River processes are widely assumed to have impacted the integrity of lithic assemblages when artifacts are found in fluvial sediments, but the specifics of these influences remain largely unknown. We conducted a real‐world experiment to determine how the initial stages of fluvial entrainment affected lithic artifact assemblages. We inserted replica artifacts with radio frequency identification tags into a gravel‐bedded river in Wales (UK) for seven months and related their transport distances to their morphology and the recorded streamflow. In addition, nine artifacts were recovered at the end of the experiment and analyzed for microwear traces. In sum, our results show that in a gravel‐bedded river with a mean discharge of 5.1 m³/s, artifact length and width were the main variables influencing artifact transport distances. The experiment also resulted in characteristic microwear traces developing on the artifacts over distances of 485 m or less. These results emphasize the multifaceted nature of alluvial site formation processes in a repeatable experiment and highlight new ways to identify the transport of replica Paleolithic material.

中文翻译：

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河流环境中的岩石文物集合运输和微磨损修饰：射频识别标签实验

人们普遍认为，在河流沉积物中发现人工制品时，河道过程会影响岩性组合的完整性，但这些影响的具体细节仍然未知。我们进行了一个真实的实验，以确定河床夹带的初始阶段如何影响岩性假象组合。我们将带有射频识别标签的复制品插入威尔士（英国）的一条砾石床河中七个月，并将其运输距离与其形态和记录的流量相关联。此外，在实验结束时回收了九个工件，并分析了微磨损痕迹。总之，我们的结果表明，在平均流量为5.1 m ³的砾石河中/ s，伪影的长度和宽度是影响伪影传输距离的主要变量。该实验还导致在485 m或更短距离上的工件上形成了特征性的微磨损痕迹。这些结果在可重复的实验中强调了冲积位点形成过程的多面性，并强调了识别复制旧石器时代材料运输的新方法。