Use-wear Analysis Research Articles

The use of bones as tools in Late Lower Paleolithic of Central Italy

The Latium area in Italy has yielded rich evidence of Lower Paleolithic sites with both faunal remains, artefacts, and human fossil remains, such as the Ceprano human skull. Many are the sites where lithic industry has been found in association with bone industry. Medium and large animals were a key resource because they provided an enormous amount of meat and fat. However, they were extensively exploited for their bones, rich in marrow, and as raw material for tool production. Bone tools are so far few documented for early period of time and especially for the Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe. We report here evidence of bone tools and their efficiency of use for hominin groups living in the Frosinone-Ceprano basin during the MIS 11/10, a key period which records behavioral innovations and onset of the Neanderthal behaviors. In three sites, Isoletta, Colle Avarone and Selvotta, several bone tools and bone flakes have been discovered (MIS 11/10). They were associated to stone artefacts part of the hominins tool-kit. Technological and use-wear analyses conducted on these bone industries, dated between 410 and 430 ka, yield relevant results to understand the effectiveness of the bones tools found associated with lithic series, including handaxes.

Past human decision-making based on stone tool performance: Experiments to test the influence of raw material variability and edge angle design on tool function

One of the main interests in the interpretation of the archaeological record and its variability within and through time and space is the production and use of past human stone tool technologies. Tool design and function are inevitably intertwined and strongly related to tool use. Understanding tool design provides information about early human technological adaptations and reflects human behaviour in the sense of conscious or unconscious decision-making. Nevertheless, the reason for major changes (including novelties, innovations, and loss) in past human stone tool technology is still poorly understood. A comprehensive approach focusing on tool function (What was the tool meant for?) and use (What was the tool used for?) can help to overcome this gap. While tool function (including performance) can be investigated experimentally, tool use can be addressed with use-wear analyses. These questions can be best investigated on technological systems showing little tool variability but strong evidence of maintenance and long-term use, such as Middle Palaeolithic industries.The Late Middle Palaeolithic record of Central and Eastern Europe is marked by the emergence of an asymmetric tool-type called Keilmesser (bifacial backed knives). Due to their sophisticated morphology, Keilmesser as a case study offer the potential to address aspects of raw material selection, tool production, maintenance, and reworking.This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to study the tool performance of Keilmesser from three archaeological sites, namely Balver Höhle, the Upper site of Buhlen and Grotte de Ramioul by testing raw material, edge angle and movement as independent variables. A highly controlled, sequential experiment was conducted using a mechanical device performing unidirectional cutting and carving movements on hard contact material. Results demonstrate the possibility to perform the mentioned task with 35° and 45° edge angles, maintaining function, albeit at differing levels of efficiency. The data has a direct impact on the interpretation of the archaeological assemblages regarding aspects such as stone tool morphology and resharpening. At the same time, the study highlights the importance of raw material analysis to understand the variability in the archaeological record and the implications on past human decision-making strategies.

Models of Grinding Stone Manufacture, Use, and Discard from Tigrai, Ethiopia: Opportunities for Cultural Comparisons and Implications for Usewear Analysis

ABSTRACT Grinding stones are a worldwide technology, instrumental in processing food as far back as the African Middle Stone Age. Research interest in grinding stones, and the usewear on their surfaces, has grown in the last few decades. Models of grinding stone manufacture, use, and discard provide a reference for cross-cultural comparisons of practices and guide methodologies in planning usewear analysis based on kinetics. In Ethiopia, traditional knowledge of grinding stones is still accessible, and grinding stones remain in use. The models developed through interviews with, and observations of, local practitioners show processes and behaviors but also decisions made at various stages. Particular behaviors and decisions have impacts on tool wear.

Use-wear evidence for the use of threshing sledges in Neolithic Greece

Threshing sledge or tribulum represents an important innovation in agricultural techniques. It allows processing huge amounts of cereals and it has often associated to an increased agricultural production. Their use is attested during the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age both in south-western Asia and Europe. In the Mediterranean area, their use lasted until few decades ago. Recently, as part of project focused on the analysis of the early agricultural tools of Neolithic Greece, a few elements bearing macro- and microscopic use-wear traces visually similar to ethnographic and archaeological threshing sledges have been identified from a number of Early and Middle Neolithic sites (i.e., Achilleion, Platia Magoula Zarkou, Revenia Korinos, Paliambela Kolindros). In this paper, we present the result of their study, including technological and traceological analysis. To provide a stronger assessment of the nature of the observed use-wear traces a quantitative comparison with ethnographic and experimental use-wear traces is carried out by integrating confocal microscopy. Despite the low number of recorded artefacts, obtained results suggest that threshing sledges were in use since the early phases of the Neolithic in Greece.

