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Traditional research approaches on pottery production based on typological and morphometric classifications have changed in favour of new lines of research. One of them is based on the study of the technological equipment used in ceramic manufacturing processes. For example, ethnographic evidence shows the use of shell tools as technological equipment in different phases of ceramic production. In this study, the methodology of use-wear analysis has been applied to the archaeomalacological material from the Neolithic site of Cabecicos Negros (Andalusia, Spain) to establish if the shells were used as work tools. This analysis has been completed with the development of an experimental program composed of two analytical and one prospective experiments, carried out to provide new data about the cardial decorative technique and to define the use-wear traces that appear on the active area of the shells after their technological use. The results obtained in this investigation show the use of shells in different stages of pottery production. On the one hand, during the modelling and regularization phase of the ceramic surface and, on the other hand, during the cardial decorative phase. In this way, through this work, it has been possible to establish that the archaeological site of Cabecicos Negros was a pottery production center where domestic pieces were made during its Neolithic occupation. In addition, these findings reaffirm the importance of shells in ceramic manufacture during the Neolithic period, mainly in terms of the technical process linked to the cardial-type of ceramic decoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study aims to contribute to functional analysis research on tools which specifically served to work wood and non-woody plants. They were made of obsidian and other volcanic rocks (basalt, trachyte, and phonolite) characterised by an amorphous matrix and phenocrysts of different number and size. In spite of prior functional analysis research resorting to these raw materials, there remain gaps in our understanding of specific activities. The work thus focused on working different types of wood from the Canary Island as well as on harvesting cereals. It is likewise centred on craftwork, especially regarding certain rarely studied contact materials such as palm leaves and rushes. The results reveal use-wear differences stemming from working woody and non-woody plants with both obsidian and other volcanic rocks. A special attention was given to the identification and description of the different features depending on the raw materials and the characteristics of their knapped surfaces. Identifying the combination of attributes has been essential to attain more accurate diagnostics. There are limits to each of the types of raw materials. The surfaces of obsidian are easier to observe and allow more specific identifications. In turn, the heterogeneous surfaces of volcanic rocks with phenocrysts that require more to time to develop diagnostic traces render use-wear amongst these types of rocks more difficult to observe. It is possible to distinguish longitudinal and transversal actions between woody and non-woody plants on every rock. Actions related to basketry, such us splitting and scraping, are more complicated to identify. The state of the worked plant (dry or fresh) and the time of use are key factors to consider in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prehistoric and Archaeological research has pointed out the role of marine resources in modern humans' cognitive and cultural developments. Maritime adaptations constitute a key component of the sociocultural evolution in Eastern Arabia. During the Neolithic (c. 6500–3300 BCE), it is expressed by the colonisation of offshore islands supported by advanced seafaring and the exploitation of marine resources not only for staple food but also for obtaining hard animal materials used for both symbolic and technological productions, respectively in the form of personal adornments and tooling. Although tools made of retouched large marine mollusc shells are reported on several sites, no detailed study has been conducted on their function and role within the socio-technological processes. The present study introduces a prospective approach for the functional analysis of archaeological shell tools from Eastern Arabia. A reference collection of use-wear traces made experimentally has been built: it compiles the results of 65 experiments (23 are documented and illustrated in the present study), including the processing of various animal, vegetal, and mineral materials. Use-wear traces have been observed and described using both low and high-power magnifications (conducted mainly at 100 ×). It provides helpful methodological support for future comparisons with archaeological specimens. The procurement conditions of the shell valves and the techniques of retouch have been discussed in detail, allowing further considerations on the degree of the socio-technological investment devoted to these peculiar artefacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, a new Late Bronze Age (LBA) assemblage from Völgy-dűlő at Kartal (Pest County) was added to the number of bronze hoards excavated in the framework of community archaeological programmes in Hungary. This unique assemblage was deposited beneath two fragments of a pot, originally arranged regularly. The Carpathian Basin-style objects in the Kartal hoard date to several periods from Br D to Ha B1; based on their typo-chronological analysis, their deposition may have taken place in the latter. The chronological characteristics of the Kartal find, a deposition comprising old-style jewellery, suggest the assemblage is a multi-period hoard. The signs of use, essentially abrasions and microwear traces, also indicate that some objects had been used even for a relatively long time before deposition. The breaking of the deposited ingots and bronze objects was deliberate and probably did not occur simultaneously, and most of these finds were still usable preceding their breaking. The Kartal hoard may have been deliberately assembled by a small community. The hoarded objects may represent different aspects of a Bronze Age community, who, according to our current knowledge of the topography of the era, deposited their votive assemblage far from any LBA settlements.

