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Time, memory and alterity in prehistoric lithic technology: Synthesis and perspectives of the French technogenetic approach Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Louis De Weyer,Antonio Pérez,Rodolphe Hoguin,Hubert Forestier,Eric Boëda
The technogenetic approach in the field of prehistoric lithic technology studies originated in the late 1980s. Traditional approaches, such as typology and production technology, have tended to approach prehistoric lithic objects through their socio-cultural and economic dimensions, without really considering the existence of a technogenesis prior to these contingencies. The apprehension of this technogenetic
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Rock Mortars of Sar Pol-e Zahab in their Archaeological Contexts: Evidence of third and second Millennium BCE Nomads Camp Sites in Western Foothills of Zagros Mountain, Iran Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Sajjad Alibaigi,John MacGinnis
During the 2016 archaeological survey in the Sar Pol-e Zahab region, in the border zone between Mesopotamia lowland and Iranian highland, a number of rock mortars were discovered on the edges of seven ancient sites. Owing to its climate and topography and its winter pastures, this region has long been favoured by nomads, and numerous remains of nomadic activities survive. The sites in question are
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Tiempo, memoria y alteridad en tecnología lítica: síntesis y perspectivas del enfoque tecnogenético francés Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Louis De Weyer,Antonio Pérez,Rodolphe Hoguin,Hubert Forestier,Eric Boëda
En el campo de los estudios en tecnología lítica prehistórica, el enfoque tecnogenético tiene su origen a fines de los años 1980. Los enfoques tradicionales, de la tipología a la tecnología de producción, tienden a abordar los objetos líticos de la prehistoria a través de sus dimensiones sociocultural y económica, sin realmente considerar la existencia de una tecnogénesis anterior a estas contingencias
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Temps, mémoire et altérité en technologie lithique: synthèse et perspectives de l’approche technogénétique française Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Louis De Weyer,Antonio Pérez,Rodolphe Hoguin,Hubert Forestier,Eric Boëda
L'approche technogénétique dans le domaine des études en technologie lithique préhistorique trouve son origine à la fin des années 1980. Les approches traditionnelles comme de la typologie à la technologie productionnelle ont eu tendance à aborder les objets de la préhistoire à travers leurs dimensions socioculturelle et économique, sans vraiment considérer l’existence d’une technogenèse antérieure
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Quartzite procurement, not only in fluvial deposits: raw material characterisation of the lithic assemblage from Level XXII-R at El Esquilleu, Cantabrian Region, Spain. Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2022-02-24 Alejandro Prieto,Iñaki Yusta,Maite Garcia-Rojas,Alvaro Arrizabalaga,Javier Baena Preysler
The consideration of quartzite as a secondary raw material has relegated in-depth research of this raw material in favour of such other rocks as flint or obsidian. The latter two are the most researched raw materials because of the information derived from their study: long-distance transport of rocks and mobility of people. In contrast, information obtained from research into quartzite generally supported
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Experimental production of lithic artefacts: Developing understanding; developing engagement Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-21 John Piprani
This paper is reflective and discusses the results of a process experiment designed to develop understanding of a particular British Early Upper Palaeolithic stone tool technology. The technology in question is the Lincombian, and the discussion breaks down into three main parts. The first part argues that raw material availability and practitioner performance can be influential factors within the
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To haft and to hold: Evidence for the hafting of Clovis fluted points Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-21 Alan Michael Slade
Clovis fluted points vary considerably in technology and morphology, but also share a set of attributes, the most diagnostic of which are the flute scars, the remnants of the flake removals from the basal region that travelled up towards the tip. Fluting on Clovis and Clovis-like points generally extends no further than a third of the way up the face of the point. Finished points are usually ground
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Inefficient practice of flint heat treatment at Hasankeyf Höyük: An anti-functional view Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-21 Osamu Maeda
This paper investigates the heat treatment of flint practiced at the Neolithic site of Hasankeyf Höyük in southeast Turkey. It does not involve petrographic or geochemical analysis to identify the physical and chemical evidence of heat treatment but aims to understand cultural aspects of the use of ancient lithic technology, using heat treatment as a case study. Heat treatment is a lithic production
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Not only a tool-stone: Other ways of using obsidian in the Near East Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-21 Elizabeth Healey