Arslantepe in the foreground: The economic and social role of the large blades at the end of the 4th millennium BC

This paper focuses on the study of large blade assemblages made from chert raw materials at the site of Arslantepe VI-A period (3500–3200 BCE). By applying an analytical approach combining raw material characterization (NM-PCI protocol), technological and use-wear analyses, and experimental archaeology, we discuss our results from a double perspective. At first glance, we demonstrate the great potential that this proxy offers for the reconstruction of technical systems and routine activities in late prehistoric sites. Secondly, we highlight the contribution of large blades for understanding socio-economic dynamics in case-oriented debates. Specifically, large chert blade study provides further pieces of the puzzle to characterize technical and economic behaviors of the social group settled on the mound of Arslantepe at the end of the 4th millennium BC. At this time, a palatine complex with centralized administration and symbols of power, were tools to boost social inequality.

A traceological and quantitative assessment of the function of the bone bi-pointed tools from the Late Neolithic of the Cueva del Toro (Antequera, Malaga)

This study presents a traceological analysis of bi-pointed bone tools from the Late Neolithic layers of Cueva del Toro (Málaga, Spain). The tools, previously hypothesized as arrowheads, were re-examined using traceological methods combined with confocal microscopy. The analysis refutes their classification as hunting implements. Polished surfaces on the tools, indicative of interaction with fibrous materials, suggest their use in weaving tasks involving wool or similar materials. This study highlights the early use of sheep wool for textiles at Cueva del Toro, dated between 4250 and 3950 cal BCE. This study also emphasizes the significance of craft activities in the Neolithic, with a diverse toolkit for processing fibers and animal materials. By applying quantitative methods to distinguish use-wear traces, the study contributes to the development of use-wear analysis techniques and opens the way for future research in ancient human-material interactions.

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.

Through Time: Reconstructing Palaeolithic Occupations Through Use-Wear Analysis in the Middle Palaeolithic Site of Ciota Ciara (Borgosesia, Italy)

Lithic use-wear analysis, through defining site function and allowing reconstructing of patterns of human occupation, can contribute to our understanding of archaeological palimpsests. The Ciota Ciara cave represents an excellent case study for this methodology. Multidisciplinary research so far conducted on the materials recovered from the atrial sector of the cave distinguishes three archaeological units from a Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the site: stratigraphic units (SUs) 13, 14, and 15. Each unit is interpreted as referring to a period of numerous, superimposed episodes of human occupation, the characteristics of which we try to reconstruct and present in this work through use-wear studies. The functional analysis of lithic industries from the upper units (13 and 14) has already been published previously; here, we report corresponding new data from the lowest level, SU 15. By comparing the use-wear results from the three units and integrating the findings with data from the geoarchaeological, palaeontological, zooarchaeological, and technological studies, we attempt to reconstruct the different phases of human occupation represented in the site through time, contributing to current interpretations regarding settlement dynamics and human behaviour in the Middle Palaeolithic of north-western Italy.

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.

Reconstruction of the Technology for Manufacturing Slate Knives Based on the Results of Studying Materials from Sites of Ancient and Historical Eskimos

The article deals with reconstruction of the technology for making slate knives of the Eskimos of Chukotka and Russian America, obtained during archaeological excavations and ethnographic collections. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive methodology for studying artifacts was used. First of all, a traceological analysis was carried out, which made it possible to record in detail traces of processing on the surfaces of knives, such as percussion, picketing, grinding and drilling. In addition, archaeological finds of abrasive stones and bow drills, which could be used for grinding knives and drilling through holes when fastening them in handles, were studied. The recorded uniformity of most technological features on both archaeological and ethnographic artifacts indisputably indicates the commonality of their manufacturing techniques. These data formed the basis for experimental modeling. The specific purpose of the experiments was to clarify the features of slate processing and methods for making replicas of women's and men's knives from it, similar to the original Eskimo products. The slate raw materials for the experimental replicas were selected based on the results of petrographic analysis of tools found at the ancient Eskimo settlement of Ekwen. The fastening of the handles was reconstructed on the basis of archaeological and ethnographic data on the use of binding material and adhesive composition. Technological traces identified and interpreted using a complex methodology on the surfaces of archaeological and ethnographic artifacts made it possible not only to characterize the methods of making these products, but also to prove the identity of their production, which is important evidence of the long existence of production traditions that have been preserved in Chukotka since the existence of the ancient Bering Sea culture of the 1st millennium n. e. until the time of ethnographic observations made in the 19th–20thcenturies.

