The Acheulean massive scrapers of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov-a product of the biface chaîne opératoire

The presence of large scrapers has been reported from Acheulean sites worldwide but they are rarely described in detail. At Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY), a similar group of artifacts, named here "massive scrapers," was identified as a significant component of the lithic assemblage. In this paper, we define and describe this Acheulean tool type and discuss its size, morphology, and technology. We demonstrate that at GBY these tools were shaped on flakes that were side-products of the reduction sequence to produce bifaces (handaxes and cleavers). We hypothesize that these blanks were rejected as potential bifaces during the knapping sequence but considered suitable for the retouching of massive scrapers, and were set aside for future work. We support our view with data from archaeological finds younger than those of GBY, as well as with evidence from controlled experimental knapping and ethnoarchaeological observations. We then discuss the contribution of this elaborate knapping strategy to our understanding of Lower Paleolithic hominin behavior, particularly in the domains of multifaceted planning and foresight.     

Culture and cognition in the Acheulian industry: a case study from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov

The Acheulian presence in the Dead Sea Rift and its environs is characterized by the discontinuity of its cultural manifestations. Nevertheless, the long stratigraphic sequences of the Acheulian Technocomplex provide a unique opportunity for synergetic examination along a temporal trajectory. Hominin cognitive and cultural behaviour are studied at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov through analyses of lithic, palaeontological and palaeobotanical assemblages, as well as the Early-Middle Pleistocene environment, ecology and climate. The study attempts to reconstruct reduction sequences of some major artefact groups at the site, which include raw material acquisition, production, technology, typology, usage and discard. Experimental archaeology illustrates artefact mobility on the palaeo-landscape. Strategies of biomass-exploitation are studied in detail, with other aspects yielding additional information on hominin subsistence and adaptive responses to their environment. The cultural marker of fire and the spatial association of selected categories of finds are integrated in the general synthesis, allowing reconstruction of the cultural and cognitive realm of Acheulian hominins. The synthesis attempts to reassess the abilities, social structure, subsistence and adaptability to the changing environment of hominins in the Levantine Corridor.     

2004年新疆旧石器考古调查简报

2004年5-6月,中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所和新疆文物考古研究所联合组队,在新疆北部和中部进行了旧石器时代考古调查。发现24个石器地点和数千件石制品,采集和试掘出500余件石制品;绝大多数石制品来自于地表,少数出自原生地层。石制品类型多样,包括普通石核与石片、棱柱状石核、石叶、两面器、细石叶石核、细石叶、勒瓦娄哇石核与石片等;原料种类多样,尺寸、形态、技术变异大。从技术与类型判断,这些不同地点的文化材料时代跨度较大,较早的可能属旧石器时代晚期之初,甚至旧石器时代中期,较晚的则可能属于新石器时代早中期。较早阶段的石制品组合与中亚、西伯利亚阿尔泰地区同期遗址的文化面貌有相似之处,也与我国水洞沟遗址的石叶遗存有一定联系。骆驼石遗址及其丰富的勒瓦娄哇制品及大型石叶制品是本次调查的最大收获。本次调查的成果表明,新疆地区在旧石器时代晚期是人类迁徙和生存演化的活跃地带,留下丰富的文化遗存,对研究当时人类技术、文化特点和适应生存能力提供了重要材料与信息;很多地点具有与欧洲、俄罗斯阿尔泰地区旧石器时代中、晚期相似的文化遗存,对研究当时欧亚大陆古人群的迁徙、融合和文化交流具有重要价值;该地区具有发现更多、更重要的旧石器时代遗址并开展深入的考古发掘与研究的巨大潜力。     

Atbarapur (Hoshiarpur district,Punjab), the Acheulian of the Siwalik Range within the South Asian context

The largest collection of Acheulian artefacts in the Siwalik region is from the site of Atbarapur in north-western India. The artefacts occur in reworked sediments of the Pinjore Formation, starting with the onset of the Pleistocene and continuing at places in this region till 0.6 Ma. The technical study shows two similar “chaînes opératoires”: one based on cobbles for making small flakes and the second based on boulders for large flakes. Both are short and simple: cores are not prepared and each of them produced about seven flakes. Handaxes and cleavers, typical Acheulian tools, are made on the large flakes, often struck from the ventral face of larger flakes (Kombewa method) or from split boulders. The technology compares well with the Lower Pleistocene Acheulian of peninsular India, but with slightly more refined bifaces. It also compares with assemblages from Africa and East Asia: Atbarapur stands as a milestone on the diffusion route(s) of the Acheulian.     

