Analyzing Chipped Stone Artifacts: the Study of Lithic Technology, Function & Exchange
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Lithic Technology, Human Evolution, and the Emergence of Culture
Evolutionary Anthropology 109 ARTICLES On Stony Ground: Lithic Technology, Human Evolution, and the Emergence of Culture ROBERT FOLEY AND MARTA MIRAZO´ N LAHR Culture is the central concept of anthropology. Its centrality comes from the fact human evolution different and what it that all branches of the discipline use it, that it is in a way a shorthand for what is that it is necessary to explain. It is at makes humans unique, and therefore defines anthropology as a separate disci- once part of our biology and the thing pline. In recent years the major contributions to an evolutionary approach to that sets the limits on biological ap- culture have come either from primatologists mapping the range of behaviors, proaches and explanations. Just to among chimpanzees in particular, that can be referred to as cultural or “proto- add further confusion to the subject, it cultural”1,2 or from evolutionary theorists who have developed models to account is also that which is universally shared for the pattern and process of human cultural diversification and its impact on by all humans and, at the same time, human adaptation.3–5 the word used to demarcate differ- ences between human societies and groups. As if this were not enough for Theoretically and empirically, pa- that paleoanthropology can play in any hard-worked concept, it is both a leoanthropology has played a less the development of the science of cul- trait itself and also a process. When prominent role, but remains central to tural evolution. In particular, we want treated as a trait, culture can be con- the problem of the evolution of cul- to consider the way in which informa- sidered to be the trait or the means by ture. -
Identifying Major Transitions in the Evolution of Lithic Cutting Edge Production Rates
RESEARCH ARTICLE Identifying Major Transitions in the Evolution of Lithic Cutting Edge Production Rates Antoine Muller*, Chris Clarkson School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia * [email protected] Abstract The notion that the evolution of core reduction strategies involved increasing efficiency in cutting edge production is prevalent in narratives of hominin technological evolution. Yet a number of studies comparing two different knapping technologies have found no significant differences in edge production. Using digital analysis methods we present an investigation a11111 of raw material efficiency in eight core technologies broadly representative of the long-term evolution of lithic technology. These are bipolar, multiplatform, discoidal, biface, Levallois, prismatic blade, punch blade and pressure blade production. Raw material efficiency is assessed by the ratio of cutting edge length to original core mass. We also examine which flake attributes contribute to maximising raw material efficiency, as well as compare the dif- ference between expert and intermediate knappers in terms of cutting edge produced per OPEN ACCESS gram of core. We identify a gradual increase in raw material efficiency over the broad sweep of lithic technological evolution. The results indicate that the most significant transition in effi- Citation: Muller A, Clarkson C (2016) Identifying Major Transitions in the Evolution of Lithic Cutting ciency likely took place with the introduction of small foliate biface, Levallois and prismatic Edge Production Rates. PLoS ONE 11(12): blade knapping, all introduced in the Middle Stone Age / Middle Palaeolithic among early e0167244. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167244 Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. This suggests that no difference in raw material efficiency Editor: Roberto Macchiarelli, Universite de Poitiers, existed between these species. -
Excavation of a Chimpanzee Stone Tool Site in the African Rainforest Julio Mercader Et Al
