Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract New excavations at the Abri du Maras have revealed a thick sequence over 250 ka old with evidence of recurrent human occupations, first in a vast cavity and then in a collapsed shelter. The upper part, with a high density of material, is dated to MIS 3 with two distinct phases of occupation under a shelter. The lithic component is composed mainly of flint cores, flakes and flake-tools, associated with local material in quartz, quartzite and basalt. Lithic refits and the faunal corpus indicate short-term occupations under a largely collapsed shelter. The comparison of the two occupation phases indicates common features in terms of core technologies, with partial reduction sequences and a tool kit composed of large products brought to the site from a 30-km perimeter. Slight differences emerge not only from a statistical viewpoint but also in terms of site activities, raw material collection and the spatial distribution of activities and material in the shelter. These include (1) the predominance of reindeer in level 4.1, whereas there is a more diversified corpus of hunted herbivores in level 4.2; (2) the spatial distribution of the material indicates that the shelter was used in different ways; and (3) the ratio of the use of Levallois core technology, of elongated products and flake-tools differs between the two levels, as does the average size of flint products. Finally, we discuss possible biases in order to define the actual status of the site. PubDate: 2024-08-02
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract In the past decades, two antinomic hypotheses were developed in tropical prehistory. Scholars qualified tropical forests as “green deserts” and considered them inhospitable before the emergence of agriculture. Other archaeologists working in Southeast Asia rather thought that humans adapted so much to tropical forests that it impacted their technology. Neglecting mineral resources, they would have made diverse and complex tools in perishable plant material: bamboo. Here, we report findings from Tabon Cave, including palaeo-environmental, lithic technological, and use-wear data from 39,000 to 33,000 years ago. Our data document that the site was surrounded by rainforest at the time of human occupation, including 39,000 to 33,000 years ago, adding to the body of knowledge showing that our species was indeed capable of living in tropical forests long before relying on agriculture. During this period, prehistoric groups made stone tools out of radiolarian chert using Kombewa, SSDA (système par surface de débitage alterné), and discoid methods. Fifteen percent of the blanks were retouched, and some of the knapping products are blades, produced by volumetric exploitation of the blocks. Both are unusual in the region. Functional analyses of lithic artefacts show evidence for an organic plant-based technology, but not limited to the manufacturing of bamboo tools and weapons: various plants were exploited, including but not limited to palm trees; plants were split and turned into different objects, including baskets and ties or fasteners. We propose that plants played an important role in the economy and technology of Southeast Asian prehistoric groups, going much further than making bamboo tools. PubDate: 2024-08-02
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The Altai mountains contain a number of cave and rockshelter sites that have given crucial information about human evolution in Asia. Most of these caves are located in the Gornyi Altai of Siberia, while the southern flank of the range remains much less known. Bukhtarma Cave was a karstic cave located near the former village of Peshchera, on the banks of the Bukhtarma River running through the foothills of the southern (Kazakh) Altai mountains. The Soviet East Kazakhstan Archaeological Expedition carried several excavation campaigns in the cave in the early to mid 1950s, discovering Paleolithic stone tools as well as animal bones. The collections were split between the East Kazakhstan Regional Museum of Local History in Öskemen (the lithic and part of the faunal collection) and the Zoological Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) (most of the fauna). Subsequently, the site was flooded by the construction of the Bukhtarma Reservoir in 1958, such that further fieldwork is impossible. However, in 2020, we reanalyzed the zooarchaeological collections and obtained several 14C dates. Based on the excavation documentation and the newly obtained dates exclusively taken from cut marked and carnivore-modified bone, we reconstruct at least three Paleolithic archaeological horizons, spanning the time between ca. 47–30 ka cal BP and exhibiting Middle and Upper Paleolithic characteristics, as well as the remains of several Holocene occupations, the latest of which dates to the Bronze Age. We present here a summary of the lithic and faunal assemblage and draw general conclusions about the site’s placement within the regional Paleolithic. PubDate: 2024-07-16