Signification des technologies bifaciales au Paléolithique moyen des montagnes de l’Altaï

Previously the single bifacial tools found in different industrial variants of the Altai Middle Paleolithic (Sibiryachikha and Kara-bom) were not considered to be cultural markers that could be used to differentiate the technological/cultural variants, but rather a bright, but situational manifestation of the typological variability, especially in the case of the Sibiryachika assemblages. As a result of recent studies of Chagyrskaya Cave, the key-site of Sibiryachikha, it was found that all the bifaces are made using plano-convex technology. In the Chagyrskaya Cave assemblage all stages of bifacial production have been found: pre-forms, bifacial tools and tools made on the bifacial thinning flakes, accompanied by numerous bifacial thinning flakes and bifacial thinning chips. A preliminary study of the bifaces from the second Sibiryachikha site, Okladnikov Cave evidenced the use of the same plano-convex technology. On the other hand, in the Kara-bom complexes (Kara-Bom, Ust-Karakol-1, Anuy-3), all bifacial tools are made using bi-convex bifacial technology. Thus, the criteria for the technological distinction of bifacial production assume special importance as a cultural marker that allows the differentiation the Altai Middle Paleolithic technological variants. Taking into account the fact that Chagyrskaya Cave and Okladnikov Cave are associated only with Neanderthal remains, it can be assumed that bifacial plano-convexe technology in the Middle Paleolithic of Altai is linked to the appearance and existence of their population in the region.     

Characterizing the Late Pleistocene MSA Lithic Technology of Sibudu,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Studies of the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) have become central for defining the cultural adaptations that accompanied the evolution of modern humans. While much of recent research in South Africa has focused on the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort (HP), periods following these technocomplexes were often neglected. Here we examine lithic assemblages from Sibudu that post-date the HP to further the understanding of MSA cultural variability during the Late Pleistocene. Sibudu preserves an exceptionally thick, rich, and high-resolution archaeological sequence that dates to ∼58 ka, which has recently been proposed as type assemblage for the “Sibudan”. This study presents a detailed analysis of the six uppermost lithic assemblages from these deposits (BM-BSP) that we excavated from 2011–2013. We define the key elements of the lithic technology and compare our findings to other assemblages post-dating the HP. The six lithic assemblages provide a distinct and robust cultural signal, closely resembling each other in various technological, techno-functional, techno-economic, and typological characteristics. These results refute assertions that modern humans living after the HP possessed an unstructured and unsophisticated MSA lithic technology. While we observed several parallels with other contemporaneous MSA sites, particularly in the eastern part of southern Africa, the lithic assemblages at Sibudu demonstrate a distinct and so far unique combination of techno-typological traits. Our findings support the use of the Sibudan to help structuring this part of the southern African MSA and emphasize the need for further research to identify the spatial and temporal extent of this proposed cultural unit.     

Examining the Causes and Consequences of Short-Term Behavioral Change during the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu,South Africa

Sibudu in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) with its rich and high-resolution archaeological sequence provides an ideal case study to examine the causes and consequences of short-term variation in the behavior of modern humans during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). We present the results from a technological analysis of 11 stratified lithic assemblages which overlie the Howiesons Poort deposits and all date to ~58 ka. Based on technological and typological attributes, we conducted inter-assemblage comparisons to characterize the nature and tempo of cultural change in successive occupations. This work identified considerable short-term variation with clear temporal trends throughout the sequence, demonstrating that knappers at Sibudu varied their technology over short time spans. The lithic assemblages can be grouped into three cohesive units which differ from each other in the procurement of raw materials, the frequency in the methods of core reduction, the kind of blanks produced, and in the nature of tools the inhabitants of Sibudu made and used. These groups of assemblages represent different strategies of lithic technology, which build upon each other in a gradual, cumulative manner. We also identify a clear pattern of development toward what we have previously defined as the Sibudan cultural taxonomic unit. Contextualizing these results on larger geographical scales shows that the later phase of the MSA during MIS 3 in KwaZulu-Natal and southern Africa is one of dynamic cultural change rather than of stasis or stagnation as has at times been claimed. In combination with environmental, subsistence and contextual information, our high-resolution data on lithic technology suggest that short-term behavioral variability at Sibudu can be best explained by changes in technological organization and socio-economic dynamics instead of environmental forcing.     