R EPORTS References and Notes (VR) to M.J.W. The Greenland Home Rule Govern- support, and comments. ment generously provided permission to conduct 1. S. J. Mojzsis et al., Nature 384, 55 (1996). Supporting Online Material studies and collect samples from protected out- 2. A. P. Nutman, S. J. Mojzsis, C. R. L. Friend, Geochim. www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/296/ crops on Akilia. We also thank S. Moorbath, V. L. Cosmochim. Acta. 61, 2475 (1997). 5572/1448/DC1 Pease, L. L. S¿rensen, G. M. Young, B. S. Kamber, M. 3. S. J. Mojzsis, T. M. Harrison, Geol. Soc. Am. Today 10, table S1 1 (2000). Rosing, J. M. Hanchar, J. M. Bailey, R. Tracy, J. F. 4. C. F. Chyba, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 57, 3351 Lewis, and G. Goodfriend for helpful discussions, 29 January 2002; accepted 8 April 2002 (1993). 5. K. A. Maher, D. J. Stevenson, Nature 331, 612 (1988). 6. A. P. Nutman et al., Precambrian Res. 78, 1 (1996). 7. M. J. Whitehouse, B. S. Kamber, S. Moorbath, Chem. Excavation of a Chimpanzee Geol. 160, 201 (1999). 8. B. S. Kamber, S. Moorbath, Chem. Geol. 150,19 (1998). Stone Tool Site in the African 9. M. J. Whitehouse, B. S. Kamber, S. Moorbath, Chem. Geol. 175, 201 (2001). 10. V. R. McGregor, B. Mason, Am. Mineral. 62, 887 Rainforest (1977). 1 1 2 11. W. L. Griffin, V. R. McGregor, A. Nutman, P. N. Taylor, Julio Mercader, * Melissa Panger, Christophe Boesch D. Bridgwater, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 50,59 (1980). 12. J. S. -
Prehistoric Lithic Technology} Workshops} and Chipping Stations in the Philippines
Prehistoric Lithic Technology} Workshops} and Chipping Stations in the Philippines D. KYLE LATINIS THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS represent an important area for research of problems concerning prehistoric archaeology in Southeast Asia. These insular areas, located east of the biogeographic boundary known as Huxley's line, include a variety of tropical environments. These islands remained detached from the continental portion of Southeast Asia throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. Archaeolog ical research has documented human occupation and adaptation from at least the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene within these islands. Unfortunately, relatively little intensive prehistoric archaeological research has been undertaken in the Philippines compared to some areas in mainland South east Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Warren Peterson's dissertation (1974) focused on a series of sites in northern Luzon and represents one of the foundation stud ies in the Philippines for modern archaeology. Peterson's work has often been cited and his conclusions used for the development of models concerning prehis tory in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Peterson's research was conducted during a period when behavioral reconstruc tions from site assemblage analyses were prominent in archaeological research. Specifically, Peterson attempted behavioral reconstruction from the analysis of stone tools from the Busibus/Pintu site in northern Luzon, Philippines. A reanal ysis of the entire Busibus/Pintu lithic assemblage has revealed problems with Peterson's initial analysis and interpretation of this site-problems that will be addressed in this paper. Lithic technology, stone tool manufacture, and selection and reduction strategies will also be explored. Finally, new interpretations of the nature of the lithic assemblage and site activities at Busibus/Pintu rock shelter will be provided. -
Standing at the Gates of Europe: Human Behavior and Biogeography in the Southern Carpathians During the Late Pleistocene
ARTICLE IN PRESS Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Anthropological Archaeology xxx (2008) xxx–xxx www.elsevier.com/locate/jaa Standing at the gates of Europe: Human behavior and biogeography in the Southern Carpathians during the Late Pleistocene Julien Riel-Salvatore a,*, Gabriel Popescu b,c, C. Michael Barton c,d a Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Stephen Leacock Building, Room 717, 855 Sherbrooke Street, W., Montre´al, Que., Canada H3A 2T7 b Institute of Archaeology ‘‘Vasile Parvan”, 11, Henri Coanda Street, Sector 1, Bucharest 010667, Romania c School of Human Evolution & Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA d Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA Received 8 November 2006; revision received 5 February 2008 Abstract This study presents a behavioral analysis of Middle and Upper Paleolithic lithic assemblages from 14 sites located in the southern Carpathian Mountains. Using a whole assemblage behavioral indicator, we show that the hominins that manufactured those stone tools do not appear to have differed in terms of the flexibility of the mobility strategies they employed to exploit their landscapes. Rather than biological change, we argue that large-scale climate changes are likely more important drivers of behavioral changes during the Late Pleistocene of the region, including during the Middle–Upper Paleolithic transition. These results agree well with the results of studies having employed this methodology -