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The lithic assemblage studied here comes from Cova Rosa, one of the main Upper Palaeolithic sites in Asturias (northern Spain). The remains were found in Layer B5, which was excavated by F. Jordá Cerdá and A. Gómez Fuentes in 1978 and are associated with an osseous assemblage and archaeozoological remains. This occupation has been dated by radiocarbon to about 16,400 BP (ca. 19.8–19.6 ka cal BP), corresponding to Archaic/Lower Magdalenian. The present study combines the determination of the raw materials and the identification of the production systems to achieve an understanding of the management of lithic resources by hunter-gatherer groups in the Late Pleistocene. The sourcing of mostly local materials (mainly Piloña flint), the wide variety of rock types of diverse provenances (up to 10 types), and the presence of well-represented lithological tracers (Flysch, Chalosse) turn Cova Rosa into an important case for studying different lithic raw material procurement models. The predominance of microlaminar production and the variability in the exploitation strategies used to obtain backed tools, as well as the poor standardisation of flake production, follow the dynamics observed in other occupations of similar chronology in a wide geographical area that includes Cantabrian Spain and south-west France. PubDate: 2024-07-10
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract According to fossil evidence, the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) refers to archaeological assemblages associated with the early dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia. These assemblages are often described as exhibiting a combination of Middle and Upper Paleolithic typo-technological features or, more broadly, as a technology in progression from the former to the latter. Genetic evidence indicates that as members of our species moved across Europe and Asia, they encountered Neanderthal, Denisovan, and possibly other local populations. At the Eurasian scale, the IUP shows considerable variation, but to what extent this corresponds to a relatively unified cultural package strictly associated with our species, or a suite of unrelated technologies reflecting the complex dynamics of a global population turnover, remains unclear. Like most archaeological assemblages, however, the IUP illustrates a combination of adaptive and normative behaviors, along with some stochastic variation. Here, we investigate what drives typo-technological variation within an IUP assemblage to identify traits relevant for larger scale inter-regional comparisons. Specifically, we describe a lithic assemblage dated to ca. 45 ka cal BP from the site of Tolbor-16 in northern Mongolia. We identify three defining aspects of the IUP at the site, namely variation in core shape and size, patterns of blade core reduction, and the presence of Middle Paleolithic typo-technological features. Our goal is to clarify the influence of dynamic reduction processes on assemblage composition and, within the variation observed, to identify typo-technological features that are relevant for inter-regional comparisons and scenarios of population dispersal. PubDate: 2024-07-02
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract Due to the high density of cave and rock shelter sites, the Altmühl Valley is one of the most essential regions of southern German Palaeolithic research. The site presented in this paper, the Abri I im Dorf, lies within the main concentration of Palaeolithic sites found in this valley, extending along its lowest stretch between Riedenburg and its confluence into the Danube in Kelheim. We present the results achieved in reassessing the archaeo-stratigraphic sequence uncovered during the excavation campaign of 1959, including the first radiocarbon dating and comprehensive analysis of the lithic, faunal and bone industry evidence. Radiocarbon evidence points to occupations dated to ca. 27 ka cal BP. At the same time, the features of the lithic assemblage (blade industry with a predominance of burins and an important presence of backed tools) fit those of Late/Final Gravettian technocomplexes in the Danube region. However, the characteristic evidence traditionally associated with these industries (Kostënki knives and shouldered points) is scarce and highly questionable. The same applies to the “shovel-like” ivory object, typically related to the Pavlovian but with a doubtful determination as a shovel and no clear parallels in this and other industries of Gravettian tradition. The faunal remains revealed that hunting activities, which occurred between late summer and the beginning of winter, concentrated on reindeer. Nonetheless, new excavations and analyses are required to confirm all these preliminary results. In this sense, future work at the Abri I im Dorf can significantly contribute to our understanding of pre-LGM human settlement dynamics in the Upper Danube. PubDate: 2024-07-02
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract Archaeological surface deposits, where artifacts are exposed on the ground from the moment of initial discard, would have been ideal sources for scavenging recyclable material in the past. Long-term exposure of artifacts facilitates discovery for scavenging and recycling behaviors. Despite this, few studies explicitly investigate recycling in surface contexts. Here, we present a study of recycled artifacts from the Semizbugu site complex in Central Kazakhstan. The patterns of recycled artifacts at Semizbugu suggest recycling behaviors were frequent, yet spatially distinctive. We also find that recycling indicators occur most often on heavily weathered artifacts, lending support to the hypothesized relationship between exposure and recycling. Finally, we find evidence for highly redundant use of the Semizbugu landscape, which speaks to the use of surface deposits as raw material sources. The results from Semizbugu are further evidence that recycling was an important part of the technological skill set throughout the Paleolithic and should be considered as such. PubDate: 2024-06-18
