Journal of Lithic Studies
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Distribution and procurement strategies of black obsidian in central-western Santa Cruz province (Patagonia, Argentina)
No full textIn southern Patagonia, research proposals regarding the procurement strategies of black obsidian are still open. In broad spatial and temporal terms, Pampa del Asador has been proposed as the main source of this lithic resource. On a macro-regional scale, direct and indirect mechanisms of obsidian procurement from Pampa del Asador source were suggested. At the same time, variability in transport and exploitation strategies was recorded through the regional study of obsidian cores. Such variability indicates that the distance to the source does not unequivocally explain all the observed patterns.
In this opportunity, we seek to deepen this proposal to discuss the different factors involved in the mechanisms for obtaining this lithic resource by hunter-gatherer societies that inhabited the region after 2000 years B.P. We work on a broad regional scale, relevant to discuss aspects of mobility and social interaction. Thus, the sample includes 147 archaeological sites located in different environmental sectors: basaltic plateaus (Cerro Pampa, Guitarra and Strobel plateaus) and lake basins (Cardiel and Salitroso). A macroscopic analysis was carried out to integrate the information of cores with that of tools and debitage.
Results highlight the variability of strategies initially suggested. It is emphasized that the particularities of land use and availability of other lithic resources are relevant for understanding the patterns observed in the archaeological record
Preliminary investigations on the chipped stone industry of the Copper Age settlement of Malnaş Băi (Málnásfürdő)-Füvenyestető (Covasna County, Romania)
Full text linkThe chipped stone collection unearthed during the 2014-2016 archaeological excavations from the Copper Age settlement at Malnaş Băi was analysed from a multidisciplinary perspective. The aims were to differentiate between the processing technologies of the local rocks and of the long-distance raw materials and to assess the technological traditions that characterise their production. The elemental composition of a selected sample set of the artefacts determined using Prompt Gamma Activation analysis (PGAA) verified the presence of both local and long-distance raw materials. In addition, the PGAA results corroborated that differentiation in both categories requires further field work and comparison. Attribute analysis, typology and use-wear investigations were employed for identifying the main features of the lithic industry in each class of raw materials. These results showed that it might be possible to differentiate between two technological traditions. One of them is represented by the on-site production of small blades made of obsidian, in the Tiszapolgár and Bodrogkeresztúr specific technology. As the PGAA proved, this raw material is a long-distance commodity, but the technological structure of the assemblage suggests its local processing. The other tradition, visible in the flint (also a long-distance material, though not knapped on-site) and local raw materials, is more characteristic for the Copper Age from the east of Carpathian Mountains, meaning the production of medium-long blades through the punch technique. As for the retouching technology and the use of implements, no differentiation based on raw materials could be observed. These preliminary investigations on the chipped stone artefacts from Malnaş Băi allowed the identification of long-distance transfer of lithic materials and technologies and to address their role in the large networks that existed during the Copper Age
Connecting arrowheads: Differential transmission of information at the dawn of the Bronze Age
Full text linkThe study of the relationships between prehistoric social groups is one of the main targets in present day archaeology. A useful tool to entangle this issue is social network analysis (SNA). Some of the advantages brought by this mathematic approach refer to the possibility of studying relationships through the material culture items, or its capability to integrate different scales of analysis (macro-micro). Moreover, SNA combined with the application of bayesian statistical methods of chronological attribution can create long range diachronic series of relational information, connected with prehistoric social groups dynamics. This methodology enables archaeologists to study archaeological big data from a totally different perspective, not only focused on a descriptive or morphometric point of view. The objective of this work is to apply an SNA procedure, together with a recently developed bayesian tool of chronological attribution, to archaeological