The article presents the results of studying the collection of bone artifacts from the Podymalovo-1 settlement in the Bashkir Trans-Urals. The site dates back to the middle and second half of the XIV century. The sample includes 15 items discovered in the 2022 excavation. Additionally, two findings from the 2019 excavation were included here. Planimetrically, most of the artifacts are associated with production and economic complexes. The study of the collection was conducted from the perspective of the use-wear analysis using the MBС-9 stereoscopic microscope and the Altami MET 6T metallographic microscope. As a result of the study, horse phalanx bones were classified as tools related to pottery production, while a fragment of a bone scraper from the lower jaw of cattle was classified as a tool for processing hides. Spindle whorls and borer were classified as handicraft items. The collection also includes a component of a composite tool - a handle, arrowhead, and two plates. It was established that the bone processing techniques included scraping, cutting, sawing, carving, and abrasive grinding. Both small bones, which did not require significant labor (phalanxes, epiphyses), and large parts of diaphysis with thick compact bone were selected as raw materials. The finding of an plate with an image of a rider indicates that the inhabitants of the settlement possessed high bone carving skills.

The pressure knapping technique develops circa 25,000 cal BP in Northeast Asia and excels at producing highly standardized microblades. Microblade pressure knapping spreads throughout most of Northeast Asia up to the Russian Arctic, and Alaska, in areas where the human presence was unknown. Swan Point CZ4b is the earliest uncontested evidence of human occupation of Alaska, at around 14,000 cal BP. It yields a pressure microblade component produced with the Yubetsu method, which is widespread in Northeast Asia during the Late Glacial period. Through the techno-functional analysis of 634 lithic pieces from this site, this study seeks to identify the techno-economical purposes for which the Yubetsu method was implemented. Data show that the microblade production system is related to an economy based on the planning of future needs, which is visible through blanks standardization, their overproduction, their functional versatility, and the segmentation of part of the chaîne opératoire. This expresses the efficiency and economic value of the microblade production system. The flexible use of pressure microblades identified at Swan Point CZ4b is also found in Japan, Korea, Kamchatka, and the North Baikal region, suggesting that their modes of use accompany the spread of early microblade pressure knapping over an immense territory across Beringia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the richest prehistoric assemblage of ornaments in the Eastern Adriatic discovered to date, found in the Late Upper Palaeolithic layers of Vlakno cave, Croatia. The abundance and multiform of bead types indicate that the site was likely used as a workshop for ornaments, i.e. that production was performed on site. Technological and use-wear analysis of each taxon used for beads allowed us to elaborate on its mode of production, use, and overall position of the Vlakno cave site and its role in the regional context during the Late Pleistocene.

The article introduces into scientific discourse eight stone axes and their fragments from the collections of the Regional State Budgetary Institution of Culture “Chelyabinsk State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Arkaim”. The materials were discovered at multi-layered archaeological sites, located in several areas of the Chelyabinsk and Orenburg regions: the fortified settlements of Alandskoye, Zhurumbai and Kuisak, the Kalmytskaya Molel’nya burial ground and the settlement of Kamennaya Rechka I. The axes were analyzed in terms of their petrography, typology and functional purpose. As a result, seven objects were classified as axes of the Kabardino-Pyatigorsk type, two of them were models. One of these tools was classified as the axe with a grooved handle. The use of local raw materials indicates local production of axes. The main production techniques were splitting, picketing and grinding with stone abrasive. Items, made of soft material, were worked with a metal blade. Two axes were broken during production, two objects had traces of use after breakage, and there were no signs of utilization of other items.