Obsidian was used widely in the Near East in prehistoric and early historic times to make tools and other objects. We know quite a lot about its use as a tool-stone, but much less about other objects made from it, although such things in other contexts would be regarded as markers of identity. This apparent duality of use raises the question of whether the object made or obsidian as a raw material
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Adaptation to raw materials intra-variability: Examples from three Middle Palaeolithic surface stations of the Hérault Valley, France (Les Geissières, Saint-Saturnin and Camillo) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Cyrielle Mathias,Laurence Bourguignon,Jérôme Ivorra,Déborah Barsky,Sophie Grégoire,Cyril Viallet
Up to now, little was known about the Middle Palaeolithic from the Hérault Valley (France). Recently, systematic surveys have led to the discovery of several surface stations on river terraces. Some of these have yielded stone tools made from unusual raw materials, such as, brecciated quartzites and jasper-like rocks, as well as quartz and rare flints. These rocks are found in primary position in the
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Lithic economy in South Western France during the Neolithic: A case study from a coastal site - La Lède du Gurp (Aquitaine) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Sofia SOLANAS
The prehistory of South-western France is known worldwide for its rich record of Palaeolithic sites, especially from the Dordogne region. However, while research on the Palaeolithic is extremely prolific, the Neolithic was at the same time relegated to the background. Since the beginning of the discipline, few researchers worked on the Neolithic from SW France. Besides, they focused on ceramic typological
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Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun,Laura Longo,Vera Terekhina,Irina Pantyukhina,Ekaterina Vinogradova,Dmitrii Shulga
The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected
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Manufacturing technology of stone miniature columns from the Bronze Age site Gonur Depe (southern Turkmenistan) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun,Vera Vladimirovna Terekhina
Archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age, despite the widespread use of metal, also used stone raw materials for the manufacture of tools, household, and sacred items. A lot of stone products had a complicated shape and meticulous finishing, but the technology of their manufacture is still not always clear. This fully applies to the materials of the Bronze Age of southern Turkmenistan where long-term
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Raw material provenance of silicite artefacts: Korobchyne-kurhan, Central Ukraine Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Helena Wehren,Oleksandr Nezdolii,Jehanne Affolter
Korobchyne-kurhan stone age site in the Velyka Vys River basin, in Central Ukraine is investigated for raw material and contacts. The surrounding geography and the site are presented. The extensive search of outcrops around the monument resulted in nearer outcrops than was previously expected. Scientific investigations on 15 artefacts from Korobchyne-kurhan using non-destructive microfacies analysis
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The Guinardera quarry (Sant Martí de Tous, Barcelona): A new chert exploitation location during historical times Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Bruno Gómez de Soler,Miguel Soares-Remiseiro,Andión Arteaga-Brieba,Gisela Borràs,Javier Cámara,Gerard Campeny,M. Gema Chacón,Juan Luis Fernández-Marchena,Vicenç Guinart,Gerard López,Bàrbara Mas,María Soto,Alfredo Suesta,Kateryna Shkarinska,Iván Ramírez-Pedraza,Cristina Val-Peón,Josep Vallverdú
In 2014, an anthropic accumulation of chert material was discovered in La Guinardera area, at the southwest of the Sant Martí de Tous town (Barcelona, NE Iberian Peninsula). In 2018 a first archaeological intervention was carried out in two locations: La Guinardera and La Guinardera Nord. After the fieldworks, these two accumulations were interpreted as chert workshops. These workshops are in the St
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Knapping before and after polishing: Technological evidence in the Neolithic polished stone tools from Hungary Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Elisabetta Starnini,György Szakmány
The authors present the evidence gathered during the interdisciplinary study of several polished stone tools from some Neolithic sites in Hungary. In particular, the cutting-edged tool production (axes, adzes, chisels) involves knapping at several stages of the operational-chain within an artefact’s ‘life cycle’ - from raw material procurement, its manufacture, use, and discard. Some specific fine-grained
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Use-wear and residue analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina (Serbia) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-12-15 Anđa Petrović,Cristina Lemorini,Stella Nunziante-Cesaro,Dušan Mihailović
Following a series of published analyses ranging from architecture to prehistoric diet of the Iron Gates’ inhabitants, our research aims to present new results regarding use-wear analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina with a particular focus on the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in this region. Use-wear and residue analysis are applied using the low and high-power
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The earliest transverse grooved stones of Eurasia: Near Eastern distribution, types and chronology Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-06-06 Irina Usacheva
