Our understanding of the emergence of technology shapes how we view the origins of humanity. Sharp-edged stone flakes, struck from larger cores, are the primary evidence for the earliest stone ...technology. Here we show that wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brazil deliberately break stones, unintentionally producing recurrent, conchoidally fractured, sharp-edged flakes and cores that have the characteristics and morphology of intentionally produced hominin tools. The production of archaeologically visible cores and flakes is therefore no longer unique to the human lineage, providing a comparative perspective on the emergence of lithic technology. This discovery adds an additional dimension to interpretations of the human Palaeolithic record, the possible function of early stone tools, and the cognitive requirements for the emergence of stone flaking.
Purpose This study was designed to assess the mechanical properties of two calcium carbonate tempers, limestone and burnt shell. These tempers have been previously compared, in separate studies, to ...silicate-based grit or sand temper and, relative to the latter, are assumed to possess similar mechanical properties. However, their simultaneous use at the Morrison Village site begs the question: do these two calcium carbonate tempers indeed possess similar mechanical properties? In order to assess their performance characteristics, a side-by-side controlled experimental test was conducted to determine the degree of similarity in providing increased vessel strength and toughness. Methods Standardized ceramic test samples were systematically prepared via a set, explicit protocol. An Instron Series IX universal testing machine configured with a four-point flexural test jig was used to perform a flexural strength test of the test samples. The Instron load and deflection data were used to calculate three values related to mechanical performance: peak load, modulus of rupture, and modulus of elasticity. Results All four comparative tests clearly show substantial differences in peak load, modulus of rupture, and modulus of elasticity. These differences are statistically significant for each performance attribute in every iteration of the experiment and as indicated by Mann-Whitney U Tests. Conclusions These results do not support the hypothesis that limestone and burnt shell offer the same performance characteristics. These results have implications for our understanding of prehistoric human selection of temper and the evolution of ceramic technology. Although both carbonate-based tempers are currently thought to offer the same benefits during the initial phase of pottery production, their contrasting post firing properties would have provided distinct benefits in different contexts. Future assessments of the Morrison Village ceramic assemblage should focus on residue analysis, or other functional indicators, to support or falsify this hypothesis.
The Middle to Later Stone Age transition marks a major change in how Late Pleistocene African populations produced and used stone tool kits, but is manifest in various ways, places and times across ...the continent. Alongside changing patterns of raw material use and decreasing artefact sizes, changes in artefact types are commonly employed to differentiate Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) assemblages. The current paper employs a quantitative analytical framework based upon the use of neural networks to examine changing constellations of technologies between MSA and LSA assemblages from eastern Africa. Network ensembles were trained to differentiate LSA assemblages from Marine Isotope Stage 3&4 MSA and Marine Isotope Stage 5 MSA assemblages based upon the presence or absence of 16 technologies. Simulations were used to extract significant indicator and contra-indicator technologies for each assemblage class. The trained network ensembles classified over 94% of assemblages correctly, and identified 7 key technologies that significantly distinguish between assemblage classes. These results clarify both temporal changes within the MSA and differences between MSA and LSA assemblages in eastern Africa.
In the Late Middle Paleolithic of Central Europe, two main cultural complexes have been distinguished: the Micoquian or Keilmessergruppe (KMG), and the Mousterian. Their differences mainly consist in ...the frequence of some retouched tools and the presence of bifacial technology. When these industries coexist, one element of discussion is the application of different concepts to manufacture tools with the same techno-functionality. This is particularly true for backed artifacts, such as Keilmesser (backed, asymmetrical bifacially-shaped knives) opposed to flake-tools equipped with a natural or knapped back. We conducted a techno-functional analysis of the backed tools from the G-Layer-Complex of Sesselfelsgrotte, one of the main Late Middle Paleolithic sequences in Central Europe, characterized by a combination of KMG and Mousterian aspects. In order to better understand the morpho-metrical data, 3D scans were used for recording technical features and performing semi-automatic geometric morphometrics. Results indicate that the techno-functional schemes of Keilmesser show a moderate variability and often overlap with the schemes of other typological groups. Within bifacial backed knives, a process of imitation of unifacial flake tools' functionaly was recognized particularly in the cutting edge manufacturing. Keilmesser proved to be the long-life, versatile version of backed flake-tools, also due to the recurrent valence as both tool and core. This is why Keilmesser represent an ideal strategic blank when a mobile and multi-functional tool is needed. Based on these data, it is assumed that the relationship between Mousterian and KMG is deeply rooted and the emergence of KMG aspects could be related to constrained situations characterizing the long cold stages of the Early Weichselian. A higher regional mobility caused by the comparably low predictability of resources characterized the subsistence tactics of Neanderthal groups especially at the borders of their overall distribution. For this reason, Keilmesser could have represented an ecological answer before possibly becoming a marker of cultural identity.