The article presents the results of a typological and functional analysis of flint assemblage from the Late Mesolithic layer (II half of the 7th – early 6th millennium cal BC) at the site Zamostje 2 (Volga-Oka region). The studied series of flint implements is limited to a material from the excavations of 1996–97 and has 11892 artefacts. A typological analysis of the Late Mesolithic flint industry at Zamostje 2 showed the absence of standard blanks and the instability of tool morphology. The shaping of tools was due to the needs of production operations for hard materials. In order to reconstruct the features of bone production in the Late Mesolithic on the East European Plain, the collection was evaluated and 193 items were selected for use-wear analysis. The results of the experimental and traceological analysis revealed 24 tools with microtraces of bone processing, among which scrapers predominate. In a small number there are tools for sawing-cutting and burin cutting (grooves and engravings). A flint polished adze was used to chop a bone or elk antler. The identified implements for working bone (antler), on the one hand, showed a certain homogeneity of morphological characteristics and modes of shaping the working blades of the tools, on the other hand, gave a clear idea of the methods of processing solid organic raw materials in the Late Mesolithic period.

The purpose of the article was a comprehensive study of stone decorations from the Chalcolithic sites of the region. The authors used petrographic description, typological and use-wear analysis. The authors examined 40 items from 6 archaeological sites located in the Upper (2) and Middle (4) Kama region. The jewelry was made of serpentinite of varying degrees of hardness. Serpentinite could originate from the Saranovsky and Moivinsky deposits in the Perm region. The shape of the products was divided into 5 groups, among which the leading ones were oval and teardrop-shaped. Most of the jewelry had a single through hole, which was more often located in the upper part of the product and was drilled on one side. The use-wear analysis made it possible to identify traces from the manufacture of jewelry, traces from use and traces that appeared as a result of the archeologization of objects. Most products were treated as patches on clothing. The shape and quality of jewelry could depend on both the hardness of the raw materials and the skills of the master. They don't create standard groups. The closest analogies can be found in the ornaments studied at the Ust-Kama burial grounds. The population that left these burial grounds could take part in the formation of the Chalcolithic cultures of the Kama forest.

This study combines typology and use-wear analysis applied to a large sample of flint sickle blades from Tel Tsaf, Jordan Valley, Israel, dated to the Middle Chalcolithic period (ca. 5200–4700 cal BC). The dominant backed, bi-truncated rectangle sickle blade, typical of the Chalcolithic period, was analyzed, revealing new types that are identified through shaping nuances which, based on the results of the use-wear analysis, are associated with different construction principles of the composite sickle. Considering that the archaeological record is scarce with evidence of the sickles themselves, the use-wear analysis provides detailed information, where a variety of techniques are defined, looking at the shape of the hafts, the positioning of the sickle inserts, and the method of using the adhesive material. A versatile system of sickle construction is introduced, where a range of hafting options is possible, in straight or curved hafts and with inserts positioned parallel or obliquely. But there are also particular types that were clearly designed in a special way, to fit unique types of sickles. Furthermore, the identification of post-use operations through breakage patterns also connects the Tel Tsaf sickles to activities identified in sickle blade workshops from other Late Chalcolithic sites, indicating that these were valued products that were repaired and re-shaped for subsequent use. We provide several lines of evidence, deriving from harvesting experiments, archaeological research of sickles and sickle blades, and by drawing on ethnography to explain the significance of these differences in sickles at Tel Tsaf. It is associated with varying harvesting techniques to deal with variations in field settings, types of sickle users, and intense consumption. Compared to the previous Late Pottery Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic sickle types, where sickle blades are different in shape, the analysis of the Tel Tsaf sickle blades presents a development in sickle harvesting technology and its complexity during this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper presents the results of a project dealing with the Únetice culture stone hammers from the Prostejov region. The research was based on the results of a combination of natural science analyses (the use-wear and petrographic analyses). The Únetice culture stone hammers were artefacts in the BA1-BA2 period for which we do not know what function they may have had in the Prostejov region. The study also offers a discussion on how the objects were attached into a functional working position. The work partly builds on earlier lines of research and generally sets new theoretical directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article examines the functional aspects of flint knapping in the Lublin-Volhynian culture. Tools found in a male grave in Gródek are analyzed. The investigations focus on nine artifacts, including two retouched blade daggers. The results show that the artifacts were used for various purposes and could have a long history of use. The use of flint artifacts was limited to a small elite group of adult men who held a high social status. [Extracted from the article]

The notion of style has been the subject of much research and theoretical development in prehistoric archaeology. This vast concept touches several fields, including the morphology of artefacts, technical gestures and their function. The lithic typology of arrowhead armatures was widely developed in the twentieth century for the study of the French Mesolithic and includes some of these aspects. The functional, technical, or aesthetic nature of the morphological characteristics of these artefacts has received little attention, while the mapping of types has been overvalued This article presents a new approach combining statistical analysis with the use-wear analysis of arrowhead from several Breton sites, dated to the Late Mesolithic.