Transverse grooved stones (TGS) believed to be used as shaft straighteners, first made their appearance at Epipalaeolithic sites in the Near East from where they spread to the Mediterranean coasts of Africa and Europe, but mostly to Northern Eurasia (the steppe, forest-steppe, and semi-desert zones). It has been discovered that the spread of TGA has been carried out along different paths. Moreover
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Economy and status of Neolithic to Early Bronze age sites in the Southern Caucasus during the 6th‐3rd mill. BCE: The evidence from ground stone tools Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-06-01 Caroline Hamon
In the Southern Caucasus, the evolution of the Neolithic to Bronze age (6th-3rd millenia BCE) economies is often investigated through the prism of adaptation to constrasted landscapes and environments (arid plain, high moutains, subtropical western coasts) and strategies of natural resource exploitation. This overview of the main technological and functional characteristics of ground stone tools from
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The T-shaped “axe” from Northeast Honduras: Observations on chronology and function of a pre Columbian stone tool Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Paul F. Healy,Daniel Savage
This paper provides a description and analysis of a distinctive type of pre-Columbian stone tool, usually termed a T-shaped axe, found almost exclusively in Northeast Honduras, Central America. There have been very few detailed or technical studies of lithics from Honduras. Early archaeological research and the current understanding of the regional prehistory are included, with Northeast Honduras viewed
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Lithic raw material in the Cantabrian region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Alejandro Prieto,Alvaro Arrizabalaga,Iñaki Yusta
The increase, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of research attending to the geological nature of rocks found in archaeological contexts is changing our perspectives about social and economic territories articulated by Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region. Practically the only raw material researched in a solid geoarchaeological approach in this area is flint. This paper addresses how
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A prehistoric jade axe from Galicia (Northwestern Iberia): Researching its origin Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Oscar Lantes-Suárez,Carlos Rodríguez-Rellán,Ramón Fábregas Valcarce,Arturo De Lombera Hermida,Aida González Pazos,Pierre Pétrequin,Michel Errera
The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain. This artefact - as other “Tumiac type” axes (long polished blades, generally butt-perforated) - would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a
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Raw materials and functional designs of Fishtail projectile points from southern Brazil Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Mirian Carbonera,Daniel Loponte
This study analyses the lithic landscape and the selection of rocks used to manufacture Fishtail points (FP) in southern Brazil, their designs, and some functional aspects. In order to identify the offer of lithic resources, we carried out several surveys throughout 15 months in 47 counties in the Southern Brazil covered by the Botucatú - Serra Geral Vulcano Sedimentary Complex. The lithic composition
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Shine on you crazy diamond: Symbolism and social use of fluorite ornaments in Iberia’s late prehistory Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 José Ángel Garrido-Cordero,Carlos P. Odriozola,Ana C. Sousa,Victor S. Gonçalves,João Luís Cardoso
Fluorite ornaments have been recorded in different sites of Europe since Upper Paleolithic. Due to its visual appearance and physical properties, some translucent or transparent mineralogies like fluorite were searched for or casually acquired by late prehistory’s human communities. After intensive research on archaeological contexts from the Iberian Peninsula with personal ornaments from 4th to 2nd
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Lithic variability and raw material exploitation at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Gotera, southern Ethiopia: A combined technological and quantitative approach Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Marianna Fusco,Elena Carletti,Marina Gallinaro,Andrea Zerboni,Enza Elena Spinapolice
Technological variability within East African Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages is considered a reflection of regional or local identities. These identities are a possible outcome of different social dynamics in human populations or interaction with the environment. Here we analysed the lithic assemblage from GOT 1-S site, in the Gotera area (Southern Ethiopia) in order to integrate fresh data
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Event review: Using multivariate analyses to interpret lithic variability: Contributions and limitations Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Alice Leplongeon,Elena A.A. Garcea
A selection of papers presented at the Special Session 8 ‘Using multivariate analyses to interpret lithic variability: Contributions and limitations’ held during the 2018 MetroArchaeo conference (22-24 October 2018, Cassino, Italy) is published in the Journal of Lithic Studies. Multivariate statistical analyses are increasingly used to discern patterns of variability in archaeological materials and