Eastern Africa is an important area to study early populations ofHomo sapiensbecause subsets of those populations likely dispersed to Eurasia and subsequently throughout the globe during the Upper ...Pleistocene. The Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeology of this region, particularly aspects of stone-tool technology and typology, is highly variable with only rare cases of geographic and temporal patterning. Although there are differences in timing and perhaps frequency of occurrence, those elements that make up the MSA lithic tool kit are also found at contemporaneous sites elsewhere in Africa and Eurasia, making it difficult to identify a unique archaeological signal for hominin dispersals out of eastern Africa. Rather, regional variation appears to be the outcome of possibly long-term interactions between particular physical and social environments experienced by hominin populations.
The site of Shuidonggou Locality 2 offers important evidence for the Late Paleolithic sequence of north China. The site not only contains one of the earliest instances of ornamental freshwater shell ...and ostrich eggshell beads in the region, but also stone artifacts with features arguably resembling the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) blade technology found farther north. The appearance of these innovative archaeological forms have been attributed to the arrival of hominin populations, possibly modern humans, into the region during Marine Isotope Stage 3. Yet, the chronology of the site remains debated due to ambiguities in the existing dates. In this study, we conduct a systematical radiocarbon analysis of charcoal and ostrich eggshell samples obtained throughout the site sequence. Both acid-base-acid and the more stringent acid-base-oxidation pretreatment methods were applied to the charcoal samples. The resulting ages follow an age-depth relationship that is consistent with the stratigraphic profile. In line with previous stratigraphic assessments, Bayesian age modeling suggests that site formation history can be split into two phases: an early phase 43-35 cal kBP associated with a lacustrine depositional environment, and a later phase 35-28 cal kBP associated with rapid terrestrial silt accumulation. The chronology of the archaeological layers containing IUP-like artifacts are placed at 43-39 cal kBP and 35-34 cal kBP respectively. This finding supports the interpretation that an IUP-like blade technology appeared in the SDG region by at least ~41 ka.
Most Chinese lithic industries dated between 300,000 and 40,000 are characterized by the absence of Levallois debitage, the persistence of core-and-flake knapping, the rarity of prepared cores, their ...reduction with direct hard hammer percussion, and the rarity of retouched flakes. Here we report the discovery of seven bone soft hammers at the early hominin Lingjing site (Xuchang County, Henan) dated to 125,000-105,000. These artefacts represent the first instance of the use of bone as raw material to modify stone tools found at an East Asian early Late Pleistocene site. Three types of soft hammers are identified. The first consists of large bone flakes resulting from butchery of large herbivores that were utilized as such for expedient stone tools retouching or resharpening. The second involved the fracture of weathered bone from medium size herbivores to obtain elongated splinters shaped by percussion into sub-rectangular artefacts. Traces observed on these objects indicate intensive and possibly recurrent utilization, which implies their curation over time. The last consists of antler, occasionally used. Lingjing bone tools complement what we know about archaic hominin cultural adaptations in East Asia and highlight behavioural consistencies that could not be inferred from other cultural proxies. This discovery provides a new dimension to the debate surrounding the existence of the Middle Palaeolithic in the region. The attribution of East Asian sites to the Middle Palaeolithic assumes that cultural traits such as the Levallois method represent evolutionary hallmarks applicable to regions of the world different from those in which they were originally found. Here, we promote an approach that consists in identifying, possibly from different categories of material culture, the original features of each regional cultural trajectory and understanding the behavioural and cognitive implications they may have had for past hominin populations.