Scrapers as a category of stone inventory of the Late Bronze Age cultures in Kazan Volga River and Kama River’s mouth regions is poorly covered in generalizing studies. Usually, only quantitative indicators of morphologically expressed stone tools from the areas of settlements are given in the literature. In this paper morphological and functional analyses of stone scrapers found mainly in dwelling 1 of the Kurmanakovo IV site are presented. According to the ceramic material, four cultural and chronological horizons are marked out. At the same time, the main horizon associated with the construction of a complex of dwellings on this territory falls on the XIV–XIII centuries BC with the time of the existence of the textile ceramics culture and the Atabayevo stage of the Maklasheyevka culture. Judging by the revealed analogies and spatial analysis, most of the scrapers were related with this cultural chronological horizon. As a result of morphological and functional analyses, five morphological groups of scrapers were identified. Functionally, the scrapers were divided into two groups; scrapers for soft material (hide, skin) and scrapers for hard material (wood). Use-wear study made it possible to increase the number of functional groups of scrapers and identify combined tools among them.

Ginalski‐type E5 button spurs made from a Cu alloy are a characteristic attribute of the Middle Roman period in barbarian Europe. The find of part of a mould made of non‐ferrous metal at the Luleč site in the district of Vyškov, Czech Republic, provided key evidence for explaining the issue of their production. The discovery of this unique artefact showed that based on current knowledge, the spurs made from a Cu alloy were also produced in the Middle Danube region and not only in Northeast Europe as had previously been thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formentera was one of the last Mediterranean islands to be colonized by humans at the end of the third millennium BC. This island is rather small (83 km²) with marked biogeographical constraints. Typical of a semi-arid environment, the island is poor in resources and biodiversity. Macrolithic tools from the prehistoric sites of Ca na Costa (ca. 2130-1790 cal BC), Cap de Barbaria II (ca. 1740-900 cal BC), and Sa Cala (ca. 800-570 cal BC) showed similar technological, typological, and functional patterns documented in other prehistoric tool assemblages from the Balearic Islands. This common technology is reflected in the way the raw materials were procured, as well as the manufacture, the maintenance strategies, and the use of macrolithic tools (e.g., grinding stone tools, abraders, and percussion tools). Integrated phytolith and starch analyses from grinding toolkits show evidence of people's exploitating millet-tribe species (Paniceae) during the Bronze Age, cereals that are well-adapted to nutrient-poor soils, including exotic taxa such as possible foxtail millet (Setaria cf. italica). The production and use of this stone technology suggests how the first human communities on the island achieved and shared social knowledge about the insular landscape and its environmental constraints. This integrative archaeological research in Formentera has shown development of a set of innovative, diversified, and intensive resource exploitation strategies, underlining the high adaptability and resilience of prehistoric societies as well as the sharing of technology within the Balearic archipelago and its independent evolution from mainland technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal ornaments are widely viewed as indicators of social identity and personhood. Ornaments are ubiquitous from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene, but they are most often found as isolated objects within archaeological assemblages without direct evidence on how they were displayed. This article presents a detailed record of the ornaments found in direct association with an Early Mesolithic buried female infant discovered in 2017 at the site of Arma Veirana (Liguria, Italy). It uses microscopic, 3D, and positional analyses of the ornaments as well as a preliminary perforation experiment to document how they were perforated, used, and what led to their deposit as part of the infant's grave goods. This study provides important information on the use of beads in the Early Mesolithic, in general, as well as the relationship between beads and young subadults, in particular. The results of the study suggest that the beads were worn by members of the infant's community for a considerable period before they were sewn onto a sling, possibly used to keep the infant close to the parents while allowing their mobility, as seen in some modern forager groups. The baby was then likely buried in this sling to avoid reusing the beads that had failed to protect her or simply to create a lasting connection between the deceased infant and her community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backed artefacts are multifunctional tools used by many Australian Aboriginal groups. Most were retouched in order to shape them rather than to create or modify a working edge, which suggests that they may have been made to certain shapes or sizes according to local traditions. This possibility is feasible as backed artefacts were not used for any unique functions. Hiscock (2014) found that variation in backed artefact shape (symmetry) across Australia was underlain by social arrangements and was potentially historically situated. But McDonald et al. (2018) found that backed artefacts from the Western Desert did not conform to the continental trend. We suggest that an important factor missing from these studies is a consideration of the potential for variation at different spatial scales. To investigate this possibility, we conducted morphometric and use-wear analyses on backed artefacts from four environmentally and socially different Aboriginal groups in New South Wales. The backed artefacts were not used for any distinct tasks and none in our study was hafted, but some variations exist in the morphometrics at the intra-regional scale. We infer that backed artefact production included group-specific traditions that potentially embody social information relating to local land-using or descent groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use-wear analyses are very useful to increase knowledge about the economic and subsistence dynamics carried out by Neanderthals. In general terms, functional results traditionally came from the analysis of tools belonging to stratigraphic units whose timescale refers to geological time. This is due to the fact that many Neanderthal sites are palimpsests of reiterated occupations over time, which must be dissected to approach us to human timescale. In the stratigraphic unit xa of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Iberia), high temporal resolution archaeostratigraphic studies have been carried out. Diachronic material assemblages have been identified, allowing us to analyse more precisely the variability of Neanderthal behaviour over time. Amongst these assemblages, three have been selected (i.e. 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3) in order to analyse the lithic material functionality. The results obtained bring out the performance of different tasks within each analytical framework: woodworking in 5.3.1, woodworking and animal processing in 5.3.2, and butchering activity in 5.3.3. These results reflect the existence of a series of diachronic tasks carried out in overlapping activity areas. In this way, this work evidences flint use variability in a specific area of the site across time that could have been recognised only by means of high temporal resolution analytical frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the Middle Pleistocene (780 ka) in the European continent is associated with significant environmental variations (Middle Pleistocene Revolution), innovative behavioural strategies (bifacial productions, land-use patterns, raw material management) and a global increase in the archaeological evidence from 600 ka onward. Whether these changes are related to the rise of the Acheulean, the informative potential carried by these contexts is currently being explored through multidisciplinary approaches, allowing us to infer the role of these sites and the type of activities conducted. From this perspective, the Italian peninsula is a hot spot to compare the different technical behaviours and strategies human groups employ, given its crucial geographic location and solid archaeological record, both culturally and functionally speaking (the presence of sites with and without bifaces and core-and-flake assemblages). The site of Isernia La Pineta (590 ka), offering a rich lithic and faunal record, is an excellent case to join together the lithic technological study (i.e. “cultural” and technical tradition) with the functional analysis (i.e. activities conducted and exploited materials). Here, we present the result of the combined approach of these two disciplines on flint assemblages from layers t.3a and t.3coll. The new data will be discussed within the chrono-cultural framework of the Middle Pleistocene Revolution, linking the degree of complexity of the lithic production of Isernia with its function as a butchery site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scapula bone is bestowed with a particular prominence among the various traditional Siberian tribes. Besides its rich symbolic importance, the shoulder blade is connected with shamanistic rituals and in particular, fortunetelling. Scapulimancy (telling fortunes from the scapula) is a tradition with its roots in ancient China. Historical chronicles and ethnographic research on scapulimancy in Central Asia had led archaeologists to assign a ritual meaning to scapulae with regular perforations. This paper is to present the problematic matter of distinction of fortunetelling scapulae in the archaeological material. Another aim is to sum up historical and ethnographic data regarding scapulimancy. A comprehensive approach to this topic was also provided by microscopic observations on the materials from the settlement Chultukov Log-9 (Altai, Russian Federation), dated back to the Xiongnu-Xianbei-Rouran period. Excavations were conducted by the authors of this paper in 2012–2016. Experiments were also conducted in order to distinguish shoulder blades of utilitarian character (tools) from those of ritual use. In general, this issue shows the importance of animal symbolism in crucial matters for pastoral, nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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.