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Hunter-gatherer mobility and territories in the dunefields of center Argentina Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Pablo G. Messineo,María P. Barros
The distribution of certain rocks in the landscape allows us to reconstruct diverse aspects of past hunter-gatherer behavior. In this work, we evaluate the mobility patterns employed by these groups and the presence or absence of boundaries in the Aeolian system of the center of Argentina. To accomplish this objective, we consider two types of evidence: 1) raw material frequencies and distributions
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Lithic industries, territory and mobility in the western Linear Pottery Culture Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Pierre Allard,Solène Denis
Territory is a complex notion whose definition varies depending on the discipline in which it is applied. Research on the notion of territory has often focused on the Palaeolithic. Studies in this field are mainly based on comparisons between archaeological assemblages and ethnographic data, an approach originating from the work of L.R. Binford, who introduced the concept of mobility, leading to various
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The New evidence for the Palaeolithic on the island of Gökçeada (Imbros), North Eastern Aegean Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Burcin Erdogu,Nejat Eyüp Yücel,Kerem Demir
Eksino, on the island of Gökçeada (Imbros) in the Northeast Aegean, is a new open-air site with evidence of Palaeolithic cultural remains. Stone tools collected by an initial survey have clarified an assessment of the site from the Lower Palaeolithic, and brought to light new evidence from the Middle Palaeolithic as well as transition to the Upper Palaeolithic. Eksino is probably one of the most significant
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Early Harappan interaction between Sindh and Gujarat, as evidenced by lithic tools Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Charusmita Surendra Gadekar,Rajesh Sasidharan Vasantha,Abhayan Girija Sasidharan,Bhanu Prakash Sharma,Anil Chavan,Subhash Bhandari,Jaypalsinh M. Jadeja
The spread and development of the Indus Valley Civilisation, also known as the Harappan civilisation, one of the oldest civilisations of the world, is still an enigma. Indus Valley Civilisation was spread over modern day India and Pakistan. The civilisation has been divided into three phases, Early or Pre-Harappan, Mature or Urban Harappan and Post- or Late Harappan. The Urban phase is very well studied
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Hunting on the coast: An image gallery of Rompecráneos Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Daniela Soledad Cañete Mastrángelo
The Rompecráneo is a special kind of lithic artifact which was, presumably, involved in the capture of pinnipeds carried out along the Patagonian coast of Argentina during prehistoric times. Recent papers had offered some information about their morphology but up to now they are poorly studied. In order to offset this situation in a previous work we addressed their role in hunting technics developed
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A geological collection and methodology for tracing the provenance of Palaeolithic colouring materials Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Hélène Salomon,Claire Chanteraud,Aurélie Chassin de Kergommeaux,Julien Monney,Jean-Victor Pradeau,Eric Goemaere,Yvan Coquinot,Emilie Chalmin
Although prehistoric sites frequently contain numerous fragments and traces of many different kinds of colouring matter, intensive study of this type of archaeological remains began only recently. Such studies, aimed at determining how raw materials formed and changed over time, and how they were transported by the groups of humans who used them, are extremely valuable as they reveal shared strategies
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Book review: The prehistoric apprentice: Investigating apprenticeship, know-how and expertise in prehistoric technologies; L’apprenti préhistorique: Appréhender l’apprentissage, les savoir-faire et l’expertise à travers les productions techniques des soci Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Manek Kolhatkar
Describing cultural change and variability and inferring sociocultural dynamics about past people and communities may be among archaeology’s main goals as a field of practice. In this regard, the concept of skill has proved its usefulness to, time and again, expand the breath of archaeologists and lithic technologists’ analyses. It covers a wide range of applications, from apprenticeship, cognition
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Book review: Anthropomorphic images in rock art paintings and rock carvings Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-03-15 Ana Paula Motta
Anthropomorphic Images in Rock Art Paintings and Rock Carvings by Terence Meaden and Herman Bender Archaeopress, 2020, pp. 322. ISBN 978-178-969-357-7 https://www.archaeopress.com/archaeopressshop/public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={19B19455-613A-41E7-968F-D99720CA62C2}
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A Great Step Forward. Lithic Raw Material Procurement and Management among Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers in the Basque Crossroads Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-02-19 Maite García-Rojas,Eder Dominguez-Ballesteros,Alejandro Prieto,Aitor Calvo,Aitor Sánchez,Andoni Tarriño,Alvaro Arrizabalaga
