Journal of Lithic Studies
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Armas de guerra ou de caça? Funcionalidade e proveniência das pontas de seta do Zambujal (Torres Vedras, Portugal)
Get PDFThis contribution is part of a larger work developed since 2014 on Zambujal’s flaked stone mainly focusing on siliceous resources’ petrographic characterization, strategies of management and procurement. The enclosure of Zambujal distinguishes itself, in the Portuguese Estremadura, by the larger number of flint artefacts recovered within a chronological context. As well, the Sizandro’s valley was recently studied through a geoarchaeological approach - Holocene floodplain evolution of the Sizandro valley (Portugal) - in which it was proposed a calcolithic territory model. So the enclosure of Zambujal is privileged for being a case study. Although if compared to other Chalcolithic settlements, have a high number of arrowheads (1037) stands out in absolute contrast, as in proportion with the remained lithic tools available. This particular issue, moreover connected to the fact of having been removed inside the barbican of the hillfort (between first and second lines of defence), is a very important element that suggests the possibility of armed conflicts among these populations over Chalcolithic (3rd millennium BCE). The present paper proposes to test the hypothesis of the evidences of war in Chalcolithic, based on functional and petrographic analysis of Zambujal´s arrowheads.
So, on one hand, we proceed to a techno-typological classification with the particular purpose of gathering materials from all Zambujal’s archaeological campaigns (1964-2012). Than we applying to every measurable arrowhead a drilling index (Ipn) to find the “stopping power”, that reflects a level of damage.
The methodology employed for the petrographic analysis was a classical compositional and textural, and we also established flint types according to its genesis (genetic type) and provision sites (gytologic type), through a dynamic perspective of an ‘evolutive chain’. A Motic SMZ-140 binocular magnifying glass was used in the mesoscopic observation, with an 80x augmentation and, whenever needed, particular images were taken with an Olympus E-620 camera, providing thus a maximal visual augmentation of up to 40x.
This paper presents the results obtained for the different types of analysis – techno-typological and petrographic - trying to find the arrowheads functionality. As well, by comparing the arrowheads typologies associated with the drilling rate index (DRI) from Portuguese Estremadura’s settlements we obtained the capability of answer the question of functionality – war or hunting weapons?
In the petrographic analysis we tried to recognize the "history" of the flint, however, due to the natural absence of the cortical part in these artefacts, was privileged the genetic characterization of the lithologies. From the above, it is suggested that the main source of the siliceous materials used to produce arrowheads has been the closest, easiest and most abundant source. But at this point the study needs a more detailed characterization of the regional source areas with some textural affinities with these archaeological samples. For now, we use these results of raw materials’ provenance to beginning to identify the supplying strategies and the early stages of operative chains of these artefacts. The extension of the petroarchaeologic study to all the operative chains of the Zambujal’s arrowheads is a key for the understanding of the techniques in their manufacture and therefore the type of circulating materials - raw materials or final products?
In conclusion, with these new data we can also begin to recognize the existence of complex goods’ circulation networks in the Chalcolithic, which probably includes regional and inter-regional strategies control reflecting the stability or instability’s relationships of among prehistoric communities.Esta contribuição insere-se num trabalho mais vasto que temos vindo a desenvolver desde 2014 sobre a pedra lascada do Zambujal, focalizado na caracterização petrográfica, nas estratégias de aquisição e na gestão dos recursos siliciosos.
O povoado fortificado do Zambujal assume-se como um caso de estudo privilegiado na Estremadura portuguesa, pelo elevado número de artefactos de sílex recuperados associados a um contexto cronoestratigráfico, em particular pela quantidade de pontas de seta proporcionalmente às restantes categorias líticas. Esta questão, juntamente com o facto de terem sido recolhidas naquele local (entre a primeira e a segunda linhas de defesa), reveste-se de grande importância, sugerindo a possibilidade de terem ocorrido conflitos armados entre estas populações ao longo do Calcolítico (3º milénio BCE).
Neste estudo propomos testar a hipótese da existência de evidências de guerra no Calcolítico com base numa análise funcional (cálculo do índice de penetração - Ipn) e petrográfica (identificação de microfácies, génese e locais de aprovisionamento das litologias) das pontas de seta recolhidas no interior da barbacã da fortificação.
Em conclusão, estes novos resultados, a partir de “velhos” dados, são o ponto de partida para identificar as estratégias de abastecimento e as fases iniciais das cadeias operatórias das pontas de seta do Zambujal, reconhecendo a existência de complexas redes de circulação de bens no Calcolítico que incluem, provavelmente, estratégias de controlo regional e inter-regional, reflectindo relações de estabilidade ou instabilidade entre as comunidades pré-históricas
The Star-Beings and stones: Petroforms and the reflection of Native American cosmology, myth and stellar traditions
Get PDFNative American myths, legends and oral traditions are rich with stories of giant beings existing in ancient times. They all talk of giant Thunderers or Thunder-beings, giant snakes and great Thunderbirds. Even the first humans were said to be giants, some half man, half animal. The Tsistsistas (Cheyenne) have a name for the giant beings that their ancestors encountered during the early migration to the grasslands of the Great Plains. They called them haztova hotoxceo or “two-faced star people”. Other Plains tribes such as the Black Feet, Gros Ventres and Lakota have similar stories.