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The Iranian Central Plateau (ICP) with the Alborz and the Zagros Mountains is located at the crossroads between the Levant and the Caucasus to the west and Central Asia and East Asia to the east. These two regions yielded key paleoanthropological and archaeological sites from the Middle Pleistocene period. These discoveries highlight a large human biological and cultural diversity in this area during the Middle Pleistocene and raise questions about the interactions these humans had. Yet, despite decades of field research, no Middle Pleistocene assemblage in a clear chronological and stratigraphic context was known in the ICP, the Zagros, and the Alborz Mountains that could contribute to this debate; so far, the earliest of the area is dated of 80 ka. The Joint Iranian and French Paleoanthropological Project reinvestigated the cave of Qaleh Kurd (Qazvin). The Qaleh Kurd cave is located at 2137 m asl at the very western limit of the ICP, at its boundary with the Zagros Mountains. Here, we report on the discovery of in situ Middle Pleistocene archaeological assemblages, including a human deciduous first upper molar associated with a rich lithic and faunal material, and a first description of the chrono-stratigraphic framework of the deposits. The excavation and the archaeological and geoarchaeological analyses show that humans occupied the site during the Middle Pleistocene, during a period ranging from ca 452 ± 32 and 165 ± 11 ka. This chronology pushes back the earliest dated evidence of human settlement in the ICP by more than 300 ka. The human deciduous first upper molar comes from the upper part of the Middle Pleistocene sequence. The crown of the tooth is widely impacted by wear and carries that limit taxonomic inferences. The study of the three upper archaeological assemblages shows that the cave was recurrently occupied by humans of early Middle Paleolithic cultures. These assemblages recall some traits of sub-contemporary assemblages known in the Caucasus and the Levant but also the later Middle Paleolithic of the Zagros. The faunal assemblage is mainly composed of horse remains. The remains are very fragmented and show numerous anthropogenic stigmata that indicate significant butchery activities on site. From a large regional and chronological perspective, these findings make Qaleh Kurd Cave a key site for the knowledge of early human settlements and dispersals between the Levant and Asia. PubDate: 2024-05-23 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00180-4
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract In 2009, renewed excavations at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco, yielded a skull and partial skeleton of a child dated to Marine Isotope Stage 5. While much of the cranium was found shattered, the midface remained largely intact. In this study, we virtually reconstructed the maxilla and quantified its shape using three-dimensional geometric morphometric methods and compared it to an extensive sample of non-adult and adult Eurasian Neanderthals and Homo sapiens spanning the Middle Pleistocene to Holocene. We used developmental simulations to predict the adult shape of the Contrebandiers maxilla by simulating development along three ontogenetic trajectories: Neanderthal, African, and Levantine early H. sapiens and Holocene H. sapiens. Our results confirm the H. sapiens-like morphology of the Contrebandiers fossil. Both shape and size align it with other North African MSA fossils and Late Pleistocene humans from Qafzeh, Israel. Interestingly, the evaluation of the ontogenetic trajectories suggests that during late ontogeny the facial growth pattern of the Contrebandiers and the Qafzeh children is more similar to that of Neanderthals than it is to recent humans. This suggests that the unique facial growth pattern of Homo sapiens post-dated the MSA. This study is an important step in addressing ontogenetic variability in the African MSA, a period characterized by the origins, emergence, and dispersal of our species, but poorly understood because of the fragmentary and scant human fossil record. PubDate: 2024-05-22 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00181-3
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain) possesses one of the most complete Upper Palaeolithic stratigraphic sequences in northern Spain. Magdalenian occupations, particularly the lower Magdalenian, are well represented in its full sequence. This article presents the zooarchaeological analysis of the levels Cierro G1, Cierro G and Cierro F, dated by 14C to between 20,000 and 17,000 cal BP. The remains correspond to vertebrates (mainly large mammals and to a lesser extent fish and birds) and invertebrates (almost exclusively marine molluscs). The taphonomic analysis of the bones and shells has determined the role that the different animal resources played in the diet of the Magdalenian hunter-gatherers at El Cierro. The results obtained in each level of the sequence are compared and included in their regional context. This study also considers the way in which the Magdalenian groups at El Cierro processed the meat and fat of the different animal species and establishes the operational chain in the strategies of procurement, preparation and consumption of the prey. PubDate: 2024-05-16 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00179-x
