Fractures for the Archaeologist

Purdy, Barbara A.

doi:10.1515/9783111390376.133

Cited by 40 publications

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“…Crabtree and Butler, 1964;Purdy, 1974;Domanski and Webb, 1992), and to define optimum conditions for heat treating (e.g. Crabtree and Butler, 1964;Mandeville, 1973;Purdy, 1975;Price et al, 1982;Ahler, 1983;Joyce, 1985). It is the last field of enquiry that is the focus of this paper.…”

Section: Framing Experimental Investigations Into the Process Of Heatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a key requirement of successful heat treatment is that undesirable heat-induced cracks or fractures are not created. Surprisingly the conditions in which those 'failures' are produced have rarely been experimentally defined or used to help understand the limits of suitable heat treatment conditions (although see Purdy, 1974Purdy, , 1975Patterson, 1995;Mercieca, 2000). In this paper we present new evidence about the situations in which thermal damage is produced, and employ that information to evaluate existing claims of how heat treatment may have been undertaken in the past.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental insights into alternative strategies of lithic heat treatment

Mercieca

Hiscock

2008

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Framing Experimental Investigations Into the Process Of Heatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental insights into alternative strategies of lithic heat treatment

Mercieca

Hiscock

2008

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…The characteristics of heat alteration in lithic specimens were originally determined on the basis of a series of laboratory experiments conducted on fine-grained cherts, although other lithic materials, including quartz, also were tested (Purdy 1975(Purdy , 1982Purdy and Brooks 1971). The purpose of these experiments was principally to determine the characteristics of intentional heat alteration, whereby the knapping qualities of fine-grained materials are improved (also see Beauchamp and Purdy 1986;Bleed and Meier 1980;Brown et al 2009b;Domański et al 2009;Domański and Webb 1992;Domański et al 1994;Flenniken and Garrison 1975;Gregg and Grybush 1976;Griffiths et al 1987;Inizan and Tixier 2001;Mercieca and Hiscock 2008;Olausson and Larsson 1982;Patterson 1984;Rick and Chappell 1983;Robins et al 1978;Schindler et al 1982;Webb and Domański 2009;Weymouth and Mandeville 1975).…”

Section: Burnt Msa Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2011

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Rhino Cave, located at the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, is one of the three main Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Botswana. Initial investigations during the mid-1990s left unanswered a number of key questions regarding the early use of the cave. This prompted the current investigations, which have unearthed a wealth of MSA artifacts from a lag deposit. Results of a selectively employed chaîne opératoire analysis have revealed a very special set of behavioral patterns. It will be argued that the best-fit interpretation of the results from this investigation lies within the realm of ritualized behavior. The assemblage is characterized by an unexpectedly large number of MSA points, which are for the most part produced in non-locally acquired raw materials. These points are colorful, carefully and often elaborately made, and, once complete, never left the cave. They were either deliberately burned to the point where they could no longer be used, abandoned, or intentionally smashed. These artifacts were found together with tabular grinding slabs and pieces of the locally available pigment, specularite. This assemblage was recovered directly beneath a massive, virtually free-standing rock face that has been carved with hundreds of cupules of varying sizes and shapes. A section of the carved rock face was recovered from well within the MSA deposits in association with handheld grinding stones. INTRODUCTIONI t has been proposed that "collective ritual -with its formal characteristic of amplified, stereotypical, redundant display -might be expected to leave a loud archaeological signature" (Watts 2009: 62). According to a number of researchers (e.g., Knight 2009;Knight 2010;Power 1999Power , 2009Power and Aiello 1997;Watts 1999Watts , 2002Watts , 2009) the archaeological record of ochre use, dating from the late Middle Pleistocene, provides such a signature. Symbolism, a crucial feature of ritual behavior, has been central to the debate on behavioral modernity. . However, one area of investigation that could potentially reveal patterns of ritual behavior has received minimal attention within African MSA studies. This is the application of the chaîne opératoire. Results from this method identify sequences of conscious choices made by the original artifact makers. The combined results of these individual sequences can provide insight into behavior patterns which are indicative of broader culturally determined traits and norms. By applying this methodological approach to a site that contains unusual or atypical MSA features, it can identify other 'loud archaeological signatures'.As noted by McBrearty (2003: 514) "one of the most difficult tasks for the prehistorian is to identify the emergence of novel behaviors." The authors suggest that a set of novel behavioral patterns is a most apt description for the results that have emerged from a recent test excavation at Rhino Cave, located within the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, Botswana. This site was initially excavated in the mid-1990s (Robbins et al...

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“…• Pot lids: pot lid removals are small, disk-shaped convex indentations which form on the artifact surface after a fragment is ejected in response to drastic temperature fluctuations that cause the surface of the rock to expand (Purdy 1975: 136; e.g., see Figure 4). The presence or absence of pot lid removals was recorded for each handaxe.…”

Section: Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2011

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Lower Paleolithic handaxe assemblages were collected during a geological and archaeological survey at Nahal Zihor in the Arava, southern Israel, where the existence of a paleo-lake was established. Later measurements date sediments associated with the Zihor lake to ~1.6 Ma. The present study focuses on two groups of handaxes from different locations-Group A consists of handaxes from the shoreline of the lake, while Group B originated from the terraces which surrounded the lake. By observing the two groups of handaxes, the surveyors suggested that Group A could be assigned to the early Acheulian, while Group B was assigned to the late Acheulian. The aim of the current study is to present a more quantitative chronological assessment of the Zihor assemblages, through closer study of their shape attributes. The new element that is introduced in the present analysis is the use of the digitized 3-D images of the handaxes, from which various quantitative measures of each individual item were extracted. Our results validate the existence of two distinct groups and link Group A to the early Acheulian. Accordingly, this study suggests that the finds of Group A from the Zihor are the most southern location in the Levant where evidence of early Pleistocene hominid occupation has been found. The importance of the study of these lithic assemblages is primarily due to the scarce evidence of Lower Paleolithic hominid presence in the Levant, in particular the earliest phase in the southern region of Israel. Hence, the information derived here may shed new light on early hominin migrations out of Africa. In 1996, a geological and prehistoric survey was conducted in the Zihor River valley by H. Ginat and I. Saragusti of the Hebrew University. The surveyors discovered an early sequence of Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine deposits indicating the existence of a paleo-lake named "Lake Zihor." These deposits were assigned to the early Pleistocene using preliminary correlations with pollen and faunal assemblages from the 'Ubeidiya paleo-lake (Ginat 1997: 109-111). Recently, 10Be exposure dates suggested a minimum date of ~1.6 Ma for the fluvio-lacustrine deposits (Guralnik et al. 2010). Tectonic uplifting of the southern Negev, post-dating Lake Zihor, caused changes in the main drainage systems, resulting in the gradual development of valleys and the formation of terraces. Four terraces were identified in the southern Negev (Ginat 1997: 188), however, unlike the lake deposits, the terraces were not dated geologically (for further elaboration on the geology see Ginat et al. 2003).The survey also discovered a large collection of Lower Paleolithic handaxes concentrated in many find spots in an area of 12km 2 ( Figure 1 ; Ginat 1997; 2003: 450). The find spots are located in two areas-near the suggested shoreline of Lake Zihor and on the neighboring terraces (see Figure 3). The handaxes were divided into two groups according to their find location (Ginat 1997: 176-178)-Group A includes handaxes found along the reconstructed shoreline ...

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Fractures for the Archaeologist

Cited by 40 publications

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Experimental insights into alternative strategies of lithic heat treatment

Experimental insights into alternative strategies of lithic heat treatment

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