DOCSLIB.ORG

Multiple Approaches to the Study of Bifacial Technologies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Multiple Approaches to the Study of Bifacial Technologies Multiple Approaches to the Study of Bifacial Technologies Edited by Marie Soressi and Harold L. Dibble University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Copyright © 2003 By the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 All Rights Reserved First Edition This book is dedicated to the memory of John Desmond Clark one of the truly great pioneers of world prehistory. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Multiple approaches to the study of bifacial technologies / edited by Marie Soressi and Harold L. Dibble. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-931707-42-1 (alk. paper) 1. Tools, Prehistoric. 2. Stone implements. 3. Projectile points. 4. Paleolithic period. I. Soressi, Marie. II. Dibble, Harold Lewis. III. University of Pennsylvania. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. GN799.T6 M85 2002 930.1'2--dc21 2002008942 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS . .vii PREFACE . xii 1 BIFACE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND VARIABILITY IN THE ACHEULEAN INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX IN THE MIDDLE AWASH REGION OF THE AFAR RIFT, ETHIOPIA Kathy Schick and J. Desmond Clark . 1 2 ACHEULEAN BIFACES AND EARLY HUMAN BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS IN EAST AFRICA AND SOUTH INDIA Michael P. Noll and Michael D. Petraglia . 31 3 TECHNOLOGICAL AND TYPOLOGICAL VARIABILITY IN THE BIFACES FROM TABUN CAVE,ISRAEL Shannon P. McPherron . 55 4 BIFACIAL TOOLS IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC OF THE CAUCASUS AND THEIR CONTEXTS Vladimir Doronichev and Lubov Golovanova . 77 5 BIFACES AND RAW MATERIALS:FLEXIBLE FLAKING IN THE BRITISH EARLY PALEOLITHIC Nick Ashton and Mark White . 109 6 MANUFACTURE,TRANSPORT, AND USE OF MOUSTERIAN BIFACES:A CASE STUDY FROM THE PÉRIGORD (FRANCE) Marie Soressi and Maureen A. Hays . 125 7 FROM BIFACES TO LEAF POINTS Janusz K. Kozlowski . 149 8 SOLUTREAN LAUREL LEAF POINT PRODUCTION AND RAW MATERIAL PROCUREMENT DURING THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM IN SOUTHERN EUROPE:TWO EXAMPLES FROM CENTRAL FRANCE AND PORTUGAL Thierry Aubry, Miguel Almeida, Maria João Neves, and Bertrand Walter . 165 9 THE PITFALLS OF USING BIFACES AS CULTURAL MARKERS Marcel Otte . 183 10 DEFORMATION MODELING:A METHODOLOGY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF HANDAXE MORPHOLOGY AND VARIABILITY April Nowell, Kyoungju Park, Dimitris Metaxas, and Jinah Park . 193 11 RETHINKING THE ROLE OF BIFACIAL TECHNOLOGY IN PALEOINDIAN ADAPTATIONS ON THE GREAT PLAINS Douglas B. Bamforth . 209 12 TETHERED TO STONE OR FREEDOM TO MOVE:FOLSOM BIFACE TECHNOLOGY IN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE Jack L. Hofman . 229 13 TIME AS SEQUENCE,TYPE AS IDEAL:WHOLE-OBJECT MEASUREMENT OF BIFACE SIZE AND FORM IN MIDWESTERN NORTH AMERICA Michael J. Shott . 251 14 AN OVERVIEW, WITH SOME THOUGHTS ON THE STUDY OF BIFACES Derek A. Roe . 273 CONTRIBUTORS . 286 INDEX . 288 ILLUSTRATONS FIGURES 1.1 Location of the Middle Awash study area . 2 1.2 Middle Awashstudy area . 