Archaeological investigations conducted since 2006 at Masāfī (hinterlands of the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE) have led to the discovery of several architectural entities organised around the local palm grove and in use from the Bronze Age onwards. The whole complex constitutes an important site for understanding the regional protohistory in Eastern Arabia, in particular regarding the development of oasis agriculture as well as copper mining and metallurgy. The site of Masāfī 5 has revealed the presence of an ancient settlement organised on a series of terraces which have been occupied during the Late Bronze Age (1600–1300 BCE) and at the beginning of the Iron Age (1300–300 BCE). Domestic and potential metallurgical activities at the site have been evidenced by the presence of fireplaces and furnaces that could have been used for copper smelting. The site economy is also documented by faunal remains, including those of domesticated mammals and a substantial amount of marine shells. The results of the present study highlight that marine molluscs were not only exploited as seafood at Masāfī 5 but also for their shell, which was used both as tools and raw material for the production of adornments, including polished plaques of mother-of-pearl and Conus rings. Use-wear analyses have shown the use of shell tools for processing vegetal fibres—we suggested that date palm fibres (i.e., leaflets and leaf sheath) were exploited and used. Coastal-hinterland exchange across the region during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (3rd-1st millennia BCE) is discussed in light of the present results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stone beads assemblage of Nahal Hemar Cave, southern Israel, was analyzed to reconstruct the technology applied by artisans during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (9900–9400 BP). The analysis highlights three main inter-related aspects: broad range of raw materials used, bead production in accordance with types and mechanical properties of the minerals, and fashioning of beads into types suitable for specific use. Raw materials were identified with SEM-EDS analyses, and in one instance by using portable XRF. Eleven minerals indicate a vast geographical range of sources. Use-wear analysis of microscopic wear patterns revealed the application of production procedures that indicate an intimate acquaintance with the properties of the minerals, including abrasion and polishing strategies and selective methods of drilling and binding. It is shown that bead production followed decision-making processes dependent upon constraints imposed by the properties of the stone and by the tools used for manipulating them. • Analysis of stone beads from Nahal Hemar Cave reveals Neolithic artisans technology. • Chemical analysis using SEM-EDS and XRF detected 11 minerals. • Turquoise, amazonite, apatite and Carnelian were collected from a vast region. • Microscopic wear indicate intimate acquaintance with the mechanical properties. • Wear analysis indicates abrasion, polishing and selective drilling and binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavation of Crno Vrilo site (Zadar, Dalmatia, Croatia), carried out by B. Marijanović, has unearthed the vestiges of an Early Neolithic village dating back to ca. 5800–5600 cal BC. The lithic assemblage, with more than 4000 pieces, represents the biggest Impressed Ware assemblage of littoral Croatia. Lithic production at Crno Vrilo is characterised by the pressure Blade flaking on high-quality exogenous cherts (Gargano, southern Italy) reflecting important socio-economic and technical aspects that are specific to the Neolithic. The presence of some débitage elements such as flakes, debris, cortical and technological pieces indicates that standard pressure flaking occured at the site, while the presence of large Blades (with widths exceeding 20 mm) suggests production by lever pressure, a technique that required specialized knowledge and equipment. This article questions whether the lever pressure technique was used in the production of large Blades and examines the status of these Blades in the Crno Vrilo lithic assemblage by examining their technological and functional aspects.

The use-wear analysis of pebble tools from the Bronze Age settlement of Konoplyanka 2 The article presents the results of the study the tools made of pebble from the settlement of Konoplyanka 2. The site is located in the Kartalinsky district of the Chelyabinsk Oblast, Southern Trans-Urals. A collection of pebble tools (n = 26) was acquired during excavations of building 1 of the Srubnaya-Alakul and Cherkaskul Cultures, 14C dated to the 18th–16th c. BC. The aim of the research was to undertake the experimental-traceological study of pebbles with traces of wear from this site. To achieve this, the signs of utilizing of work surfaces of the tools were studied; a series of experiments were carried out on the use of pebble tools in pottery making and in the proces-sing of bone articles; their work surfaces were also analyzed, and the signs of wear in archaeological and experimental tools were compared. Trace analysis and photomicrographs of traces of wear on the tools were performed using Olympus BX-51 metallographic microscope with ProgRes C10 camera and MC-2 Z00M pancratic microscope with Canon EOS-1100 camera. The experimental part of the work was carried out by the authors in 2019–2020. As a result of the traceological analysis of the collection, four groups of wear traces were identified on tools made of pebbles. The experimental part of the work allowed proposing the interpretation for these traces. The tools of the first group were used in pottery production at the stage of surface treatment for smoothing the walls of vessels. The second group was used to burnish the dry surface of the vessels. Pebbles of the third group were used both for smoothing the surface of vessels and for polishing them. Tools of the fourth group are most similar in their microscopic features to experimental tools used for processing of skins and leathers or polishing bone products. Therefore, the majority of the studied pebble tools were used by representatives of the Cherkaskul Culture of the Konoplyanka 2 settlement in the process of making pottery vessels, at the stage of mechanical treatment of surface Three pebbles were used for processing of skins, leathers or for polishing of bone tools.