These old stories may have real world counterparts. Discovered in a prehistoric effigy-mound group (the Kolterman Mounds) in south-eastern Wisconsin (U.S.A.) is a human-like petroform or lithic effigy with a serpentine body and wing-like arms known as the ‘Star-being’. Configured in stone, it is approximately 20 metres in length with a red coloured, bison-shaped headstone aligned to face the summer solstice sunrise. However, it is not a lone or singular occurrence. The ‘Star-being’ is but one of two human-like petroform effigies discovered in south-eastern Wisconsin. There is another of almost the same size called the Starman which also has a red coloured, bison-shaped headstone aligned to face the summer solstice sunrise. Both the Starman and Star-Being lithic complexes are codified by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin as archaeological sites of Archaic age.
Each giant lithic effigy appears to be a reflection of certain constellations and stars. The ‘Star-being’ is a mirror-image of the (western) constellations of Scorpius and Libra (with Sagittarius); the Starman is an almost exact representation of Taurus and the Pleiades. Both giant effigies are estimated to be 3500-6000 years old, embodiments of ancient legends and traditions writ large in stone and connected to ‘The People’ through ceremony and acts of cosmic renewal
Editorial: Advances in understanding megaliths and related prehistoric lithic monuments
Get PDFStanding stones and megalithic monuments are impressive remains from a remote prehistoric world that for the British Isles began some 6000 years ago and led to a cultural flowering that peaked in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age with the rise of fine megalithic monuments like Newgrange, Knowth, Drombeg, Maeshowe, Avebury and Stonehenge. Nearby on the European continent, what may be called an era involving megalithic culture had begun a few centuries earlier (as at Carnac and Locmariaquer), and still earlier in the Mediterranean lands and islands (e.g., the Tarxien Temple in Malta), south-eastern Europe, the Near and Middle East, and India beyond.
Book review: Turquoise, Water, Sky: Meaning and Beauty in Southwest Native Arts
Get PDFTurquoise, Water, Sky: Meaning and Beauty in Southwest Native Arts presents an accessible discussion of the importance and utilization of turquoise by Southwestern cultures throughout the past 1500 years, albeit heavily focused on the modern era. Primarily meant for a lay audience, this short volume is divided into six chapters and interspersed by approximately 160 images and illustrations. While beautiful, these images greatly limit the amount of text in the book. Turquoise, Water, Sky begins with a discussion of the prehistoric use of the material and its meaning in both past and contemporary contexts. However, the majority of the volume presents an evolution of contemporary form of both Puebloan and Navajo stonework. This portion will likely be the most appealing aspect of the book for the intended general audience, but it has limited utility for archaeologists and others interested in lithic studies.
Event review: Seminário Nacional de Tecnologia Lítica, Goiânia, Brazil
Get PDFBetween 5 and 9 October of 2016 the Seminário Nacional de Tecnologia Lítica (National Seminar of Lithic Technology) took place on the campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás, Brazil. The seminar aimed to create a space of exchange and learning among students, researchers and professors which currently work with prehistoric lithic technology, developing studies in different regions of Brazil, in addition to the special participation of a researcher from Peru. The event was conceived and developed through the efforts of three Brazilian institutions: the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás (Dr. Sibeli A. Viana and Marcos Paulo Ramos), the University of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul (Dr. Maria Gluchy), and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Dr. Jacqueline Rodet), in addition to a partnership with Paris West University Nanterre La Défense (Dr. Eric Boeda). Activities of practical analysis on lithic material and knapping were developed with the aim of better understanding the methods and techniques involved in the production of archaeological tools. As the event sought to develop practical activities, with dynamic ones, it was accompanied by monitored knapping sessions. It was necessary to restrict the participation to a small number of people (20). Still, there was participation by students from undergraduate, master\u27s, and doctoral programs. As well, places were reserved for archaeologists working with rescue projects involving lithic period sites
Quartzite pebble technology in the final Middle Pleistocene of the Ribeira da Ponte da Pedra site (High Ribatejo, Central Portugal)
Get PDFThe lithic assemblage of Ribeira da Ponte da Pedra site (OIS8-9) was produced, almost exclusively, through the exploitation of good quality quartzite fluvial pebbles with a regular morphology. Quartzite fluvial pebbles are the most common raw material found in the Middle Pleistocene occupation sites in Portugal. Such feature results from the easy availability of these pebbles in the valleys where the great majority of the archaeological sites within this chronology are located, and also because of the quartzite’s physical properties and suitability for knapping.