3 1.3 Schematic composite section of stratigraphy of Dawaitoli Formation (eastern Middle Awash) in Bodo, Dawaitoli, and Hargufia drainage areas. 6 1.4 BOD-A3: Excavated cores and flakes . 7 1.5 BOD-A3: Five conjoined pairs of surface flakes . 7 1.6 DAW-A8:Two of the surface bifaces found eroded out . 8 1.7 DAW-A6:Two Acheulean surface bifaces made on Kombewa flakes . 8 1.8 DAW-A6: Opposite face of the two cleavers on Kombewa flakes in Figure 1.7 . 8 1.9 BOD-A8: One of the very large boulder cores found in the vicinity . 9 1.10 The two cleavers on Kombewa flakes in Figures 1.7 and 1. 8, a core, and a retouched piece . 10 1.11 HAR-A4: One of the nicely made bifaces found in the 1990 excavation . 11 1.12 HAR-A4:Three of the four well-made bifaces and one retouched piece found in the 1990 excavation . 12 1.13 BOU-A6: Lanceolate handaxe . 14 1.14 BOU-A4: Ovate and subtriangular thick bifaces . 15 1.15 BOU-A1:Two excavated lanceolate handaxes . 15 1.16 BOU-A1:Three excavated cleavers . 15 1.17 BOU-A1: Three excavated bifaces . 16 1.18 BOU-A8:The four finely made bifaces found in the vicinity of the hippo/artifact excavation . 18 1.19 BOU-A10: Four small cordiform or subtriangular bifaces found near the gridded area at the site . 19 1.20 BOU-A8: Plot of surface and excavated artifacts and bones . 22 1.21 HAR-A2: Distribution plot of artifacts and bones within the excavated area 23 2.1 Examples of Acheulean bifaces . 32 2.2 Old World map with Olorgesailie and Hunsgi-Baichbal valleys identified . 33 2.3 Site map of Olorgesailie region . 35 2.4 Site map of Hunsgi and Baichal valleys . 36 2.5 Boxplot of length, breadth, and thickness of Olorgesailie and Hunsgi-Baichbal valleys bifaces . 37 2.6 Length, breadth, thickness for raw materials at Olorgesailie and Hunsgi and Baichal valleys . 39 viii Illustrations 2.7 Elliptical confidence intervals for LCT length and breadth from Olorgesailie and Hunsgi-Baichbal . 43 2.8 LCT length for all LCTs . 43 2.9 Elliptical confidence intervals for bifaces length versus breadth between raw material types . 44 3.1 Biface measurements drawn from the combined systems outlined by Bordes and Roe . 61 3.2 Bed 76: Relationship between tip length and elongation, refinement, and Bordes’ and Roe's calculations of edge shape . 64 3.3 Bed 79: Biface measurements drawn from the combined systems outlined by Bordes and Roe . 65 3.4 Bed 90: Biface measurements drawn from the combined systems outlined by Bordes and Roe . 66 3.5 Basic measures of size for each bed . 70 3.6 Basic measures of shape for each bed . 70 3.7 Basic measures of size and Jelinek’s biface to scraper ratio . 71 3.8 Basic measures of shape and Jelinek’s ratio . 71 4.1 Bifaces from Tcona and Kudaro 3, backed bifaces from Tcona,Azikh and Kudaro, and partial bifaces from Treugol’naya cave . 80 4.2 Bifaces from Acheulian cave sites:Tcona, Kudaro 1,and Azikh . 81 4.3 Bifaces on flakes and cleavers from Acheulian cave sites:Tcona, Kudaro 1, and Azikh . 82 4.4 Bifaces from Acheulian sites:Djraber and Satani-dar . 86 4.5 Bifaces from Upper Acheulian sites in the northwestern Caucasus: Sredniy Khadjoh, Fortepyanka,Abadzeh, and Abin . 87 4.6 Bifacial tools from open air site at Il’skaya 1 . 92 4.7 Bifacial and partially bifacially worked tools from Mezmaiskaya cave, layers 3–2B . 