Mechanical characterization of raw material quality and its implication for Early Upper Palaeolithic Moravia

Moník, Martin; Hadraba, Hynek

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.042

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Lithic analysts recognize the need for replicable, ratio-scale measures of raw material suitability (however that is defined), and many see promise in the various mechanical tests developed by material scientists (for excellent reviews and recent applications, see Moník and Hadraba, 2016;Rodríguez-Rellán, 2016). Kyara's (1999) use of the "Aggregate Impact Value" test to assess rock strength is a notable example within the context of the Olduvai raw materials.…”

Section: Rebound Hardness Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical and physical characterization of lithic raw materials in the Olduvai Basin, Tanzania

Egeland

Fadem

Byerly

et al. 2019

Quaternary International

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The invention and proliferation of stone tool technology in the Early Stone Age (ESA) marks a watershed in human evolution. Patterns of lithic procurement, manufacture, use, and discard have much to tell us about ESA hominin cognition and land use. However, these issues cannot be fully explored outside the context of the physical attributes and spatio-temporal availability of the lithic raw materials themselves. The Olduvai Basin of northern Tanzania, which is home to both a wide variety of potential toolstones and a rich collection of ESA archaeological sites, provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the relationship between lithic technology and raw material characteristics. Here, we examine two attributes of the basin's igneous and metamorphic rocks: spatial location and fracture predictability. A total of 244 geological specimens were analyzed with non-destructive portable XRF (pXRF) to determine the geochemical distinctiveness of five primary and secondary sources, while 110 geological specimens were subjected to Schmidt rebound hardness tests to measure fracture predictability. Element concentrations derived via pXRF show significant differences between sources, and multivariate predictive models classify geological specimens with 75-80% accuracy. The predictive models identify Naibor Soit as the most likely source for a small sample of three lithic artifacts from Bed II, which supports the idea that this inselberg served as a source of toolstone during the early Pleistocene. Clear patterns in fracture predictability exist within and between both sources and rock types. Fine-grained volcanics show high rebound values (associated with high fracture predictability), while finer-grained metamorphics and coarse-grained gneisses show intermediate and low rebound values, respectively. Artifact data from Bed I and II suggest that fracture predictability played a role in raw material selection at some sites, but other attributes like durability, expediency, and nodule size and shape were more significant.

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Section: Rebound Hardness Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical and physical characterization of lithic raw materials in the Olduvai Basin, Tanzania

Egeland

Fadem

Byerly

et al. 2019

Quaternary International

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“…X‐ray diffraction (XRD) as well as X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), although used in this research field (Domański et al, 2009; Domański & Webb, 1992), turned out to be poorly effective owing to their limited sensitivity to the actual structural changes induced by the heat treatments and to the lithotypes involved in the analysis (Cochrane et al, 2012). Mechanical tests proved to be potentially useful; however, because they can be partially destructive, can be applied with some difficulty to a large number of specimens from archaeological collections (Domański & Webb, 1992; Moník & Hadraba, 2016; Purdy & Brooks, 1971). Lately, roughness measurements were used to characterize successfully and detect the heat treatment on lithic artefacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An integrated approach to reconstruct the role of the heat treatment within the reduction sequence of chert artefacts: The case of the early Neolithic site of Lugo di Grezzana (north‐eastern Italy)

et al. 2023

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The lithic assemblage from the well-known site of Lugo di Grezzana (Italy) attributable to the Fiorano group (5,300-4,900 BC cal) is analysed to shed new insights on the early Neolithic lithic technology in North-Eastern Italy. Techno-typological data are discussed allowing detailed reconstruction of the reduction sequence, thanks also to several refittings. A complex laminar production with several technical objectives has been identified. Whereas clues for the heat treatment of lithic materials have been identified, we verified it by a combined experimental approach. In the first place, we used density measurements, which already proved to be useful for prescreening analysis, to detect potentially heated artefacts. Afterward, we performed Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy tests to assess the actual (de)hydration condition of the siliceous materials. Reflectance spectra have been acquired, analysing any item and avoiding any constraint related to both morphology and thickness of the sample. The archaeometric results, combined with the reduction sequence reconstruction, provide new indications on the technical capabilities and knowledge of the human groups that inhabited the region during the early Neolithic.

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“…The MANA method is also problematic in some cases. For example, the interiors of many types of Moravian cherts, used for knapping in the Palaeolithic, vary considerably and that makes it difficult to identify the separate nodules (Neruda ; Moník and Hadraba ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying how much raw material is needed: A case study based on the weight of the lithic artefacts from the Brno‐Štýřice III Epigravettian site (Moravia, Czech Republic)

Nerudová

2019

Archaeometry

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This paper compares the quantification of different raw materials in a chipped stone assemblage by weight and by number at the site of Brno‐Štýřice III in Moravia, Czech Republic. The use of the same reduction technology for all raw materials means that the Brno‐Štýřice III assemblage is a good case study. The result demonstrates that semi‐local raw material tends to dominate numerically, but in terms of weight, there is a significant change in the predominant raw material. The paper contextualizes the results in relation to other assemblages and discusses the possible reasons for this phenomenon.

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Mechanical characterization of raw material quality and its implication for Early Upper Palaeolithic Moravia

Cited by 12 publications

References 32 publications

Geochemical and physical characterization of lithic raw materials in the Olduvai Basin, Tanzania

Geochemical and physical characterization of lithic raw materials in the Olduvai Basin, Tanzania

An integrated approach to reconstruct the role of the heat treatment within the reduction sequence of chert artefacts: The case of the early Neolithic site of Lugo di Grezzana (north‐eastern Italy)

Quantifying how much raw material is needed: A case study based on the weight of the lithic artefacts from the Brno‐Štýřice III Epigravettian site (Moravia, Czech Republic)

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