How to make and use a bone “spatula”. An experimental program based on the Mesolithic osseous assemblage of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (Salurn/Salorno, BZ, Italy)

Arrighi, Simona; Bazzanella, Marta; Boschin, Francesco; Wierer, Ursula

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.114

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Bone surfaces were studied using a HiroxKH-7700 3D digital microscope, that enables in-depth observations and both at low and high magnification (e.g. Arrighi et al, 2016;Oxilia et al, 2017); 3D images were obtained by the Auto Multi Focus tool, which stacks up to one hundred pictures shot at different focus levels. Metric parameters as defined by Bello and Soligo (2008) and Boschin and Crezzini (2012) were collected on amedian cross section of each identified cut-mark and carnivore tooth mark, as already tested in previous papers (Boschin and Crezzini, 2012;Crezzini et al, 2014;Moretti et al, 2015).…”

Section: Macrofaunamentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Neandertals in central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany)

Moroni

Boschian

Crezzini

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Most of the Middle Palaeolithic evidence of Central Italy still lacks a reliable chrono-cultural framework mainly due to research history. In this context Grotta dei Santi, a wide cave located on Monte Argentario, on the southern coast of Tuscany, is particularly relevant as it contains a very well preserved sequence including several Mousterian layers. Research carried out at this site in the last years (2007e2017) allowed for a preliminary estimation of its chronology based on a set of radiometric determinations which place the investigated sequence in the time interval between 50 and 40 ka BP. Alongside the chronological issue, this paper mainly focuses on the geoarchaeological and zooarchaeological (micro and macro fauna) studies carried out on the materials retrieved during the 2007e2014 excavation fieldworks. The results of these studies are consistent with those from the radiometric chronology. A state of art concerning the MIS3 Italian sites is also provided in order to highlight the key role Grotta dei Santi may play in the assessment of late Neandertals' behaviour within the framework of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition of Central Italy.

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Section: Macrofaunamentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Neandertals in central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany)

Moroni

Boschian

Crezzini

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…This type of handling would be more typical of a knife, hence we suggest this tool was a bone knife, with multiple possible applications. The limited wear pattern, however, suggests that this particular knife was typically used for light duty work, possibly cutting of soft material [ 41 ]. The presence of flaking and fine striations also suggests occasional contact with more resilient material.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

90,000 year-old specialised bone technology in the Aterian Middle Stone Age of North Africa

et al. 2018

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The question of cognitive complexity in early Homo sapiens in North Africa is intimately tied to the emergence of the Aterian culture (~145 ka). One of the diagnostic indicators of cognitive complexity is the presence of specialised bone tools, however significant uncertainty remains over the manufacture and use of these artefacts within the Aterian techno-complex. In this paper we report on a bone artefact from Aterian Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits in Dar es-Soltan 1 cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It comes from a layer that can be securely dated to ~90 ka. The typological characteristics of this tool, which suggest its manufacture and use as a bone knife, are comparatively similar to other bone artefacts from dated Aterian levels at the nearby site of El Mnasra and significantly different from any other African MSA bone technology. The new find from Dar es-Soltan 1 cave combined with those from El Mnasra suggest the development of a bone technology unique to the Aterian.

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“…Use-wear was observed at low magnification (20x - 80x) by means of a Hirox KH 7700 3D digital microscope, using a MX-G 5040Z body equipped with an AD-5040Lows and an AD-5040HS lens, and a Leica Stereomicroscope M205 A. Micro-trace analysis was performed by using the fore-mentioned Hirox microscope fitted out with a MXG-10C body and an OL-140II lens (140x- 480x). Both microscopes enable one to obtain fully focused pictures through the overlapping of planes taken at different focus levels [ 59 ]. The traces on the archaeological lithic tools were interpreted by means of comparison with traces produced during a dedicated experimental program using replicas of Ötzi’s tools.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Iceman’s lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use

et al. 2018

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The Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy recovered at the Tisenjoch (South Tyrol, Italy) together with his clothes and personal equipment, represents a unique opportunity for prehistoric research. The present work examines the Iceman’s tools which are made from chert or are related to chert working - dagger, two arrowheads, endscraper, borer, small flake and antler retoucher - and considers also the arrowhead still embedded in the shoulder of the mummy. The interdisciplinary results achieved by study of the lithic raw material, technology, use-wear analysis, CT analysis and typology all add new information to Ötzi‘s individual history and his last days, and allow insights into the way of life of Alpine Copper Age communities. The chert raw material of the small assemblage originates from at least three different areas of provenance in the Southalpine region. One, or possibly two, sources derive from outcrops in the Trentino, specifically the Non Valley. Such variability suggests an extensive provisioning network, not at all limited to the Lessini mountains, which was able to reach the local communities. The Iceman’s toolkit displays typological characteristics of the Northern Italian tradition, but also comprises features typical of the Swiss Horgen culture, which will come as no surprise in the toolkit of a man who lived in a territory where transalpine contacts would have been of great importance. Ötzi was not a flintknapper, but he was able to resharpen his tools with a medium to good level of skill. Wear traces reveal that he was a right-hander. Most instruments in the toolkit had reached their final stage of usability, displaying extensive usage, mostly from plant working, resharpenings and breaks. Evidently Ötzi had not had any access to chert for quite some time, which must have been problematic during his last hectic days, preventing him from repairing and integrating his weapons, in particular his arrows. Freshly modified blade tools without any wear suggest planned work which he never carried out, possibly prevented by the events which made him return to the mountains where he was killed by a Southern Alpine archer.

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How to make and use a bone “spatula”. An experimental program based on the Mesolithic osseous assemblage of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (Salurn/Salorno, BZ, Italy)

Cited by 30 publications

References 12 publications

Late Neandertals in central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany)

Late Neandertals in central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany)

90,000 year-old specialised bone technology in the Aterian Middle Stone Age of North Africa

The Iceman’s lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use

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