93 4.8 Bifacial and partially bifacially worked tools from Barakaevskaya, Gubskiy, Baranaha 4,Mezmaiskaya, and Il’skaya 2 . 95 4.9 Partial bifaces from Mousterian cave sites in the Transcaucasus—Kudaro 3, Djruchula, Kudaro 1,Lusakert,Taglar, Erevan, and Bronzovaya . 98 4.10 Bifacial leaf-like projectile points from Mousterian sites in the Caucasus Matouzka,Ahshtirskaya,Tcona . 101 5.1 Percentage of biface types for different raw material sources . 110 5.2 Percentage of pointed bifaces over percentage of derived raw material . 111 5.3 Tripartite diagram comparing the morphology of biface roughouts and finished bifaces from Boxgrove, Bowman’s Lodge, Caddington, Gaddesden Row, Round Green and High Lodge . 112 5.4 Biface from Elveden, Suffolk . 118 6.1 Location of Grotte XVI (Dordogne, France) . 126 6.2 Two biface thinning flakes from Grotte XVI,layer C . 131 6.3 Biface showing traces of use on wood, re-sharpening and additional use on wood from Grotte XVI,level C . 132 6.4 Bifaces showing traces of use to scrape wood followed by resharpening from Grotte XVI,level C . 134 6.5 Biface used on wood and bone from Grotte XVI, level C . 135 6.6 Biface used on hide or meat and wood from Grotte XVI, level C . 136 6.7 Biface used on wood from Grotte XVI,level C . 138 7.1 "Movius line" and spread of "Out-of-Africa" Acheulian industries . 150 Illustrations ix 7.2 Leaf points from Korolevo, layer Va (Transcarpathian Ukraine) . 152 7.3 Leaf point and asymetrical side scraper from Pietraszyn 49 (Upper Silesia, Poland) . 155 7.4 Map of the Micoquian and Moustero-Levalloisian with leaf points dated to isotope stages 5–3 . 157 7.5 Pylipche XI (Podolie, Ukraine). Leaf points and Levallois cores . 158 8.1 Distribution map of Solutrean sites in southern Europe and location of the two regional groups studied . 166 8.2 First group of large laurel leaf points (Abri Fritsch,Vignaud Cave) . 167 8.3 Preform and fragments obtained during the shaping of the second group of large laurel leaf points at Les Maitreaux (Indre-et-Loire) . 168 8.4 Distribution of lithic artifacts in level 2a at Les Maitreaux showing a concentration of large flakes created during the shaping of large laurel leaves . 169 8.5 Refitted shaping flakes showing the preparation process of platforms and the use of overshot flakes at Les Maitreaux . 170 8.6 Hypothetical reconstruction of two solutions for the shaping of large nodules at Les Maitreaux . 171 8.7 Mesial fragments of a large laurel leaf point with several detachments revealing resharpening after fracture . 173 8.8 Small laurel leaf points from Creuse drainage basin settlements . 176 8.9 Small laurel leaves from Alentejo and central Portugal . 177 8.10 Use of heat treatment in shaping and retouching small laurel leaf points from Solutrean assemblages in Portugal . 178 9.1 Example of convergent effects independently generating similar shapes (U.S. Clovis point and European Chalcolithic knife) . 184 9.2 Acheulean biface (Lower Paleolithic) and bifacial knife (Middle Paleolithic of Central Europe) . 184 9.3 Backed Micoquian knives from La Micoque, France and Bockstein IIIa, Germany . 185 9.4 Aterian bifacial pieces from Morocco, tanged points from Spain, and feuille de laurier from Dordogne, France .
Recommended publications
  • The Solutrean-Magdalenian Transition: a View from Iberia