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract This paper re-examines earlier Palaeolithic core technology from British sites assigned to MIS 11, 9, and 7 using primarily a châine opératoire approach, with the objective of better understanding the earliest occurrence and distribution of Levallois and other prepared-core technologies across the Old World. Contrary to previous interpretations (White and Ashton in Current Anthropology, 44: 598–609, 2003), we find no evidence for a true Levallois concept in MIS 11 or MIS 9 in Britain. Cores previously described as ‘simple prepared cores’ or ‘proto-Levallois’ cores show neither evidence of core management nor predetermination of the resulting flakes. They can instead be explained as the coincidental result of a simpler technological scheme aimed at exploiting the largest surface area of a core, thereby maximising the size of the flakes produced from it. This may be a more widespread practice, or a local solution derived from existing principles. Levallois appears fully formed in Britain during terminal MIS 8/initial MIS 7. Consequently, Britain does not provide evidence for an in situ evolution of Levallois, rather we argue it was introduced by new settlers after a glacial abandonment: the solution to the emergence and significance of Levallois lies in southern Europe, the Levant and Africa. PubDate: 2024-05-10 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00177-z
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Harold Dibble demonstrated the systematic effects of reduction by retouch upon the size and shape of Middle Paleolithic tools. The result was the reduction thesis, with its far-reaching implications for the understanding of Middle Paleolithic assemblage variation that even now are incompletely assimilated. But Dibble’s influence extended beyond the European Paleolithic. Others identified additional reduction methods and measures that complement Dibble’s reduction thesis, and applied analytical concepts and methods consistent with it to industries and assemblages around the world. These developments facilitated comprehensive reduction analysis of archaeological tools and assemblages and their comparison in the abstract despite the great diversity of their time–space contexts. Dibble argued that many assemblages are time-averaged accumulations. In cases from New Zealand to North America, methods he pioneered and that others extended reveal the complex processes by which behavior, tool use, curation, and time interacted to yield those accumulations. We are coming to understand that the record is no mere collection of ethnographic vignettes, instead a body of data that requires macroarchaeological approaches. Archaeology’s pending conceptual revolution in part is a legacy of Dibble’s thought. PubDate: 2024-05-07 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00178-y
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract How and why early hunter–gatherers expanded into the challenging environments of the Tibetan Plateau during the Pleistocene remain largely unexplained. The discovery of the archaeological site of Nwya Devu, characterized by lithic blade production, brings new evidence of human expansion to high elevations ca. 40–30 ka. The blade assemblage currently lacks technological antecedents in East Asia. During Marine Isotope Stage 3, the surrounding lowlands to the Plateau were dominated by a distinct type of industry broadly named “core and flake.” It is suggested that the Nwya Devu blade assemblage derives from traditions in the eastern Eurasian Steppe, a clustered hub for Upper Paleolithic blade technology. In contrast to the East Asian lowlands, the Tibetan Plateau shares a number of environmental similarities with North and Central Asia such as low temperature and humidity, long winters, strong seasonality, and grassland landscapes. Blade and core-and-flake technologies tend to be associated with different environments in eastern Asia. We hypothesize that this geographic distribution indicates different sets of behavioral adaptations that map onto distinct ecozones and are relevant to human expansion to the Tibetan Plateau during Marine Isotope Stage 3. To evaluate the working model, we characterized the environmental parameters for both blade and core-and-flake technologies in eastern Asia during the period. The results show that environmental conditions on the Plateau and at the Nwya Devu site align with those of blade assemblages documented in the Eurasian Steppe and contrast with those of core-and-flake assemblages. Blade technology is strongly associated with low-temperature environments. These findings suggest that hunter–gatherers from the steppe belt may have benefited from their behaviorally adaptive advantages when moving into the highland environments of the Tibetan Plateau, 40–30 ka. PubDate: 2024-04-30 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00175-1
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The chrono-cultural sequence of the Levantine Upper Paleolithic went through several major revisions during approximately a century of focused research, each revision contributing to shedding light on the mosaic of cultural entities and the complex social and cultural dynamics composing the Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The current state of research suggests the co-inhabitance of two cultural groups: the Early Ahmarian and the Levantine Aurignacian. Two other cultural entities, the Arkov-Divshon and the Atlitian, are regarded as younger manifestations and were tentatively suggested to relate to the Levantine Aurignacian. This paper presents a research synthesis of two case studies: Manot Cave, located in western Galilee, Israel, and Nahal Rahaf 2 Rockshelter in the Judean Desert. The application of high-resolution excavation methods, alongside detailed documentation of the stratigraphy and site-formation processes and wide-scale radiocarbon-based absolute dating, marked these sites as ideal for chrono-cultural study through the analyses of flint industries. The results indicate a clear distinction between the Levantine Aurignacian and the Arkov-Divshon/Atlitian industries and a chronological overlap between the Arkov-Divshon, Levantine Aurignacian, and possibly with the Early Ahmarian. Subsequently, we suggest another revision of the currently accepted chrono-cultural model: not two, but at least three cultural entities co-inhabited the Levant at ca. 40–30 ky cal BP. This study further suggests an evolvement of the Atlitian flint industries from the Arkov-Divshon and stresses the foreign cultural features of the Levantine Aurignacian. These results were used to construct an updated model of migration and possible interaction patterns. PubDate: 2024-04-29 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00176-0