sites located in the East of the Iberian Peninsula during the 4th and 3rd millennium cal. BCE using chert arrowheads as an archaeological proxy, due to the chronologic implications their morphology has, in the referred geographic frame. It is our specific target to analyse the transition between the Bell-Beaker world and the Bronze Age, through the differential transmission of information and the time-space variability present in the archaeological record, through the study of relationships between chert arrowheads assemblages. In order to do so, we will build a relational framework between the social communities present in the Late Neolithic-Copper Age through the chert arrowheads morphologic typologies, and we will apply SNA to characterize the resulting networks. Furthermore, we will propose a new metric to quantify the cultural fragmentation using community detection algorithms, in a diachronic axis, to identify groups of sites with homogeneous technological behaviour, to check the initial hypothesis which points to the existence of periods of cultural homogeneity followed by others in which fragmentation-regionalization is dominant
La ideología y el simbolismo de los excéntricos mayas de sílex y obsidiana de Xunantunich y cuevas en el centro de Belice: Contextos, cronología, materiales, producción y significado
No full textEccentrics are associated with fundamentally important concepts in ancient Maya cosmology and religion. As their name implies, eccentrics are irregularly shaped, non-utilitarian, special function artifacts. Knapped from chert and obsidian, they vary in size, take many forms, and can be expediently made or masterfully crafted. In this study, we focus on eccentrics from Central Belize, specifically those from Ballcourt 2 at Xunantunich, as well as examples from caves the Roaring Creek Valley, including Actun Chapat, Actun Tunichil Mucnal, Actun Uayazba Kab, Actun Yaxteel Ahau, Je’reftheel, and Midnight Terror. To understand the uses of eccentrics in the ancient Maya world, we examine them in terms of their archaeological contexts (e.g., caches, burials, caves), dating, lithic raw material types and sources, production techniques, and meanings. This information is used to reconstruct the role of eccentrics in understanding the animate world of the Maya, as well as the embodiment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology in these ceremonial items. The symbolism with which these artifacts are imbued is examined in relation to numerology and correspondences between Maya iconography and epigraphy. These analyses demonstrate that eccentrics play a significant role in the enactment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology and embody critically important concepts for Maya success and survival in a natural world entangled in the supernatural. As such, they also served as inalienable possessions offered as gifts to supernatural forces and entities in times of need or crisis. Eccentrics embody and reflect the ideas of kingship, sacrifice, natural phenomena (specifically rain and lightning), celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and eclipses), maize, zoomorphic denizens of the Maya underworld (including centipedes, serpents, and scorpions), as well as representations of deities, especially K’awiil - the embodiment of lightning. Moreover, the geomorphic designs and numbers of eccentrics, which occur particularly in sets of seven, nine, and thirteen, represent locations and gateways in ancient Maya cosmological understanding of the structural universe. Significantly, the eccentrics of Xunantunich and Central Belizean caves are consistent with the use of this class of artifacts in a pan-Maya belief system.Los excéntricos están asociados con conceptos de importancia fundamental en la cosmología y religión de los antiguos mayas. Como lo indica su nombre, los excéntricos son artefactos de función especial, no utilitarios, de forma irregular. Tallados de sílex y de obsidiana, los excéntricos varían en tamaño, toman muchas formas y se pueden hacer de manera expediente o magistralmente. En este estudio, nos enfocamos en excéntricos del centro de Belice, específicamente en los de la Cancha 2 del juego de pelota en Xunantunich, así como en ejemplos de cuevas del valle de Roaring Creek, incluidos Actun Chapat, Actun Tunichil Mucnal, Actun Uayazba Kab, Actun Yaxteel Ahau, Je’reftheel y Midnight Terror. Para entender los usos de los excéntricos en el mundo maya antiguo, examinamos los excéntricos en términos de sus contextos arqueológicos (p. ej., en escondites, entierros, o cuevas), fechamientos, tipos y procedencia de materia prima lítica, técnicas de producción y significados. Esta información se utiliza para reconstruir el papel de los excéntricos en la comprensión del mundo animado de los mayas, así como