    The Solutrean-Magdalenian Transition: a View from Iberia

    Quaternary International 272-273 (2012) 75e87 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint The SolutreaneMagdalenian transition: A view from Iberia J. Emili Aura a,*, Marc Tiffagom b, Jesús F. Jordá Pardo c, Elsa Duarte d, Javier Fernández de la Vega d, David Santamaria d, Marco de la Rasilla d, Margarita Vadillo e, Manuel Perez Ripoll e a University of Valencia, Prehistória i Arqueologia, Avda. Blasco Ibañez, 28, Valencia 46010, Spain b Museu de Prehistoria, Valencia, Spain c Laboratorio de Estudios Paleolíticos, UNED Madrid, Spain d Area de Prehistoria, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain e Dept. Prehistoria i Arqueologia, Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain article info abstract Article history: The paper examines the Upper SolutreaneArchaic Magdalenian/Badegoulian succession on the base of Available online 18 May 2012 lithic and bone tool production, chrono-stratigraphic data and radiocarbon dates from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean regions of Iberia, mainly the areas of Asturias and Valencia (Spain). The discussion considers a reduced number of variables (characteristic stone tools, bone points and decoration tech- niques) and highlights the elements in common. The analysis concerning the transformation of lithic production at Cova del Parpalló provides new data for the Upper SolutreaneArchaic Magdalenian/ Badegoulian transition. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction continuous incisions) at Badegoule and Le Placard. Nonetheless, all these elements are still characterized as Magdalenian. The techniques used for the manufacture of Solutrean stone The transition is not only defined by the shift from stone points points changed during the Last Glacial Maximum (hereafter LGM), to ones made of bone.
  • The Middle Stone Age of East Africa and the Beginnings of Regional Identity

    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.
  • Exploitation of the Natural Environment by Neanderthals from Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Nutzung Der Natürlichen Umwelt Durch Neandertaler Der Chagyrskaya-Höhle (Altai)

    Exploitation of the Natural Environment by Neanderthals from Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Nutzung Der Natürlichen Umwelt Durch Neandertaler Der Chagyrskaya-Höhle (Altai)

    doi: 10.7485/QU66_1 Quartär 66 (2019) : 7-31 Exploitation of the natural environment by Neanderthals from Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Nutzung der natürlichen Umwelt durch Neandertaler der Chagyrskaya-Höhle (Altai) Ksenia A. Kolobova1*, Victor P. Chabai2, Alena V. Shalagina1*, Maciej T. Krajcarz3, Magdalena Krajcarz4, William Rendu5,6,7, Sergei V. Vasiliev1, Sergei V. Markin1 & Andrei I. Krivoshapkin1,7 1 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia; email: [email protected]; [email protected] 2 Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 04210, Kiev, Ukraine 3 Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Poland 4 Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń, Poland 5 PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC), F-33400 Pessac, France 6 New York University, Department of Anthropology, CSHO, New York, NY 10003, USA 7 Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 1, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia Abstract - The article presents the first results of studies concerning the raw material procurement and fauna exploitation of the Easternmost Neanderthals from the Russian Altai. We investigated the Chagyrskaya Cave – a key-site of the Sibirya- chikha Middle Paleolithic variant. The cave is known for a large number of Neanderthal remains associated with the Sibirya- chikha techno-complex, which includes assemblages of both lithic artifacts and bone tools. According to our results, a Neanderthal population has used the cave over a few millennia. They hunted juvenile, semi-adult and female bisons in the direct vicinity of the site.
  • The Prehistoric Africa Equatorial Influences in Cultures of Southern

    The Prehistoric Africa Equatorial Influences in Cultures of Southern

    Equatorial influences in the Prehistoric Cultures of Southern Africa BY J. DESMOND CLARK For many years now it has been apparent that the western equa­ torial regions of the African continent were, during the Stone Age, the home of cultures which showed as great a degree of specialisation in their stone industries as those of any other part of the continent. This degree of specialization must have been due fundamentally to the nature of the environment in which these cultures flourished rather than to any differences in physical stock, or inherited culture tradition of the makers. These would, however, have played an important par! once man had established himself in equatorial fores! country. The evidence available suggests that, with the exception of the dry period at the end of the Lower and beginning of the Middle Pleisto­ cene when for a time the makers of Oldowan Pebble Culture toais penetrated the peripheral parts of the fores! country, it was not until th end of the Earlier Stone Age that man was able to establish himself permanently in moist evergreen forest country. Sites of Acheulian age are quite rare in this type of country and they are by no means common in the moist semi ... deciduous or dry deciduous forest country either. Those that do occur show little or no difference in technigue or typology from the Acheulian of the savannah and grassland regions where the Chelles-Acheul culture had developed. It is apparent, there­ fore, that the spread of human culture to the forest country was most probably an outcome of the widespread dessication that can be shown to have taken place at the end of the Kanjeran pluvial.
  • An Aurignacian ''Garden of Eden'

