии раннего этапа верхнего палеолита из восточной галереи Денисовой пещеры

This publication presents results from an analysis of the early Upper Paleolithic stone tool industries associated with the deposits that constitute layers 11.2 and 11.1 in the East Chamber of the Denisova Cave. The collection of lithic artifacts, including a total of more than 4,000 specimens, has been recovered from this part of the excavation profile. In stone tool industries attributed to the time at issue, primary reduction strategy can be characterized by flat cores resulted from parallel and radial flaking. Isolated specimens of sub-prismatic, narrow- faced and Levallois cores are found to be present. The tool assemblage includes distinctive samples of end-scrapers, burins, chisel-like tools, showing difference based on the well-pronounced Upper Paleolithic morphology. However, evidence shows that a Middle Paleolithic element represented by various types of scrapers remains important in this assemblage. Cultural and chronological counterparts of the early Upper Paleolithic assemblage from the East Chamber are archaeological materials associated with layer 11 in the Main Chamber and the South Chamber, as well as with layers 8 and 7 at the entrance area of the cave.

A large handaxe from Wadi Dabsa and early hominin adaptations within the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

Каменная индустрия среднего палеолита из слоя 12 в восточной галерее Денисовой пещеры

Каменная индустрия среднего палеолита из слоя 12 в восточной галерее Денисовой пещеры

The mirror cracked: Symmetry and refinement in the Acheulean handaxe

The Acheulean is a stone tool industry that originates in Africa over 1.7mya. It is characterised by the bifacially shaped handaxe as part of a group of tools commonly referred to as LCTs — large cutting tools. Traditionally, the Lower Palaeolithic/Early Stone Age Acheulean is seen as continuing throughout much of the Old World until c. 0.25mya and the advent of the Middle Palaeolithic, though handaxe usage continues well after this. At least two different hominin species are responsible for making handaxes across this time span, Homo ergaster/erectus and Homo heidelbergensis. It is possible that the earliest Homo sapiens in Africa also made and used handaxes. A long running debate concerns whether or not there is an evolution in Acheulean material culture. This involves the belief that handaxes and other LCTs become more refined and sophisticated as time goes by. There are two schools of thought on this. The first argues that advances in Acheulean material culture march in lockstep with brain and cognitive evolution, whilst the second sees a mismatch between them. In this latter scenario material culture falls behind cognitive evolution. We argue that the key to understanding Acheulean material culture is variability and that symmetry and refinement in handaxes are likely to be situational/local. No long-term trends are visible in the archaeological record which show an increase in refinement or handaxe symmetry. We suggest a ‘variable equilibrium’ model to explain the patterns seen and show how the archaeology maps onto similar biological interpretations.

The use of elephant bones for making Acheulian handaxes: A fresh look at old bones

In this study, we examine Lower Paleolithic archaeological assemblages that contain bifaces (handaxes) made of elephant bones from Africa, Europe, and the Levant. The aims of this paper are to summarize the available evidence of elephant bone tools manufacturing in the Acheulian, and to analyze patterns of elephant bone tool industry compared to stone tool industries and other taxa bone industries. We will focus on the association between stone and elephant bone bifaces at several Acheulian sites, and will present a new perspective on the connections between bifaces made of the two materials at these sites. Based on the long-term interaction between humans and elephants in Paleolithic times, the human dependence on elephant meat and fat for survival, and many lines of resemblance between elephants and humans, we propose that Lower Paleolithic elephant bone bifaces were not manufactured solely for functional purposes, and suggest that there were some cosmological, cultural and symbolic properties reflected in the production of Acheulian bifaces from elephant bones.

Sink the Mousterian? Named stone tool industries (NASTIES) as obstacles to investigating hominin evolutionary relationships in the Later Middle Paleolithic Levant

The Later Middle Paleolithic lithic archaeological record for the East Mediterranean Levant has been invoked to support competing and contradictory models for the evolutionary relationships between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. The lithic evidence has not helped paleoanthropology achieve a conclusive resolution about this issue because archaeologists continue to structure inter-assemblage lithic variability in terms of stone tool industries such as the “Mousterian”. This paper explores the problems that named stone tool industries (or “NASTIES”) cause for Paleolithic archaeology, and it explores alternatives to them.

Molluscan and ostracod successions from Dierden's Pit, Swanscombe: insights into the fluvial history, sea-level record and human occupation of the Hoxnian Thames

