Identifying bipolar knapping in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (northeast Iberia) - PubMed (original) (raw)

Identifying bipolar knapping in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (northeast Iberia)

Xavier Roda Gilabert et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2015.

Abstract

Despite recent advances in the identification of bipolar knapping, its role in many sites is not well known. We propose to assess the significance of this technique in the context of changes that occur in the Mesolithic. A lithic assemblage was recovered from unit SG at Font del Ros (Catalunya, Spain) in which pitted stones, cores and products arising from bipolar reduction (flakes, fragments and splintered pieces) were identified. This study indicates that the bipolar technique is fundamental in the settlement. These results are key to defining the organization of Holocene hunter-gatherer subsistence in northeast Iberia.

Keywords: Iberian peninsula; Mesolithic; bipolar knapping; lithic technology; macrolithic tools.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Site location and distribution of materials in unit SG. Top left: location of the Font del Ros site in the southeast Pyrenees (X = 404 572 Y = 4 661 194 UTM H31N ED509, 670 a.s.l.). Top right: plan of materials recovered from unit SG showing several clusters across a 1200 m2 area. Vertical plot showing the sparse dispersion of materials in the level. (a) Vertical plot (N-S) on the _x_-axis, x = 7000–7500 and (b) vertical plot (E-W) on the _y_-axis, y = 22 500–23 000. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 2.

Macrolithic artefacts related to bipolar knapping. (a) Elements linked to experimental bipolar knapping (hammerstone, anvil, knapped nodule) and technical actions characteristic of anvil stone working; (b) example of a pitted stone obtained during the experimental knapping of quartz [35]; and (c) pitted stones from level SG at Font del Ros with central pits caused by use as hammerstones or anvils. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 3.

Bipolar cores from unit SG. (a) Bipolar quartz core with cortical platforms, and refit series with an example of opposed extractions; (b) bipolar flint core with superimposed removals around striking platforms; (c) flint core with cortical platform and splintering; and (d) bipolar quartz core on cobble with step extractions and striking platform fissures. Scale bars, 5 cm. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 4.

Box plots of (a) length, (b) width, (c) thickness and (d) mass comparing freehand and bipolar cores. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 5.

Flint pieces from level SG with diagnostic marks from bipolar knapping. Note the direction of removals on the faces and edges of the pieces indicating previous removals produced by rotating the knapping axis. (a) Bipolar by-product «bâtonnet» (spall) which shows curving around the axis and micro retouch on the point suggesting rotational movement of this active area. Due to its size, this piece must have been hafted or formed part of a composite tool. (b) Blank shaped by multiple opposing removals indicating rotation of bipolar knapping which generated a miniscule core-like blank (nucleiform). (c) Splintered piece showing crushing of the edges, and in particular microdenticulation on one side. Scale bar, 1 cm. (Drawings by Michel M. Martzluff).

Figure 6.

Box plots of (a) length, (b) width, (c) thickness and (d) mass comparing splintered pieces and bipolar cores. (Online version in colour.)

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Identifying bipolar knapping in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (northeast Iberia) - PubMed (original) (raw)