Lithic Technology

"This dissertation presents results from four recently discovered archeological sites in southcentral Alaska. The sites range from the Younger Dryas to middle Holocene in age and provide valuable contextual information for the human process of colonizing a region that was heavily glaciated during the LGM. The deglaciation and human colonization of southcentral Alaska is one of the most significant aspects of the settling phase in eastern Beringia not only for its potential to inform about the human response to post-glacial landscapes but also for what we can learn about subsequent migrations to the southern coast of Alaska.

Understanding how early foraging societies spread throughout eastern Beringia, after its initial colonization, requires new models for and approaches to the interpretation of technological variability, especially the enigmatic microblade industries that represent an essential subset of nearly all of the northern prehistoric toolkits. This work presents an ecological approach to the interpretation of assemblage variability in central and southcentral Alaska. Climate and seasonal changes had significant impacts on small-scale foraging societies and undoubtedly played a decisive role in the successes and failures of the earliest Alaskans. This was certainly the case during the transition from the Pleistocene to Holocene as major climatic oscillations were underway and foothold communities north of the Alaska Range began dispersing south into the recently deglaciated territories of southcentral Alaska."

The debate about past human use of forest environments in Patagonia has been usually based on information from stratigraphic contexts. Data derived from the study of surface materials are scarce probably due to low archaeological visibility. But surface material involves a different spatial scale from stratigraphical one. The aim of this paper is to present new information about lithic tools, debitage and cores from surface archaeological contexts localized at Cholila (Chubut). The final goal is to characterize technological decisions made by hunter – gatherers in forested environments during Late Holocene. Results of the analysis of lithic materials from 19 loci, with different archaeological densities and functions are presented and they suggest that we are facing a different scenario than that of a sporadic use of the forest, as was postulated in recent archaeological literature.

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown, however, that many of the same methods and theories applied to the study of cooking ceramics are also relevant to the investigation of rocks used as heating elements. Because use alteration analyses of FCR are so scarce, I describe a range of attributes with the goal of helping researchers identify use alterations (e.g., sooting, reddening, various fracturing patterns) on lithic artifacts from sites worldwide and evaluate their potential function in various cultural practices. These attributes are also outlined in order to create a standardized terminology for describing FCR use-alteration patterns. I discuss my analysis of FCR from three Late Archaic sites (Duck Lake, 913, and 914) on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by an interpretation of their cooking contexts, as a case study. The results indicate great intersite variability among FCR characteristics, cooking methods, and cooking facilities (earth oven, stone boiling, and rock griddle). This use alteration analysis can be applied in archaeological contexts worldwide where similar materials are recovered.

Ce travail de recherche vise la compréhension de l’origine du Dorsétien et l’éclaircissement de sa définition du point de vue de la technologie lithique en s’appuyant sur l’étude des deux plus anciens sites dorsétiens du Nunavik (GhGk-63 et Tayara). L’argumentation est présentée en quatre chapitres. Le premier chapitre présente le contexte historique dans lequel les définitions et le cadre chronologique du Paléoesquimau ont été établis dans les années 1950-1960 et comment ils ont subséquemment été utilisés et modifiés. Ainsi, quatre problèmes majeurs sont identifiés comme caractérisant les recherches paléoesquimaudes : celui lié au contexte archéologique (les mélanges), celui de la perte de signification des assemblages, celui de l’ambiguïté des définitions culturelles et enfin celui de l’usage des datations radiométriques. Dans notre problématique, il est question de
savoir s’il est possible de réhabiliter la valeur des assemblages lithiques, la chronologie et la définition culturelle du Dorsétien. Le deuxième et le troisième chapitre présentent respectivement les études des sites GhGk-63 et Tayara qui permettent de définir le système technique lié à
l’industrie lithique pour le début du Dorsétien. Dans le chapitre 4, cette définition est suivie par l’étude du contexte chronologique du Dorsétien ancien. En conclusion, nous proposons le terme « Dorsétien classique » pour caractériser la première portion du Dorsétien dans l’Arctique de l’est,
terme pour lequel nous fournissons une nouvelle définition technologique et nous précisons la chronologie.