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During the 4th millennium BC, an intensive artefact circulation system existed among the hunter-gatherer peoples of north-eastern Europe. Along with other goods, ring-shaped ornaments that were mainly made of different kinds of slates or tuffites were commonly distributed. Although commonly referred to as 'slate rings', these ornaments consist mainly of fragments of rings. In this paper, we suggest that the 'slate rings' were never meant to be intact, complete rings, but were instead fragmented on purpose and used as tokens of social relationships relating to the gift-giving system. By refitting artefact fragments together, analysing their geochemical composition, micro details, and use-wear, we were able to prove that these items were not only intentionally fragmented but also likely worn as personal ornaments. Moreover, ED-XRF analysis of 56 of the artefacts showed a correlation between their geochemical characteristics and stylistic detailing, suggesting different production phases or batches. Comparative data analysis confirmed the provenance hypothesis that the majority of the analysed objects, or at least their raw materials, were exported over hundreds of kilometres from the Lake Onega region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quina Mousterian is one of the well-defined Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes. Despite the pivotal research carried out in south-western France, the presence of this techno-complex across the rest of Europe is still poorly documented. Here we apply a techno-functional approach, combining technological and use-wear analyses, for reconstructing lithic core-reduction, tool-reduction, and tool use at De Nadale Cave, a single-layered Mousterian site with Quina features located in northern Italy and dated to the early MIS 4. Our results indicate that the flexible core reduction strategies identified at De Nadale show some similarities with the Quina knapping method, in addition to the adoption of centripetal methods on single surfaces. Variations of this scheme identified at De Nadale are the exploitation of lateral and narrow fronts which are aimed to the production of elongated, small blanks. A parallel, ramified reduction is applied to limace cores and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers having diversified purpose (mixed matrix). These blanks are exploited as tools and cores-on-flakes from which thinner, usable flakes or bladelets are detached. The use-wear identified on both scrapers and reaffutage flakes further confirm this behavior, demonstrating the use of both tools, albeit for different tasks (i.e., scraping and cutting). We discuss the ecological implications of this behavior within the Quina Mousterian. The high frequency of retouched tools and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers seems to accompany the highly mobile human groups associated with this techno complex and their seasonally organized subsistence strategies. Finally, by combining available multidisciplinary data on paleoenvironment, subsistence, and chronology, we were able to embed the neanderthal settlement of De Nadale in a regional and Western European frame, underlining the importance of the Quina Mousterian in Western Eurasia between MIS 4 and early MIS 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study introduces a spearhead hoard from the Velem-Szent Vid hillfort (Vas County, Hungary), which was retrieved by the joint research project of the Eötvös Loránd University Institute of Archaeological Sciences and the Centre archéologique européen du Mont Beuvray in 1993. The two spearheads were found next to each other, inserted into the ground of a potential house floor, on a settled plateau of the Velem-Szent Vid hillfort. The spearheads’ parallels stretched beyond the borders of the Carpathian Basin. Based on the analysis of spearhead no. 1, we consider it most likely that this assemblage was deposited in the Ha B1 period. The spearheads were studied by a digital USB microscope-camera for documenting production, technological, and use-wear traces. The two studied objects were identified as finished, used products of actual combatants based on micro traces. They were probably mounted on shafts and could be put on display inside a house or in a settled area. The two weapons may constitute a reversible dual hoard that was eventually abandoned at a single point. Alternatively, they could be seen as a set of trophies looted from defeated enemies, serving as a reminder of a triumphant battle.

