Lithic artifact assemblage transport and microwear modification in a fluvial setting: A radio frequency identification tag experiment.

River processes are widely assumed to have impacted the integrity of lithic assemblages when artifacts are found in fluvial sediments, but the specifics of these influences remain largely unknown. We conducted a real‐world experiment to determine how the initial stages of fluvial entrainment affected lithic artifact assemblages. We inserted replica artifacts with radio frequency identification tags into a gravel‐bedded river in Wales (UK) for seven months and related their transport distances to their morphology and the recorded streamflow. In addition, nine artifacts were recovered at the end of the experiment and analyzed for microwear traces. In sum, our results show that in a gravel‐bedded river with a mean discharge of 5.1 m3/s, artifact length and width were the main variables influencing artifact transport distances. The experiment also resulted in characteristic microwear traces developing on the artifacts over distances of 485 m or less. These results emphasize the multifaceted nature of alluvial site formation processes in a repeatable experiment and highlight new ways to identify the transport of replica Paleolithic material. Research Highlights: Replica lithic artifacts were tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inserted into a gravel‐bedded river and recovered after seven months.River transport results in highly variable postdeposition surface modifications but this can be clearly differentiated from use‐wear or intentional retouch.RFID tagging is a valuable and cost‐effective method for conducting real‐world taphonomic experiments due to high rates of artifact recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]