The first comprehensive micro use-wear analysis of an early Acheulean assemblage (Thiongo Korongo, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Bello-Alonso, Patricia; Rios‐Garaizar, Joseba; Panera, Joaquín; Rubio‐Jara, Susana; Pérez‐González, Alfredo; Rojas, Raquel Figueroa; Baquedano, Enrique; Mabulla, Audax; Domı́nguez-Rodrigo, Manuel; Santonja, Manuel

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106980

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(175 reference statements)

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“…For this reason, sites with well-preserved perishable materials present a unique opportunity to study past societies (1,2). Plant-based goods and tools were among the first artifacts in history, as suggested by the use-wear of lithic tools dated to early Pleistocene (3,4). The earliest direct evidence derives from the Middle Pleistocene (5)(6)(7)(8), but examples are scarce and widely dispersed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

Martínez-Sevilla,

Herrero-Otal,

Martín-Seijo

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14 C dates for the perishable artifacts ( N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

Martínez-Sevilla,

Herrero-Otal,

Martín-Seijo

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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“…Despite the growing focus on the study of the whole assemblages (as opposed to emphasis on specific tool types) and on inter-assemblage variability [ 18 ], the Acheulian is still characterized by bifacially shaped handaxes as its emblematic tool. The functions and shape characteristics of handaxes are variably explained, ranging from their efficiency in mega-fauna butchery [ 52 – 57 ] and woodworking [ 58 – 60 ] to their suitability for processing vegetal underground storage organs [ 61 ], arguably combined with their ergonomic benefits for grasping by hand [ 62 – 64 ]. Other researchers, however, claim that their shape is the unintended outcome of their use as cores for flake production (e.g., [ 65 – 67 ], or of continuous reduction process (e.g., [ 68 , 69 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex

Gossa

Hovers

2022

PLoS ONE

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Recent research has made great strides clarifying the chronology, temporal span, and geographic and technological patterning of the Acheulian in eastern Africa. However, highland occurrences of the Acheulian remain under-represented and their relationship to cultural dynamics in the Rift are still poorly understood. Recently, a stratified sequence of four archaeological layers, recording Acheulian occupations dated between ~1.6 Ma and ~1.3 Ma, has been discovered in locality MW2 of the Melka Wakena site-complex (south-central Ethiopian highlands). This database enabled a systematic exploration of the question of tempo and mode of technological changes at a local sequence, allowing, for the first time, comparison with other highland sites as well as in the Rift. The detailed techno-economic study presented in this study shows that the early Acheulian at the locality was characterized by the co-existence of lithic reduction sequences for small debitage and for flake-based Large Cutting Tool production. In the early, ~1.6 Ma assemblage, a strategy of variable raw material exploitation and technological emphasis on small debitage were coupled with production of few crude bifacial elements. These shifted at ~1.4 Ma towards a preferential and intensive exploitation of a highly knappable glassy ignimbrite and emphasis on Large Cutting Tool production, including higher investment in their techno-morphological aspects. The MW2 sequence tracks lithic technological trends observed in the Rift, with only a short time lag. Diachronic changes in the raw material economy and land use patterns may have occurred at MW2 earlier than previously reported for the Acheulian on the highlands. The behavioral dynamics gleaned from the early Acheulian assemblages at MW2 are important for our understanding of the diachronic changes in the abilities of Acheulian hominins to exploit the diverse geographic and ecological habitats of eastern Africa and beyond.

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Geoarchaeological observation of earlier palaeolithic (EP) assemblages of the downstream South Han River Area (SHRA), Korea

Lee

Yoo

2022

Geosci J

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The first comprehensive micro use-wear analysis of an early Acheulean assemblage (Thiongo Korongo, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Cited by 9 publications

References 81 publications

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex

Geoarchaeological observation of earlier palaeolithic (EP) assemblages of the downstream South Han River Area (SHRA), Korea

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