Journal of Lithic Studies
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The LithicUB project: A virtual lithotheque of siliceous rocks at the University of Barcelona
Get PDFThe LithicUB project began in 2009 with two main objectives. The first objective was to make available to the scientific community the description and classification of a set of siliceous rocks that had been recovered from different surveys. The second to make public the lithotheque as a useful tool for archaeological research, related to the procurement and management of lithic raw materials in Prehistory. Thanks to several research projects that have been carried out, the number of samples is steadily increasing and diversifying, including siliceous rocks collected in Spain, Portugal, France, Jordan and Israel
Potential siliceous sources during Prehistory: Results of prospecting in the East margin of the Ebro Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula)
Get PDFWe present the results of prospecting in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, with the aim of identifying the siliceous sources potentially used by the populations that occupied the marginal basins of the Ebro depression during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic.We intend to define the main characteristics of the cherts in the region studied, taking into account the palaeoenvironment in which silicifications are mainly formed, and the premise that siliceous rocks acquire the attributes of enclosing rocks.The cherts studied are the products of early diagenesis by replacement of carbonate and evaporite sediments. Petrological analyses show that they are made up of microquartz, with high proportion of fibrous forms silica, carbonates, ferric oxides and evaporite relicts. In the future, these characteristics will be useful for ascribing archaeological materials in both geological and geographical terms
"Mucientes Chert" in the Northern Iberian Plateau (Spain)
Get PDFThe so-called “Mucientes chert" is a variety that appears in the central area of the Iberian North Plateau, in theDueroBasin. It is widely known in the geological and archaeological literature and its use for knapping was especially important in Prehistory. From a macroscopic point of view it is a nodular chert, with white and very porous cortex, and brown to blackish or beige colour in the inner part.In this work we carried out a more accurate petrographic, mineralogical and chemical characterization of this lithology using SEM, XRD and XRF techniques in samples coming from “Las Canteras” (Mucientes village), a chert outcrop of the “Cuestas” Unit (Vallesian-Aragonian, Miocene Age). Also, we have made a review of its geological occurrence and archaeological distribution areas. It is intended to sketch the delimitation of the geographical area of occurrence taking into account the geological and archaeological references.
Raw material studies of West Central Serbia
Get PDFThis paper deals with raw material problems in the territory of West Central Serbia geologically determined as the Čačak-Kraljevo (or West Morava) basin. Our research is presented through the most striking case studies, Lojanik, Vlaška Glava and Lazac. The Lojanik hill is a silicified forest by origin. It has occasionally been in use from the earliest periods of prehistory until today as a source of black and ochre-coloured flint, opal and silicified wood. A detailed prospection, including the mapping of surface finds using square nets, was conducted during two research campaigns.The Vlaška Glava is an open-air Palaeolithic site at which artefacts made of white, ochre, red, brown and black chert, silicified magnesite, volcanic and metamorphic rocks were found. Our research of primary and secondary geological deposits in the vicinity of the site showed equivalent raw material. We also found an interesting primary deposit of high quality bluish grey flint with outcrop activities (Workshop 1).The Lazac shaft is a contemporary magnesite mine, recently abandoned because of the high percentage of silicon-dioxide. We determined the same raw material in collections found at nearby Neolithic sites. Certain similarities between the wooden support systems of ore exploration in the Middle Ages and modern times were established at the entrance of the shaft.Our research in the territory of the West Morava basin resulted in reconstruction of some links between geological deposits and settlements and also creation of a relevant base for future raw material studies
Estimating the scale of stone axe production: A case study from Onega Lake, Russian Karelia
Get PDFThe industry of metatuff axes and adzes on the western coast of Onega Lake (Eneolithic period, ca. 3500 – 1500 cal. BC) allows assuming some sort of craft specialization. Excavations of a workshop site Fofanovo XIII, conducted in 2010-2011, provided an extremely large assemblage of artefacts (over 350000 finds from just 30 m2, mostly production debitage). An attempt to estimate the output of production within the excavated area is based on experimental data from a series of replication experiments. Mass-analysis with the aid of image recognition software was used to obtain raw data from flakes from excavations and experiments. Statistical evaluation assures that the experimental results can be used as a basement for calculations. According to the proposed estimation, some 500 – 1000 tools could have been produced here, and this can be qualified as an evidence of “mass-production”
A note on the term \u27lithic\u27
Get PDFThe term ‘lithic’ is derived from the ancient Greek word for ‘rock’ (lithos), used in the late fourth century BCE by the scholar Theophrastus. The term ‘lithic’ in the way we use it today, meaning small rock artifact, most often chipped or ground stone, came into common use less than eight decades ago. The terms ‘stone tool’ and ‘stone implement’ remain firmly entrenched in the archaeological literature.