En los últimos cuarenta años, el conocimiento sobre el Epipaleolítico y el Mesolítico en la cuenca del Ebro ha aumentado considerablemente, constituyendo en la actualidad, una de las áreas peninsulares con mayor información sobre el periodo. Entre los cambios que se reconocen en los modos de vida de las últimas sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras, las modificaciones observadas en la industria lítica son notables, habiéndose definido tres tradiciones que se suceden: las industrias epipaleolíticas (microlaminares y sauveterroides), las del Mesolítico de muescas y denticulados, y las del Mesolítico geométrico. La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo el reconocimiento de las estrategias de producción y gestión de la industria lítica a las que responden cada uno de los complejos, y la valoración de la naturaleza y entidad de las transformaciones que se suceden en estos a lo largo del tiempo. Para ello se acomete el estudio de materias primas, tecnológico y tipológico del yacimiento de Atxoste (Álava). Este abrigo, que se enmarca en el modelo de ocupación territorial definido para este periodo en la cuenca del Ebro, ofrece una amplia secuencia estratigráfica que abarca desde finales del Paleolítico superior hasta el Calcolítico. El presente trabajo se centra en el análisis de las industrias líticas de los niveles Epipaleolíticos y Mesolíticos, contando con dos niveles arqueológicos para cada tradición: Epipaleolítico microlaminar (VIb2 y VIb); Mesolítico de muecas y denticulados (VI y V); Mesolítico geométrico (IV y IIIb2). Ello permite analizar en profundidad tanto el sistema lítico de cada una de las fases industriales y su evolución interna, así como las modificaciones que se operan entre ellas. El texto se ha estructurado en tres apartados: - Parte I: Se exponen además de los objetivos del trabajo y una presentación más detallada del yacimiento, el enfoque teórico-metodológico adoptado y un estado de la cuestión sobre las industrias epipaleolíticas y mesolíticas en el alto y medio Ebro; - Parte II: Se ofrece la caracterización y reconstrucción de las estrategias de producción y gestión de cada uno de los niveles, definiendo los objetivos productivos y el modo en que se llevan a cabo (abastecimiento de las materias primas, sistema de producción y configuración del utillaje retocado). Con todo ello, se atienden a las transformaciones internas que se operan en cada tradición, evaluándolas individualmente en el contexto más inmediato de la cuenca del Ebro y el de los territorios colindantes; - Parte III: Se analizan los cambios y continuidades que se producen entre las distintas tradiciones, reflexionando sobre la entidad y naturaleza de los mismos. La principal aportación del trabajo radica en el conocimiento más detallado que se ofrece de la organización del sistema lítico (de su abastecimiento, producción y gestión) de las distintas tradiciones industriales. En la comprensión de que cada una ellas responde a unos objetivos, a una forma de hacer, de gestionar y de concebir el material lítico particular. En este sentido, las transformaciones reconocidas entre los distintos complejos, los diferentes mecanismos mediante los cuales abastecían sus necesidades industriales, ofrecen un elemento más de aproximación y conocimiento a las últimas sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras.


