Experimental Manufacture of Wooden Implements with Tools of Flaked Stone

Crabtree, Don E.; Davis, Emma

doi:10.1126/science.159.3813.426

Cited by 45 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Most experimental studies using stone flakes have concentrated on demonstrating plausible functions, from the manufacture of wooden implements (Crabtree and Davis, 1968), all the way up to the practicalities of butchering adult elephants (Frison, 1989;Schick and Toth, 1993). Recently, there appears to have been something of a reinvigoration of experimental approaches to lithic industries in a range of capacities, which evince a renewed emphasis on providing quantifiable results that may be examined within a statistical framework (Clarkson, 2002;Collins, 2008;Dewbury and Russell, 2007;Eren et al, 2008, in press;Hiscock and Clarkson, 2005;Jennings et al, 2010;Machin et al, 2007;Prasciunas, 2007;Shea et al, 2001;Shott et al, 2000;Stout et al, 2000;Toth et al, 2006).…”

Section: Experimental Framework For Stone Tool Use and Efficiency Asmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

Key

Lycett

2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Experimental Framework For Stone Tool Use and Efficiency Asmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

Key

Lycett

2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…This is unfortunate because it gives the impression that scientific components such as testing of hypotheses and controlling variables are not important in archaeological experiments (as discussed in e.g., Cunningham et al, 2008;Lammers-Keijsers, 2005;Mathieu, 2002;Outram, 2008;Reynolds, 1999). Such an impression undermines the important contributions that experimental studies following scientific procedures have made and continue to make, for example to the understanding of prehistoric production of food and tools and formation processes important to the archaeological record (see e.g., Coles, 1973;Crabtree & Butler, 1964;Crabtree & Davis, 1968;Gur-Arieh et al, 2012;Mallol et al, 2013a;Miller et al, 2010;Newcomer, 1971;Nielsen, 1991;Shea et al, 2001;Shipman et al, 1984). The fire experiments I conducted as part of my PhD project are 'actualistic' as described by Outram (2008, pp.…”

Section: Introduction To the Fire Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

By the Campfire: Pyrotechnology and Middle Stone Age Hearths at Sibudu Cave

Bentsen

2014

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sibudu's hearths have a basal black layer with charcoal, but experimental fires do not.Instead they produced 2 -5 distinct strata, and long-burning fires produced more strata than short-burning ones. Experimental ash dumps lack strata. Areal extent of a hearth is IV dependent on the wood mass burned, but its depth is dependent on the wood taxon burned.I present spatial analysis of charcoal, bone and knapped stone from the selected Sibudu layers using Kernel density estimation. Higher densities of bone, charcoal and stone are present in the post-HP layers than in the HP. Specialist studies of wood taxa, micromorphology and organic petrology are also included. No specific firewood taxa were preferred, but herbaceous plants were burned at 65 000 years ago, suggesting short fires.This thesis provides a foundation for future research on fire-related behaviour at Sibudu and other Middle Stone Age sites. For example, higher acidity was recorded in the post-HP than in the HP combustion features; this could be caused by different diagenesis and geoarchaeological studies need to be conducted to resolve the issue.. In addition, all the primarily deposited archaeological combustion features in this study were underlain by a basal black layer rich in charcoal, but such layers did not develop in the experimental combustion features and I cannot explain this difference. Thus it is necessary to conduct more studies of the variables affecting the formation and preservation of combustion features. One aspect to study experimentally is the range of attributes controlling surface temperatures of campfires. Amongst the experiments described here, experimental fires burning five kg wood produced maximum surface temperatures in the range of 132 -848°C, which demonstrates that surface temperatures are unpredictable. The implication is that producing particular temperatures of a fire is not straight-forward and that prehistoric fire users needed planning abilities and a thorough knowledge of pyrotechnology. Both these skills require mental abilities like those of modern people and they also require a sophisticated understanding of environmental

show abstract

“…Evidence for metal tool use in a spear's manufacture requires definitive marks to be observed on its surface. Publications of experimental research comparing the use of stone and metal tools on wood are relatively rare (see for example Coutts 1977;Crabtree and Davis 1968). Coutts (1977:74) found that Polynesian steel adzes used to cut wood produced certain characteristic on the wooden surface that included a smooth finish and closely spaced precise lines whether incised or in relief.…”

Section: Detecting Traces Of Manufacturementioning

confidence: 99%

Sticks and stones: a functional analysis of Aboriginal spears from Northern Australia

Nugent¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ethnographic information indicates that, prior to British colonisation in 1788, Aboriginal Australians used spears for hunting, fishing, fighting, retribution, punishment, in ceremony and as commodities for trade. Aboriginal peoples understood the seasons and the availability of food resources within their countries. The British colonists, in rapidly developing much of the continent, dispossessed many Indigenous peoples of their land disrupting their way of life, especially access to food resources. Spears were an integral component of the toolkit Aboriginal people used to procure such resources but by the turn of the twentieth century, they increasingly made spears for trade and barter rather than for hunting and fishing. By the mid-twentieth century, spears, often incorporating the use of European technology and materials, were being made for sale in a cash economy. No residues were detected on the archaeological wooden spear tips indicating that organic residue survival on wood requires anaerobic burial conditions such as extremely desiccated or waterlogged terrestrial environments that are rarely found in Australia. The results of a burial experiment support this conclusion. Hypothesised indications of use-wear observed on the wooden spearheads did not always co-occur with use-related residues. Arguably, wear traces indicative of wooden projectile use may be very difficult to ascertain. Apart from fish scales and adipose tissue, however, a considerable variety of use-related residues were detected on many spears. Considered to be the key indicator of a spear's past use for hunting, fighting, fishing and in ceremony is the presence of blood. The biochemical test to screen for the presence of blood on wood was assessed as reasonably reliable but only for approximately two years, therefore explanations for the absence of blood residues on this raw material remain problematic. Blood residues, bone, hair and muscle tissue were detected on only one stone-headed spear that was collected in the early twentieth century from the iii southern Gulf of Carpentaria mainland. This result indicates the spear was likely used to hunt small game rather than made specifically for trade or barter. The remainder of the sample collected at around the turn of the twentieth century displayed many residues, including starch granules, hair, feather, and muscle tissue but no blood. These spears were likely manufactured in campsite environments, possibly as trade items. Most spears collected in the mid-twentieth century displayed few residues, suggesting they were made for sale in workshop environments. Residues indicative of specific manufacturing processes were also observed on some spears. In addition, the macroscopic examination of spears in tandem with relevant ethnographic information suggests that not all of the spears were made at the places recorded as their collection location in museum documentation.Although more research involving residue analysis of archaeological wooden material is required, especially to initially...

show abstract

Experimental Manufacture of Wooden Implements with Tools of Flaked Stone

Cited by 45 publications

References 1 publication

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

By the Campfire: Pyrotechnology and Middle Stone Age Hearths at Sibudu Cave

Sticks and stones: a functional analysis of Aboriginal spears from Northern Australia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About