In a techno-typological point of view, its lithic assemblage is characterized by the application of two main reduction sequences that result in abundant worked pebbles, retouched pebbles, cortical and semi-cortical flakes, retouched flakes, a few cores and rare bifacial artefacts. Some artefacts present irregular and variable edge modifications described as ‘atypical’ edge modifications that could edge damage resultant from their utilization. From a strictly technical point of view the assemblage can be described as quite simple, however we can envisage an inherent complexity starting in an accurate selection and exploitation of the quartzite pebbles, whose regular morphology allows a ‘predetermined’ production of regular blanks through simple actions.
In order to better understand patterns of raw material selection and technical schemes adopted in the exploitation of the quartzite pebbles we compared a sample of pebbles collected in the same deposits identified in the site (t4 fluvial terrace deposits) with worked pebbles that have 1 or 2 removals that had not altered significantly the original morpho-volumetry of the pebbles. The goal of this comparison was to verify if there was a selection of the fluvial pebbles based on texture and morpho-volumetry and if so, relate such selection with the technical schemes identified by technological study of the assemblage
Foreword from UISPP
Get PDFUISPP has a long history, starting with the old International Association of Anthropology and Archaeology, back in 1865, until the foundation of UISPP itself in Bern, in 1931, and its growing relevance after WWII, from the 1950’s. We also became members of the International Council of Philosophy and Human Sciences, associate of UNESCO, in 1955
Debitagem laminar no Sul do Brasil: Habemus nucleos!
Get PDFBlade debitage is a characteristic production pattern of specific periods and regions during Prehistory. In South America, it is well documented in Argentina, in contexts dating back to early Holocene. In Brazil, it was unknown until 2006, when it was found in three archaeological sites (ACH-LP-01, ACH-LP-03, ALP-AA-03) in the Foz do Chapecó area, upper Uruguay River, South Brazil, in layers from early Holocene. It was associated there with a great variety of other production systems: bifacial shaping of projectile points and large tools, unipolar debitage of large flakes, bipolar debitage of tiny flakes. Silicified sandstone, chalcedony and hyaline quartz are the main used raw materials. To this day, only the products of this debitage, the blades, had been discovered. Cores were lacking, which prevented a complete understanding of the flaking process. Due to the resumption of research in the region from 2013, it was possible to find those cores during surveys in the two following archaeological sites: ACH-LP-07 and RS-URG-01, located on both sides of the Uruguay river, near the mouth of the Chapecó river. We describe in this article five of these cores (4 from ACH-LP-07 and 1 from RS-URG-01). Their analyses demonstrate that this blade debitage complies with only one concept. The core volumetric structure that is the result of this concept displays the following features: 1) Cores have two surfaces: a flat back and a convex but relatively flattened flaking surface, so that they have a general “D” shaped transversal section. At one end, a small surface acts as striking platform during the production of the blades; 2) Debitage begins with a initialization phase of the core during which the striking platform is produced by a large removal. According to the natural properties of the initial volume, the back of the core is obtained either during the selection of the blank, and then it is left in his natural state, or by a preparation by one or more large transversal removals. When present, the scars of the initialization phase of the flaking surface indicate the use of a centripetal method. This preparation is made possible by the acute angle of the peripheral ridge formed by the intersection of the back and the flaking surface ; 3) Blades are always produced by a unidirectional parallel method. Production variability is mainly related to the flaking technique: both internal percussion by stone and marginal percussion by organic percussor were used to get the blades. Technical information provided by the cores are complementary and in accordance with those from the previous analyses of the blades from the same area. With these two studies it was possible to reach a relatively exhaustive understanding of this production system in the upper Uruguay River during early Holocene, the only well documented blade debitage in Brazil known until now. Future research will explore the interactions between this production and the other debitage and shaping methods inside this early Holocene technological system. To do this, we will develop a comprehensive study of all lithic artefacts from the archaeological layers in which blade production was identified. In a wider scale, a comparative approach with Argentinian and Uruguayan prehistoric blade productions will allow to better understand the development of the blade phenomenon in the southern cone of South America.Durante a pré-história, a debitagem laminar é um modo de produção característico de determinados períodos e regiões. No Brasil, no momento, foi reconhecida em três sítios arqueológicos situados no alto vale do rio Uruguai (SC/RS), em contextos sedimentares que datam do Holoceno inicial. Até hoje, somente os produtos dessa debitagem, as lâminas, tinham sido encontrados. A falta dos núcleos impedia um entendimento completo do processo de lascamento desses