Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness

Investigating interrelationships between Lower Palaeolithic stone tool effectiveness and tool user biometric variation: implications for technological and evolutionary changes

“…Moreover, all tasks are intrinsically straightforward in nature and thus control for the effects of varying skill level that become more pervasive in tasks of increasing complexity, a problem identified in previous butchery experiments (Machin et al, 2007). As a result of these factors, our experimental protocol also allows for large, robust sample sizes to be collected.…”

“…This is a measure widely used in experimental analyses investigating stone tool efficiency and is known to be highly correlated to other efficiency measures such as the number of cutting strokes used (Jobson, 1986;Machin et al, 2007;Key and Lycett, 2014). 'Time taken' was logged from video recordings of each participant as they undertook the experiment, with the clock being started at the point of first contact between the stone tool and the material being cut and being stopped as it broke contact with the material on the final cutting stroke.…”

“…This is of importance as tool use durations can be highly variable and largely depend upon carcass/plant material size, completeness, skill level and the specific tasks being undertaken (disarticulation, skinning etc.) (Lupo, 1998;Machin et al, 2007;Haynes and Klimowicz, 2014). Hence, according to the results reported here, irrespective of whether hominins were engaged in relatively brief cutting activities on scavenged carcasses, or the extended butchery of whole carcasses, efficiency rates will vary dependent upon individual biometric variation.…”

Test, Model, and Method Validation: The Role of Experimental Stone Artifact Replication in Hypothesis-driven Archaeology

“…We point out that as per the definition of our "replication experiment as test" category, neither Frison (1989) nor Machin, Hosfield, and Mithen (2007) directly compared their results to archaeological data, but important inferences regarding technology, technological evolution, and prehistoric behavior were made nonetheless. These inferences were not about tools from one Clovis site or one style of handaxe but instead were intended to be broader in scope and potentially applicable to interpretations of the Clovis period or the Lower Paleolithic period as a whole.…”

Pattern Recognition of Universal Mathematical Constants in Acheulean Biface Formats

“…An appreciation of symmetry, the number 2, is found throughout the animal kingdom and symmetry has been found to be present in biface formats in a manner that does not fit a null hypothesis (Lycett 2008) and that cannot be explained as a function of animal butchery (Machin et al 2007). Expressions of Pi (notated below as π for clarity) can also be seen in the full moon, the setting sun and in the eyes of a nursing mother.…”