The Quantification Problem in Stone-Tool Assemblages

2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Shott
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tool ◽  
Quantification Method ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Assemblage Size

How many tools does a lithic assemblage contain? The question is not as banal as it may seem, because tools were used as wholes but many are found broken. Pottery and faunal analysts have grappled with the problems of counting original wholes from mixed sets of whole and broken objects; lithic analysts lag behind. Assemblage size can change greatly depending on whether we count or ignore tool fragments. To systematize treatment of broken tools, I apply Orton’s pottery quantification method to several lithic assemblages and compare it to Portnoy’s MNT and raw counts. Methods do not agree in all cases, demonstrating that how we count affects our results. Until we know more, both methods should be used to quantify lithic assemblages.

Archaic semisedentary foragers and analytical nodule analysis: The Aught-Six site of Northwestern Colorado

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-197
Author(s):  
Matthew J Landt ◽  
Justin P Williams
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Method ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Piceance Basin ◽  
Technological Systems ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Lithic Assemblage

Nodule analysis is designed to highlight the ways in which different lithic sources were utilized and incorporated into the stone tool industries of past societies. In 2008 and 2009, excavations in the Piceance Basin of Northwestern Colorado, an area with local chert and quartzite quarries, provided an opportunity to use a nodule analyses for a Section 106-driven project. The Aught-Six site lithic assemblage suggests that Archaic tool kits in Northwestern Colorado are likely to be heavily reliant on a variety of raw materials found across the region, though Bridger chert nodules were the primary objective pieces for the new tools during the basin house occupation. The results of the analyses not only highlight specific areas of projectile point production, but they also indicate that nodule analysis remains a powerful analytical method for understanding how raw materials are incorporated into the technological systems of semisedentary Archaic foragers.

The Measurement and Interpretation of Cortex in Lithic Assemblages

2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold L. Dibble ◽  
Utsav A. Schurmans ◽  
Radu P. Iovita ◽  
Michael V. McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Solid Geometry ◽  
Alternative Method ◽  
Core Reduction

Cortex is often used as an indicator of core reduction and transport, but current measures to evaluate the observed amount of cortex in a lithic assemblage with what might be expected under particular conditions are still ambiguous. The purpose of the present study is to develop and evaluate an alternative method based on solid geometry. This method is evaluated with an experimentally produced assemblage, and implications of its application to archaeological assemblages are presented and discussed.

Harney Flats

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Randolph Daniel Jr. ◽  
Michael Wisenbaker
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tool ◽  
System Perspective ◽  
Site Structure ◽  
Early Archaic ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Florida Department ◽  
Federal Highway ◽  
Internal Site ◽  
Historical Resources ◽  
Large Living

This book presents the results of archaeological excavations conducted at Harney Flats, one of the archaeological sites found as part of the I-75 Highway Salvage Program, administered by the Florida Division of Historical Resources and funded by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The interstate right-of-way traversed a portion of Harney Flats, a large inland basin near Tampa Bay. Excavations there spanned several months during1981 and 1982 uncovering a Paleoindian/Early Archaic component characterized by Suwannee and Bolen points. Fieldwork focused on opening large contiguous areas while mapping diagnostic artifacts in situ. Two significant outcomes resulted suggesting Paleoindian adaptations in Florida were different than elsewhere in the East. First, excavations recovered the largest Paleoindian/Early Archaic stone tool assemblage in Florida, and one of the largest in the Southeast. A technological organization approach was utilized in the lithic analysis allowing archaeologists to understand the role of the lithic assemblage from a settlement system perspective. Second, the large block excavations provided a unique opportunity to study internal site structure. Intrasite patterning in the form of several relatively discrete artifact clusters, as identified in northern Paleoindian sites and interpreted as the remains of one or more family living areas, were absent at Harney Flats. Instead, broad-scale patterning was identified, including a large living area separated from special activity areas. Another contrast with northern Paleoindian sites is the absent of “exotic” cherts suggesting group mobility was less extensive than northern groups. Harney Flats will remain a benchmark in Southeastern Paleoindian studies.

Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Swan Valley Community School, Swanscombe, Kent

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 219-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Wenban-Smith ◽  
David Bridgland ◽  
Simon Parfitt ◽  
Andrew Haggart ◽  
Phillip Rye
Keyword(s):  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Palaeolithic ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Volume Controlled ◽  
Valuable Role ◽  
Construction Works ◽  
Palaeolithic Archaeology

This paper reports on the recovery of Palaeolithic flint artefacts and faunal remains from fluvial gravels at the base of a sequence of Pleistocene sediments revealed during construction works at two sites to the south of Swanscombe village, Kent. Although outside the mapped extent of the Boyn Hill/Orsett Heath Formation, the newly discovered deposits can be firmly correlated with the Middle Gravels and Upper Loam from the Barnfield Pit sequence dating to c. 400,000–380,000 BP. This increases greatly the known extent of these deposits, one horizon of which produced the Swanscombe Skull, and has provided more information on their upper part.Comparison of the lithic assemblages from volume-controlled sieving with those from general monitoring demonstrated that artefact collections formed without controlled methods of recovery, such as form the majority of the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological record, are likely to be disproportionately dominated by larger, more visible, and more collectable neatly-made handaxes to the detriment of more poorly made, asymmetrical handaxes and cores, flakes, and percussors. The lithic assemblage from the fluvial gravel was confirmed as dominated by pointed handaxes, supporting previous studies of artefacts front the equivalent Lower Middle Gravel at Barnfield Pit. The raw material characteristics of the assemblage were investigated, and it was concluded that there was no indication that the preference for pointed shapes could be related to either the shape or source of raw material.This paper also reviews the significance of lithic assemblages from disturbed fluvial contexts, and concludes that, contrary to some current perspectives, they have a valuable role to play complementing less disturbed evidence in developing understanding of the Palaeolithic.

scholarly journals Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age lithic assemblages associated with a cairn and other prehistoric features at Stoneyhill Farm, Longhaven, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, 2002-03

2011 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Ballin ◽  
Ian Suddaby ◽  
M Cressey ◽  
M Hastie ◽  
A Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Lithic Technology ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages

Prehistoric remains were recorded by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in 2002-03 during a programme of fieldwork at the landfill site within the boundaries of Stoneyhill Farm, which lies 7km to the southwest of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. These included a clearance cairn with a Late Bronze Age lithic assemblage and a burial cairn, with Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age lithics and Beaker ceramics. Other lithic scatters of similar date had no certain associations, although pits containing near-contemporary Impressed Wares were nearby. Additional lithic assemblages included material dated to the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. What may be proto-Unstan Wares in an isolated pit were associated with radiocarbon dates (barley) of the first half of the fourth millennium bc. These findings represent a substantial addition to the local area's archaeological record and form an important contribution to the understanding of lithic technology and ceramics in earlier prehistoric Scotland.This paper is dedicated to the memory of Ian Shepherd, whose site visits enlightened this and other projects undertaken by one of the authors (IS).

Trou du Renard and the Belgian Aurignacian

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Dinnis ◽  
Damien Flas
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
The North ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
C 32 ◽  
North And South ◽  
North Western ◽  
Early Upper

A wealth of cave sites makes southern Belgium the most important area for understanding the north-western European Early Upper Palaeolithic. However, despite their abundance, the interpretation of many assemblages remains problematic. Here we present a new study of lithic material from layer B of Trou du Renard (Furfooz, Namur Province) and consider its place in the Belgian Aurignacian. The assemblage is typical of Late Aurignacian assemblages found across western Europe, underscoring the contrast between the Aurignacian and the periods that pre- and post-date it, when we instead see profound differences between north and south. The assemblage is apparently unmixed, distinguishing Trou du Renard from other key Belgian Aurignacian cave sites. A large proportion of the site’s lithic assemblage documents the production of small bladelets from carinated/busquéburin cores, suggesting that Trou du Renard served as a short-term hunting camp. Radiocarbon dating cannot pinpoint the assemblage’s age, though here it is argued to be c. 32–33,000bp(c. 36–37,000 calbp) on the basis of its similarity to the well-dated Aurignacian assemblage from Maisières Canal (Atelier de Taille de la Berge Nord-Estarea). For the same reason a third assemblage – Trou Walou layer CI-1 – is also argued to be contemporaneous. Trou du Renard, Maisières Canal and Trou Walou may represent three points in the same Late Aurignacian landscape. Differences between their lithic assemblages can be explained by the acquisition and transport of flint, and by a desire to produce small bladelets of highly standardised form irrespective of the size and shape of available blanks.

