The Acquisition of Skill in Early Flaked Stone Technologies: An Experimental Study Submitted by Nada Nazem Khreisheh to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology In November 2013 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 Abstract This thesis describes the experimental work carried out as part of the Learning to be Human Project, investigating skill and learning in early flaked stone technologies. A group of 16 volunteers were studied as they learnt skills in Oldowan style flaking, Acheulean handaxe technology and Levallois preferential flake technologies. Aptitude, practice hours and hours spent in taught sessions were recorded and skill in each of these technologies was assessed at regular intervals. This information was used to answer questions concerning the acquisition of high level skill in these technologies, the role of practice, teaching and aptitude in determining skill in terms of connaissance and savoir-faire and the archaeological visibility of skill. At a more in depth level the significance of these findings for cognitive capacities of early hominins and the evolution of modern human brains and intelligence was assessed. The results of these experiments allowed the identification of the greater impact of teaching on Acheulean handaxe and Levallois technology compared to Oldowan style flaking. Technologically focussed teaching was shown to be essential for achieving high level skill in handaxe technology while all knapping contributed to the skill achieved in Oldowan style flaking and Levallois technology. In terms of aptitude, previous craft experience and contact with flaked stone assemblages most affected skill achieved in handaxe and Oldowan technologies while spatial ability best determined skill in Levallois. The findings of the connaissance and savoir-faire analysis have indicated that the differences seen between Oldowan and Acheulean technology are predominantly physical in nature, while the differences between Levallois and the earlier technologies are cognitive. This suggests a greater cognitive capacity for the Neanderthal Levallois manufacturers in contrast with the earlier hominin species. The results have, however, highlighted problems with a strict dichotomy between physical and cognitive skills. A number of material markers that could be related to skill were identified. Future work has been identified that could provide a fuller understanding of these findings. 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 13 2. Skill Acquisition and Hominin Life in the Early and Middle Palaeolithic 20 2.1. Introduction 20 2.2. Cognitive Development 21 2.3. Skill 25 2.4. Learning 41 2.5. Palaeolithic Social Context 44 2.6. Aptitude 45 2.7. Technologies 46 2.7.1 Oldowan Technology 47 2.7.2 Acheulean Handaxe Technology 49 2.7.3 Levallois Preferential Flake Technology 51 2.8. Experimental Archaeology 52 2.6. Summary 53 3. Methodology 54 3.1. Introduction 54 3.2. Objectives 55 3.3. Participants 59 3.3.1. Core Group 61 3.3.2. Wider Beginners Group 63 3.3.3. Wider Experienced Group 64 3.3.4. Ethical Considerations 65 3.4. Methods 66 3.4.1. Introduction 66 3.4.2. Aptitude 67 3.4.3. Learning 70 3.4.4. Structured Sessions 71 3.4.5. Personal Practice 72 3.4.6. Skill Evaluations 73 3.4.7. Materials Analysis 80 3.4.8. Summary 90 3.5. Conclusion 91 4. Skill in Oldowan 92 4.1. Introduction 92 3 4.2. Results 93 4.2.1. Skill Evaluations 93 4.2.2. Teaching 99 4.2.3. Personal Practice 102 4.2.4. Material Skill Markers 106 4.3. Discussion 116 4.4. Conclusion 123 4.5. Summary of Results 124 5. Skill in Acheulean Handaxe 126 5.1. Introduction 126 5.2. Results 128 5.2.1. Skill Evaluations 128 5.2.2. Teaching 134 5.2.3. Practice 138 5.2.4. Material Skill Markers 142 5.2.5. Handaxe 143 5.2.6. Debitage 153 5.3. Discussion 157 5.4. Conclusion 166 5.5. Summary of Results 167 6. Skill in Levallois Technology 169 6.1. Introduction 169 6.2. Results 172 6.2.1. Skill Evaluations 172 6.2.2. Teaching 176 6.2.3. Practice 180 6.2.4. Material Skill Markers 184 6.2.5. Core 185 6.2.6. Flake 192 6.2.7. Debitage 200 6.3. Discussion 208 6.4. Conclusion 216 6.5. Summary of Results 217 7. Aptitude 218 7.1. Introduction 218 4 7.2. Aptitude Tests 219 7.2.1. Spatial Ability 219 7.2.2. Age and Sex 221 7.2.3. Craft Experience 224 7.2.4. Contact with Flaked Stone Assemblages 225 7.3. Results 226 7.3.1. Oldowan 226 7.3.2. Acheulean Handaxe 232 7.3.3. Levallois Technology 237 7.3.4. Connaissance and Savoir-faire 241 7.3.5. Material Markers 242 7.4. Discussion 246 7.5. Conclusion 250 7.6. Summary of Results 251 8. Connaissance and Savoir-faire 252 8.1. Introduction 252 8.2. Background 253 8.3. Skill Evaluations 258 8.4. Results 260 8.5. Implications for Interpreting Hominin Behaviour 270 8.6. Case Studies 274 8.7. Assessment of Success and Future Work 277 8.8. Conclusion 281 9. Conclusion 284 9.1. Introduction 284 9.2. Aims and Research Questions 284 9.2.1. How is High Level Skill Achieved? 