Search

On site production from local raw material has its specific characteristics. Rock crystal and quartz are raw materials, which were widely used during prehistory. However, an example of their exploitation at the proximity of the source was missing from the Czech Republic. The article discusses attributes of the lithic production from local raw materials using the example of rock crystal. There is a presentation of the lithic collection from the site of Soutice 1 (Central Bohemia), which was recently discovered at the confluence of the rivers Sázava and Želivka. The site was discovered by surface survey during 2023. More than 500 lithic pieces were collected. The assemblage is dominated by rock crystal. The site is situated in archaeologically understudied area. One of the origins of this raw material often seen in this region is the area of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Usually, this raw material forms only a small part of the known collections, but it was present in low numbers at various locations even quite distant from the origin. So, it seems that rock crystal as a raw material was quite popular. The discovery of a site that is near the possible source of this raw material can help us understand specific characteristics of the production of this raw material and some aspects of the production from these local raw materials in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penhill Farm is one of three newly reported Sundays River Valley Acheulean sites and collectively, with sites Atmar and Bernol Farms, is pushing back our understanding of Earlier Stone Age tool production strategies for this near-coastal region. Over the last few years, a series of papers have described important but minor components of the Penhill Farm assemblage through which several key trends have been identified in the way that formal tools were produced, and how cores were reduced to provide suitable tool blanks. The aim of this paper is to complete the description of the remaining artefacts at Penhill Farm, the majority of which consist of debris and debitage but also include samples of atypical artefacts as well as non-lithic materials. By applying a techno-typological and morphometric-based approach, this paper provides clarity on raw material preferences and variability, lithic reduction schemes and economisation, and on- versus off-site task variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quick glance at the evolution of lithic assemblages throughout prehistory highlights a great variability in the time and effort invested in technological activities. This variability has been related to differences in the technological organization of human groups, giving rise to the distinction proposed by Binford between curated and expedient technologies. Curation has been the subject of much discussion with regard to its definition and archaeological implications, but expediency has received comparatively less interest from researchers. Nevertheless, expedient technologies are ubiquitous in the archaeological record and represent a large proportion of prehistoric lithic assemblages, even becoming clearly dominant in certain chronological and/or regional contexts. The aim of this paper is to characterize expedient technologies as low-cost strategies that can be identified in all the stages of the lithic production sequence, from raw material provisioning to tool manufacture. However, we will focus our attention on core reduction technologies, emphasizing the consequences of distinguishing between expedient and formal reduction strategies. Finally, some implications of expediency in archaeological interpretation will be discussed, focusing on the significance of expedient technologies in the cultural ascription of lithic assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 6th millennium BC, southern France was affected by deep cultural changes in the form of the western Mediterranean Neolithization process; a turning point in subsistence agriculture and husbandry. In southern France, the department of Aveyron has several archeological sites attributed to a particular Early Neolithic culture, historically named « Roucadourien », which was previously interpreted as the result of an autonomous Neolithization or as the process of indigenous acculturation. Today, the reliability of these archaeological contexts and the definition of this vast and homogenous cultural entity are being questioned. Revisions of this regional data take place within the European Neolithization debate and allowed us to discuss and test the main hypotheses: demic or cultural diffusion. The aim of this research was to consider this Continental entity using new paradigms, and not only in terms of central, peripheral or marginal territory within the Neolithization process. In order to shed new light on this debate, it was important to review all the material data provided by these sites. Recent typo-technological studies on the lithic and ceramic assemblages from some sites of the Aveyron department (Combe-Grèze, Clos de Poujol, Roquemissou and Les Usclades) allowed us to renew our perception of these south-western contexts, and made it possible to assess the analysis of these sites from both a cultural and a functional point of view. Therefore, this study should be considered as a step towards a deeper understanding of cultural relationships and technical know-how transfers between the Second Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic. This revision highlights stratigraphical mixtures, evidence of functional variability and/or cultural recombining derived from the coastline area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Late Middle Palaeolithic industries are characterized by a well-documented diversity of stone tool types and blank production methods, the latter of which can at times be exclusively represented in certain assemblages, the bifacial tool component sometimes portrays clear similarities in use and manufacture method. Beyond sharing both comparable volumetric structures and arrangement of active and or prehensile areas, the recurrence in several assemblages of specific groups of bifacial tools used mostly for butchery is particularly striking. Here, we address several techno-economic and cognitive aspects of biface production and use combined with a consideration of their context. Is the same degree of variability in function and manufacture method equally visible in the retouched tool component? What scales of mobility or technical use-lives do these different bifacial tools portray? Do certain highly elaborate flake tools also reflect equally complex behaviors? How to interpret the presence of carefully manufactured pieces in non-local raw materials alongside others made in local varieties that are hardly reduced but nevertheless equally functional? Finally, which components may have carried a symbolic value or shed light on technical abilities or functional objectives evident in the conception, elaboration, use, and ultimate fate of these bifacial pieces. Several recently analyzed assemblages with a relatively significant bifacial component from the Charente, Dordogne and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departements show certain similarities or important differences. In characterizing the coexistence of flake production and bifacial-shaping, we attempt to reveal to what extent and in which ways certain bifacial tools stand out. When combined with technological and cognitive considerations, this approach provides new insights on an important behavioral facet of Neanderthal groups who occupied the Aquitaine Basin after the Last Interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este trabajo explora la incorporación de técnicas de muestreo en el análisis de desechos de talla. El objetivo general es la obtención de muestras que representen al conjunto de donde proceden, en este caso, los desechos de talla recuperados de la capa 2 (2°) del sitio Peñas de la Cruz 1.1, localizado en Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca. A fin de lograr lo propuesto se evalúan los alcances y limitaciones de tres tipos de muestreo aplicados en un mismo lote. Con el objeto de dar cuenta de las actividades de talla llevadas a cabo en el sitio, se presentan los resultados del análisis técnico-morfológico llevado a cabo sobre una muestra de desechos de talla (n= 300) extraída de un lote mayor (N= 2377).This paper explores the incorporation of sampling techniques in lithic débitage analysis. The overall objective is to obtain samples representative of the entire set from which they originated, in this case, débitage recovered from layer 2 from Peñas de la Cruz 1.1 site in Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca. In order to accomplish this goal, the limitations of three types of sampling applied to the same lot were evaluated. With the goal of revealing the lithic production activities carried out at the site, the results of the technological analysis of a sample of materials (n= 300) collected from a larger lot (N= 2377) are presented.

