Settlement Dynamics of the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age
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The Middle Stone Age of East Africa and the Beginnings of Regional Identity
Journal of Worm Prehistory, Vol. 2, No. 3. 1988 The Middle Stone Age of East Africa and the Beginnings of Regional Identity J. Desmond Clark ~ The history of research into the Middle Stone Age of East Africa and the present state of knowledge of this time period is examined for the region as a whole, with special reference to paleoenvironments. The known MSA sites and occurrences are discussed region by region and attempts are made to fit them into a more precise chronological framework and to assess their cultural affinities. The conclusion is reached that the Middle Stone Age lasted for some 150,000 years but considerably more systematic and in-depth research is needed into this time period, which is now perceived as of great significance since it appears to span the time of the evolution of anatomically Modern humans in the continent, perhaps in Last Africa. KEY WORDS: Middle Stone Age; Sangoan/Lupemban; long chronology; Archaic Homo sapiens; Modern H. sapiens. • . when we eventually find the skulls of the makers of the African Mousterian they will prove to be of non-Homo sapiens type, although probably not of Neanderthal type, but merely an allied race of Homo rhodesiensis. The partial exception.., of the Stillbay culture group is therefore explicable on the grounds that Homo sapiens influence was already at work. (Leakey, 1931, p. 326) The other view is that the cradle of the Aurignacian races lies hidden somewhere in the Sahara area, probably in the south-east, and that an early wave of movement carried one branch of the stock via Somaliland and the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb into Arabia, and thence to some unknown secondary centre of distribution in Asia. -
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Hafting and raw materials from animals. Guide to the identification of hafting traces on stone tools Veerle ROTS Prehistoric Archaeology Unit Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Geo-Institute Celestijnenlaan 200E (Pb: 02409), B-3001 Leuven, Heverlee (Belgique) [email protected] Rots V. 2008. – Hafting and raw materials from animals. Guide to the identification of hafting traces on stone tools. [DVD-ROM]1 . Anthropozoologica 43 (1): 43-66. ABSTRACT Stone tool hafting has been a widely discussed topic, but its identifica- tion on a prehistoric level has long been hampered. Given the organic nature of hafting arrangements, few remains are generally preserved. An overview is presented of animal materials that can be used for haft- ing stone tools, and examples are provided of preserved hafting arrangements made out of animal raw material. Based on the same principles as those determining the formation of use-wear traces on stone tools, it is argued that hafting traces are formed and can be iden- tified. The variables influencing the formation of hafting traces are KEY WORDS discussed. Specific wear patterns and trace attributes are provided for Stone tools, use-wear, different hafting arrangements that use animal raw material. It is hafting, concluded that the provided referential data allow for the identifi- wear pattern, experiments, cation of hafted stone tools on prehistoric sites and the identification animal raw material. of the hafting arrangement used. RÉSUMÉ Emmanchements et matières premières animales. Un guide pour l’identification des traces d’emmanchement sur des outils de pierre. Le sujet des emmanchements des outils de pierre a été largement discuté, mais leurs identifications à un niveau préhistorique ont longtemps été difficiles. -
Bibliography
Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P. -
Tese1997vol1.Pdf
Dedicado à Cristina e ao João David Advertência prévia Este trabalho corresponde à dissertação escrita pelo autor para obtenção do grau de doutoramento em Pré-História pela Universidade de Lisboa. A sua redacção ficou concluída em Abril de 1995, e a respectiva arguição teve lugar em Novembro do mesmo ano. A versão agora publicada beneficiou de pequenos ajustamentos do texto, de uma actualização da biliografia e do acrescento de alguns elementos de informação novos, nomeadamente no que diz respeito a datações radiométricas. A obra compreende dois volumes. No volume II agruparam-se os capítulos sobre a história da investigação e a metodologia utilizada na análise dos materiais líticos, bem como os estudos monográficos das diferentes colecções. No volume I, sintetizaram-se as conclusões derivadas desses estudos, e procurou-se integrá-las num quadro histórico e geográfico mais lato, o