This paper is divided into three sections. The first section describes the historiographic evolution of the study of prehistoric lithic raw materials in the Basque Crossroads (in the north of the Iberian Peninsula) during the last three decades. The second section explains the currently available information about geological outcrops of flint in the eastern end of the Cantabrian Mountain range (the
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Chert procurement in Corsica during the Neolithic: Inferring social territories in the Tyrrhenian islands Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-02-12 Céline Leandri,Paul Fernandes
From the Neolithic, foreign siliceous materials were imported into Corsica as the island lacks local chert and obsidian. Such a context constitutes a real opportunity to investigate the relationship of the island with surrounding areas, in perspective with cultural evolutions. For 20 years, chert sourcing studies were carried out. We took into account 26 sites, dating from the Ancient Neolithic to
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Stone Tools in the High Molise Mountains (Italy): a first Report Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-02-09 Vittorio Mironti,Melissa Vilmercati,Enrico Lucci,Rachele Modesto
In the last decades, several researches focused on the inland areas of Molise Region (Central-Southern Italy) to investigate the occupation and exploitation of this environment during Pleistocene and Holocene. The “Molise Survey Project” started in 2015 with the aim to explore, through systematic surveys, an area of 60 square kilometres, chiefly characterized by a mountainous landscape and part of
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On the reconstruction of prehistoric social territories: The La Désirade lithic workshops and the distribution of La Désirade chert (French West Indies) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2021-02-09 Maaike De Waal,Sebastiaan Knippenberg
The widespread presence of raw materials suitable for the production of stone tools on the south-eastern part of La Désirade, a small island east of Guadeloupe (French West Indies), is an interesting feature as these materials cannot be obtained on most of the neighbouring limestone islands. Small amounts of lithic off-site material have been found all over the south-eastern part of La Désirade, indicating
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The mechanical properties of wood and the design of Neolithic stone axes Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-21 A. Roland Ennos,João A.V. Oliveira
Despite the importance of wooden tools for early man, and the development of woodworking in the Mesolithic and Neolithic culture, there has been surprisingly little research on how wood can be worked by stone tools or how wooden handles for composite tools were designed. This paper outlines an approach based on an understanding of the structure and mechanical properties of wood. The cell arrangement
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Plant foods, stone tools and food preparation in prehistoric Europe: An integrative approach in the context of ERC funded project PLANTCULT Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Soultana Maria Valamoti,Danai Chondrou,Tasos Bekiaris,Ismini Ninou,Natalia Alonso,Maria Bofill,Maria Ivanova,Sofia Laparidou,Calla McNamee,Antoni Palomo,Lambrini Papadopoulou,Georgina Prats,Hara Procopiou,Georgia Tsartsidou
The transformation of food ingredients into meals corresponds to complex choices resulting from the interplay of environmental and cultural factors: available ingredients, technologies of transformation, cultural perceptions of food, as well as taste and food taboos. Project PLANTCULT (ERC Consolidator Grant, GA 682529) aims to investigate prehistoric culinary cultures from the Aegean to Central Europe
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From near and far: Stone procurement and exchange at Çukuriçi Höyük in Western Anatolia Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Christoph Schwall,Michael Brandl,Tatjana M. Gluhak,Bogdana Milić,Lisa Betina,Lasse Sørensen,Danilo Wolf,Barbara Horejs
The focus of this paper are the stone tools of Çukuriçi Höyük, a prehistoric site situated at the central Aegean coast of Anatolia. The settlement was inhabited from the Neolithic, through the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age 1 periods, a period lasting from the early 7th to the early 3rd millennium BCE. A long-term interdisciplinary study of the excavated lithics with different scientific methods
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Manufacture, use and management of macro-lithic resources in the Bronze Age settlement of Bruszczewo (Poland) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Selina Delgado-Raack,Jutta Kneisel,Janusz Czebreszuk,Johannes Müller
Contrary to pottery or metal artefacts, macro-lithic tools are still not fully integrated into the archaeological research programs concerning the Early Bronze Age of Central Europe. While such kind of archaeological materials usually do not easily allow typological approaches, their constant participation in several productive spheres makes them a crucial element for understanding the economic processes
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Processing plants for food: Experimental grinding within the ERC-project PLANTCULT Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Maria Bofill,Danai Chondrou,Antoni Palomo,Hara Procopiou,Soultana Maria Valamotti
