scholarly journals Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elspeth Hayes ◽  
Caroline Spry ◽  
Richard Fullagar ◽  
Anna Tuechler ◽  
Petra Schell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Potential Significance ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Southwestern Australia ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Plant Fibre ◽  
A Site ◽  
Special Meaning ◽  
Stone Artefact

Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items such as plant foods, plant fibres, resins, bone points, pigments and ground-stone axes and knives. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes; for example, polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes. In this paper, we report on the function and potential significance of an unusual ground stone artefact from a site near Bannockburn, southwestern Australia. A set of regularly spaced, shallow grooves has been cut into the surface of each side of the stone. Use-wear, residues and experimental replica tools indicate that the grooves were probably made with a stone flake and then used to shape or sharpen wooden implements such as spear points or the edges of boomerangs or other weapons. The microscopic wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant fibre bag. We suggest that the Bannockburn artefact primarily functioned as a woodworking tool, but the even spacing of the incisions suggests that they were intentionally placed, perhaps to convey a special meaning, perhaps as a tally system or other form of communication.

Ground-Stone Tools and Hunter-Gatherer Subsistence in Southwest Asia: Implications for the Transition to Farming

1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine I. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Food Processing ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Plant Food ◽  
Southwest Asia ◽  
Processing Methods ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Wild Cereals

Ground-stone tools and hunter-gatherer subsistence in late Pleistocene southwest Asia are examined in light of ethnographic and experimental data on processing methods essential for consumption of various plant foods. In general, grinding and pounding appear to be labor-intensive processing methods. In particular, the labor required to make wild cereals edible has been widely underestimated, and wild cereals were unlikely to have been “attractive” to foragers except under stress conditions. Levantine ground-stone tools were probably used for processing diverse plants. The earliest occurrence of deep mortars coincides with the glacial maximum, camp reoccupations, the onset of increasingly territorial foraging, and the earliest presently known significant samples of wild cereals. Two major episodes of intensification in plant-food processing can be identified in the Levant, coinciding respectively with the earliest evidence for sedentism (12,800-11,500 B.P.) and the transition to farming (11,500-9600 B.P.). The latter episode was characterized by rising frequencies of grinding tools relative to pounding tools, and suggests attempts to maximize nutritional returns of plants harvested from the limited territories characteristic of sedentary foraging and early farming. This episode was probably encouraged by the Younger Dryas, when density and storability of foods may have outweighed considerations of processing costs.

Excavations of a Mesolithic Site at Thatcham, Berkshire

1992 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Healy ◽  
M. Heaton ◽  
S. J. Lobb ◽  
M. J. Allen ◽  
I. M. Fenwick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Sedimentary Sequence ◽  
Construction Work ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sandy Layer

Excavations were undertaken in advance of construction work at Newbury Sewage Treatment Works on the outskirts of Thatcham in Berkshire, close to the sites of previous excavations undertaken by Wymer and by Peake and Crawford. Worked flint of Mesolithic date was recovered from a sandy layer overlying river gravel in two distinct concentrations suggesting two distinct episodes. Use wear analysis of the flint suggests that the sites were used as home bases at which a wide range of activities took place, with an emphasis on the processing of plant foods. A 14C date of 9100±80 BP was obtained from a sample of hazel-nut shells from within one of the concentrations. Analysis of the soil and sedimentary sequence as well as the pollen indicates constantly changing localised environments in the early Holocene in the Thatcham area, with sporadic occupation by Mesolithic communities on the drier areas at the edge of the floodplain.

The Diets and Dietary Preferences of Rattus-Fuscipes and Rattus-Lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
DC Cheal
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Dietary Overlap ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes ◽  
A Site ◽  
Short Time

The diets of Rattus fuscipes and R. lutreolus from a site in central southern Victoria were investigated by faecal analysis. R. lutreolus was predominantly herbivorous; in heath it selected the basal stems of certain cyperaceous herbs, and in forest it ate non-sclerophyllous grasses. Fungi were an important dietary component and seed might be eaten in some quantity for a short time in spring and early summer. R. fuscipes showed little dietary overlap with R. lutreolus; in forest it was reliant on fungi and fibrous plant material from particular grasses; in heath it relied on particular cyperaceous species in winter, and ate primarily fleshy fruit, seed and arthropods in summer. Dietary preferences are compared with the relative abundance of diet items in the habitat. Both species are selective, and this selectivity changes with season. The effects of the availability of preferred diet items on the species' distributions are discussed.