Cultural Evolution Next Factor in Drake Equation: F
Cultural Evolution Next Factor in Drake Equation: fc • fc: fraction of planets with intelligent life that develop a technological phase, during which there is a capability for and interest in interstellar communication • No significant biological evolution in last 40,000 to 100,000 years • Evolutionary Takeover – Cultural evolution instead of biological – Much shorter timescale 1 Concepts 1. Timescales 2. Origin of agriculture 3. Extra-somatic information storage 4. Tools, technology 5. Interactions: written language, cities, taxes, classes, technology 6. Interest in communication 7. World view evolution 8. Coupling between technology and world view Importance of farming • The rise of civilizations all based on farming • Understand origins of agriculture • How likely to arise? • Did it arise independently more than once? 2 Origin of Agriculture 10,000 years ago within 50-100 miles of Dead Sea Natufian culture - well built houses & signs of rank Harvested wild wheat, barley - used flint sickles, Stone mortars, and hunted Climate becomes hotter, drier Overcrowding, shortages led to need for food source favors annuals over perennials shorter cycle larger seeds in husks - easier to collect Save, plant, harvest Evidence: seeds in settlements of Natufians successors Mutant: fatter, adheres to husk better fi domestication, selection without forethought leads to rapid evolution of wheat and hunting decreases rapidly Domestication (and farmers?) spread northward at ~ 1 km/year Hole & McCorriston American Anthropology ~ April 1991 3 Agriculture leads to higher level political organization 4 Information Genes 1010 bits (or less) Brains 1014 bits 1400 cm3 in humans fl Extra-somatic information leads to communication: information passed between individuals. Allows societies to evolve. -
Wessex Article Master Page 29/11/2012 11:41 Page 51
McNabb and Beaumont _Wessex Article Master Page 29/11/2012 11:41 Page 51 Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 78, 2011, pp. 51–71 Excavations in the Acheulean Levels at the Earlier Stone Age Site of Canteen Koppie, Northern Province, South Africa By JOHN MCNABB1 and PETER BEAUMONT2 The fluvial gravels of the river Vaal in South Africa have long been known as a source for Earlier Stone Age (ESA) artefacts. Most were discovered through the open cast mining for diamonds that has left very little in situ fluvial sediment remaining today. The site of Canteen Koppie is an internationally famous location with a reputation for prolific Acheulean artefacts, especially handaxes and the enigmatic prepared core and Levallois-like technology known as Victoria West. Our understanding of this site, and most other Vaal locations, is almost solely based on highly selected artefact collections. Here, we report on the first controlled excavations ever to be conducted at Canteen Koppie. The deposits are likely to date to the Early and Middle Pleistocene, and our excavations sample the full depth of the stratigraphic sequence. The lower units, first identified in these excavations, add a considerable time depth to the Acheulean occupation of the site, making this the longest chrono-stratigraphic sequence in South Africa to our knowledge. Given the current international interest in the origins of Levallois/prepared core technology (PCT), its occurrence in Unit 2b Upper, and its presence alongside Victoria West technology in Unit 2a has significant implications for debates on the role of Victoria West in the origins of PCT. -
Prismatic Blade Production in the Lower Cacaulapa Valley, Honduras: Implications for a Late Classic Political Economy William J
