Ein Schweizer Messer aus dem Jungpaläolithikum? Experimente zu nicht waffenbezogenen Verwendungen von Rückenmessern

peer reviewedBacked lithic artifacts are an important part of the Upper Paleolithic tool kit, and are often among the most abundant categories of lithic tools found at Magdalenian and Gravettian sites. Often these tools are exclusively referred to as projectiles, and indeed many – if not most – backed pieces may have been parts of composite projectile heads, mounted laterally onto organic points (e.g., Allain and Descouts 1957; Allain 1979; Abramova 1982; Bergman and Newcomer 1983; Leroi-Gourhan1983; Plisson 1985; Nuzhnyi 1993; Christensen and Valentin 2004; Sano 2009; Langlais 2010; Araujo-Igreja 2011; Tomasso et al. 2018). Experiments of varying comprehensiveness concerned with the use of (Magdalenian) backed pieces as projectile inserts have confirmed the effectivity of this setup (e.g., Moss and Newcomer 1982; Pétillon et al. 2011; Gauvrit Roux et al. 2020). However, backed pieces sometimes also served other purposes like cutting, sawing, shaving, scraping or perforating (Moss and Newcomer 1982; Moss 1983; Owen 1988; Piel-Desruisseaux 1998; Christensen and Valentin 2004; Taller et al. 2012). The modular technological system involving these lithic artifacts is highly versatile, mobile and dynamic as there are numerous possibilities of use and as the small lithic inserts are easy to transport and the composite tools themselves easy to maintain and repair. Here, we present the results of an experiment where different tasks were carried out using backed pieces hafted in a wooden handle or operated handheld. The design of the handles loosely follows examples found at Canadian Dorset sites where bladelets comparable in size to Magdalenian backed pieces were hafted and used as knives (Owen 1988, 88ff.). We tried out the tools in various activities (cutting, perforating and carving/whittling) on a set of worked materials (wood, antler, marine shell, smoked meat, dried, semi-tanned hide, and tanned leather). After the completion of these tasks, the applicability, durability and usefulness of the setup were evaluated and the lithic inserts were checked microscopically for use-wear traces

The earliest evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation in the Armenian Highlands at Aghitu-3 Cave

With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39–24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39–36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36–32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32– 29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29–24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands

Are the Magdalenian Backed Pieces From Hohle Fels Just projectiles or Part of a Multifunctional Tool kit?

International audienceAre the Magdalenian Backed Pieces From Hohle Fels Just projectiles or Part of a Multifunctional Tool kit

Le microlithisme au Paléolithique supérieur. Rôle fonctionnel des lamelles brutes et retouchées : enjeu et questions méthodologiques

National audienceEn France, les premières chaînes opératoires lamellaires visant à la production de supports de microlithes (bruts ou retouchés) apparaissent en contexte aurignacien (Bon 2009) et perdurent jusqu’à la fin du Premier Mésolithique où leurs produits sont presque exclusivement supports d’armatures de projectile. Au cours du Paléolithique supérieur, une grande variabilité en terme de production marque l’évolution de ces lamelles destinées à diverses utilisations en armatures de projectile ou encore en armatures de couteau. La question de l’appartenance de ces objets à la sphère domestique (couteaux pour des tâches réalisées au sein de l’habitat) ou à la sphère cynégétique (projectiles ou couteaux pour des tâches réalisées en dehors de l’habitat dans le cadre de la chasse) en regard des productions laminaires et des productions d’éclats est déterminante dans la compréhension du statut fonctionnel des sites et, de fait, des comportements de mobilité de ces groupes (Bon 2005, Bon 2009, Langlais 2010, Bachellerie et al. 2011, Anderson et al. 2015, Renard et Ducasse 2015). Si, dans certains contextes, les usages sont bien déₙis par la tracéologie (notamment O’Farrell 2005, Pasquini 2013 et cf. II. ci-dessous), il est parfois délicat de distinguer clairement la fonction et le fonctionnement de ces objets qui armaient projectiles ou couteaux. C’est pourquoi, suite à la présentation de l’analyse fonctionnelle d’assemblages lamellaires paléolithiques, nous proposons d’aborder trois questions méthodologiques qu’il paraît fondamental de développer dans le cadre de la reconstitution fonctionnelle de ces objets