    An Aurignacian ''Garden of Eden'

    An Aurignacian ”Garden of Eden”in Southern Germany ? an alternative interpretation of the Geissenklösterle and a critique of the Kulturpumpe model João Zilhão, Francesco d’Errico To cite this version: João Zilhão, Francesco d’Errico. An Aurignacian ”Garden of Eden”in Southern Germany ? an alterna- tive interpretation of the Geissenklösterle and a critique of the Kulturpumpe model. PALEO : Revue d’Archéologie Préhistorique, Société des amis du Musée national de préhistoire et de la recherche archéologique - SAMRA, 2003, 15, pp.69-86. halshs-00444011 HAL Id: halshs-00444011 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00444011 Submitted on 15 Jan 2010 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. PALEO – N° 15 – DÉCEMBRE 2003 – Pages 69 à 86 AN AURIGNACIAN «GARDEN OF EDEN» IN SOUTHERN GERMANY ? AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE GEISSENKLÖSTERLE AND A CRITIQUE OF THE KULTURPUMPE MODEL João ZILHÃO (1) et Francesco D’ERRICO (2) Abstract : New radiocarbon dates and results of new analyses from Geissenklösterle (Conard and Bolus JHE, 40: 331-71) were recently used to suggest that the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura dates back to 40 ka BP and that this evidence supports the Kulturpumpe model according to which cultural innovations of the Aurignacian and Gravettian in Swabia pre- date similar developments in the remainder of Europe.
  • 2013 CAG Library Index

    2013 CAG Library Index

    Ref Book Name Author B020 (Shire) ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS Sian Rees B015 (Shire) ANCIENT BOATS Sean McGrail B017 (Shire) ANCIENT FARMING Peter J.Reynolds B009 (Shire) ANGLO-SAXON POTTERY D.H.Kenneth B198 (Shire) ANGLO-SAXON SCULPTURE James Lang B011 (Shire) ANIMAL REMAINS IN ARCHAEOLOGY Rosemary Margaret Luff B010 (Shire) ARCHAEOLOGY OF GARDENS Christopher Taylor B268 (Shire) ARCHAEOLOGY OF GARDENS Christopher Taylor B039 (Shire) ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Peter Harrington B276 (Shire) ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Peter Harrington B240 (Shire) AVIATION ARCHAEOLOGY IN BRITAIN Guy de la Bedoyere B014 (Shire) BARROWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES L.V.Grinsell B250 (Shire) BELLFOUNDING Trevor S Jennings B030 (Shire) BOUDICAN REVOLT AGAINST ROME Paul R. Sealey B214 (Shire) BREWING AND BREWERIES Maurice Lovett B003 (Shire) BRICKS & BRICKMAKING M.Hammond B241 (Shire) BROCHS OF SCOTLAND J.N.G. Ritchie B026 (Shire) BRONZE AGE COPPER MINING William O'Brian B245 (Shire) BRONZE AGE COPPER MINING IN BRITAIN AND William O'Brien B230 (Shire) CAVE ART Andrew J. Lawson B035 (Shire) CELTIC COINAGE Philip de Jersey B032 (Shire) CELTIC CROSSES OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND Malcolm Seaborne B205 (Shire) CELTIC WARRIORS W.F. & J.N.G.Ritchie B006 (Shire) CHURCH FONTS Norman Pounds B243 (Shire) CHURCH MEMORIAL BRASSES AND BRASS Leigh Chapman B024 (Shire) CLAY AND COB BUILDINGS John McCann B002 (Shire) CLAY TOBACCO PIPES E.G.Agto B257 (Shire) COMPUTER ARCHAEOLOGY Gary Lock and John Wilcock B007 (Shire) DECORATIVE LEADWORK P.M.Sutton-Goold B029 (Shire) DESERTED VILLAGES Trevor Rowley and John Wood B238 (Shire) DESERTED VILLAGES Trevor Rowley and John Wood B270 (Shire) DRY STONE WALLS Lawrence Garner B018 (Shire) EARLY MEDIEVAL TOWNS IN BRITAIN Jeremy Haslam B244 (Shire) EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS AND MASTABA TOMBS Philip Watson B027 (Shire) FENGATE Francis Pryor B204 (Shire) GODS OF ROMAN BRITAIN Miranda J.
  • The Human Cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia

    The Human Cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia

    G. Philip Rightmire The human cranium from Bodo, Department of Anthropology, State Ethiopia: evidence for speciation in the University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000, U.S.A. Middle Pleistocene? Received 19 June 1995 The cranium found at Bodo in 1976 is derived from Middle Pleistocene Revision received 13 December deposits containing faunal remains and Acheulean artefacts. A parietal 1995 recovered later must belong to a second individual, probably representing the and accepted 30 December 1995 same taxon. The cranium includes the face, much of the frontal bone, parts of the midvault and the base anterior to the foramen magnum. It is clear that the Keywords: human evolution, Bodo hominids resemble Homo erectus in a number of characters. The facial craniofacial morphology, species, skeleton is large, especially in its breadth dimensions. The braincase is low and Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, decidedly archaic in overall appearance. Individual bones are quite thick. ‘‘archaic’’ Homo sapiens. Behind the projecting supraorbital torus, the frontal profile is flattened. The midline keel and bregmatic eminence are characteristic of H. erectus. Frontal narrowing is less pronounced than in crania from Olduvai and Koobi Fora but slightly greater than in some Sangiran specimens. The parietal displays a prominent angular torus. Whether the inferior part of the tympanic plate was substantially thickened cannot be checked, but in the placement of its petrous bone and the resulting crevice-like configuration of the foramen lacerum, the Bodo hominid resembles H. erectus. Other traits seem more clearly to be synapomorphies uniting Bodo with later Middle Pleistocene populations and recent humans.
  • A CRITICAL EVALUATION of the LOWER-MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD of the CHALK UPLANDS of NORTHWEST EUROPE Lesley

    A CRITICAL EVALUATION of the LOWER-MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD of the CHALK UPLANDS of NORTHWEST EUROPE Lesley

    A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE LOWER-MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD OF THE CHALK UPLANDS OF NORTHWEST EUROPE The Chilterns, Pegsdon, Bedfordshire (photograph L. Blundell) Lesley Blundell UCL Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD September 2019 2 I, Lesley Blundell, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed: 3 4 Abstract Our understanding of early human behaviour has always been and continues to be predicated on an archaeological record unevenly distributed in space and time. More than 80% of British Lower-Middle Palaeolithic findspots were discovered during the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the majority from lowland fluvial contexts. Within the British planning process and some academic research, the resultant findspot distributions are taken at face value, with insufficient consideration of possible bias resulting from variables operating on their creation. This leads to areas of landscape outside the river valleys being considered to have only limited archaeological potential. This thesis was conceived as an attempt to analyse the findspot data of the Lower-Middle Palaeolithic record of the Chalk uplands of southeast Britain and northern France within a framework complex enough to allow bias in the formation of findspot distribution patterns and artefact preservation/discovery opportunities to be identified and scrutinised more closely. Taking a dynamic, landscape = record approach, this research explores the potential influence of geomorphology, 19th/early 20th century industrialisation and antiquarian collecting on the creation of the Lower- Middle Palaeolithic record through the opportunities created for artefact preservation and release.
  • The First Neanderthal Remains from an Open-Air Middle Palaeolithic Site In

    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.
  • Ch. 4. NEOLITHIC PERIOD in JORDAN 25 4.1