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The presence or absence of handaxes endures as the major criterion of Lower Palaeolithic classification, with contemporaneous core-and-flake industries modelled as simpler counterparts to Acheulean technology. This is based on the supposed absence of formal tools, particularly of large cutting tools (LCTs) which are understood to be important within Acheulean lifeways, functioning as butchery knives among other uses. Scrapers from the core-and-flake industry of High Lodge (MIS 13) evidence formalised flake-tool production techniques, geared towards large tools with long cutting edges and acute angles, comparable in many respects to Acheulean handaxes. A holistic set of experiments was designed to test the production, efficiency, and practical utility of these scrapers. The experiments compared these scraper forms against handaxes and Quina scrapers. Their use in roe deer butchery indicates functional differences but demonstrates the appropriacy of both large, refined scrapers, and handaxes for processing carcasses of this size. The results support the inclusion of High Lodge scraper forms within the standard definition of LCTs. This interpretation challenges perceived discrepancies between handaxe and non-handaxe industries and deterministic explanations for Acheulean material culture. The feasibility of alternative LCTs supports the argument that the Acheulean represents socially inherited behaviours rather than latent reinventions. PubDate: 2024-04-06 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00172-4
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract Lithic use-wear analysis, through defining site function and allowing reconstructing of patterns of human occupation, can contribute to our understanding of archaeological palimpsests. The Ciota Ciara cave represents an excellent case study for this methodology. Multidisciplinary research so far conducted on the materials recovered from the atrial sector of the cave distinguishes three archaeological units from a Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the site: stratigraphic units (SUs) 13, 14, and 15. Each unit is interpreted as referring to a period of numerous, superimposed episodes of human occupation, the characteristics of which we try to reconstruct and present in this work through use-wear studies. The functional analysis of lithic industries from the upper units (13 and 14) has already been published previously; here, we report corresponding new data from the lowest level, SU 15. By comparing the use-wear results from the three units and integrating the findings with data from the geoarchaeological, palaeontological, zooarchaeological, and technological studies, we attempt to reconstruct the different phases of human occupation represented in the site through time, contributing to current interpretations regarding settlement dynamics and human behaviour in the Middle Palaeolithic of north-western Italy. PubDate: 2024-04-06 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00173-3
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract Since the 1980s, surveys in Jordan’s Wadi al-Hasa document dozens of Late Pleistocene hunter–gatherer sites, some of them tested or partly excavated. To track landscape-scale forager mobility and settlement patterns over time, we examine 26 levels from 13 sites dated to the Middle, Upper, and Epipaleolithic using aspects of Barton’s whole assemblage behavioral indicators research protocol, a collection of methods designed to extract patterns from archeological palimpsests. Because forager ethnographies document adaptive strategies that do not map onto the discrete site types employed by archeologists, we evaluate the utility of the latter so far as behavioral inferences are concerned. We show that discrete bimodal contrasts like “curated” and “expedient” and their archeological correlates fail to capture the much more complex reality. Only by using these methods in conjunction with these analytical contrasts can a realistic picture of forager mobility and land use approximating that known from ethnography be attained. PubDate: 2024-04-01 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00174-2