Swanscombe, Kent, is an internationally renowned hominin site located on the south bank of the River Thames, east of London. The Swanscombe sequence has been reconstructed from exposures at several localities from which important archaeological and palaeontological assemblages have been recovered. The most important of these is Barnfield Pit, where two stone-tool industries (Clactonian and Acheulian) have been recorded in superposition, together with three refitting pieces of a hominin skull associated with the Acheulian. Dierden's Pit (=Ingress Vale), ∼0.5 km to the north of Barnfield Pit, has also yielded Palaeolithic artefacts but is best known as a source of abundant non-marine molluscs and as the type locality for the water vole Arvicola cantiana. This paper describes the molluscan and ostracod successions through the Dierden's Pit sequence, which shed light on important aspects of the fluvial, sea-level and archaeological histories of the Thames during MIS 11. A dramatic change occurs in the molluscan record at Swanscombe, marked by the appearance of the ‘Rhenish suite’ of freshwater molluscs, which has previously been used to suggest confluence of the Thames and Rhine systems. The ‘Rhenish suite’ occurs in the Middle Gravels at Barnfield Pit and throughout the Shell bed at Dierden's Pit, where the component species did not appear simultaneously but colonized the Thames in an ordered sequence. The occurrence of the ‘Rhenish suite’ provides a secure basis for correlation of important archaeological horizons at Swanscombe, which have previously been mis-correlated on the basis of artefact typology. Moreover, it enables correlation with other MIS 11 sequences, some of which (Clacton and East Hyde) can be directly linked to the pollen stratigraphy of the Hoxnian. The ostracod succession at Dierden's Pit provides the first clear evidence of increasing brackish influence at Swanscombe and has formed the basis for palaeoclimatic reconstructions using the Mutual Ostracod Temperature Range (MOTR) method.

On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb

North Africa is quickly emerging as one of the more important regions yielding information on the origins of modern Homo sapiens. Associated with significant fossil hominin remains are two stone tool industries, the Aterian and Mousterian, which have been differentiated, respectively, primarily on the basis of the presence and absence of tanged, or stemmed, stone tools. Largely because of historical reasons, these two industries have been attributed to the western Eurasian Middle Paleolithic rather than the African Middle Stone Age. In this paper, drawing on our recent excavation of Contrebandiers Cave and other published data, we show that, aside from the presence or absence of tanged pieces, there are no other distinctions between these two industries in terms of either lithic attributes or chronology. Together, these results demonstrate that these two ‘industries’ are instead variants of the same entity. Moreover, several additional characteristics of these assemblages, such as distinctive stone implements and the manufacture and use of bone tools and possible shell ornaments, suggest a closer affinity to other Late Pleistocene African Middle Stone Age industries rather than to the Middle Paleolithic of western Eurasia.

The Early to Late Paleolithic Transition in Korea: A Closer Look

In Korean Paleolithic archaeology, it is traditionally thought that the Late Paleolithic stone tool industries were in some way derived from the Shuidonggou site in northern China. The latter site has long been considered to be the type site of the eastern Asian Late Paleolithic blade technology. However, recent studies suggest that a number of Korean Late Paleolithic sites probably predate Shuidonggou, some by several thousands of years. Here, we present a series of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates recently analyzed by the AMS laboratory at Seoul National University and discuss further the possibility that the introduction of blade (and later microblade) technologies into Korea may have originated directly from Mongolia, Siberia, and possibly other areas of northeast China, rather than from Shuidonggou.

Spatial distribution of Paleolithic sites in Bose Basin, Guangxi, China

The Paleolithic stone tool industry from the Bose Basin (Guangxi, China) is best known for the presence of Acheulean-like bifacially and unifacially-worked handaxes found in the same horizon with tektites dated to 803,000 BP. One point that is often not included in discussion of the Bose lithics is the variability in the distribution of sites and artifacts across the basin. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the spatial distribution of the lithics and sites in the Bose Basin based on a multidisciplinary approach utilizing geomorphological observations, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, and computer graphics. Analyses include data collected during a comprehensive systematic archaeological field survey conducted in the basin between 2009 and 2010. The results indicate that the density of sites and stone artifacts per site decrease when moving from the northwest to the southeast. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that the handaxes are concentrated in only certain areas of the basin, a pattern similar to the typical western Old World Acheulean, rather than the Oldowan, where the artifact types appear to be more evenly distributed.

Palaeomagnetic analysis of the Sterkfontein palaeocave deposits: Implications for the age of the hominin fossils and stone tool industries

Palaeomagnetic analysis was conducted on speleothems from Members 1–5 at Sterkfontein Cave, South Africa. Palaeomagnetic analysis of siltstone and speleothem from the bulk of Member 4 indicate a reversed magnetic polarity that dates the deposits and its Australopithecus africanus fossils to between 2.58 and ∼2.16 Ma. Further confirmation of this age comes in the form of two short normal polarity events correlated to the Rèunion (∼2.16 Ma) and Huckleberry Ridge (∼2.05 Ma) events in speleothem capping the bulk of Member 4 and coeval with deposition of the final phase of Member 4, including A. africanus fossil Sts 5. At ∼2.16–2.05 Ma, Sts 5 is the youngest representative of A. africanus yet discovered. Palaeomagnetic analysis of the Silberberg Grotto deposits identifies a single short geomagnetic field event in flowstone overlying the StW 573 Australopithecus fossil, which is suggested to represent the Rèunion event at ∼2.16 Ma. This further supports the uranium lead age estimates of 2.3–2.2 Ma for the StW 573 fossil. Based on a reversed polarity for the deposits below the skeleton it cannot be older than 2.58 Ma. If StW 573 is considered to be a second species of Australopithecus then this indicates that two species of Australopithecus are present at Sterkfontein between 2.6 and 2.0 Ma. All of the Member 5 deposits date to less than 1.8 Ma based on a comparison of palaeomagnetic, faunal, and electron spin resonance age estimates. The StW 53 fossil bearing infill (M5A) is intermediate in age between Member 4 and the rest of Member 5 (B-C) at around 1.78–1.49 Ma. The rest of Member 5 (B-C) containing Oldowan and Acheulian stone tools and Homo and Paranthropus fossils was deposited gradually between 1.40 and 1.07 Ma, much younger than previously suggested.

