The identification of Oldowan hominin knapping skill levels has been a focus of numerous studies, with apparent variation in technical abilities identified between a number of Early Stone Age archaeological sites. Raw material variability, however, can play a significant role in the outcomes of knapping events as well as in the accuracy of analysis. Implications of such variability are yet to be fully understood. Here we present an experimental study to assess the effects that varying raw materials have on the identification of technological attributes typically associated with varying skill levels and whether it is possible to identify knapper skill levels across multiple raw materials. Variation was tested between raw materials from Olduvai Gorge across and between skill levels. The results suggest that knapping skill levels manifest differently in the material record across raw materials. In addition, we suggest that raw material has a significant effect on identifying knapper skill variation. This has implications for future research concerned with identifying knapper skill within and between early assemblages of differing raw materials.

鉴定Oldowan人参敲击技能水平一直是众多研究的重点，并且在许多早期石器时代考古现场之间鉴定出的技术能力存在明显差异。但是，原材料的可变性可能在敲打事件的结果以及分析的准确性中发挥重要作用。这种可变性的含义尚待充分理解。在这里，我们提供了一项实验研究，以评估各种原材料对识别通常与不同技能水平相关的技术属性的影响，以及是否有可能在多种原材料之间识别敲击者技能水平。测试了来自Olduvai峡谷的原材料之间以及技能水平之间的差异。结果表明，在各种原材料的材料记录中，敲击技能水平的体现不同。另外，我们建议原材料对识别敲击者技能差异具有重要影响。这对于涉及识别不同原料的早期组合内部和之间的敲击者技能的未来研究具有启示。