Journal of Lithic Studies
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Use wear analysis of quartzite lithic implements from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lagoa do Bando (Central Portugal)
Get PDFThe Middle Palaeolithic site of Lagoa do Bando is an open air site in a lacustrian context located at 570 m a.s.l. in the municipality of Mação in the center of Portugal. The site was discovered in 2011, during an emergency excavation, and resulted on the recovery of a Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblage mainly composed of fine grained quartzite implements of expedient, discoid and Levallois technology. Use wear analysis was conducted on 41 artifacts formed through discoid and Levallois technology. Twenty one of these artifacts revealed use wear traces. Ten of them show traces of wood work, five have traces of butchering activities, three present traces of meat processing and two present undetermined traces. The site is located at an atypically high elevation for an open air site and there is evidence of a high rate of woodworking activity, rare in the Middle Palaeolithic occupations. The woodworking activities are possibly linked to the exploitation of woody local resources (maybe for the construction of hunting blinds) and not only with to the manufacture and maintenance of spears and shafts. These results converge with the interpretation of this site as a temporary hunting site integrated in a complex pattern of occupation of the area between the river valleys and the top of low mountains
Upper Palaeolithic lithic raw material sourcing in Central and Northern Portugal as an aid to reconstructing hunter-gatherer societies
Get PDFWe present the results of the study of lithic raw materials used in Upper Palaeolithic occupations preserved in caves, rockshelters and open-air sites from two different geological environments in Portugal. For the sites located in the Lusitanian Basin, flint or silcrete sources are easily available in close vicinity. The Côa Valley sites, located in the Iberian Massif, are within a geological environment where restricted fine-grained vein quartz and siliceous metamorphic rocks are available, but no flint or silcrete, even though both are present in the archaeological assemblages. Data from the two clusters of sites are compared with a third newly located site in the Lower Vouga valley, at the limit of the Iberian Massif with the Lusitanian Basin, where quartz vein raw material types are locally available and flint is about 40 kilometres distant. This study reveals prehistoric adaptations to these different geological contexts, with shorter networks for the Lusitanian basin sites contrasting with the long distance ones for the Côa Valley, and the Vouga site at an intermediary position. Finally, we propose that lithic raw material supply networks, defined by a GIS least-cost algorithm, could be used as a proxy not only for territoriality in the case of local and regional lithic raw material sources, but also to infer long-distance social networks between different Palaeolithic human groups, created and maintained to promote the access to asymmetrically distributed resources
Raw material sourcing in the Middle Paleolithic site of Gruta da Oliveira (Central Limestone Massif, Estremadura, Portugal)
Get PDFThe cave site of Gruta da Oliveira is located in the Almonda karst system, at the interface between the Central Limestone Massif of Portuguese Estremadura (CLM) and the adjacent Sedimentary Basin of the River Tagus (TSB). The cave presents a stratification dated to ~37-107 ka containing hearth features, Neanderthal skeletal remains, as well as fauna, microfauna and wood charcoal remains. The lithic assemblages are large and feature a diverse range of raw materials.Knappable lithic raw materials in primary, sub-primary and secondary position in the CLM and the TSB were systematically surveyed and sampled. The characterization of the geological samples was carried out at both the macro- and the microscopic scales and data were systematized under the petroarcheological and “evolutionary chain of silica” approaches.The study of the lithic assemblage from layer 14 (dated to the ~61-93 ka 95.4% probability interval by TL) indicates that the Gruta da Oliveira Neanderthals used quartzite, quartz and flint from sources located less than 30 km away in both the CLM and the TSB
Traceological analysis of a singular artefact: The rock crystal point from O Achadizo (Boiro, A Coruña, Galicia)
Get PDFThe stone knapping industry is largely unknown from Galician Iron Age hillforts. Research into the material culture of these settlements is increasingly diverse, meaning this research is no longer reduced to techno-typological studies of pottery and metals, but also includes a wide range of approaches, including anthracological and carpological analyses, macrolithic tools, and so on. However, there have still been no studies on knapped stone tools. This gap in the research, which may be dependent on various factors, limits the overall perception of the economy of these communities.
In this paper we present the data obtained from a use-wear study of a rock crystal tool from the O Achadizo hill fort (Boiro, A Coruña, Galicia). This tool was located in shell midden A, dated as Second Iron Age, and is of particular importance because of its pointed morphology and the configuration evidence on its perimeter. We carried out a macroscopic and microscopic analysis to obtain as much data on this piece as possible. Macroscopically we identified retouching as well as an impact fracture, and at the microscopic level we found several series of striations on the ventral face which are not in keeping with the use of the piece as a projectile tip. We decided to generate several “gigapixel” images of different areas of the tool, in order to record the order and arrangement of these striations, and to understand their origin. We identified differential orientation of the striations in the various sectors of the tool, suggesting a technical origin. The combination of the macro and microscopic analysis of both faces has allowed us to functionally interpret the tool as a sharp element.