The state of knowledge of the Epi-Lengyel settlement of South Moravia is still limited to a few isolated pub lished sites, with a predominant focus on the typological evaluation of pottery. Collections of lithics remain unevaluated or are treated mainly typologically. The inventory of the settlement feature from Lidická Street, Drnholec, Břeclav district, comprising, among other things, 45 lithic pieces, has made it possible to apply modern methods to the evaluation of the collection, elucidating detailed aspects of its use and the depositional context of this function. It is the first-ever collection of Epi-Lengyel lithics in Central Europe studied by use-wear analysis. The results of this analysis show that it is a functionally homogeneous assemblage that was intended for processing animal materials, mainly leather. In terms of the distribution of raw material, there is an absolute orientation towards local sources. In a broader settlement context, the site appears peripheral.

Mississippian cultures left behind two types of large utilitarian bifaces: hoes and so-called woodworking tools. The former have attracted considerable scholarly attention, while the latter have not. We attempt to address this bias by focusing on a substantial number of woodworking tools from three sites in southwestern Indiana. All belong to Caborn-Welborn, a late Mississippian culture that developed at the Ohio-Wabash confluence after the decline of the Angel polity and the establishment of the "Vacant Quarter" across a large portion of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. In this article, we examine these specimens' technomorphological characteristics and use-wear traces, as well as the sources of the cherts from which they were made. In addition, our study has two comparative components: First, we investigate similarities and differences between the Caborn-Welborn woodworking tools and those from both the Angel culture and other parts of the Mississippian world; second, we explore the woodworking tools in relation to hoes from both Caborn-Welborn and Angel phase sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology 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 la subcuenca de Magdalena en el estado de Jalisco, los pueblos asentados en las inmediaciones del lago aprovecharon los recursos disponibles para la producción artesanal de bienes útiles y suntuarios. La presencia del Volcán de Tequila, el Lago de Magdalena y el sistema Lerma-Chapala-Santiago, facilitaron el acceso a recursos y la movilidad de productos para su distribución. En el centro del cuerpo acuífero fósil se eleva Atitlán, isla que resguarda evidencia de actividades de producción que se relacionaron con el aprovechamiento de recursos minerales y acuáticos por lo menos a partir del año 450 dC y hasta el 1500 dC. Dentro de las evidencias estudiadas sistemáticamente a nivel de superficie, es de nuestro interés una acumulación de objetos de obsidiana que se extiende en un área de 56.400 m2. El análisis espacial de distribución, junto con los de morfología, desgaste y microscopía aplicada a la identificación de huellas de uso, nos permiten explicar que se trató de un espacio de producción especializado de instrumentos de obsidiana mediante la técnica de talla, los cuales fueron empleados para el aprovechamiento de recursos perecederos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition shows numerous indications for a manifestation of abstract thinking and symbolic behavior. In northern Central Asia this process is illustrated by the appearance and distribution of personal ornaments (pendants, beads, patterned items), as well as by evidence for the use of natural pigments and ritual activities. However, not only articles with distinctive functional features, but also finds of unknown purpose have been identified, such as small tablets and pebbles showing evidence of polish and/or irregular cut marks, as well as the fragmentary pigment remnants, and manuports. This publication discusses the results of use-wear analysis carried out for two such objects recovered from occupation layer 6 at the Ushbulak site, dating back to 45–40 ka BP (the Shilikty Valley in Eastern Kazakhstan), namely a tabular piece of talc, with a worked surface, and a small jasperoid pebble. Both artifacts show signs of being intensely treated, but their functional purpose is still unclear; these objects may be interpreted as non-utilitarian articles. Similar typologically indistinct artifacts were recovered from many IUP sites in the region (Denisova Cave, Kara-Bom, Podzvonkaya, Khotyk, Tolbor-4, 2). Their presence indicates that such a phenomenon should be regarded as a characteristic manifestation for the non-utilitarian human activity in the development of the Upper Palaeolithic tradition.

Bone tools from Taforalt Cave constitute the largest North African Later Stone Age (LSA) bone tool technocomplex recovered to-date. Use-trace analyses show that the small, pointed forms which dominate the assemblage show microtopographic patterning consistent with ethnographic bone tools used to make coiled basketry. The presence of coiled basketry likely scaffolded emergent cultural forms reflected in increased sedentism, resource intensification, and greater population density at Taforalt. This study explores the relationship between coiled basketry and archaeologically co-occurring technologies. Ethnographic analogies derived from Indigenous Californian groups provide a model for how resource-specific collection, processing, storage, and preparation requirements may have been supported technologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology 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.)