PlantCult Project aims to explore the role of culinary traditions and innovations through their impact on shaping the social landscape in ancient Europe over long time periods (from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age) and large territories. The experimental program is part of an integrated study of food products and associated equipment focusing on whether the introduction of new species or changes
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Ethnogrinding Database: A tool to collect and connect worldwide information on ethnological and ethnoarchaeological hand-milling systems Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Natàlia Alonso,Georgina Prats,Themis Roustanis,Panos Tokmakides,Soultana Maria Valamoti
This study advances research carried out during the creation of a bibliographic database of ethnological information regarding hand milling systems in the framework of the ERC-Project PLANTCULT Identifying the Food Cultures of Ancient Europe: an interdisciplinary investigation of plant ingredients, culinary transformation and evolution through time led by S.M. Valamoti. The main aims of the database
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Lava rotary querns of ‘Iron Age type’ in Roman times Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Stefan Wenzel
In Mayen the production of lava rotary querns of ‘Iron Age type’ continued from the late La Tène period into Julio-Claudian times. The lower quernstone possessed a domed grinding face and the upper stone was double concave in section. While the surfaces of these querns are usually pecked, late examples show a segmented radial grooving on the grinding surfaces. Handle sockets with elbow-shaped (L-shaped)
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Limestone millstones: Facies, provenance and use of sandy to pure limestones in France Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Gilles Fronteau,François Boyer,Luc Jaccottey,Vincent Le Quellec,Stéphanie Lepareux-Couturier,Annabelle Milleville,Cécile Monchablon,Boris Robin,Paul Picavet
Limestones are sedimentary rocks more commonly associated with building stones or sculptures than with millstones. Nevertheless, many examples of limestone saddle querns, rotary querns and millstones are spread across France, at times making up the bulk of the archaeological assemblages in various areas characterized by bedrocks rich of sedimentary stones. These limestone millstones are of different
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Ground stone tools from the copper production site Al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Stephanie Döpper
Archaeological research at Al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman, conducted by the University of Tübingen, revealed a large Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BCE) site. During the intensive surface survey and excavations, several ground stone tools were found. Most of them came from the vicinity of monumental stone and mud-brick structures, so-called towers, and are clearly connected to copper-processing waste
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Ground stone technology in context: Consumption of grinding tools and social practice at Neolithic Avgi, NW Greece Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Tasos Bekiaris
Excavations at the Neolithic site of Avgi (Middle-Late Neolithic, circa 5700-4500 cal. BCE) in the Kastoria region, northwestern Greece, brought to light one of the largest ground stone assemblages known from Neolithic Greece. More than 8000 ground stone tools and objects, raw materials and by-products comprise a valuable record for investigating various aspects of ground stone technology (production
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Red sandstone as raw material of Baden culture (Late Copper Age) grinding stones (Balatonőszöd - Temetői dűlő site, Hungary), with a review of the red sandstone formations of SW Hungary Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Bálint Péterdi
Balatonőszöd - Temetői dűlő is one of the largest excavated and longest-lived sites of the Late Copper Age Baden Culture in Hungary, where 500 lithic finds were registered. In the site finds belonging to the late Middle Copper Age Balaton-Lasinja Culture and the Late Copper Age Boleraz Culture were found too. This paper presents petrographic and geochemical analyses of stone utensils, mostly of grinding
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Men at work: Grinding stone production by the experts and others in northern Ethiopia Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Laurie Nixon-Darcus,Yemane Meresa
It is necessary to access the oral forms of local histories often held in traditional African communities to help us understand the African past and avoid framing interpretations solely in terms of Western epistemologies. Ethnoarchaeological fieldwork was carried out in villages in the Gulo Makeda region of northeastern Tigrai, northern Ethiopia, where access to mechanical mills has only been available
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Rock procurement and use during the Middle Neolithic: The macrolithic tools of Dambach-la-Ville (Alsace, France) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Florent Jodry,Marion Delloul,Christophe Croutsch,Philippe Duringer,Gilles Fronteau
A preventive archaeological excavation carried out in 2012 at Dambach-la-Ville (Bas-Rhin, France) uncovered a large Middle Neolithic settlement (Upper Rhine West Bischheim group) dating from the second half of the 5th millennium BCE. The site comprised a very large assemblage of well-dated macrolithic tools (more than 600). Grinding stones, including about roughouts, make up the bulk of the assemblage