    Ch. 4. NEOLITHIC PERIOD in JORDAN 25 4.1

    Borsa di studio finanziata da: Ministero degli Affari Esteri di Italia Thanks all …………. I will be glad to give my theses with all my love to my father and mother, all my brothers for their helps since I came to Italy until I got this degree. I am glad because I am one of Dr. Ursula Thun Hohenstein students. I would like to thanks her to her help and support during my research. I would like to thanks Dr.. Maysoon AlNahar and the Museum of the University of Jordan stuff for their help during my work in Jordan. I would like to thank all of Prof. Perreto Carlo and Prof. Benedetto Sala, Dr. Arzarello Marta and all my professors in the University of Ferrara for their support and help during my Phd Research. During my study in Italy I met a lot of friends and specially my colleges in the University of Ferrara. I would like to thanks all for their help and support during these years. Finally I would like to thanks the Minister of Fournier of Italy, Embassy of Italy in Jordan and the University of Ferrara institute for higher studies (IUSS) to fund my PhD research. CONTENTS Ch. 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Ch. 2. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 3 Ch. 3. NEOLITHIC PERIOD IN NEAR EAST 5 3.1. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) in Near east 5 3.2. Pre-pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) in Near east 10 3.2.A. Early PPNB 10 3.2.B. Middle PPNB 13 3.2.C. Late PPNB 15 3.3.
  • Belief, Ritual, and the Evolution of Religion

    Belief, Ritual, and the Evolution of Religion

    Belief, Ritual, and the Evolution of Religion Oxford Handbooks Online Belief, Ritual, and the Evolution of Religion Matt J. Rossano and Benjamin Vandewalle The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion Edited by James R. Liddle and Todd K. Shackelford Subject: Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Online Publication Date: Oct 2016 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199397747.013.8 Abstract and Keywords This chapter outlines an evolutionary scenario for the emergence of religion. From cognitive science, four mental prerequisites of religious cognition are discussed: (1) hyperactive agency detection, (2) theory of mind, (3) imagination, and (4) altered states of consciousness. Evidence for these prerequisites in nonhuman primates suggests their presence in our early hominin ancestors. From comparative psychology, evidence of ritual behavior in nonhuman primates and other species is reviewed. Archeological evidence of ritual behavior is also discussed. Collectively, these data indicate that the first step toward religion was an elaboration of primate social rituals to include group synchronized activities such as dancing, chanting, and singing. Control of fire, pigment use, and increasing brain size would have intensified group synchronized rituals over time, which, in the context of increased intergroup interactions, eventually led to the first evidence of supernatural ritual at about 70,000 years before present. Keywords: agency detection, burial, cave art, costly signals, evolution, religion, ritual, synchronized movement, theory of mind Anyone interested in probing the evolutionary origins of religion faces a formidable challenge: Belief is central to religion, and belief does not fossilize in the archeological record. Looking at a half-million-year-old Acheulean hand axe may tell us something about the maker’s technical skills, diet, hunting practices, and lifestyle, but very little about his or her beliefs—let alone the supernatural beliefs inherent to most religions.
  • British Neolithic Axehead Distributions and Their Implications

    British Neolithic Axehead Distributions and Their Implications

    Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-019-09438-6 British Neolithic Axehead Distributions and Their Implications Peter Schauer 1 & Andrew Bevan1 & Stephen Shennan1 & Kevan Edinborough2 & Tim Kerig 3 & Mike Parker Pearson1 # The Author(s) 2019, corrected publication 2020 Abstract Neolithic stone axeheads from Britain provide an unusually rich, well-provenanced set of evidence with which to consider patterns of prehistoric production and exchange. It is no surprise then that these objects have often been subject to spatial analysis in terms of the relationship between particular stone source areas and the distribution of axeheads made from those stones. At stake in such analysis are important interpretative issues to do with how we view the role of material value, supply, exchange, and demand in prehistoric societies. This paper returns to some of these well-established debates in the light of accumulating British Neolithic evidence and via the greater analytical power and flexibility afforded by recent computational methods. Our anal- yses make a case that spatial distributions of prehistoric axeheads cannot be explained merely as the result of uneven resource availability in the landscape, but instead reflect the active favouring of particular sources over known alternatives. Above and beyond these patterns, we also demonstrate that more populated parts of Early Neolithic Britain were an increased pull factor affecting the longer-range distribution of these objects. Keywords Neolithic . Britain . Radiocarbon . Stone axeheads . Spatial analysis . Cluster analysis Introduction Prehistoric edge-ground stone tools are a key form of human material culture, found across a vast range of cultural settings and interpreted with more or less regard to their potential roles as socially charged emblems, proto-currencies, and/or functional tools.