Variability in stone tool hafting and use in the Upper Palaeolithic of Western and Central Europe

editorial reviewe

Reflections on tangs and other morphological adaptations that may be hafting-related

editorial reviewedTanged tools have always attracted archaeologists’ attention, and have often been considered to mark the beginnings of stone tool hafting. Very little is known, however, of the specifics of hafting these tools. Also the role of tanged tools in toolkits and lithic assemblages, as well as their significance in terms of technological evolution and human behaviour, are still largely under debate. We are presenting here some of our first observations and ideas of hafting and use of tanged tools building on our ongoing PhD research on the Mousterian/Aterian cave site Ifri n’Ammar (Morocco) and the Gravettian open-air site Maisières-Canal (Belgium). Our experimental and analytical work aims at reconstructing plausible methods of hafting and using tanged tools, and contributing to a better understanding of the role of tangs in the assemblages under study. Our preliminary results suggest that several hafting modes are possible for tools of similar morphology, and that tanged and non-tanged tools can in some cases be hafted using the same logic. We therefore argue that more detailed functional data on both tanged and non-tanged tools is needed before we can meaningfully assess the importance of the presence of tanged tools in various archaeological contexts

Can stone tool hafting reflect Upper Palaeolithic social dynamics? New data from Abri Pataud, Hohle Fels, and Maisières-Canal

peer reviewedStudy of stone tool hafting extends the scope of traceological analysis into the reconstruction of composite tools, which aids in assessing the time and resources invested in Palaeolithic technology independently of the level of organic preservation. We present the results of a PhD project that investigated stone tool hafting at three Gravettian and Magdalenian sites located in Western and Central Europe. The data from a functional screening of tens of thousands of stone tools and a detailed use-wear analysis of over 1000 artefacts recovered at the rock shelter Abri Pataud, the cave site Hohle Fels, and the open-air site Maisières-Canal are used to describe and explain variability in lithic tool hafting. Domestic tools are given here particular attention and, in the case of Abri Pataud, studied in parallel with projectile armatures. We attempt to start from the simplest mechanical explanations for the observed patterns and proceed towards more complex ones involving the social organisation of subsistence and other activities. Our analysis demonstrates that while certain patterns, such as the difference in the relative frequency of scraper and burin hafting, are best explained by basic task mechanical requirements and tool use preferences, others, such as the varying frequency of hafted scrapers in different sub-assemblages, seem to require other explanations. We show that scraper hafting likely predates the oldest assemblages analysed here and is applied lexibly according to context. By ruling out explanations related to e.g. lithic raw material economy, we wish to show that the variability may be linked to the differences in the investment in hafted tool technologies, which is likely to have been related to social organisation. Based on these results, we argue that data on stone tool hafting can be valuable to enquiries into the ways in which past technologies were tied to their social contexts.Evolution of stone tool hafting in the Palaeolithi

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

Why did hunting weapon design change at Abri Pataud? Lithic use-wear data on armature use and hafting around 24,000–22,000 BP

Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence and, consequently, to our evolution. Due to the allegedly central role of projectile weapons in the food-getting strategies of Upper Palaeolithic people, typo-technological changes in the European lithic record have often been linked to supposed developments in hunting weaponry. Yet, relatively little reliable functional data is currently available that would aid the detailed reconstruction of past weapon designs. In this paper, we take a use-wear approach to the backed tool assemblages from the Recent and Final Gravettian layers (Levels 3 and 2) of Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France). Our use of strict projectile identification criteria relying on combinations of low and high magnification features and our critical view of the overlap between production and use-related fractures permitted us to confidently identify a large number of used armatures in both collections. By isolating lithic projectiles with the strongest evidence of impact and by recording wear attributes on them in detail, we could establish that the hunting equipment used during the Level 3 occupations involved both lithic weapon tips and composite points armed with lithic inserts. By contrast, the Level 2 assemblage reflects a heavy reliance on composite points in hunting reindeer and other game. Instead of an entirely new weapon design, the Level 2 collection therefore marks a shift in weapon preferences. Using recent faunal data, we discuss the significance of the observed diachronic change from the point of view of prey choice, seasonality, and social organisation of hunting activities. Our analysis shows that to understand their behavioural significance, typo-technological changes in the lithic record must be viewed in the light of functional data and detailed contextual information

Research on the Mesolithic of North Karelia in 2003–2017 - Implications for the early postglacial archaeology of Northern Europe

In this paper we describe the results of small-scale archaeological fieldwork projects carried out i North Karelia, Finland, in 2003–2014, which ended up having a far greater research impact than anyone could have anticipated. The projects yielded a multitude of new and relevant information, especially on the Early Mesolithic, including the earliest radiocarbon dates for human occupation in Eastern Fennoscandia. Results of this research have been published in a variety of venues. We use this opportunity to present the first summary of these results and to emphasize that even with discontinuous short-term funding it is possible to carry out ambitious and influential research. Over the years, Karelia has been one of the main focus areas of Mika Lavento’s research. We want to honour Mika’s 60th birthday by providing an overview of the results of our studies conducted in the northern parts of this large geographical and administrative area.Peer reviewe

Research on the Mesolithic of North Karelia in 2003–2017 - Implications for the early postglacial archaeology of Northern Europe