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract This paper presents the zooarchaeological, technological, use-wear, and spatial analyses of the earliest sedimentary subunits of TD10 (TD10.3 and TD10.4) of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), dated to c. 400 ka. Both units have yielded Acheulean technology, with occupational models characterized by the superimposition of multiple and independent events paired with short, sporadic occupations. Subunits TD10.3 and TD10.4 formed during a period in which the cave was largely reopened after a temporary closure. This period of reopening is evidenced by several blocks that fell from the ceiling and walls. Fifty-seven groups of refits and anthropic conjoins, of which 43 resulted from deliberate hominin activity, confirm the low disturbance of the deposits. Contrary to TD10.4, TD10.3 shows good preservation of faunal remains, although anthropogenic modifications are very scarce. Technologically, both deposits represent well-developed Acheulean assemblages, with high proportions of large-shaped tools and percussive material, which place this area among those that have yielded the most evidence of this type among all the excavated Atapuerca sites. The question of why these subunits contain so many hammerstones, manuports, and large tools associated with faunal remains that have been so scarcely modified is discussed based on data from spatial, technical, and use-wear analyses, which have identified butchery activities, and for the first time in the Pleistocene Atapuerca record, borer elements and possible thrusting stone spear tips. Furthermore, the occupational and technological characteristics of these subunits were compared with other western European archaeological sites, including the nearby site of Galería, with which a broad correlation can be made. PubDate: 2024-03-02 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00171-5
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract Paleolithic lithic assemblages are usually dominated by flakes and display a high degree of morphological variability. When analyzing Paleolithic lithic assemblages, it is common to classify flakes into categories based on their morphological and technological features, which are linked to the position of the flake in the reduction sequence and how removals are organized in a given production method. For the analysis of Middle Paleolithic lithic assemblages, two categories of flakes are commonly identified: core–edge flakes and pseudo-Levallois points. A third type, core–edge flakes with a limited back, is also commonly found in the archaeological literature, providing an alternative category whose definition does not match the two previous types but shares many of their morphological and technological features. The present study addresses whether these three flakes constitute discrete categories based on their morphological and technological attributes. 2D and 3D geometric morphometrics are employed on an experimental set composed of the three categories of flakes to quantify morphological variation. Machine learning models and principal components biplots are used to test the discreteness of the categories. The results indicate that geometric morphometrics succeed in capturing the morphological and technological features that characterize each type of product. Pseudo-Levallois points have the highest discreteness of the three technological products, and while some degree of mixture exists between core edge flakes and core edge flakes with a limited back, they are also highly distinguishable. We conclude that the three categories are discrete and can be employed in technological lists of products for the analysis of lithic assemblages and that geometric morphometrics is useful for testing for the validity of categories. When testing these technological categories, we stress the need for well-defined and shared lithic analytical units to correctly identify and interpret the technical steps and decisions made by prehistoric knappers and to properly compare similarities and differences between stone tool assemblages. These are key aspects for current research in which open datasets are becoming more and more common and used to build interpretative techno-cultural models on large geographical scales. Now more than ever, lithic specialists are aware of the need to overcome differences in taxonomies between different school traditions. PubDate: 2024-02-03 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-023-00167-7
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The site of Dimona South is a knapping locality in the Negev desert of Israel, situated at the raw material source. A test excavation followed by a salvage excavation conducted during 2020 revealed a partly buried archaeological layer that was exposed over an area of ~ 40 m2 and yielded a well-preserved lithic assemblage. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of sediments within and above the archaeological layer fall within MIS 5. With a lithic assemblage dominated by Nubian Levallois technology, this site provides a rare opportunity for analysis of a well-dated, in situ Nubian assemblage. A refitting study in combination with an attribute analysis of the whole assemblage allowed the reconstruction of the Nubian reduction sequence. Our analyses indicate that a specifically pre-planned Nubian point production system existed at the site. It is characterized by the early preparation of an acute distal ridge and its careful maintenance throughout the reduction process until the cores were exhausted. These characteristics stand out from most Levantine Middle Paleolithic assemblages. The discovery of Dimona South allows us to revisit some of the technological issues at the heart of debates about Levallois Nubian technology that could not be addressed from analyses of partial surface assemblages. These new data from a secure and dated context are crucial to the inter-site and regional technological comparisons, informing our views of the Nubian technology and its role in the Middle Paleolithic world of eastern Africa, Arabia and the Levant. PubDate: 2024-02-01 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-024-00170-6