das sociedades de caçadores do Paleolítico Superior do Sudoeste da Europa. A leitura do volume I é suficiente para a aquisição de uma visão de conjunto dos conhecimentos actuais respeitantes a este período em Portugal. Uma tal leitura deve ter em conta, porém, que essa síntese pressupõe uma crítica das fontes utilizadas. Em Arqueologia, o instrumento dessa crítica é a análise tafonómica dos sítios e espólios. A argumentação sobre as respectivas condições de jazida é desenvolvida no quadro dos estudos apresentados no volume II. É neles que deve ser buscada a razão de ser das opções tomadas quanto à caracterização dos contextos (ocupações singulares, palimpsestos de ocupações múltiplas), à sua homogeneidade (uma só época ou várias épocas), à sua integridade (em posição primária ou secundária), à sua representatividade (universo ou amostra, recuperação integral ou parcial) e à sua cronologia (ou cronologias). -
The First Neanderthal Remains from an Open-Air Middle Palaeolithic Site In
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The first Neanderthal remains from an open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in the Levant Received: 30 January 2017 Ella Been1,2, Erella Hovers3,4, Ravid Ekshtain3, Ariel Malinski-Buller5, Nuha Agha6, Alon Accepted: 8 May 2017 Barash7, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer8,9, Stefano Benazzi10,11, Jean-Jacques Hublin11, Lihi Published: xx xx xxxx Levin2, Noam Greenbaum12, Netta Mitki3, Gregorio Oxilia13,10, Naomi Porat 14, Joel Roskin15,16, Michalle Soudack17,18, Reuven Yeshurun19, Ruth Shahack-Gross15, Nadav Nir3, Mareike C. Stahlschmidt20, Yoel Rak2 & Omry Barzilai6 The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period—Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site ‘Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM3); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeatedly visited ‘Ein Qashish between 70 and 60 ka. The discovery of Neandertals at open-air sites during the late MP reinforces the view that Neandertals were a resilient population in the Levant shortly before Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens populated the region. -
Questions of Hafting Technology, Use and Adaptation in the Neolithic Lake
Questions of hafting technology, use and adaptation in the Neolithic lake-dwelling sites (a case study of antler sleeves from "Swiss collection"stored in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia) Madina Galimova∗1 1Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (IA TAS) { Butlerov str.,30, Kazan, 420012, the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, Russia Abstract "Swiss collection" in National Museum of Tatarstan Republic was probably obtained in 1882 by professor N.F. Vysotsky from lake-dwelling sites revealed on the lake Neuchatel. Collection consists of 94 antler sleeves { connection devices between wooden haft and stone axe, adze or cutting blade as well as many tools made from stone and bone (adzes, chisels etc.). Antler sleeve as intermediate device prevented wooden haft from splitting and valuable stone tool from damage. Experimental and technological research carried by J´'org Schibler (2001) proved the presence of two detachment techniques of red deer antler during the Ne- olithic of Switzerland: by means of indentation technique and string-saw one. The sleeves morphology and use-wear demonstrate high standardization methods applied by the experienced inhabitants of lake-shore settlements. Sleeves under study are characterized with a variety of shapes and types, among them: sleeves of cylindrical shape with hafting and mounting holes (4) or with one mounting hole (88) including the sleeves of 4 types depend- ing on the presence or absence of clear-cut hafting part, functional of nonfunctional ledge, remnant of the burr.A specific technical method applied to sleeves with such a remnant was the drilling of holes for mounting to the sleeve to handle. -
On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution
On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Bar-Yosef, Ofer. 1998. “On the Nature of Transitions: The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution.” Cam. Arch. Jnl 8 (02) (October): 141. Published Version doi:10.1017/S0959774300000986 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12211496 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Cambridge Archaeological Journal 8:2 (1998), 141-63 On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution Ofer Bar-Yosef This article discusses two major revolutions in the history of humankind, namely, the Neolithic and the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic revolutions. The course of the first one is used as a general analogy to study the second, and the older one. This approach puts aside the issue of biological differences among the human fossils, and concentrates solely on the cultural and technological innovations. It also demonstrates that issues that are common- place to the study of the trajisition from foraging to cultivation and animal husbandry can be employed as an overarching model for the study of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. The advantage of this approach is that it focuses on the core areas where each of these revolutions began, the ensuing dispersals and their geographic contexts. -