The emergence of the Upper Paleolithic and regional variability in early Upper Paleolithic industries are prominent topics in Paleolithic archaeology, with special relevance to the dispersal and ...differentiation of early modern human cultures across Eurasia. The so-called Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) has been considered a key element in the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic in northern Asia. Here, we examine the intra-assemblage variation in the collection from the 1963 excavation at Shuidonggou locality 1, a major IUP site in northern China. We combine technological and quantitative attribute analyses to investigate the variety of core reduction sequences and tool manufacture behaviors at the site. A range of core reduction sequences have been documented at Shuidonggou locality 1, including both simple core reduction and prepared core reduction yielding laminar (blade-like) products. The simple core reduction component may due to mixed non-IUP assemblages from different archaeological layers. Among the laminar core reduction sequences, the main strategy involves asymmetrical exploitation of the broad face of core blank, producing blades and elongate flakes, and resembling a recurrent Levallois blade method sensu lato. We compare Shuidonggou laminar blank production with that of IUP assemblages in the Siberian Altai, northern Mongolia, and the Transbaikal region. The comparison demonstrates a general consistency to the basic blank production in IUP assemblages across northern Asia, with some regional variation. The results suggest a multi-directional model of diffusion of the IUP in northeast Asia.
The range of technological elements that marks the Middle Stone Age originated more than 300,000 years ago and formed the basic tool kit for an extended period of time. No spatial and chronological ...patterns can be identified from the Early Middle Stone Age until marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, and there is no cumulative trend of increasing complexity and diversity; instead, periods of complexity come and go. The Howiesons Poort and Still Bay techno-complexes, broadly associated with MIS 4, are recognized across various ecological zones of South Africa. These techno-complexes contain relatively more retouched tools and exhibit heightened levels of what is described as innovative practices. The Howiesons Poort is the best understood industry in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. Its unifying technological characteristic is the almost exclusive use of a blade and bladelet production system, but subtle changes in types of backed artefacts, other retouched tools, and raw material exploitation patterns occur through time. Technological preferences change in the ensuing MIS 3 period, and other strategies and implement types become popular, particularly unifacial points, but trends once again are less clear. This historical review of the technological diversity in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa emphasizes that the roots of some innovations may lie in the earlier Middle Stone Age and that innovation is best understood within the context of local historical trajectories of technological change in South Africa.
The end of the Palaeolithic represents one of the least-known periods in the history of western Africa, both in terms of its chronology and the identification of cultural assemblages entities based ...on the typo-technical analyses of its industries. In this context, the site of Fatandi V offers new data to discuss the cultural pattern during the Late Stone Age in western Africa. Stratigraphic, taphonomical and sedimentological analyses show the succession of three sedimentary units. Several concentrations with rich lithic material were recognized. An in situ occupation, composed of bladelets, segments, and bladelet and flake cores, is confirmed while others concentrations of lithic materials have been more or less disturbed by erosion and pedogenic post-depositional processes. The sequence is well-dated from 12 convergent OSL dates. Thanks to the dating of the stratigraphic units and an OSL date from the layer (11,300-9,200 BCE 13.3-11.2 ka at 68%, 14.3-10.3 ka at 95%), the artefacts are dated to the end of Pleistocene or Early Holocene. Palaeoenvironmental data suggest that the settlement took place within a mosaic environment and more precisely at the transition between the open landscape of savanna on the glacis and the plateau, and the increasingly densely-wooded alluvial corridor. These humid areas must have been particularly attractive during the dry season by virtue of their rich resources (raw materials, water, trees, and bushes). The Fatandi V site constitutes the first stratified site of the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in Senegal with both precise geochronological and palaeoenvironmental data. It complements perfectly the data already obtained in Mali and in the rest of western Africa, and thus constitutes a reference point for this period. In any case, the assemblage of Fatandi V, with its bladelets and segments and in the absence of ceramics and grinding material, fits with a cultural group using exclusively geometric armatures which strongly differs from another group characterized by the production of bifacial armatures, accompanied in its initial phase by ceramics (or stoneware) and grinding material.
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