Au cours des quarante dernières années, la connaissance de l’Épipaléolithique et du Mésolithique dans le bassin de l'Èbre a considérablement augmenté, constituant actuellement l'une des régions de la Péninsule Ibérique possédant le plus d'informations sur cette période. Parmi les changements reconnus dans les modes de vie de ces dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs, les transformations observées dans l'industrie lithique sont remarquables, trois traditions successives ont été définies: les industries épipaléolithiques (microlaminaires et sauveterroïdes), le Mésolithique des encoches et denticulés, et le Mésolithique géométrique. Cette thèse a pour objectif de reconnaitre des stratégies de production et de gestion de l'industrie lithique auxquelles chaque ensemble répond, ainsi que l'évaluation de la nature et de l'entité des changements qui s’y produisent tout au long du temps. Pour cela, nous avons effectué les études des matières premières, technologique et typologique du gisement d´Atxoste (Álava). Cet abri, qui correspond au modèle d'occupation territoriale défini pour cette période dans le bassin de l'Èbre, offre une large séquence stratigraphique allant de la fin du Paléolithique Supérieur au Chalcolithique. Ce travail se concentre sur l'analyse des industries lithiques des niveaux épipaléolithiques et mésolithiques, avec deux niveaux archéologiques par tradition: l´Épipaléolithique microlaminaire (VIb2 et VIb); le Mésolithique des encoches et denticulés (VI et V); et le Mésolithique géométrique (IV et IIIb2). Cela permet une analyse profonde autant du système lithique de chacune des phases industrielles et de son évolution interne, que des changements qui ont eu lieu entre elles. Le texte a été structuré en trois sections: - Partie I: Nous exposons, en plus des objectifs de ce travail et d’une présentation plus détaillée du site, l'approche théorique et méthodologique, ainsi qu’un état de la question sur les industries épipaléolithiques et mésolithiques du Haut et Moyen Èbre; - Partie II: Nous offrons la caractérisation et la reconstruction des stratégies de production et de gestion de chacun des niveaux, donnant la définition des objectifs de production et de la façon avec laquelle ils ont étés réalisés (l´approvisionnement en matières premières, le système de production et la configuration de l´outillage retouché). Avec tout cela, nous analysons les changements internes qui ont eu lieu à chaque tradition, et nous les évaluons de manière individuelle dans le contexte le plus proche du bassin de l'Èbre et de ses territoires adjacents; - Partie III: Nous analysons les transformations et les continuités qui se produisent entre les différentes traditions, tout en réfléchissant sur leur nature et leur entité. La principale contribution de cette recherche réside: dans la connaissance plus profonde qu’elle offre sur l'organisation du système lithique (son approvisionnement, sa production et sa gestion) des différentes traditions industrielles; dans la compréhension que chacune d’entre elles répond à des objectifs, à des façons de faire, de gérer et de concevoir le matériel lithique en soi. En ce sens, les transformations reconnues entre les divers complexes, et les différents mécanismes par lesquels ces sociétés approvisionnaient leurs besoins industriels, offrent un élément de plus pour une meilleure approche et de plus grandes connaissances des dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs.

SUMMARY: Chapter 8, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers what typically survives, what constitutes an "artifact", interpreting usage, obtaining materials (e.g., quarrying; mining), transporting materials, installing materials, manufacturing items, identifying function, experimental archaeology, etc., regarding stone, bone, antler, shell, leather, wood, plant, metal, faience, glass, and other materials and diverse artifacts.  In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record.  UPDATED May 2023.

In this paper, we introduce a recently initiated research project conducted at Bushman Rock Shelter, on the northeastern edge of the Highveld plateau in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Previous excavations carried out at the site during the 1960s and 1970s exposed a deep and well-stratified sequence of c. 7 metres of archaeological deposits associated with Later and Middle Stone Age occupations (LSA and MSA). Owing to the lack of contextual information, Bushman Rock Shelter remains poorly studied despite recording cultural and palaeoenvironmental data that are key for the understanding of the South African Stone Age. Here, we propose a synthesis of the 1967–1976 excavations led by Hannes Eloff and provide general background information that will serve as a reference for future research. Our synthesis is based on previous publications by Ina Plug, as well as on Eloff ’s field diaries, which were thought to be lost. We complement these observations with data from our own 2014 field se...

El propósito de este trabajo es discutir la intensidad y redundancia de la ocupación humana en el sitio El Tigre durante el Holoceno tardío final a partir del estudio de los procesos de formación del sitio. En un trabajo anterior (Martínez et al. 2005) se propuso la existencia de un componente arqueológico superior (ca. 500 años AP) y se planteó la  posible existencia de uno inferior. Esta discusión es retomada en este trabajo a partir del estudio de distintas líneas de análisis. Se discuten evidencias estratigráficas, cronológicas (C14 y OCR), diagenéticas y las distribuciones y frecuencias de los restos óseos y artefactos líticos a lo largo de la secuencia estratigráfica estudiada. Se analizan diversas variables a los efectos de identificar la acción de agentes y/o procesos tafonómicos. A través de este análisis se concluyó que sólo puede proponerse la existencia del componente superior y que su cronología sería de ca. 900-500 años AP.

The Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman site of Dura–Europos (or simply “Dura”), dubbed the “Pompeii of the Syrian Desert” by Yale historian and archaeologist Michael Rostovtzeff, was jointly excavated by Yale University and the French Academy of Inscriptions and Letters from 1928 to 1937. Given the outstanding preservation of art and architecture at Dura, it is not surprising that four obsidian artifacts have escaped attention, despite evidence that stone tools – including obsidian ones – continued to be used into and after the Iron Age in the Eastern Mediterranean. After more than eight decades, the character of Dura's connections to the Classical world remains a matter of debate. Pottery includes not only local ceramic wares but also North African and Aegean ones. Our nondestructive pXRF testing establish that the Dura artifacts match the three most widely used Eastern Anatolian obsidian sources: Nemrut Dağ volcano as well as the Bingöl A and B sources. If indeed obsidian arrived at Dura via long-standing mechanisms of Mesopotamian exchange, these Eastern Anatolian obsidians would be expected. Unfortunately, the artifacts' precise locations at Dura are unclear, the excavations lacked stratigraphic con- straints, and Near Eastern obsidian distribution patterns have been rarely studied beyond the Early Bronze Age. Keeping in mind these limitations, our findings are most consistent with past suggestions regarding the im- portance of local Mesopotamian influences and resources at the site.

"The paper reports the results of technological analyses on flint assemblages found in 1996–2002 in the Pärnu Bay area, Estonia. The assemblages and their find contexts are described and the basic flaking methods and their products are discussed. A special emphasis is given to the bipolar and platform methods, the two basic flaking methods evident in the assemblages. Possible reduction sequences are studied and their relation to a variety of factors is discussed on the basis of artefact size. The study indicates that small raw material size and shape affected core technology. A variety of core reduction methods were used concurrently to achieve the goals and to deal with small nodule size. The study also indicates that the selection of methods was related to the availability of raw material. Finally the large scale patterning observed in the assemblages and its relation to the Holocene hunter-gatherer systems in the research area is discussed. It is suggested that changes in raw material usage were related to organisational changes evident in mobility and settlement patterns.


Open access pdf available at http://www.sarks.fi/masf/masf_1/masf_1.html"

This short note from "Contexts: the Annual Report of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology" explores the potential implications of changes in the selection of lithic raw materials across the Narragansett Basin at the start of the Late Woodland period for understanding the role of color as a variable in quarry choice and the production of symbolically meaningful material culture.

Several lithic artefacts that belong to hunter-gatherer's occupations from Quebrada Seca 3 site during the Middle Holocene (Southern Puna of Argentina, between ca. 5000-4700 years BP), are analyzed (Southern Puna of Argentina, between ca. 5000-4700 years BP), are analyzed. These stone tools have been defined as stemmed projectile points whose blades were intensively maintained resulting in asymmetric shapes. Besides, it was proposed the use of these artefacts as knives because their morphology when the artefacts were discarded. Trying to establish a more complete version of the life history of these artefacts, from projectile points to knives, as it is suggested by the techno-typological analysis, we developed a research design that includes several analytical microscopic and compositional techniques to identify the uses that were preserved over time. Information obtained through microwear use traces analysis and the study of microscopic residues (microfossils and chemical residues) in blades and stems, indicates that these artefact were used in several functions. Tools were last used as knives in generalized tasks, for plant and animal processing. The plant material processed includes roasted or dehydrated tuberous/root plants for food. The processing of animal material (skin, flesh and/or bone) was also developed with the artifacts as knives. As projectile points were used for penetration of animal preys and then were recycled as knives. Besides, evidences for hafting (foreshafts or handles) and adhesives use, were found. The use and life history results obtained from analyses of microfossil and other residue, microwear use traces, chemical and techno-typological, were mutually consistent. This contributed to the discussion of artifact’s life history and resource processing by the Middle holocene hunter-gatherers of South Central Andes.

Several types of smoking pipes have been manufactured and used by native North American peoples throughout later prehistoric and historic times. Although substantial information exists on the styles of these pipes, very little is known about their methods of manufacture. This paper examines one particular style of pipe, the Florence Pipe, associated with the proto-Wichita Great Bend peoples. A block of Minnesota pipestone was manufactured into a pipe using stone tools replicated after those found in the Robb Collection from central Kansas. This archaeological assemblage was proposed to have been used in the manufacture of Florence pipes, which was confirmed through use-wear analysis of the collection. The steps and labor requirements for the creation of Florence pipes are illuminated in this paper in a way that cannot be accomplished through archaeological analysis and use-wear analysis alone.