Impacts of working bone and antler on a bronze knife: Experimental and use-wear studies

To answer the question if metal knives found in late Bronze Age deposits in Karmin in W Poland (ca. 900–800 BCE) could have been used as multi-tools in processing hard materials like red deer antler and animal bone, we applied an experimental method followed by the use-wear analysis of a replica of late Bronze Age bronze knife. This is the first experiment that focuses on the tool instead of the processed material. It included five movements engaging various sections of a knife blade and tip and producing diversified traces depending on the type of technique and raw material worked. We showed that an adequately cast knife, hardened then by cold working, could have been applied in all stages of manufacturing antler and bone objects, from initial material division (cross-cutting) over shaping (surface cutting, whittling) to finishing (scraping, drilling). Although the tool required frequent resharpening, it efficiently performed various movements. The traces on the replica, such as U-shaped notches, chips, blunting, bows, scratches, and serrated and wavy edges, correspond well with those observed on the knives from Karmin.

Bone items from burial No. 9 of the cemetery near the Berezovaya Mountain (traceological analysis and the search for analogies)

In this article, we analyze bone products from the male burial No. 9 of the cemetery near the Berezovaya Mountain (Oren-burg District of the Cis-Ural region) attributed to the Sintashta Culture (20th–18th centuries BC). The funerary complex is specifi-cally interesting because it combines the ritual and inventory of representatives of the Seima-Turbino phenomenon and items belonging to chariot cultures. Furthermore, an item rare for the cultures of the chariot circle of the Ural region was placed in the burial — a disc-shaped bone buckle. The aim of this work is to find an analogy for this buckle and for other bone items of the complex using traceology data. The buckle was traceologically processed on 31st July 2002 in the campus of the Orenburg archaeological expedition two days after its discovery; at the same time its drawing was made. An astragalus and a fragment of the articular angle of the animal's scapula, both having been placed within the burial, were also analysed. Due to field condi-tions, a portable contact microscope “Mikko” was used. The main focus of this work is the buckle. The results of the traceologi-cal analysis are being introduced into the scientific discourse. Besides, for the first time this article presents the results of tra-ceological study of a similar object from burial mound 27 near the city of Atkarsk. A total of 15 buckles with similar morphology have been analyzed, 11 of them have traceological definitions. A fragment of the product of the same type was only once identi-fied in the Sintashta necropolis (grave 30 of the Sintashta burial ground); the majority of similar items derive from the sites of the Abashev Culture of the Volga-Don region. It has been revealed that the analyzed artifacts could have been used as both belt buckles and ornaments/amulets. The artifact from the burial ground near the Berezovaya Mountain is most likely a buckle, jud-ging by its size and the size of the central hole. The discovery of a buckle typologically characteristic of the Don-Volga Abashevo Culture in the Sintashta Culture necropolis demonstrates the western connections of the population who left the site. The astragalus found in the burial could have been used as a fortune-telling/dice object. The functional purpose of the articular angle of the animal’s scapula has not been determined — no analogies have been found for it, though a possible circle of analo-gies has been outlined.

Intriguing Occupations at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain): the Acheulean Subunits TD10.3 and TD10.4

This paper presents the zooarchaeological, technological, use-wear, and spatial analyses of the earliest sedimentary subunits of TD10 (TD10.3 and TD10.4) of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), dated to c. 400 ka. Both units have yielded Acheulean technology, with occupational models characterized by the superimposition of multiple and independent events paired with short, sporadic occupations. Subunits TD10.3 and TD10.4 formed during a period in which the cave was largely reopened after a temporary closure. This period of reopening is evidenced by several blocks that fell from the ceiling and walls. Fifty-seven groups of refits and anthropic conjoins, of which 43 resulted from deliberate hominin activity, confirm the low disturbance of the deposits. Contrary to TD10.4, TD10.3 shows good preservation of faunal remains, although anthropogenic modifications are very scarce. Technologically, both deposits represent well-developed Acheulean assemblages, with high proportions of large-shaped tools and percussive material, which place this area among those that have yielded the most evidence of this type among all the excavated Atapuerca sites. The question of why these subunits contain so many hammerstones, manuports, and large tools associated with faunal remains that have been so scarcely modified is discussed based on data from spatial, technical, and use-wear analyses, which have identified butchery activities, and for the first time in the Pleistocene Atapuerca record, borer elements and possible thrusting stone spear tips. Furthermore, the occupational and technological characteristics of these subunits were compared with other western European archaeological sites, including the nearby site of Galería, with which a broad correlation can be made.