Stone-Tool Production and Exchange in the Eastern Maya Lowlands: The Consumer Perspective from Pulltrouser Swamp, Belize

1989 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. McAnany
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Specialized Production ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Consumer Perspective ◽  
Metric Dimensions

Ongoing controversy over the identification of mesoamerican centers as the locus for specialized production of stone tools is addressed by reference to a consumer locality in the eastern Maya Lowlands. Lithic data from Pulltrouser Swamp are used to shed light on the production intensity and scale of a distribution system centered at Colha, Belize. Debitage analyses of technological attributes, use wear, and metric dimensions contrast two contexts of lithic procurement at Pulltrouser Swamp: direct procurement of raw material and indirect procurement of finished tools. Each procurement context results in debitage with different variable states. Characterization of the Colha chert lithic material at Pulltrouser Swamp as a consumer assemblage is supported further by the results of a discriminant analysis in which an experimental "consumer" assemblage is classified with the Colha chert. Such characterizations of lithic assemblages are more robust methodologically and more informative substantively than attempts at the quantification of production or usage rates. The implications of scalar differences in production systems are discussed.

Production and Transport of Blanks and Tools at the French Middle Paleolithic Site of Combe-Capelle Bas

1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Roth ◽  
Harold L. Dibble
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Paleolithic Site ◽  
Group Mobility ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Material Procurement ◽  
Core Reduction

Recent studies of Middle Paleolithic lithic assemblages have focused on questions of interest to lithic analysts everywhere, including the effect of raw material availability, occupation span, and tool maintenance on assemblage characteristics. In this paper, we add to the growing database on Middle Paleolithic assemblages using material recently excavated at Combe-Capelle Bas in the Dordogne region of southern France. The site provides a unique opportunity for addressing questions concerning lithic assemblage variability because it is located on a high quality flint source. We present data on core reduction, blank selection, raw material procurement, and lithic transport that provide information on lithic use pertinent for both Old World and New World archaeologists. Our data show that raw material availability and group mobility influenced blank selection, production, and transport at Combe-Capelle.

Late Pleistocene Technology, Economic Behavior, and Land-Use Dynamics in Southern Italy

2004 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Riel-Salvatore ◽  
C. Michael Barton
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Economic Behavior ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Modern Human Origins ◽  
Lithic Assemblages

This paper proposes a new methodology to study prehistoric lithic assemblages in an attempt to derive from that facet of prehistoric behavior the greater technoeconomic system in which it was embedded. By using volumetric artifact density and the frequency of retouched pieces within a given lithic assemblage, it becomes possible to identify whether these stone tools were created by residentially mobile or logistically organized foragers. The linking factor between assemblage composition and land-use strategy is that of curation within lithic assemblages as an expression of economizing behavior. This method is used to study eight sites from southeastern Italy to detect changes in adaptation during the Late Pleistocene. We compare and contrast Mousterian, Uluzzian, proto-Aurignacian and Epigravettian assemblages, and argue that the first three industries overlap considerably in terms of their technoeconomic flexibility. Epigravettian assemblages, on the other hand, display a different kind of land-use exploitation pattern than those seen in the earlier assemblages, perhaps as a response to deteriorating climatic conditions at the Last Glacial Maximum. While we discuss the implications of these patterns in the context of modern human origins, we argue that the methodology can help identify land-use patterns in other locales and periods.

scholarly journals Insights into early lithic technologies from ethnography

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1682) ◽  
pp. 20140356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Nut Cracking ◽  
Core Reduction

Oldowan lithic assemblages are often portrayed as a product of the need to obtain sharp flakes for cutting into animal carcases. However, ethnographic and experimental research indicates that the optimal way to produce flakes for such butchering purposes is via bipolar reduction of small cryptocrystalline pebbles rather than from larger crystalline cores resembling choppers. Ethnographic observations of stone tool-using hunter-gatherers in environments comparable with early hominins indicate that most stone tools (particularly chopper forms and flake tools) were used for making simple shaft tools including spears, digging sticks and throwing sticks. These tools bear strong resemblances to Oldowan stone tools. Bipolar reduction for butchering probably preceded chopper-like core reduction and provides a key link between primate nut-cracking technologies and the emergence of more sophisticated lithic technologies leading to the Oldowan.

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