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The Olynthus mill in the Alps: New hypotheses from two unidentified millstones discovered in Veneto region (Italy) Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Denis Francisci
The archaeological collection at the Museum of Feltre (province of Belluno, Veneto region, Italy) includes fragments of two ancient millstones of type known as “Olynthus mill” or “hopper rubber”. The first one (from San Donato, in the municipality of Lamón) is mentioned in a number of published and unpublished works; the other (generally from Feltre) is new to archaeological literature. Until now,
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Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Elspeth Hayes, Caroline Spry, Richard Fullagar, Anna Tuechler, Petra Schell, Megan Goulding
Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes (e.g., polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes). In this
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Interpreting transfers of rocks during the Mesolithic in the West of France Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-09-15 Gregor Marchand
The crystalline geological substratum of the Armorican Massif, in the West of France, is devoid of flint nodules in primary position. As a result, during Prehistory, humans developed different strategies for making their toolkits, either by adapting production methods to local rocks from diverse sources, or by importing materials from the sedimentary margins. This article proposes to analyse the distribution
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Black obsidian procurement strategies and circulation along the northern coast of the Santa Cruz Province (Argentine Patagonia): human mobility and interaction Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-09-15 Pablo Ambrústolo
In this article, we examine the strategies behind the acquisition and reduction of black obsidian found in rock shelters and shell middens from the north coast of the Santa Cruz Province, in Argentine Patagonia. Geochemical analyses performed on black obsidian artifacts from this area posit the long-distance circulation of this raw material given its source at Pampa del Asador, located approximately
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Lithic resources as a proxy for the social use of territory among hunter-gatherers of Central Chile Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-09-15 Luis Eduardo Cornejo Bustamante,Patricio Galarce Cornejos,Miguel Saavedra Villanueva,Lorena Sanhueza Riquelme
This paper presents the results of a study of the composition of lithic raw materials from the contexts of archaeological sites of hunter-gatherers of Central Chile (latitudes 33° to 34.5° S) between 5000 to 1000 years BP. This territory is characterized by a wide distribution of certain coarse and medium-grained lithic raw materials (andesite, basalt and granite), preferably used in low formatted
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The Piney Branch site (District of Columbia, U.S.A.) and the significance of the quarry-refuse model for the interpretation of lithics sites Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-03-15 Curtis Neil Runnels
In the 1870s the amateur archaeologist Dr Charles Abbott discovered roughly-flaked bifacial artefacts that he called “paleoliths” near Trenton, New Jersey, which he claimed were artefact types similar to Lower Palaeolithic handaxes being found in western Europe at that time. This interpretation gave rise to what has been called the Great Palaeolithic War, a debate in the United States about the existence
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Kimberley points of Western Australia: Pressure flaking, projections and prestige Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-03-15 Tim Ryan Maloney
Kimberley points are pressure flaked bifaces with marginal projections, produced within the last millennium, in north Western Australia. These points were hafted for hunting and fighting in recent times, although there is some suggestion that smaller points tended to be hafted for use in favour of larger points, which were reserved for trade and exchange. Kimberley Points are imbued with strong social
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Short Report: A déjeté Levallois tool from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) and the role it plays in the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces of the Bannu Basin Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-03-15 Paolo Biagi,Renato Nisbet,Romana Haider
This paper discusses the importance of the discovery of one déjeté Levallois tool from the surface of a dark grey and black patinated gravel terrace located ca. 500 m south-west of the Neolithic site of Sheri Khan Tarakai in the Bannu Basin (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), and provides a detailed geomorphological description of the area where it was found. The Neolithic site rests on a large gravelly
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Book review: Du leurre archéologique au milieu associé préhistorique: compte-rendu et commentaires autour de l’ouvrage La pierre et son ombre. Épistémologie de la Préhistoire d’H. Forestier Journal of Lithic Studies (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2020-03-15 Antonio Pérez Balarezo
La pierre et son ombre. Épistémologie de la Préhistoireby Hubert ForestierL’Harmattan, 2020, pp. 272, fig. 32 ISBN 978-2-343-19641-1https://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=livre&no=66449