The Caune de l’Arago stone industries in their stratigraphical context

The Middle Stratigraphical Complex of the Caune de l’Arago cave site (Eastern Pyrenées, France) is dated to between 690,000 and 400,000 years old. The site contains successive, spatially distinct archaeological levels. At the base of the sequence, Unit I (OIS 14), where the P levels are among the earliest Mode 2 assemblages presently known in western Europe, contains finely shaped handaxes and a cleaver. Situated above this ensemble, Unit II (OIS 13) has revealed a series of artefact levels lacking handaxes and cleavers. Coiffing the sequence, Unit III (OIS12) has provided numerically rich faunal and lithic assemblages in association with Homo heidelbergensis remains. This paper analyses the stone industries from each artefact level taking into account raw material variability and highlights subtle technological and typological differences. This intrasite study uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine common elements and differences between levels, taking into consideration how external impact factors might have influenced global assemblage features. The Caune de l’Arago's long stratigraphical sequence provides an exceptional opportunity to observe both change and stability in Mode 2 stone-tool manufacture over a period spanning nearly 300,000 years, within the context of contrasting paleoenvironmental conditions.     

Between simplicity and complexity: The knapping flexibility on cobbles at the early Neolithic site of Zengpiyan Cave (12–7 ka), Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,southern China

The cobble industry in southern Chinese provinces was for a long time called large and simple “chopper-chopping tool tradition,” which persisted from the Early Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene. This recognition is 50% true and 50% false because it does not reflect the entire archaeological reality. On the one hand, the so-called “chopper-chopping tool” category often characterizes or dominates the lithic assemblages; on the other hand, a “chopper” from site A could be different from another “chopper” in site B. This distinction is important since the typological names lost their validity when conducting comparative studies inter- and intra-sites. The cobble tool industry of the Zengpiyan cave site (Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China) is an excellent example of this terminological dilemma, which presents some extent of both simplicity and complexity, underestimated in its production strategies. We could also find substantial flexibility between the two ends (simplicity and complexity) during the selection and exploitation of the cobble/pebble blanks. Although chopper-chopping tools are predominant at the site, the variability of their morpho-structures and techno-functional organization indicate that they are not just simple chopper-chopping tools sensu stricto but have their specific characteristics which could not be found in their typological names. In this context, we need to re-evaluate the previously so-called “choppers” in south China with a techno-functional approach before comparing different lithic assemblages. Compared with other contemporary sites, the Zengpiyan technical system is not far from those found in South China and mainland Southeast Asia. For example, it has similarities with the Sonvian phenomenon in northern Vietnam and some other sites in southern China. While very different from the Hoabinhian technocomplex, the Zengpiyan assemblage raises questions about the kinship with other Late Pleistocene lithic facies. Further technological studies on a larger number of sites in these regions are still needed to understand better the prehistoric techno-cultural relationships between the industrial assemblages of southern China and those bordering the Far East.     

The fragmented character of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool technology

The importance of the transport of stone artefacts in structuring Neandertal lithic assemblages has often been addressed, but the degree to which this led to fragmentation of lithic reduction over Middle Palaeolithic landscapes has not been explicitly studied thus far. Large-scale excavations of Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites and refitting studies of the retrieved assemblages have yielded new, high-resolution data on the mobile aspects of Neandertal stone tool technology. In this paper, we integrate lithic technology and raw material data from recent studies of Middle Palaeolithic open-air and rock shelter sites in Western Europe. We demonstrate that the results of a variety of typological, technological (especially refitting), and lithological studies have important consequences for our knowledge of the acquisition of raw materials and subsequent production, usage and discard of stone artefacts in the Middle Palaeolithic. Neandertal production and use of stone tools was fragmented in three domains: the spatial, the temporal and the social domain. We show that this versatile segmentation of stone artefact handling strategies is a main determinant of the character of the Neandertal archaeological record. Our data testify to ubiquitous and continuous transport of stone artefacts of a wide variety of forms, picked by Neandertals using selection criteria that were sometimes far removed from what archaeologists have traditionally considered, and to some degree still consider, to be desired end products of knapping activities. The data presented here testify to the variability and versatility of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool technology, whose fragmented character created very heterogeneous archaeological assemblages, usually the product of a wide variety of independent import, use, discard and/or subsequent transport events.     

