Small flake production and lithic recycling at Late Acheulian Revadim, Israel

Agam, Aviad; Marder, Ofer; Barkai, Ran

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.070

Cited by 53 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…≤2 cm) stone tools (e.g. Agam, Marder, and Barkai 2015) were restricted in their functional value, perhaps being best suited to cutting materials that require limited force or are of limited volume (Key and Lycett 2014). Moreover, the hafting of small stone tools to larger handles may often have been related to relatively high force requirements during use.…”

Section: Tool Size (Including Edge Length and Mass)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Mechanical and Ergonomic Research within Functional and Morphological Analyses of Lithic Cutting Technology: Key Principles and Future Experimental Directions

Key

2016

Ethnoarchaeology

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The functional value of a stone tool is principally in its ability to cut, split, or otherwise deform material. The relative efficiency with which stone tools undertake cutting processes has been a point of interest to lithic archaeologists for decades, with many linking aspects of tool morphology to functional performance. Many of the questions asked by stone tool research are, however, pertinent to other disciplines. This includes mechanical engineering and ergonomic sciences where there is a substantial amount of research dedicated to understanding the mechanics of cutting and the influence exerted by tool-form attributes during use. These investigations therefore have valuable insights for lithic archaeology and our understanding of the variables that would have been influencing stone tool use in past populations. Here, the value of mechanical and ergonomic research to lithic archaeology is analyzed, key morphological and mechanical principles central to the determination of a stone tool's cutting efficiency are reviewed, and the need for future experiments that investigate these principles within archaeological contexts is highlighted.

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Section: Tool Size (Including Edge Length and Mass)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Mechanical and Ergonomic Research within Functional and Morphological Analyses of Lithic Cutting Technology: Key Principles and Future Experimental Directions

Key

2016

Ethnoarchaeology

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“…The study area is a small (0.37 km 2 ) agricultural plot (Figure ) adjacent to Revadim village (Agam et al , ), in central Israel (34°49′26.311″E, 31°45′57.171″N). The plot acts as a small watershed, confining northwest drainage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a landform evolution model to study ephemeral gullying in agricultural fields: the effects of rainfall patterns on ephemeral gully dynamics

Hoober

Svoray

Cohen

2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Water driven soil erosion is a major cause of land degradation worldwide. Ephemeral gullies (EGs) are considered key contributors to agricultural catchment soil loss. Despite their importance, the parameters and drivers controlling EG dynamics have not been adequately quantified. Here we investigate the effects of rainfall characteristics on EGs, using the physically based landform evolution model (LEM) CAESAR‐Lisflood. An initial goal of this study was to test the feasibility of using a LEM to estimate EG dynamics based on an easily obtainable and moderate spatial resolution (2 × 2 m) Digital Elevation Model (DEM). EG evolution was simulated for two rainfall seasons in a 0.37 km2 agricultural plot situated in a semiarid catchment in central Israel. The 2014 rainfall season was used to calibrate the model and the 2015 season was used for validation. The model overall well predicted the EG network structure and average depth but tended to underestimate the EG length. The effects of rainfall characteristics on EG dynamics were investigated by comparing simulations employing seven rainfall scenarios. Four of these scenarios differ in their overall rainfall volume relative to observed precipitation (+20%, +10%, −10%, −20%). The remaining three scenarios vary in the temporal distribution of rainfall during each storm, allowing us to isolate the effect of rainfall intensity on EG evolution. The results show that: (1) EG dynamics strongly correlated with changes in rainfall volume; (2) small‐scale morphological behavior varies between rainfall scenarios, resulting in different meandering and connectivity variability; (3) EG evolution is divided into two main stages, an initial rapid development occurring after the first two weeks of the rainy season, followed by a stable development period; (4) a 12 mm h−1 intensity threshold was observed to initiate and, later, modify EGs; and (5) inner storm rainfall variability can have a considerable effect on EG evolution. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…The systematic recycling of larger flakes to produce small flakes is documented at Bizat Ruhama, Israel (1.6 -1.2 mya) (Zaidner, 2013). At the c. 400 ka site of Revadim in Israel, hominids systematically produced small (< 20 -30 mm) unretouched flakes by way of larger flake recycling (also see Goren-Inbar 1988;Shea and Bar-Yosef 1999;Agam et al 2014).…”

Section: Where Else Might the Systematic Production Of Small Unretoucmentioning

confidence: 97%

Lithic miniaturization in Late Pleistocene southern Africa

Pargeter

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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versus accidental small tool production. This can be achieved by showing purposeful raw material selection for small core production, systematic technological intent to miniaturize production, and by conduction use-trace analyses on the resulting flakes. A fourth factor involves the use of middle range theoretical models derived from experimental and/or ethnographic research to demonstrate the use of small tools and cores. These middle range models guide discussions about why humans choose to miniaturize lithic production.Lithic miniaturization is a truly global phenomenon increasing during the Late Pleistocene in many regions of the Old World from Africa to East Asia (Elston and Kuhn 2002). By the Holocene, small stone tools were regular components of hunter-gatherer toolkits in Australia, Northern Asia and North America. Because lithic miniaturization (also sometimes called "microlithization") proliferated during the Late Pleistocene and the Later Stone Age (LSA), archaeologists associate it with "modern human behavior" (e.g. McBrearty and Brooks, 2000).However, lithic miniaturization is no more consistent a feature of Late Pleistocene assemblages than pointed bone production, rock art or engraved ochre. Lithic miniaturization was one of our Pleistocene ancestor"s many strategic options for making stone tools. Lithic miniaturization remains one of the most economically consequential developments inPleistocene lithic technology (Hiscock 2015b). Small tool technologies enabled humans to extract usable cutting edges from raw materials more effectively and efficiently and to do so on a wide range of rock types (Bamforth and Bleed 1997). Humans used multiple technological strategies for lithic miniaturization in various parts of the world, ranging from specialized pressure-based techniques to simpler bipolar techniques (Elston and Brantingham 2002; Desrosiers 2012; de la Peña 2015a). These strategies provided a range of flexible technological solutions to the problems posed by migration and diffusion into new territories (e.g. North America) and to the maintenance of these territories once established (e.g. East Africa) (Madsen

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Small flake production and lithic recycling at Late Acheulian Revadim, Israel

Cited by 53 publications

References 38 publications

Integrating Mechanical and Ergonomic Research within Functional and Morphological Analyses of Lithic Cutting Technology: Key Principles and Future Experimental Directions

Integrating Mechanical and Ergonomic Research within Functional and Morphological Analyses of Lithic Cutting Technology: Key Principles and Future Experimental Directions

Using a landform evolution model to study ephemeral gullying in agricultural fields: the effects of rainfall patterns on ephemeral gully dynamics

Lithic miniaturization in Late Pleistocene southern Africa

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