Detecting human mobility in the Pyrenees through the analysis of chert tools during the Upper Palaeolithic
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary results of PhD research focused on hunter-gatherer groups that occupied the Central and Eastern Pyrenees during the Magdalenian period. This research aims to improve the knowledge we have about those Magdalenian groups, specifically concerning their lithic procurement strategies. The core of the study is based on the lithic tools collected from two archaeological sites - Alonsé Cave and Forcas I Shelter, both in Huesca, Spain-, and in particular those made from chert, because they are both a spatial and a cultural marker at the same time. These cherts have been studied using petroarchaeological methods, and as a result, it has been possible to detect the type of procurement strategies carried out and to guess the relation existing between those human groups and their environment, especially in what refers to mobility strategies
Neolithic flint mines of Treviño (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain)
Get PDFEnglish:The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava - Condado de Treviño, Burgos), inside the lacustrine-palustrine Cenozoic (Aquitanian, Miocene) materials of the South-Pyrenean syncline of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. It is a landscape unit constituted by a set of carbonated layers with abundant nodular and stratiform silicifications. The extraction mining works (often referred to as ‘tailing’) are usually identified as dumps or trenches, subtly visible and associated with archaeological materials.An archaeological excavation was carried out in one potential mining structure (dump or pit) that was detected by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the mountain pass of “Pozarrate” near the villages of Grandival and Araico (Treviño, Burgos). In this work we present the results of the excavation of the last two years. The existence of a Neolithic mining dump (the tailings) with a chronology ca. 5000 cal. BC was confirmed. The base rock level with nodular flint was reached and the impressions of the exploited nodules have been identified. As well, the extraction front which reaches about 4.0-5.0 metres in height was delimited. Thousands of lithic remains associated with the extraction and the initial processing (shaping) of flint were collected, as along with mining tools. We have found and described three types of mining structures: trenches, linear dumps and crescent-shaped (or “half-moon-shaped”) dumps.This site is one of the few prehistoric flint mines dated in the Iberian Peninsula. Recent investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains and Western Pyrenees indicate that the circulation and use of Treviño flint during Prehistory reached many Holocene and Pleistocene archaeological sites, located hundreds of kilometres away from the outcrops.Español:El complejo prehistórico minero de sílex de Treviño se sitúa en la Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava - Condado de Treviño, Burgos), en materiales lacustres-palustres del Cenozoico (Aquitaniense, Mioceno) en el Sinclinal Surpirenaico de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica. Se trata de una unidad constituida por un conjunto de niveles carbonatados con presencia de abundantes silicificaciones nodulares y estratiformes. Habitualmente se identifican labores mineras de extracción como escombreras o zanjas sutilmente visibles y asociadas a materiales arqueológicos.Se ha llevado a cabo una excavación arqueológica en una estructura minera potencial (escombrera o pozo) que fue detectada por LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) en el collado de Pozarrate cerca de los pueblos de Grandival y Araico (Treviño, Burgos). En este trabajo presentamos los resultados de los dos últimos años de excavación. Se ha confirmado la existencia de una escombrera neolítica de unos 5000 AC años de antigüedad. Se ha alcanzado el nivel de base con sílex nodular y las impresiones de los nódulos explotados han sido identificados. También se ha delimitado el frente de explotación que alcanzará los 4,0 – 5,0 metros de altura. Se han recogido miles de restos líticos asociados a los trabajos de extracción y conformación inicial, así como herramientas mineras. Hemos detectado y descrito tres tipos de estructuras mineras: zanjas, escombreras lineales y escombreras de media luna.Este yacimiento es una de las pocas minas prehistóricas datadas en la Península ibérica. Investigaciones recientes indican que en la Cordillera Cantábrica y Pirineo occidental la circulación y uso del sílex de Treviño llega a numerosos yacimientos arqueológicos del Holoceno y del Pleistoceno, situados incluso a centenares de kilómetros de los afloramientos
Book review: Environmental Changes and Human Occupation in East Asia during OIS3 and OIS2
Get PDFEnvironmental Changes and Human Occupation in East Asia during OIS3 and OIS2edited by Akira Ono and Masami IzuhoBAR International Series Vol. 2352, Archaeopress, Oxford, 2012, pp. 146, ISBN 978-1-4073-0938-
Descriptions of Summary Articles
No full textA description of summary articles for authors to use while organising their paper.These articles present an overview of a particular topic or sub-field with a connection to lithics research. This may be lithics research in a particular country or region. It may also be a historical overview of a topic (e.g. historical perspective of a prehistoric technology, or historical overview of a particular theory), or it may be a summary of knowledge about a lithic material itself or a scientific method. In general, these articles should include an overview of the history of the topic (e.g. history of lithics research in the region) as well as an overview of the current research being done on the topic. They should contain a large bibliography so that readers can use the articles as a starting point for finding references. The author should indicate recommended references.Recommended word limit: 4000 words