suportes. Graças à retomada das pesquisas na região desde 2013, foi possível coletar núcleos associados a essa produção laminar. Nesse artigo, descrevemos cinco desses núcleos. Suas análises demonstram que essa debitagem laminar corresponde a um único conceito. A estrutura volumétrica do núcleo que resulta desse conceito respeita as seguintes normas: 1) Os núcleos apresentam duas superfícies: um dorso plano e uma superfície de debitagem convexa mas relativamente achatada. Em uma extremidade, uma pequena superfície plana serviu de plano de percussão; 2) A debitagem começa por uma fase de inicialização durante a qual o plano de percussão é produzido por uma grande retirada. Em função das propriedades naturais do volume inicial, o dorso do núcleo é obtido, seja durante a seleção do bloco, seja por uma preparação por grandes retiradas transversais. Quando existem ainda, os negativos de retiradas da inicialização da superfície de debitagem indicam um método centrípeto; 3) As lâminas são sempre produzidas por um método unidirecional paralelo. A variabilidade desta debitagem é principalmente relacionada à técnica de lascamento: a percussão com pedra e a percussão com percutor orgânico foram utilizadas para a obtenção das lâminas. As informações tecnológicas fornecidas pelos núcleos aqui analisados são coerentes com essas observações oriundas da análise das lâminas. Com esses dois estudos consegue-se atingir um conhecimento completo desse sistema de produção do alto vale do rio Uruguai durante o Holoceno inicial, a única debitagem laminar documentada até hoje no Brasil
An Early Stone Age in Western Africa? Spheroids and polyhedrons at Ounjougou, Mali
Get PDFOunjougou stratigraphic sequence (Bandiagara, Dogon Country, Mali) is the most complete record in Western Africa for the Middle Pleistocene. This paper focuses on the lithic industry unearthed in the lowest levels of the sequence. Despite the impossibility to fix the dating of those layers, the assemblage clearly presents Oldowan features. A strong erosive process, combined to the absence of Acheulean industry, strengthens the idea of a probable ancient age for the lithic industry. Morphometric, Technological and techno-functional approaches were performed to study sandstone polyhedrons, spheroids and bolas, abundant in the collection, along with a flake production on quartz and quartzite pebbles.
This study demonstrates that polyhedrons, spheroids and bolas were shaped from independent chaînes opératoires to realize specific tasks. The hypothesis of opportunistic knapping does not fit with these materials at Ounjougou. The evidence of shaping is highlighted by diacritic schemes showing that the flakes detached are not controlled for their usability, but for shaping the morphology of the spheroid. Apart from those polyhedrons and spheroids, flake production is also identified. While the shaping process is made on sandstone cobbles, sharp flakes are produced from quartz pebbles. This clear choice of different raw materials to produce shaped heavy tools in one hand and light flake tools in another hand strengthens the idea of a deliberate shaping of spheroid tools.
The discussion compares this assemblage with other known assemblages like Ain Hanech and Olducai Gorge. Our point focus on the methodology used to study these specific artefacts, very different from one author to another. We stress out the fact that using the term ‘polyhedron’ is not accurate to define artefacts that can refer to shape tools or multifacial cores. We suggest to avoid using it and to focus on a technical identification to name the artefacts as cores or tools. The technological and techno-functional approaches are relevant to make this distinction.
Then we propose some hypothesis about the use of spheroid and bolas and suggest experiments and traceological analyses in the future to confirm their functionality.
Ounjougou lithic tool kit, composed of flake débitage, retouched flakes and shaped tools on pebbles, along with the spheroids and bolas component, gives an evidence of a diversified tool kit corresponding to the Oldowan Industrial Complex, and then represents the first Early Stone Age site in stratigraphy in Western Africa
Middle Palaeolithic find spots with Nubian cores from the Southern Negev and the Arava, Israel
Get PDFThis is a report of results from a cursory survey of several Middle Paleolithic find spots from the Arava, Israel, conducted as part of a broader collaboration between the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center and the Israel Antiquities Authority. A series of find spots were recorded on the eastern flanks of the Zehiha hills and on the northern terraces of Wadi Paran. These finds consist of mostly Middle Paleolithic artifacts including Levallois centripetal, bidirectional and Nubian cores. The presence of Nubian cores within this technological constellation is of interest in light of recent discussions regarding archaeological markers of modern human dispersals out of Africa and feasible routes into Eurasia and Arabia. The Nubian core technology, a specific variant of the Levallois technology is found within a defined and continuous geographic region and is perceived as penecontemporaneous. Sites with a similar technological package are found to the east at Al-Jawf, within the Arabian Peninsula, as well as to the North-West, within the central Negev highlands, at the localities of Har Oded and H2. The distinctive technological characteristics, geographical extent and chronology advocate its use as a possible marker for human dispersals and interactions between Eastern Africa, the Nile Valley, the southern Levant and Arabia