 
The Iron Age copper industrial complex: A preliminary study of the role of ground stone tools at Khirbat en-Nahas, Jordan
Get PDFThe first industrial revolution in the southern Levant crystallized during the Iron Age when copper production reached scales never before seen in this part of the Middle East. Ever since copper ore was first smelted during the Chalcolithic period, the Arabah valley, and its widespread distribution of copper mineralization, was the main source for copper ore in the region. The main ore deposits are located in Timna (Israel) in the southern part of the valley, and some 105 km to the north, in the Faynan region (Jordan). Faynan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant. Excavations at the Iron Age Faynan site of Khirbat en-Nahas and the recent final publication of that project have revealed peaks in industrial-scale production during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. However, the role of ground stone tools in the Iron Age copper industry in Faynan has not been systematically presented. This paper presents a preliminary study of the ground stone assemblage from one excavation season at Khirbat en-Nahas, thereby highlighting the great potential for ground stone tools research at the site. Using the chaîne opératoire method of technological study, this paper takes a quantitative approach to the typological, material, and spatial distribution of ground stone artefacts at Khirbat en-Nahas to understand their role in copper production. Ethnoarchaeological study of hereditary bronze casting workshops in southern India provides a compelling model of how ground stone tools played a critical role in one of the most important dimensions of metal production in all periods - recycling - in an Iron Age copper factory
Raw material exploitation strategies on the flint mining site of Spiennes (Hainaut, Belgium)
Get PDFThe flint mines of Spiennes (Hainaut Province, Belgium) are among the most important mining sites in Europe as evidenced by the huge extension of the site and its very long duration of occupation, probably covering a period between 4350 and 2300 BCE. What explains such a spectacular achievement? The paper first explores the geological constraints but also the social and material conditions that made possible such a continuity of mining activities. The site of Spiennes offers both extremely rich flint resources and a specific geographical configuration that made the discovery and the exploitation of the deposit relatively easy in the Neolithic. The paper next focuses on deducing the mining strategies implemented to extract good quality raw materials on basis of both stratigraphical evidence and the flint productions in direct relation with the mines. The mining strategies variability from a synchronic and a diachronic point of view as well as the knapping techniques implemented will be analysed. These are then put into perspective with what is known of the social context in which the mining activities took place. At the turn of the 5th and the 4th millennium BCE a permanent settlement was built near the mining site. As the Michelsberg populations who exploited the mines in Spiennes were first and foremost farmers, this leads us to propose a tentative hypothesis about the seasonality of the mining activities. Living close to a hugely rich flint deposit, these farmers were able to develop sometimes complex mining techniques to reach specific seams, deemed adequate for the production of standardised axeheads and blades. Century-old traditions, group specialisation in mining and knapping and close social control of flint resources allowed the mines to dominate the raw material supply of the Mons Basin for centuries
Neolithic and Chalcolithic stone tools used in ceramics production: Examples from the south of Romania
Get PDFThis paper focuses on Neolithic and Chalcolithic stone tools found at the Măgura ‘Buduiasca’ and Vităneşti ‘Măgurice’ sites in southern Romania, which might been involved in the chaîne opératoire of ceramic pottery production. To better understand how ceramic objects were made during this period, it is important to know what tools were available. Representative artefacts were selected from the sites and have here been grouped based on their possible involvement in various stages of pottery production: a) quarrying of the raw claystone (picks); b) processing the raw materials (mortars and pestles); and c) surface finishing (smoothers, burnishers, polishers). The surface of the tools was examined by non-destructive methods (handheld loupe, stereomicroscope) with the aim of further determining their function and whether they were likely used in the ceramics industry.
This study provides examples of specific Neolithic and Chalcolithic stone tool types and illustrates characteristics useful for identifying their use. It also shows the possible chaîne opératoire of pottery produced during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic in the area of southern Romania.
It is considered that most of these tools categories, and likely most of the individual tools themselves, had multiple uses, or similar uses with different materials in different industries. It is therefore difficult to determine with much certainty whether they were only used within the ceramics industry.  
The marine chert from Las Lezas (Biel, Zaragoza) and its prehistoric exploitation.
