Journal of Lithic Studies
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Conventions in fresh water fishing in the prehistoric southern Levant: The evidence from the study of Neolithic Beisamoun notched pebbles
Get PDF[Research Article]Fishing gear is not frequently found in archaeological sites in the southern Levant. Bone hooks were found as early as the later Epipalaeolithic period (mainly in Natufian culture sites) and continue to appear in small numbers until the Chalcolithic period, when the first copper hooks are found. But for most sites, we have scant information about fishing gear or techniques. The paucity of fishing gear in archaeological assemblages is notable and holds true for sites near the former Mediterranean Sea shore and for inland sites situated near fresh water sources. This may be attributed to preservation issues, in part, but also seems to reflect preferences in the selection of raw material for making various fishing implements. The present paper discusses a specific type of fishing gear, the notched pebbles. These implements are small pebbles with various degrees of modification - sometime including notable modification of the original pebble by flaking and sometimes only slightly modifying it by creating the two opposed notches. We will use the assemblage found at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun, in the Hula Valley, northern Israel as a test-case for discussing raw material and other preferences and long-term aspects of conventions in fresh water fishing gear
Ground stone percussion tools from Maltese Islands
Get PDFA few lithic percussion tools, probably related to construction and craftsmanship, are stored in the National Museum of Archaeology of Valletta (Malta). Dated to the Temple Period (about 4000-2500 BCE), many are typologically similar to artefacts from the continental area, but others look distinctive and probably developed in loco in response to specific needs. This paper examines five stone hammers with different hafting methods (three of them show grooves or holes and two both grooves and holes). A huge double hand grip percussion tool belongs to a different and unusual typology: the double grip allowed two opposite-standing men, steadily holding it, to strike with strength on other surfaces, probably when heavy blows were needed. Grooved stone hammers are widespread in various European regions and are mostly associated with mining activities. In the Maltese archipelago the limestone lacks ore deposits, and thus their presence may be reflect other uses, although still associated to the work of stone on stone: earthworks, quarrying, finishing of stone surfaces, hydraulic works, excavation of burial and rituals structures, and others. The double grip lithic percussor (ID 9120) has no precise parallel and may be unique.This paper aims to fill a gap in the current literature about prehistoric lithic tools, as in many studies the focus is often placed on the results of specific activities rather than on the typological features of the artefacts that made these activities possible
Ground stone tool assemblages at the end of the Chalcolithic period: A preliminary analysis of the Late Chalcolithic sites in the Fazael Valley
Get PDFNotice
The Editorial Board of the Journal of Lithic Studies would like to note that it has recently come to our attention that the archaeological activities described in this paper took place in the Fazael Valley (also known as Fasa\u27il and Phasael Valley) without a permit from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Palestine (responsible for issuing permits for the Fazael Valley) - among the various permits and approvals needed for this research. Had we been aware of this we would have asked for sight of the permit and would not have published the article without seeing the permit.
The Editorial Board has carefully considered the paper and decided to leave it online but with this notice indicating that this paper does not comply with our publication policy.
In general, the journal\u27s policy is that research presented in and connected with the studies in our articles must meet the ethical guidelines and legal requirements of the study country. (This is also included in the cover letter that authors are required to submit.)
Further, the journal supports the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. See 1954 Hague Convention | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (unesco.org).
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/armed-conflict-and-heritage/convention-and-protocols/1954-hague-convention/
27 October 2021
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Abstract:
The very Late Chalcolithic sites of the Fazael Valley exhibit changes in settlement patterns and material culture. This paper presents the analysis of the ground stone tool assemblages of these sites, and includes the combination of attribute analysis, functional typology, and spatial and contextual analyses, allowing comparisons both between the different sites and between different phases within the sites. The assemblages of the late sites of Fazael 2 and Fazael 7 show similar use of raw materials and tool design, which is clearly different from the assemblage of the earlier typical Ghassulian Chalcolithic site of Fazael 1. In Fazael 2, two phases revealed a shift from the use of large grinding tools to mortars and small grinding tools. In both the earlier and the later phases, the separation of activity areas within the site is clear. Grinding activity in both phases is restricted to the western side of the site, while mortars and spindle whorls were found only in the south-eastern part. Finally, a comparison with Fazael 1, as well as with other Late Chalcolithic sites, such as Gilat, \u27Ein Hilu and \u27En Esur, show that the large number of mortars found in Fazael 2 and Fazael 7 is unique, and may hint at a shift to different subsistence strategies appearing in this region in the latest phases of the Chalcolithic period. 
