'Old Stones for Cash': The acquisition history of the Pitcairn stone tool collection in Auckland Museum

The focus of this article is stone tools. The history of stone tool research is linked integrally to the history of archaeology and the study of the human past, and many of the early developments in archaeology were connected with the study of stone artefacts. The identification of stone tools as objects of prehistoric human manufacture was central to the development of nineteenth-century models of prehistoric change, and especially the Three Age system for Old World prehistory. This article draws on concepts derived from interdisciplinary material culture studies to consider the role of the artefact after being discarded. It suggests that it is impossible to understand the meaning or efficacy of stone tools without understanding their ‘afterlives’ following abandonment. This article aims to complement contemporary metrical studies of the identification of stone tools and the description of their production. A brief history of the stone tools is explained and this concludes the article.

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History of Archeological Investigations at Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/ita.2019.1.47 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Veronica Arias ◽

Anthony Lyle ◽

Rolla Shaller

Keyword(s):

Native Americans ◽

Construction Projects ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Archaeological Methods ◽

Archaeological Work ◽

History Of ◽

The Rich

Palo Duro Canyon has been an important locale for human occupation with its distinct topography, fauna, and flora from the Paleoindian inhabitants to those of the Historic Period. There is archeological evidence of human habitation at Palo Duro Canyon throughout the past 12 millennia. Native Americans who lived in and around the canyon had access to resources not easily found on the adjoining upland plains. The canyon provided an abundance of sheltered camping and year-round supply to water, wood, stone tool materials, game, and wild plant resources. The bordering uplands, covered with grass and dotted with playa lakes, afforded campsites with good visibility and access to game such as bison, antelope, and waterfowl. This article reviews the history of archaeological work conducted at Palo Duro Canyon State Park since the park opened in 1934. It examines how evolving site recording standards, archaeological methods, and construction projects have influenced the types of archaeological investigations that have been conducted within the park over time. These investigations have occurred within the context of larger changes to the discipline and, more recently, expansions to the original park boundaries. Together, they help elucidate on the rich history of human occupation in the region.

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The origins of stone tool technology in Africa: a historical perspective

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2010.0350 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 366 (1567) ◽

pp. 1028-1037 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Ignacio de la Torre

Keyword(s):

Historical Perspective ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Current Evidence ◽

East African ◽

History Of Research ◽

History Of ◽

Tool Technology ◽

New Evidence ◽

Stone Knapping

The search for the earliest stone tools is a topic that has received much attention in studies on the archaeology of human origins. New evidence could position the oldest traces of stone tool-use before 3.39 Myr, substantially earlier than previously documented. Nonetheless, the first unmistakable evidence of tool-making dates to 2.6 Ma, the period in which Oldowan assemblages first appear in the East African record. However, this is not an unchangeable time boundary, and considerations about the tempo and modo of tool-making emergence have varied through time. This paper summarizes the history of research on the origins of stone knapping in Africa and places the current evidence in a historical perspective.

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