The origins of stone tool reduction and the transition to knapping: An experimental approach

Putt, Shelby S.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.01.004

Cited by 22 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Putt found that direct projectile percussion was the best way for novices to exploit a core, that bipolar flaking was the most expedient approach and that freehand knapping produced the most usable flakes (large, with sharp cutting edges). She suggests that projectile throwing or pounding techniques could have been a precursor to the Oldowan (Putt 2015). Interestingly, the bonobo Kanzi became more adept at handheld, hard-hammer percussion after learning to throw a core against a hard floor or another stone (Schick et al 1999; Savage-Rumbaugh and Fields 2006).…”

Section: Experimental Archaeological Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of the cognitive implications of the Oldowan Industrial Complex

Toth

Schick

2018

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Section: Experimental Archaeological Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of the cognitive implications of the Oldowan Industrial Complex

Toth

Schick

2018

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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“…Interestingly, given its similarity with ape´s percussive behaviors this technique has been proposed as one of the earliest hominine knapping techniques for the achievement of sharp stone tools (vg. Putt, 2015;Wynn et al 2011). In fact, the recently published lithic assemblage from Lomekwi 3, dated in 3.3.…”

Section: The Bipolar-on-anvil Technique In the African And Asian Contmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This expedient technology thus makes maximum use of the raw materials with only a small investment in terms of technological knowhow (Putt, 2015). This is especially evident in a socioeconomic context of low regional mobility and maximization of local lithic resources (Curtoni, 1996;Eren et al 2013;Goodyear, 1993;Jeske, 1992;Shott, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The lithic assemblage from Pont-de-Lavaud (Indre, France) and the role of the bipolar-on-anvil technique in the Lower and Early Middle Pleistocene technology

Hermida

Rodrı́guez

Peña

et al. 2016

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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The lithic assemblage of the Pont-de-Lavaud site (Indre, France) shows a technical choice within the Lower Pleistocene European Mode 1 sites, which is defined by the widespread use of the bipolar-on-anvil knapping technique. Although it is traditionally considered an expedient percussion method, in this lithic assemblage a selective technical behavior regarding the reduction methods and raw material is identified. In this respect, different knapping methods are applied in accordance with a combination of the percussion axis and the recurrence of the reduction series. These features are also observed in the archaeological record from other Lower and Middle Pleistocene sites, which are discussed in the text. The role of this knapping technique in the hominin technology is, in our opinion, greater than previously believed. Its implementation cannot be considered as proof of opportunistic or expedient activities. The bipolar-on-anvil technique is applied in different contexts, on different raw materials and as a technical choice or gesture in the reduction sequences. Because of its low technical requirements, it can be considered as a successful technological strategy for overcoming raw material constraints for producing some specific types of pieces. Its ubiquitous presence, both from a diachronic and geographical point of view, is proof of its considerable technical versatility and, hence, of Mode 1 hominin technological flexibility and capabilities.

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“…Raw material efficiency refers to the utility of the output of knapping relative to the amount of stone used. It has been compared among a range of different technologies by quantifying the number and size of usable blanks removed during knapping (Barzilai and Goring-Morris 2013;Diez-Martin et al 2011;Jennings et al 2010;Li 2016;Lycett and Eren 2013a;Putt 2015;Rasic and Andrefksy 2001), as well as the length of sharp perimeter produced (Eren et al 2008;Heighway 2011;Lycett and Eren 2013a;Mackay 2008;Muller and Clarkson 2016a;Prasciunas 2007;Sheets and Muto 1972). These metrics are commonly and most powerfully expressed as a ratio to the mass of the original core or the mass of all blanks removed.…”

Section: Recent Applications Of Experimental Knappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of experimental knapping in empirically testing key themes in the evolution of lithic technology: reduction intensity, efficiency and behavioural complexity

Muller¹

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Experimental knapping has complimented and stimulated lithic analyses for over a century.Throughout this period, the discipline has witnessed an increase in the scientific rigour and theoretical grounding with which these studies are conducted. This thesis charts these key trends and in doing so establishes a best-practice model of experimental knapping, the veracity of which is in turn tested using four new lithic experiments. These case-studies employ experimental knapping to advance our understanding of flake platform measurement, reduction intensity, technological efficiency, and behavioural complexity.The first case-study, Chapter 3, offers a more accurate and precise calliper-based method of flake platform measurement that relies on simple geometric approximations of platform shape rather than the inflexible and unreliable existing method of multiplying platform width by thickness. In Chapter 4, a new reduction intensity metric for backed blades, a hitherto overlooked tool-type, is developed and tested on the backed blades from an early Neolithic site in Turkey. This new metric allows a reconstruction of the raw material consumption patterns at the site, finding that the backed blades These four case-studies, coupled with a consideration of existing knapping experiments, allow an understanding of how experimental knapping is embedded in the broader archaeological research process, and ultimately tests the efficacy of a best-practice model of experimental knapping. This model identifies the initial scope, methodological control, and breadth of interpretations as the key variables dictating the validity of an experiment. While knapping experiments may differ markedly in their scope and control, they do not necessarily vary in their validity. Instead, it is the interplay of these variables that dictates the validity of experimentation. Within this best-practice model, lithic experiments are most robust when the scale of the initial scope, methodological control and ensuing interpretations are congruent, and when they involve explicit and falsifiable hypothesis testing.iii

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The origins of stone tool reduction and the transition to knapping: An experimental approach

Cited by 22 publications

References 73 publications

An overview of the cognitive implications of the Oldowan Industrial Complex

An overview of the cognitive implications of the Oldowan Industrial Complex

The lithic assemblage from Pont-de-Lavaud (Indre, France) and the role of the bipolar-on-anvil technique in the Lower and Early Middle Pleistocene technology

The role of experimental knapping in empirically testing key themes in the evolution of lithic technology: reduction intensity, efficiency and behavioural complexity

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