Middle and late Pleistocene Middle Stone Age lithic technology from Pinnacle Point 13B (Mossel Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa)

Excavations at a complex of caves and open air sites at Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, Southern Africa have uncovered rich stratified assemblages of Middle Stone Age materials, including those from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (PP13B) that comprises the first modernly excavated assemblage in southern Africa to be securely dated to the Middle Pleistocene. We report here on the complete excavated lithic artifact assemblage from PP13B. Both technological and typological analyses of the complete assemblage were performed. The assemblage-scale analysis allows for intrasite comparison as well as comparison of the PP13B assemblage with other sites from the region. No size-related pattern of change over time was observed within the PP13B assemblage, although there is significant evidence for varying strategies of lithic reduction between excavation areas within the cave. Comparison with other material from the Southern African MSA suggests that there is significant inter- and intra-site variability in the Southern African Middle Stone Age, even between portions of assemblages that are roughly contemporaneous.     

Handaxe shape variation in a relative context

The nature, extent and causes of shape variation within and between Acheulean handaxe assemblages represent one of the most heavily theorised aspects of Lower Palaeolithic archaeology. To date, however, handaxe shape variation has only ever been studied within an artefact-based comparative context. Here, the 2D and 3D shape of 698 Acheulean handaxes, selected from ten assemblages, is contextualised within a theoretically possible range of forms defined by two intentionally highly diverse modern replica biface sets. Results demonstrate that handaxe artefacts are highly diverse in their 2D plan-view shape, displaying near complete overlap with the shape space of the intentionally diverse replica tools, along with similar levels of variation. The 3D shape of handaxe artefacts, however, displays much stronger form limitations, occupying under 50% of the shape space created by the replica bifaces. Principally, flat and more ‘tabular’ handaxe forms that display low thickness to width ratios were revealed as absent from the archaeological record. It is argued that while there is considerable diversity and variability in the shape of Acheulean handaxe artefacts, their form is nonetheless restricted by strong material volume and ‘refinement’ limits.     

The handaxe reloaded: a morphometric reassessment of Acheulian and Middle Paleolithic handaxes

This paper examines shape and size variability in Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition (MTA) handaxes and compares the observed patterns to those in the Lower Paleolithic Acheulian, both to better understand variability in MTA handaxes and to test whether or not this variability, particularly as it relates to resharpening and reduction, is structured similarly to that in the Acheulian. The Acheulian data set is based on previously published data with the addition here of a study of the handaxes from the site of Boxgrove, England. The MTA data set is based on four classic sites from southwest France with large handaxe collections. Both standard caliper-based morphometrics and Elliptical Fourier Analysis applied to coordinate data taken from digitized images of handaxes are used to assess shape. The result is that, contrary to expectations based on assumptions of evolving technological skill, handaxes in the MTA are as or more variable in shape than Acheulian ones. This variation is allometric in Acheulian handaxes, and is linked to resharpening from the tip down to the base, but is not related to size in the MTA samples. These results suggest that the goals and constraints of handaxe manufacture, but particularly handaxe reduction as a result of reworking during use, were quite different in the MTA and Acheulian, implying that conclusions about hominin cognition drawn from patterns in shape variability in handaxes must be understood in the context of artifact life histories.     

Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene lithic industries from Southernmost Patagonia. Discussing technical variability,continuity and innovations

The study of early lithic assemblages from South America's Southern Cone used to be strongly focused on projectile points, including the famed fishtail type, often using a typological approach. The last three decades have seen a growing diversification of theoretical and methodological approaches to lithic studies, as well as new analytical techniques, used to study issues including lithic production systems, technical variability, tool manufacturing and management, raw material economy and circulation, among others. Recent studies on lithic industries are exemplified by discussing Southernmost Patagonia's first human occupations, dated ∼13,000 cal BP, and Middle Holocene early marine explorations, dated ∼8000–7000 cal BP. An overview and comparison of Southernmost Patagonia's early hunter-gatherer lithic technologies is made.     

Human temporal bone from the lower Paleolithic site of Castel di Guido, near Rome, Italy

The Castel di Guido site, with an estimated age of approximately 300,000 years, has yielded abundant animal remains, Acheulian stone and bone bifaces, and small tools. On the surface of the original deposit, turned over by agricultural activities, fragments of human remains were discovered between 1980 and 1986, including a temporal bone described here.     

