38 research outputs found
Animal residues found on tiny Lower Paleolithic tools reveal their use in butchery
Stone tools provide a unique window into the mode of adaptation and cognitive abilities of Lower
Paleolithic early humans. The persistently produced large cutting tools (bifaces/handaxes) have long
been an appealing focus of research in the reconstruction of Lower Paleolithic survival strategies, at
the expenses of the small flake tools considered by-products of the stone production process rather
than desired end products. Here, we use use-wear, residues and technological analyses to show direct
and very early evidence of the deliberate production and use of small flakes for targeted stages of the
prey butchery process at the late Lower Paleolithic Acheulian site of Revadim, Israel. We highlight the
significant role of small flakes in Lower Paleolithic adaptation alongside the canonical large handaxes.
Our results demonstrate the technological and cognitive flexibility of early human groups in the Levant
and beyond at the threshold of the departure from Lower Paleolithic lifeways
Fish Processing in the Iron Gates Region During the Transitional and Early Neolithic Period: An Integrated Approach
Abstract
It is well known that many Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites were uncovered during the past century in the Iron Gates region of the North-Central Balkans. The application of diverse analyses on the bioarchaeological remains and artefacts raised many questions, but also offered new ideas about the Mesolithic–Neolithic transitional period in the Middle and Lower course of the Danube. Communities in the Iron Gates consumed fish and exploited the riverbank in prehistory. The stable isotope analyses are implying that these human groups fed on aquatic resources in some periods more than others. Fish remains were also found in settlements, and based on fish-related imagery on sculpted boulders and other artefacts, the bond between the people, river, and the ecosystem was compelling. The idea of this article is to present the possible ways of fish processing at Lepenski Vir using chipped stone tools. Three integrated methodologies, with high levels of interpretation, were applied: use-wear, residue, and archaeozoological analyses. Use-wear and residue analyses were performed on both archaeological and experimental chipped stone tools. The results are considered together with the traces of butchery observed on archaeological samples of fish bones, creating a more coherent picture of the everyday habits of the Iron Gates populations
Early evidence of stone tool use in bone working activities at Qesem Cave, Israel
For a long while, the controversy surrounding several bone tools coming from pre-Upper Palaeolithic contexts favoured the view of Homo sapiens as the only species of the genus Homo capable of modifying animal bones into specialised tools. However, evidence such as South African Early Stone Age modified bones, European Lower Palaeolithic flaked bone tools, along with Middle and Late Pleistocene bone retouchers, led to a re-evaluation of the conception of Homo sapiens as the exclusive manufacturer of specialised bone tools. The evidence presented herein include use wear and bone residues identified on two flint scrapers as well as a sawing mark on a fallow deer tibia, not associated with butchering activities. Dated to more than 300 kya, the evidence here presented is among the earliest related to tool-assisted bone working intended for non-dietary purposes, and contributes to the debate over the recognition of bone working as a much older behaviour than previously thought. The results of this study come from the application of a combined methodological approach, comprising use wear analysis, residue analysis, and taphonomy. This approach allowed for the retrieval of both direct and indirect evidence of tool-assisted bone working, at the Lower Palaeolithic site of Qesem Cave (Israel)
The curious case of House 54 from Lepenski Vir (Serbia): Chipped stone perspective
The subject of this study is revealing the activities carried out in one of the trapezoidal
houses of the Lepenski Vir site from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, situated
in the Iron Gates region in eastern Serbia. Dominating with their specific form, these
buildings are shifting the focus from a utilitarian perspective to the use of space. One of
the buildings that will serve as an example for testing and complementing the former
interpretations is house 54, previously argued to be the largest and most important object
of the Lepenski Vir I phase. Today, we are able to contribute fresh data on processes that
took place inside this particular building by analysing different archaeological artefacts
found on the house floor.
New understanding of the use of space in this specific micro-study is gained on the
basis of functional analysis of chipped stone artefacts found in house 54, together with
ground stone artefacts, bones, and ceramics. Both ritual and utilitarian context indications
were present during the occupation of Lepenski Vir houses. This study will try to show
the character of the above-mentioned objects through the results of use-wear and Fourier
Transform InfraRed (FTIR) analyses, combining them with dates and the house interior
Review: International Workshop, An Integration of Use-Wear and Residue Analysis for the Identification of the Function of Archaeological Stone Tools
The international workshop, titled An integration of use-wear and residues analysis for the identification of the function of archaeological stone tools, took place in Rome between 5-7 March, 2012 at the Sapienza University and at the National Council of Research (CNR). The event, sponsored by the Wenner Gren Foundation (New York) and by the Ministry of the Cultural Heritage, has been organized and directed by C. Lemorini (Sapienza University) and S. Nunziante Cesaro (ISMN- CNR, SMATCH-ITALIA)
The function of prehistoric lithic tools: A combined study of use-wear analysis and FTIR microspectroscopy
The application of combined use-wear analysis and FTIR micro spectroscopy for the investigation of the flint and obsidian tools from the archaeological sites of Masseria Candelaro (Foggia, Italy) and Sant'Anna di Oria (Brindisi, Italy) aiming to clarify their functional use is described. The tools excavated in the former site showed in a very high percentage spectroscopically detectable residues on their working edges. The identification of micro deposits is based on comparison with a great number of replicas studied in the same experimental conditions. FTIR data confirmed in almost all cases the use-wear analysis suggestions and added details about the material processed and about the working procedures. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Use-wear and residue analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina (Serbia)
Following a series of published analyses ranging from architecture to prehistoric diet of the Iron Gates’ inhabitants, our research aims to present new results regarding use-wear analysis of knapped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina with a particular focus on the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in this region. Use-wear and residue analysis are applied using the low and high-power approach by Optical Light Microscope (OLM) observations combined with FTIR analysis.
Based on the results, some of the main activities that took place in Iron Gates are processing of hide, bone, antler, plants, and soft stone. It is very important to highlight the complexity of various processes, which make this already specific area more peculiar. A variety of both simple, but overall, more complex and composite activities are recorded with the elaborate preparation of the used materials, for example, hide. Particular processes, such as butchering, were noted both inside the houses, and also concentrated in precise, specific areas of the settlements, where only tools involved in the processing of hide and meat were found. The data obtained highlight the activities of these advanced hunter-gatherer-fishermen and first farmers communities. Together with spatial analysis, the dynamics and processes in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic are revealed, but also many questions regarding the specialization of the prehistoric settlements on the Danube are posed
Comparative Fourier Transform Infrared Investigation of Oltu-Stone (Natural Carbon Black) and Jet
Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) investigation of Oltu-stone (natural carbon black) and jet revealed several differences between these carbonaceous materials. The band peaking at about 1000cm(-1) is the first important difference: while the band in the jet spectra appears as one sharp peak at about 1001cm(-1), the similar band in the Oltu-stone spectra is shifted to about 1026cm(-1) with a broad shoulder toward high frequency. Even though the assignment of the shifted band is at present controversial, it may be attributed to carbon-oxygen stretching mode. Second, the doublet bands at about 2912 and 2843cm(-1) are much more intense in the jet spectra then in the Oltu-stone spectra. They are confidently attributed to aliphatic C-H stretching mode. Finally, the broad water band on setting at about 3750cm(-1) is maturated in Oltu-stone, and it is much more evident than in that of jet. Therefore, FT-IR appears as a favorable identification method for these kinds of carbonaceous materials