Locality X is a diffuse scatter which consists primarily of more than 1,000 tiny lithic artifacts distributed throughout a massive stratum of eolian sand adjacent to a lunette southeast of Blackwater Draw Locality 1. The discovery of a single side-notched projectile point along with radiocarbon dates indicate that this newly discovered locality may represent a Late Prehistoric camp associated with the prehistoric springs that characterize the site. As such, it would represent the first discrete Late Prehistoric locality identified at the Blackwater Draw site; however, questions arose regarding the assemblage's validity as a primary site of human activity. The unusually small artifact sizes and their location on the landscape raised the possibility that Locality X represents a secondary accumulation of size-sorted artifacts originating from the multiple archaeological localities lying upwind along the margins of the pond, redeposited in an aggrading lunette feature. Particle size analysis and wind tunnel experiments were carried out to test this hypothesis. Results indicate that, while the site has clearly been reworked by wind, eolian processes alone do not account for the accumulation of the artifacts, and the site appears to represent a primary location of cultural activity. The study generated new information relevant to understanding wind transport of small artifacts as well as confirming the existence of a new locality at the Blackwater Draw site.

ABSTRACT Loteshwar (23º 36ʹ 1.8ʺ N; 71º 50ʹ 11.8ʺ E) is situated in the Sami Taluka of Patan District in North Gujarat, Western India. First excavated in 1990’s the site was re-excavated by the North Gujarat Archaeological Project during November/December 2009. The 2009 excavation unearthed two cultural periods namely Mesolithic (dated between the end of the eighth millennium cal BC and the middle of sixth millennium cal BCE) and Chalcolithic (dated to around 3600-3000 BC). The comparative analysis of the lithic assemblages associated with these periods is the main objective of the current study. Other artefacts and ecofacts recovered during the excavations suggest a changing economy at the site from hunting and gathering to agro-pastoralisam. However, the analysis of the lithic assemblage, in particular the cores show continuity in term of a tool technology (quartering technique of stone tool manufacturing) for over five thousand years. This technological continuity is associated to continuity in settlement patterns, characterized by the occupation of dune tops and the uninterrupted transmission of technological knowledge from one generation to another.