Raw material variability as archaeological tools: Preliminary results from a geochemical study of the basalt vessel workshop at Iron Age Tel Hazor, Israel
Get PDFThe discovery of a basalt vessel workshop at Tel Hazor, one of the most important Iron Age sites in the Near East, marks a turning point in our understanding of stone artifact production and distribution during the1st millennium BCE. It offers a rare opportunity to characterize ancient raw material sources, production sites, and study production, trade and distribution systems. The basalt vessel workshop, the only one of its kind in the Levant, produced large quantities of bowl preforms and production waste. To better understand the production and distribution systems behind this specialized production center, in 2011 we initiated a focused geochemical project that concentrated on the products of this unique workshop. We measured the major and trace element composition of 44 unfinished basalt vessels from the workshop and other contexts at Hazor, and can demonstrate that the majority of these objects were derived from one specific, geochemically well-constrained, basaltic rock source. Only a few bowls clearly deviate from this geochemical composition and were produced using raw material from other sources. Thus, we believe that one major quarry existed that supplied the Hazor workshop with the majority of the basaltic raw material. The products from this specific extraction site provide us with a “Hazor reference group” that can be used to test whether or not finished vessels from Hazor and contemporary sites were produced in the Hazor workshop
Middle Palaeolithic technical behaviour: Material import-export and Levallois production at the SU 13 of Oscurusciuto rock shelter, Southern Italy
Get PDFThe Oscurusciuto rock shelter, located in southern Italy (Puglia), has yielded a long Middle Palaeolithic stratigraphy rich in lithic assemblages, fireplaces and faunal remains, attesting Neanderthal occupation during the MIS 3. This paper is focused on the stratigraphic unit 13, consisting of a sandy compact deposit mixed with pyroclastic sediment above a thick level of tephra-US 14, identified as Mt. Epomeo green tuff (dated Ar/Ar ~ 55 ka).Level 13 represents the first stable human occupation after the deposition of tephra. Our goal was to examine the lithic assemblage of this stratigraphic unit by means of an interdisciplinary approach (technology, RMU, refitting program) in order to identify the economic behaviour and technical strategies of Neanderthals occupying the stratigraphic unit 13 of Oscurusciuto.The technical strategies applied indicate fragmentation of the reduction processes, as well as probable events of importation and exportation of objects. The lithic material were introduced at different stages of manufacturing. Pieces were introduced in the form of rough objects (pebbles), as well as semi-finished items, and as finished tools. This fragmentation of the chaîne opératoire also demonstrate the palimpsest nature of the level which is made up of different events happening one after another.The main concept of debitage was Levallois, generally realized on local jasper and siliceous limestone pebbles or cortical flakes. Jasper and siliceous limestone flakes, backed flakes and convergent flakes were the technological objectives of the debitage. A marginal volumetric debitage aimed at producing bladelets was also attested.
Technological homogeneity within the Arabian Nubian Complex: Comparing chert and quartzite assemblages from central and southern Arabia
Get PDFNubian Levallois technology is the defining characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic or Middle Stone Age technocomplex known as the Nubian Complex. Until recently, this technocomplex was found exclusively in northeastern Africa; however, archaeological surveys conducted across the Arabian Peninsula in the last decade have expanded the known distribution of this technological phenomenon. Since 2009, researchers from separate archaeological missions have mapped sites yielding Nubian cores and debitage, and by extension Nubian technology, in the southern, central and northernmost parts of the Arabia Peninsula. Nubian Complex artifacts in central and southern Arabia were made using different raw materials: in Al-Kharj (central Saudi Arabia) Middle Paleolithic industries were made exclusively on quartzite, while in Dhofar (southern Oman) chert was the only knappable material available for use. Given these differences, we sought to examine the influence of raw material variability on core morphology and size. Contrary to initial hypothesis, this study finds that the differences recorded are not a function of raw material properties. In both areas, Nubian cores were reduced using the same technological systems producing a set of preferential blanks. Rather, the recorded differences from raw material constrains were primarily due to knapping accidents, which occur in higher proportions at quartzite-based assemblages from Al-Kharj (specifically the siret fracture) compared with the chert assemblages from Dhofar. In sum, we argue that raw material had little effect on Nubian Levallois core technology and was not a constraint on Nubian Complex artisans
Testing a hypothesis about the importance of the quality of raw material on technological changes at Abric Romaní (Capellades, Spain): Some considerations using a high-resolution techno-economic perspective