Gilliane Monnier,* Gilbert Tostevin,⁑ Goran Pajović,** Nikola Borovinić,*** Mile Baković***
Gilliane Monnier,* Gilbert Tostevin,⁑ Goran Pajović,** Nikola Borovinić,*** Mile Baković*** Nova istraživanja paleolitskog nalazišta Crvena Stijena, istorijski kontekst Abstract: The rockshelter of Crvena Stijena (Nikšić municipality, Montenegro) is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in southeastern Europe. Its 20-meter deep sequence of archaeological deposits spans the Middle Paleolithic through the Bronze Age. The Middle Paleolithic deposits themselves, which cover an astonishing 12 meters in depth, contain one of the longest records of Neanderthal occupation in the region. Since its discovery in 1954, the site has been the subject of two major research projects; the data they have produced have helped make it a critical type-site for the Paleolithic in the Balkans. In this paper, our goal is to introduce the aims and methodologies of the new research collaboration at Crvena Stijena that we established in 2016. We first present the site within the context of the Middle Paleolithic of the western Balkans. We then describe the history of research at Crvena Stijena, and summarize the results of the last project, which were recently published1. Finally, we describe the research questions that are guiding our new investigations, and the methods we are applying in order to answer these questions while preserving as much of the site as possible for future generations of archaeologists. Keywords: Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals, Balkans, fire, stone tools I. Uvod Nova istraživanja se sprovode u kontekstu saradnje Narodnog muzeja Crne Gore i Univerziteta Minesota, uspostavljene 2016. godine. Njihova svrha je ispitivanje sloja srednjeg paleolita na poznatom lokalitetu Crvena Stijena.U ovom radu predstavljamo istoriju istraživanja na Crvenoj stijeni, koja je iskopavana od 1954. -
Garm Roud 2, Iran : Bladelet Production and Cultural Features of an Upper Paleolithic Key Site South of Caspian Sea
Garm Roud 2, Iran : bladelet production and cultural features of an Upper Paleolithic key site south of Caspian sea. S. Bonilauri, B. Chevrier, A. Asgari Khaneghah, M. Abolfathi, R. Ejlalipour, R. Sadeghinegad, G. Berillon To cite this version: S. Bonilauri, B. Chevrier, A. Asgari Khaneghah, M. Abolfathi, R. Ejlalipour, et al.. Garm Roud 2, Iran : bladelet production and cultural features of an Upper Paleolithic key site south of Caspian sea.. Comptes Rendus Palevol, Elsevier Masson, In press. hal-02605799 HAL Id: hal-02605799 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02605799 Submitted on 24 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike| 4.0 International License Garm Roud 2, Iran : bladelet production and cultural features of an Upper Paleolithic key site south of Caspian sea 1 2 3 Stéphanie BONILAURI , Benoît CHEVRIER , Asghar ASGARI KHANEGHAH , Makhameh 1 4 5 1 ABOLFATHI , Roozbeh EJLALIPOUR , Robab SADEGHI , Gilles BERILLON 1. UMR7194 MNHN-CNRS-UPVD / Département Homme et Environnement, Musée de l'Homme, Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France 2. UMR 7041 CNRS ArScan-AnTET, MSH Mondes, Nanterre, France 3. -
Cave Pollen Taphonomy in Kurdish Iraq
CAVE POLLEN TAPHONOMY IN KURDISH IRAQ MARTA FIACCONI A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2017 Abstract This thesis aims to understand the mechanisms involved in pollen transport and deposition in cave environments and the influence of different factors on the composition of the pollen assemblage, with special reference to the problem of the Neanderthal ‘Flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave, Kurdish Iraq. Limited systematic taphonomic work has been done in cave environments, with most of the studies on an ad hoc basis. However, the number of interconnected factors acting on pollen transport, deposition and accumulation in this kind of environments implies that models used for open-air sites are inadequate and demonstrates the need for further taphonomic studies. Surface samples from six caves located in the Zagros Mountains