El estudio detenido de la producción lítica se encuentra prácticamente ausente con relación a los contextos socioculturales más tardíos del Noroeste argentino. Con la intención de mejorar el conocimiento sobre esta temática, este trabajo aborda la producción lítica a partir del análisis de información y materiales de un asentamiento del Período de Desarrollos Regionales, Molinos I, valle Calchaquí, Salta. En esta instancia se analiza el conjunto de artefactos líticos, procedentes de distintas estructuras de ese sitio, considerando determinación de materias primas, estudios tecno-morfológicos y de procedencias por análisis de activación neutrónica. A partir de ello se plantea que la producción lítica artefactual de las poblaciones tardías del valle Calchaquí fue una producción a nivel doméstico y dirigida a la satisfacción de las necesidades cotidianas.Thorough studies of lithic production from late sociocultural contexts in Northwestern Argentina are virtually absent. In order to improve our knowledge of this subject, information and materials related to lithic production from a Regional Development Period settlement, Molinos I (Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province) are analyzed. In this paper the results of the analysis of the lithic assemblage (which pertained to different structures at the site) are presented, considering raw material determination, technological and morphological studies, as well as provenance through neutron activation analysis. This study suggests that lithic production in late societies of the Calchaquí Valley was at a domestic level and aimed at fulfilling daily needs.

La ocupación prehispánica de Amaicha del Valle (provincia de Tucumán) posee cierta profundidad temporal evidenciada por la variabilidad funcional y la cronología de sitios arqueológicos. En principio, el registro lítico muestra que la mayor variabilidad ocupacional se encontraría en sitios a cielo abierto, cuyos restos arqueológicos indican la presencia de grupos cazadores-recolectores así como agro-alfareros. Esta diacronía ha sido inferida, junto a otros elementos, en base a la evidencia de reclamación de artefactos registrada a través de pátinas diferenciadas. Estas pátinas indicarían un contraste temporal entre el descarte original y la posterior retoma y reutilización del artefacto. Esto permite asumir que los lugares donde se dan los procesos de reclamación son espacios sujetos a posibles reocupaciones, pudiendo actuar como fuentes terciarias de aprovisionamiento. Teniendo en cuenta el registro arqueológico que avala una prolongada ocupación humana en esta zona, los sitios arqueológicos considerados conforman unidades espaciales de análisis adecuadas para abordar el tema del uso del espacio en relación a la producción lítica. En Campo Blanco (taller lítico que se presenta a cielo abierto) y en Bajo Los Cardones (sitio habitacional agro-alfarero temprano, próximo al taller), los vestigios arqueológicos evidencian procesos de abandono, reutilización y reocupación a través del tiempo. El objetivo de este trabajo es establecer de qué manera se integraron los espacios construidos y no construidos, en términos de producción lítica, a partir del análisis tecno-morfológico y tipológico de los conjuntos artefactuales procedentes de un muestreo sistemático. A partir de los resultados obtenidos se estableció: 1) la explotación diferencial de materias primas líticas; 2) la presencia de la totalidad de las actividades de la secuencia de producción, discutiéndose el marcado énfasis de las diferentes etapas para cada sitio, y 3) la caracterización del sistema de producción lítica y la manera en que el taller Campo Blanco habría funcionado como fuente terciaria para las sociedades asentadas en los alrededores, tomando como caso de estudio el sitio Bajo Los Cardones.The pre-Hispanic occupation of Amaicha del Valle (Province of Tucumán) has a particular temporal depth, which is demonstrated by a functional and chronological variability of archaeological sites. In principle, the lithic record indicates that the greatest occupational variability is in open-sky sites, in which archaeological remains indicate the presence of both hunter-gatherer groups and agriculturists-potters. This diachronic has been deduced, together with other elements, based on the evidence of reclaimed lithic artifacts that have been recorded on the basis of distinct patinas. These patinas should indicate a temporal contrast between the original discard and the subsequent taking up and reutilization of the artifacts. This enables one to assume that the places where the reclamation processes take place are spaces which are subject to possible re-occupations, and may have acted as tertiary sources of supplies. Considering that the archaeological record supports a long human occupation in this area, the sites that were examined make up units of spatial analysis which are relevant to tackling the theme of the use of space in relation to lithic production. In Campo Blanco (an openair lithic workshop) and Bajo Los Cardones (an early housing agriculture-potter site near the workshop) the archaeological remains demonstrate abandonment, reutilization and reoccupation processes through time. The aim of this research is to establish in which way the built and non-built spaces were integrated, in terms of lithic production, from the technomorphologic and typological analysis of the artifact assemblages from a systematic sample. The results obtained established the following. 1) The differential exploitation of lithic raw materials. 2) The presence of all of the activities involved in the production sequence, including a marked emphasis on the different stages for each site. 3) The characterization of the lithic production system and the way in which the Campo Blanco workshop could have functioned as a tertiary source for the societies settled in the area, using Bajo Los Cardones as a case study.