Johnson County Community College ScholarSpace @ JCCC Anthropology Papers and Presentations Anthropology 12-2017 Prismatic Blade Production in the Lower Cacaulapa Valley, Honduras: Implications for a Late Classic Political Economy William J. McFarlane Johnson County Community College, [email protected] Edward M. Schortman Kenyon College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarspace.jccc.edu/anthpp Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation McFarlane, William J. and Schortman, Edward M., "Prismatic Blade Production in the Lower Cacaulapa Valley, Honduras: Implications for a Late Classic Political Economy" (2017). Anthropology Papers and Presentations. 5. https://scholarspace.jccc.edu/anthpp/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Anthropology at ScholarSpace @ JCCC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Papers and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarSpace @ JCCC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRISMATIC BLADE PRODUCTION IN THE LOWER CACAULAPA VALLEY, HONDURAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR A LATE CLASSIC POLITICAL ECONOMY William J. McFarlane and Edward M. Schortman Investigations of ancient political economies frequently focus on craft production. How manufacturing is organized can provide critical insights on more than the economy because social interactions and political processes are also involved. Here we consider how the acquisition, fabrication, and distribution of obsidian blades figured in the political strategies of craftworkers and elites within the Late Classic (AD 600–800) lower Cacaulapa Valley, northwestern Honduras. This evidence provides insights into the organization of craft manufacture across southeastern Mesoamerica and suggests that current models do not capture the varied production strategies that may be pursued within the same polity. -
JVR FEIR Appendix E Cultural Resources
APPENDIX E Cultural Resources Report Part 1 CULTURAL RESOURCES REPORT for the JVR ENERGY PARK PROJECT, SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Lead Agency: County of San Diego Planning and Development Services Contact: Donna Beddow 5510 Overland Ave, Suite 110 San Diego, California 92123 Prepared by: Matthew DeCarlo, MA, Jessica Colston, BA, and Micah Hale, Ph.D., RPA 605 Third Street Encinitas, California 92024 Approved by: _________________ Micah Hale, Ph.D., RPA Prepared for: Patrick Brown Director of Development BayWa R.E. Solar Projects, LLC 17901 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1050 Irvine, California 92614 JUNE 2021 Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled material. National Archaeological Database (NADB) Information Authors: Matthew DeCarlo, MA, Jessica Colston, BA, and Micah J. Hale, PhD, RPA Firm: Dudek Project Proponent: BayWa R.E. Solar Projects, LLC 17901 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1050 Irvine, California 92614 Report Date: July 2020 (Updated June 2021) Report Title: Cultural Resources Report for the JVR Energy Park Project, San Diego County, California Type of Study: Survey and Archaeological Evaluation New Sites: CA-SDI-22725, CA-SDI-22726, CA-SDI-22727, CA-SDI-22728, CA-SDI-22729, CA-SDI- 22730, CA-SDI-22731, CA-SDI-22732, CA-SDI-22733, P-37-038609, P-37-038610, P-37- 038611, P-37-038612, P-37-038613, P-37-038614, P-37-038615, P-37-038616, P-37- 038617, P-37-038618, P-37-038619, P-37-038620, P-37-038621, P-37-038622, P-37- 038623, P-37-038624, P-37-038625, P-37-038626, P-37-038627, P-37-038628, P-37- 038629, P-37-038630, P-37-038631, P-37-038632, -
Ohio Archaeologist Volume 37 No
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGIST VOLUME 37 NO. 3 FALL 1987 Published by THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO The Archaeological Society of Ohio TERM EXPIRESs A.SO. OFFICERS Back Issues President Maitha Potter Otto. Ohio Historical Society, Publications and back issues of the Ohio Archaeologist: Columbus, OH 43211-Tel, 614/297-2641; Ohio Flint Types, by Robert N Converse $ 5,00 Home 614/846-7640 Ohio Stone Tools, by Robert N. Converse $ 4 00 Vice-President Donald A Casto, 138 Ann Ct., Lancaster Ohio Slate Types, by Robert N Converse $10.00 The Glacial Kame Indians, by Robert N Converse $15 00 OH 43130-Tel 614/653-9477 Back issues —black and white —each $ 4 00 Exec Sec. Michael W Schoenfeld, 524 Sycamore Dr.. Back issues —lour full color plates -each $ 4 00 Pickenngton. OH 43147 -Tel 614/837-7088 Back issues of the Ohio Archaeologist printed prior to 1964 Treasurer Stephen J Parker, 1859 Frank Dr., Lancaster, are generally out of print but copies are available from time to OH43130-Tel 614 653-6642 time Write to business office for prices and availability Recording See Barbara Motts, 7050 Refugee Rd . Canal Winchester, OH 431 10-Tel 614/837-4862; ASO Chapters Bus 614 898-41 16 Ininied. Past Pres. Don Gehlbach, 3435 Sciotangy Dr., Aboriginal Explorers Club Columbus, OH 43221 -Tel, 614/459-0808; President: Mark Cline. 