la encarnación de la mitología y cosmología de los mayas en estos objetos ceremoniales. Se examina el simbolismo que impregna estos objetos en relación con la numerología y las correspondencias entre la iconografía y la epigrafía maya. Estos análisis demuestran que los excéntricos desempeñan un papel importante en la representación de la mitología y la cosmología de los mayas antiguos y encarnan conceptos de importancia crítica para el éxito y la supervivencia de los mayas en un mundo natural enredado en lo sobrenatural. Como tal, también servían como objetos inalienables hechos de piedra proporcionada por lo sobrenatural que se ofrecían como ofrendas a las entidades sobrenaturales en tiempos de necesidad o crisis. Los excéntricos encarnan y reflejan las ideas de la realeza, el sacrificio, los fenómenos naturales (específicamente la lluvia y las tormentas), los cuerpos astrales (como el sol, la luna y los eclipses), el maíz, y los moradores zoomorfos del inframundo maya (incluidos los ciempiés, las serpientes y los escorpiones), así como representaciones de deidades, incluyendo K’inich Ajaw, el dios de sol, Chaahk, la deidad de lluvia, y, en particular, K’awiil, la encarnación del relámpago. Además, las formas geomórficas, los colores, y el número de excéntricas son simbólicamente importantes por los mayas. Por ejemplo, el color negro se relaciona simbólicamente con la oscuridad, la noche, el punto cardinal hacia el oeste, mientras que el color verde se asocia con el lugar central de los cosmogramas mayas, así como la fertilidad, la agricultura, el maíz, y el árbol del mundo, que se conecta los tres niveles del universo maya. Las excéntricas, particularmente en conjuntos de cero, siete, nueve y trece, representan a deidades patronales, ubicaciones y aberturas en el entendimiento cosmológica maya del universo estructural. Esto se demuestra por el hecho de que el cero estaba conectado con el inframundo, el siete estaba ligado a los colores direccionales ik’ ‘negro’ y k’an ‘amarillo’, el inframundo se percibía como dividido en nueve áreas o regiones, y el reino celestial estaba dividido en trece. Significativamente, los excéntricos de Xunantunich y de las cuevas del centro de Belice son consistentes con el uso de esta clase de artefactos en un sistema de creencias pan-maya
Rock Crystal Reduction at the Early Neolithic site of Dorstone Hill, Herefordshire, and its wider British and European con
Full text linkAssemblages of worked rock crystal (pure hyaline quartz) in British and Irish prehistoric contexts are scarce. As a result, the published record contains little in the way of detailed accounts of the technological process and reduction strategies for this material, in contrast to a number of sites in continental Europe. This paper presents the analysis of a new assemblage of rock crystal from Dorstone Hill, Herefordshire, dating to the Early Neolithic. This analysis focuses primarily on the methods of crystal reduction, and identifies a systematic approach to it that demonstrates that Neolithic knappers at this site had an inherent understanding of the specific material characteristics of rock crystal. However, comparison of the reduction strategy employed at Dorstone Hill with European materials demonstrates that rock crystal can be worked in a number of different ways, and that the sequence at Dorstone represents an approach that was not just dictated by the material properties. Furthermore, the absence of utilised pieces or formal tools made from rock crystal, leads us to suggest that the act of working the exotic material was significant, as opposed to its tool-making potential. We conclude by outlining future avenues for British and Irish rock crystal research, and reinforce the importance of technological analysis of rarer and lesser published material
Travelin’ stones: The oolitic chert blades from Zambujal Chalcolithic enclosure (Torres Vedras, Portugal)
Full text linkThe Oolitic chert is an important raw material for large blade production in Betic Cordillera (Spain) during 4th-3rd mill. BCE. These blades are part of a long-distance trade network of artefacts found in Chalcolithic settlements of southwestern Iberia. In Zambujal, the westernmost site with oolitic chert blades, with the source-area distance more than 500km, these utensils are included in the “import package” with remarkable implications for social change and innovation (Lillios 2020). Sourcing oolitic chert blades contributes to understanding mobility in the Chalcolithic of the Iberian Peninsula as part of a complex trade and exploitation network.
In the current study, all the oolitic chert blades recovered in Zambujal are analysed which are recovered from the ancient excavations between 1964 and 1973 by H. Schubart and E. Sangmeister to the recent investigations by M. Kunst (1994-2012).