A Reported Early-Man Site Adjacent to Southern Alaska's Continental Shelf: A Geologic Solution to an Archeologic Enigma

1980 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Thorson ◽  
David C. Plaskett ◽  
E.James Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Potential Significance ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
A Site

AbstractAn extensive ancient archeologic site containing lithic artifacts and associated with mammoth remains was reported at Chinitna Bay, southern Alaska in 1943. The presence of such a site adjacent to the continental shelf at the base of the rugged Aleutian Range suggested that humans may have inhabited the inner shelf environment during the late Pleistocene at times of lowered sea level. Because of the site's potential significance, an interdisciplinary research team relocated and reinvestigated the area in 1978, but failed to find evidence of prehistoric human habitation. Geologic studies and radiocarbon dating indicate that the strata reported at the site are intertidal in origin, very late Holocene in age, and have undergone significant tectonic movement in the recent past. These observations indicate that the previously published observations of the Chinitna Bay site are probably invalid.

scholarly journals Using mechanical experiments to study Ground Stone Tool use: exploring the formation of percussive and grinding wear traces on limestone tools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Paixao ◽  
Antonella Pedergnana ◽  
Joao Marreiros ◽  
Laure Dubreuil ◽  
Marion Prevost ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Reference Collection ◽  
Anthropogenic Alterations ◽  
Tool Types

Ground Stone Tools (GST) have been identified in several Levantine archaeological sites dating to the Middle Paleolithic. These tools, frequently made of limestone, are often interpreted based on their morphology and damage as having been used for knapping flint, and sometimes for breaking animal bones or processing vegetal materials as well. However, the lack of experimental referential collections on limestone is a major obstacle for the identification of diagnostic traces on these types of tools and raw material. In this sense, the understanding of the specific function of these GST and the association between tool types and activity often remains unknown or merely speculative.Recent discoveries at the site of Nesher Ramla revealed one of the largest Middle Paleolithic assemblages of limestone GST. Our use-wear analysis has identified several types of both macro and micro-wear traces on different tools. Such diversity highlights the need for developing an experimental reference collection that can enable detailed comparison between experimental and archaeological use-wear evidence.In this paper, we present the results of mechanical experiments specially designed to understand and quantify major characteristics of macro and micro use-wear traces on limestone GST as a result of three main activities: 1) animal bone breaking, 2) flint knapping and 3) grinding acorns. This study pursues three main goals: a) improving our ability to distinguish natural from anthropogenic alterations on limestone; b) identifying and characterizing differences between wear-traces (macro and micro) produced by different activities, and c) building a reference collection for thorough comparisons of use-wear and residues on archaeological tools.Our results indicate that it is possible not only to identify anthropogenic alterations but also to specifically distinguish the use-wear traces formed on limestone as result of percussive activities of bone and flint. This is shown by controlled experiments allowing variables other than the worked material to remain constant. This study aims to contribute towards establishing an experimental and multi-scale library of use-wear traces on limestone.

scholarly journals The Middle Paleolithic Ground Stones Tools of Nesher Ramla Unit V (Southern Levant): A multi-scale use-wear approach for assessing the assemblage functional variability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Paixao ◽  
Joao Marreiros ◽  
Laure Dubreuil ◽  
Walter Gneisinger ◽  
Marion Prevost ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Functional Perspective ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Animal Material ◽  
Tool Types

In the archaeological record, Ground Stone Tools (hereafter GST) represent an important tool group that provides invaluable data for exploring technological development and changes in resource exploitation over time. Despite its importance, Lower and Middle Paleolithic (MP) GST technology remains poorly known and understudied. The MP record of the Levant constitutes a compelling case study for exploring the nature and character of GST technology. Especially the site of Nesher Ramla (Israel, end of Marine Isotope Stage 6/beginning of 5) has provided one of the world’s largest GST assemblages from MP contexts. Aiming at evaluating the variability of tool types at the site from a technological and functional perspective, this study follows an analytical approach which integrates different scales of analysis. Our workflow seeks to generate and combine qualitative and quantitative data allowing: 1) the identification of damage areas, and 2) functional analysis, based on the location, distribution, and characterization of use-wear traces. This study shows a substantial level of diversification in resource exploitation (e.g., mineral, hard animal material and likely perishable components). Results show the presence of several tool types on which diagnostic use-wear can be associated with different activities. Importantly, our analysis indicates the presence of various hammerstone types showing distinct wear characteristics. The variability observed within the hammerstones likely reflects different functions, including in some cases the processing of distinct worked materials. Ultimately, this study contributes to our understanding of the significance of GST technology for the ecological dynamics of MP populations.