L’habitat du Néolithique final de Quinssaines, Le Bournadiau : approche spatiale et fonctionnelle d’un site au Nord-Ouest de l’Allier

A late Neolithic settlement was explored during excavations in the northeast of the Allier département, at Bournadiau near Quinsaines, in 2007. Despite erosion, the excavation revealed a ditch and traces of two buildings. The ceramic assemblage and the stone tool industry, partly imported from Grand Pressigny, illustrate the contacts between the inhabitants and the cultural groups from Western-Central (Artenac) and Northern France (Gord). An unusual deposit of seventeen Grand Pressigny flint objects, discovered in the foundations of a small building, provides information about the redistribution process of such products and shows that the site probably functioned in collaboration with the Grand Pressigny workshops area. Management of the imported raw material appears to have been an important activity on the site. The flint industry is analysed from typological, technological and functional points of view in order to gain the best possible understanding from this unique find.

The archaic stone tool industry from Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3, (Orce, Spain): Evidence of the earliest hominin presence in southern Europe

The Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 sites are located in the Guadix-Baza Basin in Orce (Andalusia, Spain) about 80 km from the Mediterranean Sea. The sites were accumulated in swampy areas near the paleo-lake Baza’s eastern shoreline. There, hominins and hyenas competed for access to large herbivore carcasses abandoned by carnivores. The ages of the Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 sites have been evaluated from large and small mammal biochronology, magnetostratigraphy and also by ESR to around 1.4–1.2 Ma, respectively. Both sites have yielded fauna and lithic artefacts in situ. Systematic excavations at Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 have been underway since the 1990’s and contribute to growing evidence of hominin presence in southern Europe well before 1 Ma. The two lithic assemblages show strong similarities. At both sites, the artefacts were knapped from tabular flint and limestone pebbles collected nearby. The assemblages are composed mainly of small, non modified flakes and angular fragments, as well as some cores. Larger limestone heavy duty tools and cores are also present. There are no standardized small or large tools. Stone knapping was carried out using hand held and bipolar-on-an-anvil reduction strategies in accordance with raw material constraints and probably also desired product morphology. The assemblages are characterized by widespread use of unidirectional knapping methods. Reduction strategies were progressively adapted as the cores evolved into different forms. The Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 stone tool assemblages express a variant of Oldowan or Mode 1 technology that may be considered to be more complex than that observed at some earlier African sites, mainly because of the systematic use of extended orthogonal knapping episodes producing multiplatform cores and the differential use of two types of raw materials for making small cutting tools and larger percussion instruments.

Neanderthals

Neanderthals are a group of fossil humans that inhabited Western Eurasia from approximately 300 to 30,000 years ago (ka). They vanished from the fossil record a few millennia after the first modern humans appeared in Europe (ca. 40 ka BP). They are characterized by a unique combination of distinctive anatomical features, and are found with stone tools of the Mousterian stone tool industry. Current consensus views them as a distinct Eurasian human lineage isolated from the rest of the Old World and sharing a common ancestor with modern humans sometime in the early Middle Pleistocene. The extreme cold of the European Ice Ages is considered at least partly responsible for the evolution of some of the distinctive Neanderthal anatomy, although other factors (functional demands, effects of chance in small populations) were probably also important. The causes for the Neanderthal extinction are not well understood. Worsening climate and competition with modern humans are implicated. Neanderthals were our sister species, much more closely related to us than the chimpanzees, our closest living relatives are today.

The archaeology of the Middle Pleistocene deposits of Lake Eyasi, Tanzania

Ongoing archaeological research at North Lake Eyasi has produced a wealth of information, including a new hominid fossil and several archaeological sites dating to the end of the Middle Pleistocene. One of the sites (WB9) has been excavated and has produced evidence of multiple processes in its formation, including evidence of functional associations of stone tools and faunal remains which are scarce for this time period. The stone tool industry is based on a core and flake industry, which is not very diagnostic and attributed to MSA. Earlier heavy-duty tools classified as Sangoan may derive from the underlying Eyasi Beds. The stratigraphic provenience of previous fossil hominids is unknown. Surface collections from the Eyasi lake, thus, comprise two different sets of stone tools and fossils, which can only be clearly differentiated in the field. This advises against the use of previously curated collections as a homogeneous sample. Earlier definitions of the Njarasa industry should be revised. This work presents results on the paleoecology of the area and of its paleontological and archaeological information, with special reference to the excavation of WB9, the most complete site discovered in the area so far. This contributes to the limited information available about site functionality and hominid subsistential behaviour in East Africa during the end of the Middle Pleistocene. A technological study from WB9 also shows the variability of stone tool traditions at this time.