In the history of research into the Hamburgian in Poland two periods can be distinguished. The first, longer period, began in the 1930s with the discovery at Rogów Opolski of the first Hamburgian campsite on the territory of Poland (Rothert 1936). At about the same time, a local teacher O. Dobrint registered another site at Liny, excavated in the 1970s by M. Kobusiewicz (Kobusiewicz 1975). Since then until the 1990s a few more Hamburgian sites were recorded and excavated. Olbrachcice 8, Siedlnica 17 and 17a, and Łęgoń were investigated by M. Burdukiewicz (Burdukiewicz 1987; Burdukiewicz et al. 1998; Burdukiewicz, Szynkiewicz 2002). Until the end of the 1990s, site 33 at Mirkowice was considered to have been the easternmost and northernmost site of the Hamburgian (Chłodnicki, Kabaciński 1997; Kabaciński et al. 1999; Kabaciński et al. 2002; Kabaciński, Schild 2005). Another large excavated site was situated at Krągola (Kabaciński, Kobusiewicz 2008).
11 campsites of varying size related to the settlement of the Hamburgian culture (including sites at Myszęcin and Ośno Lubuskie) have been so far recognised on the territory of Poland. In addition, there are remains of the generally undetermined penetration of the area by the Hamburgian societies, mainly in western Poland. Single finds of the Hamburgian settlement were registered at Wojnowo 2 (Kobusiewicz 1999), Tanowo 2 (Galinski 1987), Nowy Młyn (Kozłowski, Kozłowski 1977), Trzebicz Młyn (Bagniewski 2001, 2002), Rzuchów (Kabaciński, Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2009a), Cichmiana 2 (Kabaciński, Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2009a), Łozina 17 (Wiśniewski et al. 2010) and perhaps at Wąsowo 29 (Jankowska et al. 2006).
Sites at Myszęcin and Ośno Lubuskie belong to the group of sites that confirm the exploitation of the young glacial zone by the Hamburgian communities, which once again belies the hypothesis of B. Bratlund (1994), supported by G. Tromnau (2006), that these communities could have functioned only in old glacial areas.
Recent discoveries at Ośno Lubuskie indicate that the absence of remains of the Hamburgian settlement in the region of the so-called spatial gap in the settlement pattern results only from the state of research (Kabaciński, Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2010). Recently published stray finds from the area of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg seem to confirm this idea (Terberger, Lübke 2007).
The site at Myszęcin stands out among other campsites of the Hamburgian in terms of the quantity of recorded artefacts and the number of registered concentrations of flint material. It is now the richest site of the Hamburgian culture over the entire European Plain. The number of registered flint artefacts at sites from western Poland ranges from 473 pieces in Łęgoń, the commune of Wschowa (Burdukiewicz et al. 2003), to 6145 flint artefacts in Siedlnica, the commune of Wschowa, site 17a (Burdukiewicz 1987), usually registered in one to three concentrations. In case of the analysed site, approximately 1200 flint artefacts were registered, both within 13 functionally diverse concentrations and beyond them.
Analyses reveal that the raw material economy of the Hamburgian hunter-gatherers was typically based on exploitation of the erratic Cretaceous Baltic material, probably procured from the local cracks resulting from weathering or fluvioglacial sediments. Such strategy has been well documented at sites at Olbrachcice, Siedlnica or Mirkowice (Czerwińska, Burdukiewicz 1983; Kabaciński et al. 1999).
The flint inventory registered at Myszęcin is not significantly different from other assemblages recorded at the Hamburgian sites in Poland, and the frequency of particular types of tools is the result of the functional differentiation of individual concentrations and the number of the flint artefacts in the concentration. However, we should emphasise the presence of two backed blades, previously considered a younger addition and now believed a statistically non-significant, albeit a permanent part of the Hamburgian inventories (Kobusiewicz 1999). Similar artefacts were recorded at Olbrachcice or Mirkowice (Burdukiewicz 1987; Kabaciński et al. 1999), as well as in Hamburgian assemblages in northern Germany and Denmark (Grimm, Weber 2008).
What is particularly interesting, however, is the presence of a very slender, c. 10cm long point, for which at present there are no known parallels in the assemblages from the Polish Lowlands.
A major drawback of the discussed complex is the lack of any artefacts allowing the study on the subsistence, social organisation or art of the community occupying the campsite at Myszęcin. But for the flint artefacts, there were no other materials or features that could allow the reconstruction of the spatial organisation of the campsite. Given the very large number of flint artefacts, we believe that the site at Myszęcin was used for a long time. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that it was a multi-seasonal campsite. These types of considerations may ultimately be resolved only following the so-called refits of materials that would indicate the existence or absence of links between individual artefacts located in a given concentration, or the links between the concentrations.

Os estudos de sambaquis estão entre os mais recorrentes na Arqueologia Brasileira. Entretanto, poucos se dedicaram a uma abordagem sistemática das indústrias líticas destes sítios. A presente pesquisa tem como objeto o Sítio do Mar Virado, localizado na Ilha do Mar Virado, município de Ubatuba, São Paulo. Trata-se de um sítio cemitério, onde intensa atividade de lascamento era realizada.

O trabalho pode ser dividido em três partes: primeiramente buscou-se
compreender os processos formativos do sítio e o histórico das ocupações regionais. Em seguida faz-se a caracterização da indústria lítica. Por fim os resultados da análise foram abordados em sua dispersão espacial, sendo a associação aos sepultamentos a principal variável testada, com o intuito de compreender se haveria diferenças entre o material lítico que acompanhava os mortos e aquele oriundo das demais atividades realizadas no local.

In this paper, we discuss about when the first occupation of Europe took place. According to the present-day data, the South of Europe was occupied before the northern latitudes. The first evidences have an age of around 1.3–1.4 Ma. The lithic technology utilized by these humans is simple, and can be classified as Mode 1. This technology does not have handaxes, cleavers, and neither complex strategies of production. Probably the access to Europe during the Lower Pleistocene was accomplished through the Near East. An ...