of Kurdish Iraq were collected along front-back transects and outside for comparison in order to evaluate the distribution of anemophilous and entomophilous taxa in relation to the sample location. Additional surface samples were collected from Shanidar Cave along a side to side and perimeter transects to better evaluate the pollen distribution. Water, airfall and animal dung samples were also collected to investigate the influence of those factors in pollen transport. Finally, stratigraphic samples collected during the excavation at the site were analysed for pollen and for particle size distribution. Results show that simple sac-like caves with little or no influence of factors such as water, humans and animals are characterised by broadly predictable patterns of pollen distribution with a positive correlation between anemophilous pollen and vicinity to the cave entrance and entomophilous pollen and distance from the cave entrance. -
Plant Foods and the Dietary Ecology of Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans
Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2014) 1e11 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans Amanda G. Henry a,*, Alison S. Brooks b, Dolores R. Piperno c,d a Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany b Department of Anthropology, Center for Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 2110 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA c Program in Human Ecology and Archaeobiology, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013- 7012, USA d Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama article info abstract Article history: One of the most important challenges in anthropology is understanding the disappearance of Nean- Received 3 February 2012 derthals. Previous research suggests that Neanderthals had a narrower diet than early modern humans, Accepted 22 December 2013 in part because they lacked various social and technological advances that lead to greater dietary variety, Available online xxx such as a sexual division of labor and the use of complex projectile weapons. The wider diet of early modern humans would have provided more calories and nutrients, increasing fertility, decreasing Keywords: mortality and supporting large population sizes, allowing them to out-compete Neanderthals. However, Phytolith this model for Neanderthal dietary behavior is based on analysis of animal remains, stable isotopes, and Starch grain Microfossil other methods that provide evidence only of animal food in the diet. -
Homes for Hunters? Exploring the Concept of Home at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia
Current Anthropology Volume 60, Number 1, February 2019 91 Homes for Hunters? Exploring the Concept of Home at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia by Lisa A. Maher and Margaret Conkey In both Southwest Asia and Europe, only a handful of known Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic sites attest to aggregation or gatherings of hunter-gatherer groups, sometimes including evidence of hut structures and highly structured use of space. Interpretation of these structures ranges greatly, from mere ephemeral shelters to places “built” into a landscape with meanings beyond refuge from the elements. One might argue that this ambiguity stems from a largely functional interpretation of shelters that is embodied in the very terminology we use to describe them in comparison to the homes of later farming communities: mobile hunter-gatherers build and occupy huts that can form campsites, whereas sedentary farmers occupy houses or homes that form communities. Here we examine some of the evidence for Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic structures in Europe and Southwest Asia, offering insights into their complex “functions” and examining perceptions of space among hunter-gatherer communities. We do this through examination of two contemporary, yet geographically and culturally distinct, examples: Upper Paleolithic (especially Magdalenian) evidence in Western Europe and the Epipaleolithic record (especially Early and Middle phases) in Southwest Asia. A comparison of recent evidence for hut structures from these regions suggests several similarities in the nature of these structures, their association with activities related to hunter-gatherer aggregation, and their being “homes” imbued with quotidian and symbolic meaning. All of this is my home temporary, yet geographically and culturally distinct, exam- these fjords rivers lakes ples: the EP record (especially Early and Middle phases) in the cold the sunlight the storms Southwest Asia and the UP (especially Magdalenian) evidence The night and day of the fields in Western Europe.