Le site acheuléen d’Erg Tihodaïne : caractéristiques technologiques de l’industrie lithique du Pléistocène moyen (Sahara central,Algérie)

For more than a century, the Acheulian site of Erg Tihodaïne has been the subject of several research works that yielded an abundant lithic material from surface and from the morphostratigraphic unit related to the Middle Pleistocene. Despite the importance of the lithic industry, no overall technological analysis has been conducted so far. In this article, we provide the characteristics of a strategy of lithic production through technological analysis of three series, in an attempt to identify key technical behavior of the Acheulian hominids settled on the former lakeshore of Erg Tihodaïne.     

宁夏青铜峡鸽子山第15地点发掘报告

宁夏鸽子山遗址位于贺兰山西南余脉东侧的山前洪冲积扇前缘。2015年对第15地点的发掘面积约16m²。在约3m深的地层中共揭露3个原生文化层位。光释光测年数据显示第2层至第4层的时代跨度为0.12-12.3 ka,出土石制品共155件。其中第3层石制品最为丰富,共142件,石制品原料以石英岩和灰岩为主,类型主要有石片、石核和断块。石制品的基本信息显示该地区人类活动频度可能与环境变化与沙漠进退有紧密联系。     

A new type of anvil in the Acheulian of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov,Israel

We report here on the identification and characterization of thin basalt anvils, a newly discovered component of the Acheulian lithic inventory of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY). These tools are an addition to the array of percussive tools (percussors, pitted stones and anvils) made of basalt, flint and limestone. The thin anvils were selected from particularly compact, horizontally fissured zones of basalt flows. This type of fissuring produces a natural geometry of thick and thin slabs. Hominins at GBY had multiple acquisition strategies, including the selection of thick slabs for the production of giant cores and cobbles for percussors. The selection of thin slabs was carried out according to yet another independent and targeted plan. The thinness of the anvils dictated a particular range of functions. The use of the anvils is well documented on their surfaces and edges. Two main types of damage are identified: those resulting from activities carried out on the surfaces of the anvils and those resulting from unintentional forceful blows (accidents de travaille). Percussive activities that may have been associated with the thin anvils include nut cracking and the processing of meat and bones, as well as plants.     

La séquence de Moulin Quignon est-elle une séquence archéologique ?

The sequence of the Moulin Quignon quarry yielded archaeological findings (faunal remains, artefacts) and some of them are well located in the stratigraphy thanks to Jacques Boucher de Perthes and colleagues. These remains are often used to attest the early age of the site and the human remains. Some bifaces have been found in close relationship to the human remains and, in particular, the mandible found in 1863. Thanks to the handwritten label put on the pieces and their deposit at the National Museum of Natural History (Paris), it is possible to study them again in relation with the sequence. The study concerns the rare faunal remains and the bifaces given, among others, by Boucher de Perthes to the Museum. The paleontological and technological analyses allow us replacing the lithic material among the north-western European data. The material is presented according to the historical context of his discovery.     

Prospections systématiques d’une vallée entre Rhône et Loire (France). Une cartographie de l’occupation à la fin de l’Acheuléen ?

Systematic surveys on the Rhins Valley, a little tributary of the Loire River (South East France), have yielded lithic assemblages for more than 20 years. The number of open-air localities totals at that moment 28. The assemblages are composed for the most of bifaces, cores, including many Levallois cores, and flakes. Although the number of pieces varies in localities, data recorded for more than 20 years are enough to map a small size territory and compare assemblages attributed to the end of the “Acheulean”. Comparison of strategies, debitage and façonnage, provides hypotheses on the type of occupation of the valley, with living spots located on the flint outcrops and asking both a heavy-duty component and flaking products. Some main categories of bifacial tools are present, mainly on flint. The ratio of bifaces and intensity of shaping seems to distinguish the series. The Levallois core technology is used in large quantity associated to diverse other core technologies. These sites located on the plateaus bordering the valley offer the opportunity to describe human occupations on a micro-regional scale, occupations sharing technological common features. These occupations are located between the Saône-Rhône corridor and the isolated basins of the Massif Central. The rhodanian corridor has yielded at that moment few evidence of Acheulean open-air human occupations. These sites attest that systematic surveys have to continue on these areas to complete the knowledge on the occupations.