In this paper we describe the results of small-scale archaeological fieldwork projects carried out i North Karelia, Finland, in 2003–2014, which ended up having a far greater research impact than anyone could have anticipated. The projects yielded a multitude of new and relevant information, especially on the Early Mesolithic, including the earliest radiocarbon dates for human occupation in Eastern Fennoscandia. Results of this research have been published in a variety of venues. We use this opportunity to present the first summary of these results and to emphasize that even with discontinuous short-term funding it is possible to carry out ambitious and influential research. Over the years, Karelia has been one of the main focus areas of Mika Lavento’s research. We want to honour Mika’s 60th birthday by providing an overview of the results of our studies conducted in the northern parts of this large geographical and administrative area.Peer reviewe

Overcoming tumor resistance by heterologous adeno-poxvirus combination therapy

Successful cancer control relies on overcoming resistance to cell death and on activation of host antitumor immunity. Oncolytic viruses are particularly attractive in this regard, as they lyse infected tumor cells and trigger robust immune responses during the infection. However, repeated injections of the same virus promote antiviral rather than antitumor immunity and tumors may mount innate antiviral defenses to restrict oncolytic virus replication. In this article, we have explored if alternating the therapy virus could circumvent these problems. We demonstrate in two virus-resistant animal models a substantial delay in antiviral immune- and innate cellular response induction by alternating injections of two immunologically distinct oncolytic viruses, adenovirus, and vaccinia virus. Our results are in support of clinical development of heterologous adeno-/vaccinia virus therapy of cancer.Peer reviewe

WNT2 activation through proximal germline deletion predisposes to small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors and intestinal adenocarcinomas

Many hereditary cancer syndromes are associated with an increased risk of small and large intestinal adenocarcinomas. However, conditions bearing a high risk to both adenocarcinomas and neuroendocrine tumors are yet to be described.We studied a family with 16 individuals in four generations affected by a wide spectrum of intestinal tumors, including hyperplastic polyps, adenomas, small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors, and colorectal and small intestinal adenocarcinomas.To assess the genetic susceptibility and understand the novel phenotype, we utilized multiple molecular methods, including whole genome sequencing, RNA sequencing, single cell sequencing, RNA in situ hybridization and organoid culture.We detected a heterozygous deletion at the cystic fibrosis locus (7q31.2) perfectly segregating with the intestinal tumor predisposition in the family. The deletion removes a topologically associating domain border between CFTR and WNT2, aberrantly activating WNT2 in the intestinal epithelium. These consequences suggest that the deletion predisposes to small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors and small and large intestinal adenocarcinomas, and reveals the broad tumorigenic effects of aberrant WNT activation in the human intestine.Peer reviewe

Hafting as a flexible strategy: variability in stone tool use and hafting at three European Upper Palaeolithic sites

Despite the central role of technology in recent archaeological debates, and the assumptions of the superiority of Upper Palaeolithic technologies over older ones, very little is actually known of stone tool hafting and overall tool design during this period. This study uses recently developed microscopic methods for identifying hafting to directly address the question of tool design and its links to tool use and general technological strategies in the Upper Palaeolithic of Western and Central Europe. Framed in the context of a larger project that looks at long-term technological change from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Upper Palaeolithic, this work involved a detailed analysis of c. 1100 lithic tools from the Gravettian occupation layers of Abri Pataud and Maisières-Canal and the Gravettian and Magdalenian layers of Hohle Fels. The work takes particular interest in domestic tools that remain understudied and yet are necessary for understanding the development of technical systems as a whole. In addition, projectile material from Abri Pataud was analysed in order to reconstruct Recent Gravettian and Final Gravettian weapon design. The results show that there was no simple linear increase in stone tool hafting over time. Instead, it was a strategy that was applied flexibly and selectively according to task requirements and constraints, raw material situation, and other circumstances. It therefore needs to be viewed in the context of e.g. raw material economy, mobility patterns, and social organisation including the division of labour.Malgré le rôle central de la technologie dans les débats archéologiques récents, et la supériorité supposée des technologies du Paléolithique supérieur sur celles des périodes précédentes, très peu de choses sont en réalité connues sur l’emmanchement des outils lithiques et sur la conception générale des outils au cours de cette période. La présente étude met en œuvre des méthodes d’analyse microscopiques récemment développées pour identifier les dispositifs d’emmanchement, afin d’investiguer la conception de l’outillage et ses liens avec l’utilisation des outils et les stratégies technologiques générales dans le Paléolithique supérieur d’Europe occidentale et d’Europe centrale. Développé dans le cadre d’un projet plus vaste qui examine les changements technologiques de long terme depuis le Paléolithique moyen jusqu’au Paléolithique supérieur, l’étude s’appuie sur l’analyse détaillée d’environ 1 100 outils lithiques issus des niveaux d’occupation gravettiens l’abri Pataud et de Maisières-Canal et des niveaux gravettiens et magdaléniens de Hohle Fels. Ce travail s’intéresse en particulier aux outils domestiques, qui demeurent sous-étudiés bien qu’ils soient essentiels pour la compréhension du développement des systèmes techniques dans leur ensemble. De plus, les projectiles de l’abri Pataud ont été analysés afin de reconstituer la conception de l’armement au Gravettien récent et au Gravettien final. Les résultats montrent qu’il n’y a pas d’augmentation linéaire de l’emmanchement des outils lithiques au fil du temps. Nous observons, au contraire, une stratégie appliquée de manière flexible et sélective en fonction des exigences et des contraintes des activités réalisées, de la disponibilité des matières premières, des systèmes de mobilité, et de l’organisation sociale en ce compris la division du travail