scholarly journals Millennial-length forward models and pseudoproxies of stalagmite δ<sup>18</sup>O: an example from NW Scotland

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 869-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Baker ◽  
C. Bradley ◽  
S. J. Phipps ◽  
M. Fischer ◽  
I. J. Fairchild ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Forward Modelling ◽  
Karst Hydrology ◽  
Potential Significance ◽  
Climate Reconstructions ◽  
Lumped Parameter ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Stable Oxygen ◽  
A Site ◽  
First Time

Abstract. The stable oxygen isotope parameter δ18O remains the most widely utilised speleothem proxy for past climate reconstructions. Uncertainty can be introduced into stalagmite δ18O from a number of factors, one of which is the heterogeneity of groundwater flow in karstified aquifers. Here, we present a lumped parameter hydrological model, KarstFor, which is capable of generating monthly simulations of surface water – ground water – stalagmite δ18O for more than thousand year time periods. Using a variety of climate input series, we use this model for the first time to compare observational with modelled (pseudoproxy) stalagmite δ18O series for a site at Assynt, NW Scotland, where our knowledge of δ18O systematics is relatively well understood. The use of forward modelling allows us to quantify the relative contributions of climate, peat and karst hydrology, and disequilibrium effects in stalagmite δ18O, from which we can identify potential stalagmite δ18O responses to climate variability. Comparison of the modelled and actual stalagmite δ18O for two stalagmites from the site demonstrates that for the period of overlapping growth, the two series do not correlate with one another, but forward modelling demonstrates that this falls within the range explicable by differences in flow routing to the stalagmites. Pseudoproxy δ18O stalagmite series highlight the potential significance of peat hydrology in controlling stalagmite δ18O over the last 1000 years at this site.

scholarly journals 24.0 kyr cal BP stone artefact from Vale da Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil: Techno-functional analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247965
Author(s):  
Eric Boëda ◽  
Marcos Ramos ◽  
Antonio Pérez ◽  
Christine Hatté ◽  
Christelle Lahaye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Peopling Of The Americas ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Stone Artefact ◽  
The Last Glacial

Current archaeological paradigm proposes that the first peopling of the Americas does not exceed the Last Glacial Maximum period. In this context, the acceptance of the anthropogenic character of the earliest stone artefacts generally rests on the presence of projectile points considered no more as typocentric but as typognomonic, since it allows, by itself, to certify the human character of the other associated artefacts. In other words, without this presence, nothing is certain. Archaeological research at Piauí (Brazil) attests to a Pleistocene human presence between 41 and 14 cal kyr BP, without any record of lithic projectile points. Here, we report the discovery and interpretation of an unusual stone artefact in the Vale da Pedra Furada site, in a context dating back to 24 cal kyr BP. The knapping stigmata and macroscopic use-wear traces reveal a conception centred on the configuration of double bevels and the production in the same specimen of at least two successive artefacts with probably different functions. This piece unambiguously presents an anthropic character and reveals a technical novelty during the Pleistocene occupation of South America.

scholarly journals Functional analysis of sandstone ground stone tools: arguments for a qualitative and quantitative synergetic approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Zupancich ◽  
Emanuela Cristiani
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Test Surface ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Surface Measurements ◽  
Quantitative Analyses

Abstract In the last few years, the application of quantitative methods in the field of use wear analysis has grown considerably, involving the use of different techniques. A development in surface measurements approaches has become necessary as standard assessments based upon qualitative functional analysis are often affected by a degree of subjectivity and a limited reproducibility. To advance the current methodological debate on functional analysis of ground stone technology, we present a combined methodological approach, including qualitative and quantitative analyses, applied to the study of experimental sandstone ground stone tools. We test surface quantification at a macro and micro-scale, paired with the observation and description of residue and use wear connected to the processing of plant, animal and mineral matters. Our results provide an exhaustive quantitative dataset concerning surface modifications associated with different uses and suggest an analytical workflow for the functional analysis of both experimental and archaeological ground stone assemblages. We also highlight the limitation and pitfalls of an exclusive adoption of quantitative methods in the study of ancient tool use demonstrating how a synergetic approach can enhance the quality, reproducibility and comparability of functional data.

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