Evidence from one of several Late Prehistoric settlement networks in the Lower Nueces River Valley in Texas demonstrates that base camps were surrounded by smaller-sized temporary camps. Local groups utilized nearby stone quarries, moved raw material to their settlements and reduced cores, preforms, and bifaces into tools for domestic use and portable toolkits. The Lower Nueces River Valley settlement organization and tool production during this period suggest restricted mobility, base camp sedentism, and abundant resource supply. This organizational structure promoted a complex foraging economy and perhaps the emergence of territorial clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé Un outillage lithique archaïque vient d’être mis à jour en bordure de la commune de Nice (Alpes-Maritimes, France), en position secondaire dans un contexte géologique de moyenne terrasse fluviatile, en rive gauche du Var. Les artefacts lithiques recueillis rassemblent des produits de façonnage (galets aménagés ou fracturés) et des produits de débitage (nucléus, éclats, débris), obtenus sur galets principalement en calcaire marneux, issus du poudingue plio-Pléistocène local et des alluvions du Var. Cette production lithique témoigne essentiellement des débuts de chaînes opératoires, avec les premières phases de décorticage des galets. Les éclats sont très majoritairement corticaux ou semi-corticaux, et les nucléus révèlent un faible investissement technique, avec un nombre assez réduit de négatifs d’enlèvements. Le débitage de type orthogonal est le plus fréquent, et la technique bipolaire sur enclume est attestée. Quelques rares éclats sont retouchés par encoches ou par retouches continues abruptes. Le secteur où a été mise à jour cette industrie lithique, dans des sédiments remaniés en contrebas d’un niveau de terrasse fluviatile du Var, à 70 m d’altitude, nous fait suggérer un âge très ancien pour ces vestiges, pouvant remonter au début du Pléistocène moyen, voire au Pléistocène inférieur, ce qui est en accord avec les caractéristiques techniques constatées sur cet ensemble lithique. An archaic lithic assemblage has just been brought to light in border of the municipality of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes, France), in secondary position in a geologic context of middle fluviatile terrace in left bank of the Var. Lithic artefacts collected gather some shaping products (worked or broken pebbles) and débitage products (cores, flakes, angular fragments), obtained on pebbles mainly in marly limestone, stemming from the local plio-Pleistocene conglomerate and the alluviums of the Var. This lithic production shows essentially the beginnings of chaînes opératoires , with the first phases of pebbles cortex removing. Flakes are very mainly cortical or semi-cortical, and cores reveal a weak technical investment, with a reduced enough number of removal negatives. The débitage of orthogonal type is the most frequent, and the bipolar technique on anvil is attested. Some rare flakes are retouched by notches or by abrupt continuous retouches. The sector where was brought to light this lithic industry, in sediments reshaped below a level of fluviatile terrace of the Var in 70 m of height, made us suggest a very ancient age for these vestiges, being able to go back up at the beginning of Middle Pleistocene, even of Lower Pleistocene, what is in agreement with the technical characteristics noticed on this lithic assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