285 9.2.2. What Role Do Practice, Aptitude and Teaching Play? 288 9.2.3. How is this Shown in Connaissance and Savoir-faire? 290 9.2.4. Can We Recognise This Archaeologically? 292 9.3. Assessment of Accepted Measures of Knapping Skill 294 9.4. Conclusion 297 9.5. Future Work 298 10. Appendices 299 11. Bibliography 466 5 List of Tables Table 2.1 Previous skill and learning experiments 28 Table 2.2 Definition of stages used to describe knapper skill 35 Table 2.3 Definitions of modes of cultural transmission 44 Table 3.1 Core group knapper information 61 Table 3.2 Wider beginners group information 63 Table 3.3 Wider experienced group information 65 Table 3.4 Dates of skill evaluations for all project participants 74 Table 3.5 Dimensions of porcelain pre-cores 78 Table 4.1 Teaching sessions focussed on Oldowan style flaking 92 Table 4.2 Oldowan skill evaluation timings and scores 94 Table 4.3 Time spent in taught sessions for all technologies 100 Table 4.4 Paired t test results for mean number of flakes 107 Table 4.5 Knapper skill level for each evaluation 119 Table 5.1 Taught handaxe sessions for all knappers 127 Table 5.2 Knapper scores for each evaluation 129 Table 5.3 Skill level definitions 160 Table 5.4 Skill level progress for all knappers 161 Table 6.1 Dates of taught Levallois sessions for all knappers 171 Table 6.2 Skill scores for all evaluations 172 Table 6.3 Individual knapper progression through skill levels 210 Table 7.1 Spatial ability test scores for all knappers 220 Table 7.2 Aptitude results for all knappers 222 Table 7.3 Criteria for assigning scores to previous craft experience 225 Table 7.4 Criteria for assigning scores to contact with assemblages 225 Table 9.1 Skill levels identified based on knapper performance 286 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Markers of high level skill in flaked stone technologies 26 Figure 2.2 Markers of low level skill in flaked stone technologies 26 Figure 2.3 Oldowan flaked stone materials from Gona, Ethiopia 48 Figure 2.4 Handaxe variants 49 Figure 2.5 Acheulean style handaxes 50 Figure 2.6 Outline of a Levallois preferential flake removal on a core 51 6 Figure 3.1 Core used in connaissance evaluations 75 Figure 3.2 Sample handaxe cores used in connaissance evaluations 77 Figure 3.3 Sample Levallois cores used in connaissance evaluations 78 Figure 3.4 Porcelain pre-core used in handaxe and Levallois evaluations 78 Figure 3.5 Termination types identified in the Oldowan skill evaluations 83 Figure 4.1 Connaissance scores for each Oldowan evaluation 95 Figure 4.2 Savoir-faire scores for each Oldowan evaluation 96 Figure 4.3 Savoir-faire scores for core and wider group knappers 97 Figure 4.4 Percentage of knappers committing errors 98 Figure 4.5 Taught knapping hours compared to scores received 101 Figure 4.6 Practice hours compared to scores received 103 Figure 4.7 Correlation of number of flakes with score 107 Figure 4.8 Average maximum flake length for each evaluation 108 Figure 4.9 Average flake length proportions for each evaluation 109 Figure 4.10 Correlation of average maximum flake length with score 110 Figure 4.11 Average maximum width measures for each evaluation 111 Figure 4.12 Average maximum flake thickness for each evaluation 112 Figure 4.13 Correlation of maximum thickness measures with score 113 Figure 4.14 Average platform thickness for each evaluation 114 Figure 4.15 Correlation of platform thickness with score 114 Figure 4.16 Percentage termination types produced for each evaluation 115 Figure 4.17 Correlation of feathered flake percentage with score 116 Figure 4.18 Skill levels identified by Lohse 118 Figure 5.1 Skill scores for connaissance and savoir-faire for core group 128 Figure 5.2 Skill scores for connaissance and savoir-faire for wider group 130 Figure 5.3 Errors committed by knappers during skill evaluations 131 Figure 5.4 Average time taken for each evaluation 133 Figure 5.5 Individual knapper times for each evaluation 133 Figure 5.6 Correlation of time taken for handaxe with score 134 Figure 5.7 Scores compared with hours spent in taught sessions 135 Figure 5.8 Correlation of time in taught sessions with score 137 Figure 5.9 Scores compared with practice hours 138 Figure 5.10 Correlation