The long blades and their uses: Examples of long laminar flakes from Anatolia

This paper displays the case of very long obsidian laminar flakes uncovered at Tepecik Çiftlik. The site is located in Cappadocia, Turkey and dated to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (7th and beginning of 6th millennium). Most of these artefacts measure about 15 to 20 cm long. Their manufacture implied a specific chaîne opératoire that required skills far above those needed for smaller artefacts. The use-wear analysis shows that most of them were employed to perform tasks similar to those performed with smaller tools. However, their dimensions were most probably a constraint limiting their efficiency. They were too big to be handled easily. Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological comparisons put in perspective this gigantism and enable us to suggest that it was related to social and symbolic aspects. A tool should never be reduced to a device made for practical uses, it is always embedded in a cultural and social context. Large tools, such as the long laminar flakes from Cappadocia are overinvested tools and might have had a special value in the community.

An Early Neolithic Bone and Antler Industry of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don: Technological Strategies and Functional Context

The Early Neolithic site of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don evidences successive peopling of the coastal zone in the 6th millennium BC. Analysis of faunal remains, toolkit, and limited technological contexts suggest seasonal orientation of the site shown at least at the early stages. We present the results of the analysis of the Early Neolithic bone tools from Rakushechny Yar layers 23–11 of excavation I, and assess their place in the context of bone industries of the contemporaneous archaeological cultures. The collection is dominated by points. Despite the variable morphology, their preforms and manufacturing techniques are rather standard. Apart from points, two spatula-like tools and two specimens with beveled edges, made from red-deer antler, were found. A limited typological and functional set reveals a peculiar subsistence activity. The traceological analysis has highlighted a stable series of tools for working skins and processing coarse vegetable materials (possibly for basket weaving). Spatula-shaped tools were likely destined for processing mineral materials such as ceramics. Certain typological and technological parallels are found in the Northern Caspian and the Lower Volga regions, but especially in the Southern Caucasian Neolithic (Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe) traditions possibly originating from those of the Levant and Zagros.

A Case of Surgical Treatment of Lower Molars in a Mesolithic Sample from a Cemetery on the Yuzhny Oleniy Ostrov, Karelia, Russia

Here, we present the earliest case of surgical treatment of mandibular permanent molars known in Northern Eurasia. It concerns an aged woman buried at a Mesolithic cemetery on the Yuzhny Oleniy Ostrov (Island) in Lake Onega, southern Karelia, 8250–8050 cal BP. Our objective was to reconstruct the technology of surgical intervention, and to diagnose and describe the underlying condition. To do this, we carried out an examination of teeth and bone tissues of the upper and lower jaws and a traceological analysis of identified lesions. As we found, in the last few months of her life, the woman underwent several dental operations, including the extraction of the lower left third molar and, in a stepwise fashion, of fragments of the distal part of crown and lingual part of the distal root of the lower right first molar. The first operation was successful—the woman survived for at least two months after it had been performed. The second operation was also successfully performed at least two months before death, likely immediately after the trauma. The mesial part of the crown was removed just before death. No ancient cases where fragments of an injured tooth were removed are known to us. The removal of the lower third molar can be compared only with the earliest previously known case, described in a sample from the Pucará de Tilcara fortress in Northern Argentina (15th–16th centuries AD). Indications for surgery partly coincide in both cases, and include complications of apical periodontitis and the development of osteomyelitis. However, the technology of surgery and its logistics are different.

Notched implements made of scapulae (Bruszczewo-type tools)-A problem solved? Discovering cereal- and legume-threshing techniques in Early Bronze Age Europe through traceological analysis and residue studies.