Get PDFTechnological changes have been identified in several European Middle Palaeolithic sites. Specifically, the turnover in discoid and Levallois knapping methods has traditionally been explained by raw material constraints that are usually related to foraging areas and mobility strategies of Neanderthal groups. While Levallois production requires high homogeneous blocks, predominant discoid techno-complexes have generally been interpreted as better adapted to the scarcity of high quality raw material, not only for the lowest degree of control in products morphology, but also for their multitask characteristics. Nevertheless, the impact of the quality of raw material has never been systematically studied. Furthermore, technological analyses usually consider the lithic assemblage as a whole and do not dissect assemblages to identify single events, which are units that are needed to interpret relationships between technological organisation, human mobility, economic strategies, and settlement patterns. Here, we present an application of technological analysis with a high-resolution approach to investigate, in detail, how raw material quality affected production and how Neanderthals managed the low quality of Sant Martí de Tous chert within Levallois and discoid concepts. We used Raw Material Units and refits as units of analysis with a diacritical approach. The results suggested that the Levallois organisation of the reduction sequence in layer O included a phase of selection of the block and its systematic cutting-down, as well as quite standardised productive procedures and a high fragmentation of the productive sequence within the landscape. In layer M discoid sequences showed a high internal variability as a response to raw material constraints, and most of the production was usually manufactured at the site. Data implied that factors others than the quality of raw material determined the technological turnover at Abric Romaní, suggesting that social organisation and settlement patterns have most probably played a more significant role than foraging area
The function of Early Natufian grooved basalt artefacts from el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel: Preliminary results of a use-wear analysis
Get PDF[Report]Grooved items are usually regarded as tools used for modifying other implements made of bone, stone, plants or wood, whether referred to as shaft straighteners, smoothers, polishers or sharpening tools. They were also attributed to various symbolic meanings in Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the southern Levant and they were also associated with bead manufacturing process in the Neolithic. Grooved basalts found on Early Natufian (ca. 14,000 BP) living floors at el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel, were the subject of microscopic use-wear analysis. Here we present the preliminary results of the research, introducing our functional reconstruction based on experiments. The most outstanding result is that traces on the perimeters, attributed to shaping of the artefact, are different from the traces inside the groove which are related to the use of the artefact. We conclude that the groove is a part of the instrument, shaped before its use in order to work the abraded materials. Traces indicate that the shaping of the perimeters was done by abrasion against a very hard rock, probably using water to enhance the smoothing of the stone. Traces inside the groove indicate, as was previously assumed for these artefacts, that the groove was used as a shaft straightener. However, traces also indicate that the groove was used to abrade different types of materials which might not be related to the preparation of shafts including reeds, wood, and especially minerals such as ochre. Our preliminary results indicate the multi-functional nature of these items shedding light on their production, use and discard history
Stones in Motion: Cost units to understand flint procurement strategies during the Upper Palaeolithic in the south-western Pyrenees using GIS
Get PDFStudies on lithic resource management –mainly flint– by prehistoric groups south of the western Pyrenees have significantly increased during the past decades. These studies usually focus on identifying outcrops and characterising the different varieties found at archaeological sites. However, the understanding of mobility and territorial management patterns based on raw materials is still very limited and has only been tackled in terms of lineal distance.This paper proposes a methodological approach for the territorial analysis of flint distribution with the three following aims: 1) to determine the expansion ranges of each variety of flint from its outcrop; 2) to spatially relate these outcrops with archaeological sites; and 3) to improve our knowledge on the catchment strategies of Upper Palaeolithic groups.The methodological tool chosen to fulfil these objectives is the Geographic Information System (GIS), because it allows to relate spatially the flint outcrops and flint varieties identified at archaeological sites based on: 1) isocost maps showing the cost of expansion for each variety of flint across the territory built on topography; 2) the quantification of the cost of expansion using Cost Units (CU); and 3) the relationship between the percentage of each variety of flint at each archaeological site and the cost of accessing its outcrop. In order to demonstrate that cost is a powerful way to relate spatially raw material distribution and archaeological sites with outcrops, we contrasted its results with the ones obtained by more classic means (Euclidean distance and distance across the most optimal route). It was therefore shown that cost is better at explaining the spatial relationship between flint outcrops and archaeological sites, which, in turn, provides new data on catchment strategies, mobility patterns and territorial management of Upper Palaeolithic groups
Book review: Fractures in Knapping
Get PDFThe book \u27Fractures in Knapping\u27 by Are Tsirk (2014) is apropos at a time when ‘shape matching’ to typological holotypes is de rigueur. Thus, a book that outlines the fractographic and fracture mechanic principles behind chaîne opératoire and technological analysis is important because understanding fractures is essential to interpreting knapping (Tsirk, 2014: ix). The book’s relevance is evident in the content of its three parts. Part one briefly considers the tools and techniques of knapping (chapters 1 and 2) and raw material types (chapter 3). Part two introduces the formation and meaning of fracture attributes (chapters 8 to 9). Part three (chapters 10 to 13) describes how fractography relates to knapping. It concludes with a few brief remarks (chapter 14), a glossary, references and index. For more about the author of \u27Fractures in Knapping\u27, see Are Tsirk\u27s biography in the Journal of Lithic Studies, Vol. 2, Nr. 1.