social changes during the Bronze Age (c. 2000-200 BC). This is a heartland of Chinese civilisation, as the earliest state emerged at the Erlitou site (c. 1900-1500 BC) in the centre of the Yiluo basin. Our Yiluo archaeology project, initiated in 1997, is a long-term internationally collaborative and interdisciplinary programme, which holds a key position in the quest for the origins of early states in China. We have employed a number of methods and approaches to investigate many aspects relating to social change in the region. The full-coverage regional survey has helped us to reveal settlement patterns, and identify important regional centres, some of which were craft production sites. Spades were utilitarian in function and may have been primarily used by commoners for agricultural or other purposes. However, the sources of raw material were not widely available to every village, and some communities/social groups may have taken advantage of their settlement locations to control access to the raw material. Based on our research, production of stone tools most likely operated on a household basis, and the products were not only meant to fulfil the subsistence needs of makers and their neighbours, but also helped some individuals to gain higher social status and wealth through trade. The fact that dolomite spades found their way up to 100km away from their place of manufacture indicates the existence of region-wide trade networks in the Erlitou hinterland. Through these networks, not only utilitarian items but also elite goods (e.g., white pottery drinking vessels), were circulated, suggesting that lesser elite and commoners in the Erlitou hinterland created their own opportunities in the competition for power, prestige and wealth. From this perspective, the social formation of early states in China was not only hierarchical (Liu and Chen 2003), but heterarchical at a regional level. Stonemasons at Huizui were most likely independent craftsmen, whom we know little about in the traditional archaeological record. Our study on these specialised craftsmen sheds light on a new aspect of social formation in early Chinese civilisation. As the Yiluo project is on-going, our studies on stone tool production are still preliminary. Our future research will certainly produce more elaborate and multi-faceted results for a better understanding of the development of craft specialisation in China.

Copyright of Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina is the property of Museu de Prehistoria de Valencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

En este trabajo se analizan los microdesechos líticos del nivel Auriñaciense Arcaico de la Cueva de El Castillo. En el mismo se presenta la metodología y técnica para efectuar este tipo de análisis. Los resultados obtenidos permiten identificar: 1) que se han llevado a cabo actividades de manufactura, uso, modificación y mantenimiento de los utensilios; 2) se han priorizado estrategias tecnológicas conservadoras en detrimento de las expeditivas; 3) se han localizado posibles áreas de actividad de talla in situ; 4) utilización preferencial de percutores blandos con relación a los duros; 5) selección preferencial de materias primas Ifticas; 6) finalmente, se han reconocido acumulaciones primarias y secundarias que podrían responder a los procesos postdeposicionales del depósito arqueológico.In this paper we have studied the lithic microdebitage of the Earliest Aurignacian Level of the El Castillo Cave. The methodology and technique to perform this type of analysis also is presented. The results obtained allow to identify: 1) Manufacture, use, modification and maintenance activities of tools that have been implemented; 2) Curated technological strategies have been developed in a bigger vjay than the expedient ones; 3) Some possible flintworking activity áreas have been located; 4) Preferential utilization of soft hammers over tfie hard ones; 5) Raw material selection; 6) flnally, it is been recognized priman/ and secondary clusters that could fiave fiad ttieir origin in tfie postdepositional formation processes of ttie arcfiaeological deposit.

• Evaluation of excavation remains from the eastern seaboard (Haidai) area of China reveals considerable variation in the urbanization process for the Longshan period. • Excavated remains at Liangchengzhen, with AMS dates, provide information about the process of settlement expansion over time. • The Liangchengzhen excavations demonstrate new kinds of housing and internal settlement organization not previously recognized at Longshan sites. • The abundant remains of lithic production debris indicatefocused production in one area of the settlement over time, diversification of production, and possible market exchange. Limited comparative data from different regions has hampered understanding of variation in the development of urbanism during the late Neolithic period of China. This paper evaluates excavation remains from large, Longshan period sites regarded as cities in the Haidai or eastern seaboard area of northern China, highlighting the site of Liangchengzhen (LCZ). We identify differences in construction features, internal settlement organization, and patterns of expansion. At LCZ, moats were especially important for the organization of space. The Liangchengzhen excavations reveal residential patterns not recognized at other Longshan sites, including shared prepared surfaces between structures and construction features likely designed to enhance privacy. We describe the abundant evidence for production of ground stone tools, including assessment of the wide variety of raw materials (local, extra-local, non-local) represented among the lithic production debris and finished tools. We conclude that there was diversification and intensification of lithic production over time. We infer that a large area at Liangchengzhen was devoted to lithic production, with other economic activities focused elsewhere as the settlement expanded in size. Future research should compare the nature of lithic production and consumption at large and small sites on a regional basis to evaluate our hypothesis that incipient market exchange was a factor in the urbanization process in the LCZ area of southeastern Shandong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]