The studies presented in this paper constitute the first scientific attempt to interpret the manner whereby notched implements made of scapulae were made and used. These implements have been found at numerous European and non-European sites, usually dated to the Neolithic-Early Iron Age (predominantly the Early Bronze Age). Research has examined these products since the beginning of the 20th century, resulting in the development of several hypotheses regarding their functions. This paper presents the analysis results of 41 such artefacts from the early Bronze Age defensive settlement in Bruszczewo (central Poland). This is the largest collection of these products from a single site worldwide. The artefacts were subjected to multi-aspect traceological tests (both technological and functional) using optical, metallographic, and scanning electron microscopes. The residues identified on their surfaces were analysed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy. Moreover, the studies reported herein involved extensive experimental research. Consequently, the chain of operations followed in producing these tools was reconstructed and the use-wear traces present on their surfaces were classified; it was determined that these tools were most likely used for threshing cereals but might also have been used for threshing legumes. This is the first proof of threshing in central Europe in the Early Bronze Age and the first scientifically substantiated hypothesis regarding the function of these important artefacts.

Экспериментально-трасологические исследования наконечников стрел в мезолите Горного Крыма

Traceological analysis of all microliths from multilayer sites Zamil-Koba 1 and 2, Alimovskiy rockshelter, Tash-Air 1, Kukrek revealed arrowheads of various types. Transverse arrowheads prevail in layers of the early phase of the Shan-Koba culture. Long segments and trapezes were used for this purpose. Oblique bladed arrowheads with a barb make a series. Long segments fixed in an oblique slot at the end of an arrow shaft were used as such arrowheads. Lanceolate points were used as piercing arrowheads which were met as single finds. Transverse arrowheads dominate at sites of the late phase of the Shan-Koba culture, while oblique bladed arrowheads with a barb are single. Upper layers of Alimovskiy rockshelter and Kukrek sites dated to the end of the Mesolithic produced only transverse arrowheads. Long trapezes and a small number of small long segments were used as such arrowheads. A number of experiments were carried out by the authors for verification of traceological definitions, research of behavior of different types of arrowheads when they hit the target and formation of various use-wear traces on arrowheads. Arrows were shot with bow at various targets. Experiments took place at Kholodnaya Balka in the Crimean Mountains in the suburb of Simferopol. Replicas of microliths from Mesolithic sites of the Crimean Mountains were used as arrowheads. Bow and arrow shafts were made of local hazel, dogwoods, buckthorn and pine. All stages of experiments were carefully documented. More than 500 shots were fired, and more than 50 arrowheads were used. As a result valuable data about behavior of arrowheads when hitting the target were obtained. Macro- and micro- wear traces on experimental replicas of arrowheads correspond well with traces on arrowheads singled out by the authors from studied collections of artefacts from Mesolithic sites of the Crimean Mountains and confirm validity of use-wear definitions.

구석기시대 가죽 가공 기술행위

Hide, one of the various work materials used by the people from the Paleolithic onwards, is an essential material for making cloths and tents for survival. The technology and methods of hide processing and use, however, might be understood based on archaeological data and ethnoarchaeological studies because there aren’t many direct hide-related evidences in Paleolithic sites.
 Researchers from Korea and abroad have undertaken studies on the use-wear analysis of the end-scraper, and they have found that different work materials, including wood, bone, antler, and hide, leave different traces behind. Of them, the trace formed by hide occupies the majority. Therefore, it can be known that the end-scraper was a specialized tool for processing hide. Ethnoarchaeological studies on this subject show the various stages of hide processing and usage: hunting animals; several stages of processing hide; and use. End-scrapers have been recovered from a lot of sites in the Paleolithic. This fact indicates that hide processing and use were essential for surviving in that era. Depending on the period, region, environment, animal species, purpose of hide use, type of end-scraper, its use method, and hide processing method, they are slightly different. These led to the establishment of the local technological tradition. These facts shed light on the different aspects of the hide processing method at the local level.

Tool Dichotomies in a Period of Inter-epochal Transition – Philosophical and Anthropological Reflections on Post-Neolithic Dual Technology

The presented publication is the end result of an authorial, post-doctoral research project devoted to the multi-aspect flint tool dichotomy at the turn of the Stone and Metal Ages. The results of use-wear analysis of archaeological materials from south-eastern Poland and the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, obtained by the author over the last decade, have been supplemented in this article with a philosophical component. By visualising the network of connections on the empirical-theory line, the explanatory value of the dichotomous lithic concept was raised. Moreover, the discourse on the period at the turn of the Stone and Metal Ages has been enriched with new interpretative solutions for economic and social issues of that time in prehistory. The author places his philosophical investigations within the hermeneutical approach. After the study of key terms (dichotomy, divergence, convergence), structuralist thought becomes the leading theme at the end of the article. The paper deals with the concepts of such thinkers as: Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and Claude Lévi-Strauss.