1127 Esther, Wellsville, OH 439 Bus 614/888-3572 Blue Jacket Editor Robert N Converse. 199 Converse Dr., Plain City, President: Phil Brandt. 6796 C.R 14, West Liberty, OH 43357 OH 43064 - Tel 614 873-5471 Cuyahoga Valley 1990 Stephen Puttera, Jr., 4696 Hillside Rd., Seven Hills, OH President: Bill Mitchell, 153 Sterling Ave,, Orrville, OH 44667 Meeting Place: Summit Lapidary Club, 244 Chestnut Blvd 44131 -Tel. -
Early and Middle Woodland Campsites on Three Mile Island
r t ~ ..... I. .. ~, .....: .~ ~.:. " ,.-..,;;' ;-...... ~: '. "':.- '.~ : . ,,' . ~. -'.; . .~: .. ; . .,:" "<;r': PEN EARLY AND IUDDLE WOODLAND CAMPSITES ON THREE MILE ISLAND, DAUPHIN COUNTY, PENNS~LVANIA by Ira F. Smith III Field Archaeologist and Associate Curator Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Metropolitan Edison Company Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station Project Pennsylvania Historical and Museum commission William Penn Memorial Museum Harrisburg, Pennsylvania January, 1977 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was funded by a grant to the Pennsylvania aistorical and Museum Commission from the Metropolitan Edison Company. The author would like to acknowledge this grant and also Dr. W. Fred Kinsey III, Director of the North Museum in Lancaster, who arranged to have the money administered by Franklin and Marshall College. The author would especially like to acknowledge the codirector of the project, Dr. Barry C. Kent, Pennsylvania state Archaeologist. An expression of appreciation is due to various members of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., particularly Mr. William Taylor and Mr. Thomas Carroll, who helped to locate and excavate several of the archaeological sites. Thanks also to Mr. Robert Ditchburn, crew chief, and to crew members Donald Boggart, David Ferrell, and Eugene Erwin. I am deeply indebted and grateful to Mr. James T. Herbstritt who prepared the line drawings used in Figures 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Donald H. Culp, artist for the William Penn Memorial Museum, for his assistance in preparing the remaining illustrations for publication. iii ABSTRACT Archaeological investigation in 1967 at Three Mile Island, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania revealed in situ evidence of Early and Middle Woodland occupation in the Lower Susquehanna River Valley•. -
Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: a Guide John J
Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide John J. Shea New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013, 408 pp. (hardback), $104.99. ISBN-13: 978-1-107-00698-0. Reviewed by DEBORAH I. OLSZEWSKI Department of Anthropology, Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; [email protected] n reading the Preface and Introduction to Shea’s book Stone Age Prehistory,” and lists the origins of genus Homo Iwhere he discusses why he wrote this volume on Near in the Lower Paleolithic period, which is incorrect both Eastern stone tools, I had to smile because his experience as temporally and geographically (Homo ergaster appearing ca a graduate student was analogous to mine. Learning about 1.8 Mya in Africa, or Homo habilis ca 2.5 Mya in Africa, if one stone tools in this world region was not easy because no accepts this hominin as sufficiently derived as to belong to single typology had been developed, at least in the sense genus Homo). And the same is true in this table for several of a widely accepted set of terminology that could be ap- other major evolutionary events for which our earliest evi- plied to the Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic there, or even the dence is African rather than Levantine. Neolithic period. In retrospect, it is somewhat surprising For Chapter 2 (Lithics Basics), the reader is immedi- that in the several decades since no one, until this book by ately immersed in how stone fractures (using terminol- Shea, undertook producing a compendium of information ogy from mechanics), is abraded, and is knapped.