After first using a techno-typological classification, the raw material characterization focused on the petrographic compositional and textural features (macro-, in hand specimen, meso-, with hand lens, and microscopic, with binocular lens and petrographic microscope). Polished thin-sections were analysed also by Raman Microspectroscopy in order to determine the main crystalline phases present. It was possible to correlate with high probability the archaeological raw material with oolitic chert from the Milanos Formation (Upper Kimmeridgian-Tithonian in Middle Subbetic, Granada) and also from the Malaver Formation (Miocene in Campo de Gibraltar Complex, Malaga), with conglomerates from Lower-Middle Jurassic oolithic chert. The identification of signs of usage, fracturing and reuse are frequently observed in the oolitic chert blades of Zambujal, as in other Portuguese sites. The association of an intensive use of the oolitic chert blades with its scarcity in the archaeological record highlight the importance of blades for domestic activities, as “prestige” functional goods (Teather 2008: 84). In this sense, the oolitic chert blades are material records of an intense mobility of humans and objects in the Chalcolithic. The presence of an expressive set of oolitic chert blades in Zambujal is related to their important role played within the network of transregional relations
Report: Peering into the Prehistoric Past of Bandhavgarh National Park, central India
Full text linkThis paper reports on recent discoveries of prehistoric findspots inside and around the Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh, central India). These discoveries dramatically push the antiquity of a human presence in this region back from their known existence during the historic period into the prehistoric epoch. This also means that it was prehistoric people who were the first forest dwellers of the national park. The lithic scatters are marked by a variety of microlithic forms, with a strong possibility of an older, Upper Palaeolithic presence. The localities are several and are spread over about sixty square kilometres, within the core and buffer zones of the national park, some of them being close to different stretches of the Charanganga river. They suggest a prolonged hominin presence here, in time and space. One of these areas in particular, the Jwalamukhi Ashram site-complex (JMP) with multiple localities that have yielded early remains, holds immense potential for understanding the nature of prehistoric occupation in this region, their possible dates and their palaeoenvironmental contexts. Further, discoveries within the core region of the national park point to a deeper, and possibly different, relationship between prehistoric human populations in the forest, in relation to the known historical archaeological record in this region. Future work at the region will delve into characterising the nature of prehistoric occupation in the region through a study of the lithic assemblages noted and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction on the basis of the study of various environmental proxies
La talla bipolar en la base regional de recursos líticos: Estudio comparativo entre los núcleos de las costas Atlánticas Pampeana y de Patagonia Centro-Septentrional (Argentina)
No full textSeveral authors argue that bipolar technology is an expeditious and versatile strategy, efficient for the reduction of small nodules. However, few studies analyze the use of bipolar reduction in relation to the lithic environmental supply. At the Pampean and Patagonian maritime coast, the technique has been widely recorded and seems to be conspicuous in indigenous populations that occupied coastal areas. With the aim of assessing and comparing the application of bipolar reduction 196 nuclei recovered from sites of diverse chronologies in the Pampean and northcentral Patagonian coasts were analyzed. The use of the bipolar technique was observed in relation to the lithic environmental structure, the size of nodules and their raw material. The results revealed high frequencies of bipolar nuclei at the Pampean coast (87%) and moderate frequencies at the northcentral Patagonian coast (39%). It was determined that the variables that influenced the application of bipolar techniques the most were the small size of the nodules and their rounded shape, generally thick, and without flat surfaces. As for raw material quality, the technique was applied on good to medium quality rocks at the Pampean coast, while in the northcentral coast it was exclusively applied on pebbles and cobbles of superior qualities (very good to excellent). The differences observed are most likely linked with technological choices made by different coastal populations to make the best use of widely available local rocks.La técnica bipolar es una de las primeras técnicas de talla lítica en la historia de la humanidad. Ha sido registrado en sitios arqueológicos de diferentes partes del mundo y de diferentes épocas. Distintas posturas se dieron en relación con las probables causas por las cuales los grupos humanos del pasado lo emplearon, atribuyendo su aplicación a características físicas y naturales de los recursos líticos y a factores sociales relacionados con preferencias estilísticas y tradiciones culturales. Este trabajo presenta los resultados del análisis comparativo de 196 núcleos líticos recuperados en 14 sitios arqueológicos de distinta cronología y sectores de la costa pampeana (entre el Cabo Corrientes y la desembocadura del río Quequén Salado) y la costa centro norte de Patagónica (entre Arroyo Verde y Bahía Cracker). El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la aplicación de la talla bipolar en ambas áreas y explorar tendencias espaciales y temporales en el uso de esta técnica en otros sectores de la costa atlántica continental desde la provincia de Buenos Aires hasta la provincia de Santa Cruz. Se evaluó el uso de la técnica bipolar en relación con la estructura ambiental lítica, el tamaño de los nódulos y la materia prima. Los núcleos proporcionan información sobre las primeras etapas de la explotación de materias primas líticas para la elaboración de los instrumentos, es decir, la selección inicial y la reducción de los nódulos. La metodología de estudios consistió en muestreos sistemáticos de rocas y el análisis tecnológico de los núcleos. Para el análisis de los núcleos bipolares se registró el tipo de materia prima, el grado de modificación del nódulo original, la longitud, el ancho y el grosor máximos, y la proporción de corteza en cada artefacto. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron altas frecuencias de núcleos bipolares en la costa pampeana (87%) y frecuencias moderadas en la costa norte patagónica central (39%). Se determinó que las variables que más influyeron en la aplicación de la técnica bipolar fueron el pequeño tamaño de los nódulos y su forma redondeada, generalmente espesa y sin superficies planas. En cuanto a la calidad de la materia prima, la técnica se aplicó en rocas de buena a mediana calidad en la costa pampeana, mientras que en la costa norte central se aplicó exclusivamente en rodados de cualidades superiores (muy buenas a excelentes). Se determinó que el registro de la talla bipolar es variable entre los diferentes sectores a lo largo de la costa pampena y patagónica. En el litoral marítimo de la provincia de Buenos Aires la talla bipolar se aplicó en rodados pequeños de basalto mientras que en el sector de la costa norte de Patagonia central se usó en guijarros de basalto y sílice. En el sector costero de Santa Cruz la talla bipolar se aplicó en guijarros de muy alta a excelente calidad, algunos no locales (como la obsidiana) y en otros de disponibilidad local pero limitada (como xilópalos y rocas oscuras de grano fino). Las diferencias observadas probablemente estén vinculadas con elecciones tecnológicas realizados por diferentes grupos de cazadores-recolectores para un mejor aprovechamiento de las rocas locales ampliamente disponibles
Going after the new without reinventing the wheel: On the necessity of learning and teaching different approaches to lithic analysis
Full text linkBrazilian archaeology developed following the same phases that the discipline as a whole went through: an initial emphasis on Historical Culturalism, followed by criticism that culminated in a range of possibilities, from the indiscriminate rejection of everything that had been done before, to a more balanced stance with the incorporation of new concepts. Specifically, we can say that there was a schism between the first professional archaeologists, interested in building historical-cultural knowledge, who sought to understand artefactual variability based on the shapes and possible functions of artifacts, and a younger generation guided by the Processualist approach, who started from the principle that the diversity of stone tools would reflect the relationship between man and environment and could be understood based on the different manufacturing techniques. Over time, criticism of the use of morphological approaches led to technology becoming a supposedly superior and more suitable method of analysis for the characterization of lithic artifacts. In Brazilian archaeological research, this reasoning has been consolidated over time and, consequently, limited not only the use of other perspectives, which could be complementary to the characterization of artifacts, but also the identification of distinct cultural groups. Considering that technological analysis understands that there are several steps involved in the manufacturing process of lithic tools and that the development of these activities occurs in an orderly manner, within a certain time and space, we present in this article some approaches that deal with the notion of Models of Sequence (Bleed 2001). The main objective is to show that even if they consider the development of activities as a process that occurs in an orderly manner, similar concepts are not necessarily substantially identical. To begin the discussion about the different approaches, we first deal with the French method called chaîne opératoire, certainly the most recognized in Brazil. Possibly, its establishment in Brazilian literature is due to successive years of teaching, learning and reproduction of key concepts, without major investment in improving and applying other methods. To this end, we discuss the North American-influenced analysis model called Reduction Sequence, exploring basic concepts capable of differentiating it from the French school. Next, we present the method called Minimum Analytical Nodule Analysis, an approach focused on the macroscopic observation of the raw material, operationalized in a very similar way to the refitting method. Subsequently, we explored the Japanese concept called Gihō, aimed at analysing laminar industries. In conclusion, we draw a parallel between these approaches, showing that some of them require a specific context to be applied or even that their inferences will only be possible in the long term and from dense collections
Blank predetermination in the Iberian Acheulean. Insight from the cleaver on flake assemblage of Casal do Azemel site (Leiria, Portugal) by a Geometric Morphometric approach
Full text linkOver the last decades, the increase of data available for the study of the archaeological topic in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Pleistocene has favoured the understanding of the technological trends of the Iberian Acheulean assemblages. These have features of a Large Flake Acheulean (LFA), displaying, among other traits, a significant presence of cleavers on flake, a specific tool type that is of great cultural and technological value. Particularly, these artefacts are privileged to discuss the importance of blank predetermination in the Acheulean techno-complex. Following this reason, in the present work we aimed to explore this topic through the 2D Geometric Morphometric Analysis of the cleaver on flake assemblage from Casal do Azemel (Leiria, Portugal), an example of a paradigmatic Iberian Acheulean site that has one of the largest collections of this type of tools in Western Europe.
The results obtained revealed that no significant morphological differences were found according to the technological solutions applied to the acquisition of the blank and its secondary transformation. Considering that in most of the cases these tools display a low degree of secondary transformation, these data suggest that underlying the production of Casal do Azemel’s cleaver on flake assemblage was not only a technological and cognitive flexibility (given its typological composition), but also a conceptual, structural, and morphological standardisation. These observations allowed us to discuss the significance of blank predetermination in the Acheulean, implying the existence of greatly structured technical and cognitive prerequisites