Get PDFThe upper Arba de Biel Basin hosts an interesting archaeological ensemble composed by five sites that were repeatedly occupied by human groups from the Upper Magdalenian until the Chalcolithic (between ca. 15,000 and 4,500 years calBP). Our research group has worked at the area since 1999, revealing one of the most coherent prehistoric ensembles of the Ebro Basin. Accurately framed thanks to thirty-five radiocarbon dates, it offers great study possibilities that are the basis for several PhDs: anthracology, faunal remains or lithic raw materials are already offering copious data that help to reconstruct the prehistoric life in that secluded area.This work presents the first results of the petrographic study of the local chert (Las Lezas), which was the main lithic raw material exploited by the human groups that frequented the area. This paper is also the first one that characterizes in petrological terms this chert outcrop. The different contribution along time of this local variety and other exogenous cherts like Monegros and Evaporitic of Ebro to the lithic assemblages from the five analysed sites are exposed in the final section of our work. There is a notable shift in lithic raw materials management from Magdalenian to Neolithic times: at first, local chert is predominant, with special tools knapped in good-quality Monegros chert. In Neolithic times, Las Lezas chert is barely employed and exogenous Evaporitic white chert is especially chosen to knap blades that eventually are used to obtain double-bevel retouched geometric microliths. The upper Arba de Biel Basin hosts an interesting archaeological ensemble composed by five sites that were repeatedly occupied by human groups from the Upper Magdalenian until the Chalcolithic (between ca. 15,000 and 4,500 years calBP).This work presents the first results of the petrographic study of the local chert (Las Lezas), as well as a dissection of the different strategies concerning its gathering, management and exploitation in every occupation period. The implications derived from the different contribution of local and exogenous raw materials are exposed in the final section of our work
New challenges in the study of lithic raw materials in central Italy at the dawn of metal working societies: La Pietra and other radiolarite quarry-workshops in Tuscany
Get PDFIn central-southern Tuscany radiolarite has been used as a lithic raw material throughout prehistory. During the Copper Age it was selected for the local production of leaf-shaped artefacts. In the area considered, the Copper Age record is almost totally restricted to burials and virtually no settlements have been investigated so far. Radiolarite artefacts are found mostly as refined arrow and, possibly javelin, heads used as grave goods.Within this context, the discovery and recent investigation of the large radiolarite quarry of La Pietra (Roccastrada, Grosseto) and of the related workshops is of great interest. Our aim here is to integrate the record from this site with other contemporary evidence of radiolarite exploitation. A programme of surveys has thus begun on the other radiolarite outcrops of the area in order to verify the existence of further rock quarrying or working. The discovery of a previously unknown quarry-workshop and two previously unknown workshops on radiolarite outcrops is presented here for the first time. The geological and archaeological data coming from the quarry-workshops will be used, in a future stage of research, to source the radiolarite artefacts found in Copper Age graves of Central Italy. The Copper age armatures are valuable artefacts mostly kept in museums and fully non-destructive analyses must be applied to them. To tackle these challenges, we followed a methodological approach which integrates field surveys, the individuation of petrographic markers of the most exploited radiolarite horizons and geochemical analyses. For geochemical characterization, we made use of pXRF portable spectrometer and here we present some preliminary results in the light of current methodological debate.In conclusion, even if some methodological questions remain open, we verified the feasibility of this programme of geographical, geological and geochemical characterizations and need now to increase our dataset in order to reconstruct a viable picture of Copper age lithic economy in central-southern Tuscany
Mongolian “Neolithic” and Early Bronze Age ground stone tools from the northern edge of the Gobi Desert
Get PDFThe transition from the Mongolian Neolithic to the Bronze Age is not well understood. Within Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, over a period of five years, we identified a number of sites with dense surface artefact scatters and features that seem to represent this transition period. Evident in those concentrations are characteristic microblade cores, microblades, “thumbnail" flake scrapers, projectile points, ground stone tools, and stone features of unknown function. Between 2012 and 2014 we collected ground stone artefacts from four sites and sediment samples from three sites. With permission of Mongolian authorities, the artefacts from one site and sediment samples from three sites were sent for botanical analyses to the University of Texas, Austin, Environmental Archaeology Laboratory. Preliminary results indicate that plant remains are present on the ground stone artefacts: dendritic long-cells from a deep pore of one artefact and starch grains from the pores of six of the seven artefacts. These data present the first opportunity to understand what resources “Neolithic” people were processing with ground stone tools in this area and further our opportunity to better understand the little-known “Neolithic”-Early Bronze Age transition period in Central Asia. This paper describes the ground stone artefacts and further explores the results of data retrieved from some of these artefacts