Seventeen flakes and 1 unifacial scraper have been recovered from submerged archaeological sites on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge, a landform across the Lake Huron basin that was dry land 7500–9500 years ago. These lithic artifacts—recovered during systematic sampling and excavation by SCUBA divers— were in close association with stone constructed caribou hunting features. They most likely indicate tool maintenance and scraping activities during hunting, butchering, and hide processing behaviors. The majority of lithic artifacts (13 flakes and the scraper) come from an elaborate caribou hunting site with drive lanes and hunting blinds: Drop 45. The remaining 4 flakes come from two localities with additional hunting structures. This chapter describes all the lithic artifacts recovered to date, including metrics, raw material types, and context, and discusses what these artifacts demonstrate about hunters and hunting on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge.

During the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, caches of blue gray chert bifaces were deposited throughout the Midwest, often in association with burials. Their utility between manufacture and deposition has long been the subject of speculation, but never compellingly demonstrated. Comprehensive use-wear analysis of these bifaces demonstrates that they were, in fact, used prior to deposition. Unfortunately, use-wear data in isolation tells us little about the actual role these bifaces played in the lives of the people who produced, used, and deposited them. Relatively few of these caches have been recovered as a result of systematic excavation, so other datasets that can be used to contextualize use-wear data are scarce. The Riverside Site is a Red Ochre affiliated burial and habitation site in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, excavated by the University of Michigan, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Oshkosh Public Museum. Excavations in the 1950s and 60s uncovered a total of 83 bipointed bifaces. Use-wear analysis of a sample of these bifaces allows us to expand the conversation about their significance to include not only information about their depositional context but their active social and economic context as well.

The risk to surface archaeological sites posed by
heavy machinery has grown significantly, and
stone-tool assemblages are particularly susceptible
to alteration that may be difficult to recognise.
Indeed, the impact of industrial
machines on surface scatters of lithic material
has not yet been explored. Here, an analytical
experiment is used to explore the ways in which
machine action can affect a test assemblage
resembling a typical Stone Age scatter. The
results demonstrate that while formal tool
types are not easily replicated through machine
action, the creation of assemblages that resemble
archaeological debitage poses a much
greater challenge for archaeologists.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/effects-of-heavyduty-machinery-on-the-formation-of-pseudoknapping-debitage-in-stone-age-cultural-landscapes/1508E33BF991AF04D0F2EAEE5199E6F2

Abstract

The archaeological excavation of the Puente de los Tres Ojos site, next to Cerro Negro Street (Madrid), has provided new data that has allowed us to go in depth into the human settlement and the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the old Abroñigal stream valley, whose fluvial course worked as a tributary of the Manzanares River probably from before the Late Pleistocene up to the second half of the XXth century. In this paper we present the geomorphological and chronostratigraphic data of the excavated layers, documenting the various sequences of the fluvial and alluvial deposits that have filled the right bank of the Abroñigal valley bottom within its lower stretch. A large collection of lithic pieces has been obtained during the excavation works, most of which have been found within medium energy deposits of sands and gravels, being the rest associated to argillaceous slimes and thin sand deposits. The majority of the lithic collection responds to technical systems of the Middle Palaeolithic, although it is noteworthy the testimonial presence of pieces belonging to the Upper Palaeolithic, as well as mammal faunal remains from the Late Pleistocene. The dates obtained through OSL place the chronology of the deposit between approximately 14,400 and 11,170 years BP.

Now is a good time for a volume like Strangers in a New Land—a time in which the specific details of the much-maligned “Clovis-first” model appear to fit less satisfactorily with emerging archaeological information, and yet no specific model has taken hold as an adequately detailed and agreed-upon alternative. This book does not attempt to provide a specific model so much as to present a collection of sites that such a model should incorporate. Although it has its flaws, it mostly succeeds in this regard.

Potential variables that underlie variation in flake size, and in some instances shape, are investigated in a newly designed experiment. This new design, which utilizes glass cores molded to a specific shape, results in flakes that are identical to archaeological ones. Variation in exterior platform angle, platform depth and angle of blow all directly affect flake size, and in the case of exterior platform angle, flake shape as well (in spite of constant core surface morphology). In treating velocity and force independently, neither is found to affect flake size or shape. These results have implications for understanding different strategies that flintknappers may employ to control the size of their flake products.