Toolkits and Utility in Australian Lithics (original) (raw)
Related papers
2010
This thesis addresses the research potential of informal lithic technologies through a case study of surface deposits from western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The defining characteristic of the lithic remains of the region is a dearth of formalized patterning. As a consequence, researchers have historically equated these remains with a casual approach to lithic technology where it is often assumed that artefacts were produced on an as needed basis. This apparent simplicity is in marked contrast to the demanding environment of the region. Water and food resources are extremely limited and historic observations indicate that Aborigional populations coped with these conditions by employing strategies of land use based on short-term occupations and high mobility. It is therefore an anomaly that populations living under such conditions would be so unconcerned with the organization of their technology. An exploration of this anomaly guides the research presented in this thesis. Was the organization of Aboriginal lithic technology truly simple or instead is the perception of simplicity an artefact of previous interpretation? The goals of this thesis go beyond questioning the perception of simplicity to the larger question of how informal technologies can be used to understand past behavioural organization. To investigate these questions, this thesis makes use of an abundance of assemblage data gathered by the Western NSW Archaeological Programme. The results of this research indicate that while the vast surface record of the region may present what appears to be a largely undifferentiated record, contextualization shows that Aboriginal occupation of the region was anything but uniform. Chronologies developed through extensive radiocarbon dating demonstrate that periods of increased II aridity are correlated with decreased evidence of Aboriginal occupation, thus suggesting territorial reorganization in the face of environmental deterioration. The study of lithic technological organization and the curation concept provide a theoretical perspective with which to explore the possibility for similar dynamism in the largely informal lithic technologies of the study region. While current studies of stone artefact curation are largely based on retouched tools, the curation process may exist in the absence of retouch. A methodology based on the quantification of cortical surface area is presented as one means through which curation without retouch may be explored. This methodology is based on the principles of solid geometry and enables comparison between the quantities of cortex observed in lithic assemblages and that which should be present given the size and shape of the stone nodules from which artefacts were produced. Deviations between observed and expected values indicate the effects of artefact transport on assemblage formation. Application of the cortex methodology indicates that cortex is extensively underrepresented in the NSW assemblages, meaning artefacts were transported away from their place of production. This result is in marked contrast to the perception of Aboriginal technological expedience. Further investigation of the cortex methodology, the development of refined techniques and the completion of additional fieldwork enabled a more in-depth test of the initial result. Viewed from a variety of perspectives, further study supports the initial interpretation. Utilizing spatial patterning in assemblage cortex proportions, the data for this study are then used to investigate the scale of Aboriginal mobility. Interpretation of this patterning provides insights into the organization of land use at a landscape scale and thus demonstrates a greater appreciation of the potential for informal lithic technologies to inform on the organization of the past.
Backed artefacts formed a significant component of hunter-gatherer stone tool-kits dating to the mid- to late Holocene in Australia. A popular model explaining this pattern views backed artefacts as standardised components of reliable and maintainable composite tools designed to reduce risk associated with foraging in a drier, more variable climate. Implied is the idea that there is a minimal range of variation in form. The degree to which backed artefacts were standardised, however, remains unclear. Re-analysis of backed artefacts from Sandy Hollow and Bobadeen in the Hunter River valley, excavated in the 1960s, was undertaken to assess standardisation in the metrical attributes of backed forms. Results highlight the standardisation of backed artefacts, though the degree to which different dimensions appear uniform varies between the two assemblages. The width of backed artefacts, however, appears to be an important dimension, and minimal variation in width was produced by knappers at both sites, irrespective of whether the samples were arranged into technological subtypes. Overall, the results of this analysis provide support in favour of the model which views backed artefacts as standardised tool components. Future research must be directed towards gaining a better understanding of the reasons for this standardisation.
The reliability of flaked tool function studies in New Zealand archaeology
Archaeology in Oceania, 1991
We report the results of a blind test of flaked tool function. Thirty freshly knapped obsidian flakes were used in a range of tasks. Tool function was identified employing a low power (< 40x) microscope and commonly used edge variables. We show that flakes used on pliable materials such as flax could not be identified as tools, whereas ca. 50% of those used in woodworking and all those used in boneworking were so recognised. However, most boneworking tools were wrongly assigned to woodworking and half of the woodworking implements were assigned a wrong function. Our results suggest an unacceptably high level of error in analyses of New Zealand flaked tool function.
Integrated methodological approaches to the study of lithic tools
Malgré le caractère inhabituel de son système de référence, la Préhistoire et avant tout une histoire des techniques Leroi-Gourhan, 1962 The behavioural significance of lithic production, even though intensively investigated, is still mostly unsolved, while the vivacious discussion in the scientific community has brought to elaborate diverse methods and to develop many typological schemes. Investigating about the relationship between stone tools production and human behaviour deals with the reconstruction of techniques and functions and aims to reconstruct the economical choices performed by past humans. The overall interface of these main issues would aim, in the very end, to reconstruct veritable economic strategies and social dynamics performed by human groups who interacted with given environmental settings. In this sense stone tools production and their function are probably some of the most fundamental issues which directly deal with the material traces of past human activities, mingling the strict survival commitments related to evaluation of costs and benefits of a series of actions in order to get the goal. By establishing a cause-effect relationship between human labour and matter to be transformed, by means of integrated approaches to the study of lithic assemblages it is possible to model an answer to basic questions for scholars who deals with prehistoric activities: why, how, what is being produced? In the last phase of the investigative process it is worth to ask for the human group and the time in which all the actions had been performed. In this heuristic, cultural labelling came definitely at last.
Middle Paleolithic mobile toolkits in short-term human occupations: two case studies
Porraz G., 2009
It is a com mon be hav ior for hunter-gath erer groups to trans port a lim ited va ri ety of im ple ments in an tic i pa tion of varied ex i gen cies. De pend ing on the set tle ment sys tem, the raw ma te rial dis tri bu tion and the tech no log i cal tra di tions, the mobile toolkit car ried by hu mans dif fers in its de sign and as sem bly. Even if few ar chae o log i cal case stud ies are avail able today, from the mid dle Paleolithic pe riod, end prod ucts are gen er ally con sid ered as prod ucts of high trans port abil ity. This pa per iden ti fies trans ported items and "pass ing through" of prod ucts us ing stud ies from two short-term oc cu pa tion sites. The na ture of the ac tiv i ties tes ti fied by these "ghost" re mains have di rect ef fects on ar chae o log i cal re cords, and are par amount when in ter pret ing lithic as sem blage vari abil ity. Fi nally, this study pro vides tan gi ble ev i dence of plan ning ca pac i ties of late premodern homi nids, and at tests to the techno-eco nomic strat e gies, which were ef fi cient as early as the Mous terian pe riod.
Early Australian Implement Variation: a Reduction Model
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2003
The composition of lithic assemblages is typically depicted in terms the relative abundance of different implement types. In this paper we hypothesize that the characteristics of early Australian assemblages said to distinguish those types are part of a morphological continuum, and that this continuum is largely explained as a reflection of different levels of reduction. We demonstrate the viability of this perspective at one of the classic sites at which early industries were defined, Capertee 3. The existence of an Australian technology structured around continuous reduction without evidence of ''imposed form'' reveals that this pattern is widespread and should not be taken to represent an ''archaic'' approach to stone working. Implications for conventional interpretations of Palaeolithic stone implements are briefly examined.
The concept and meaning of tools: functional aspects and social implications
L. Boutoille, R. Peake (eds.), Metalworkers and their Tools: Symbolism, Function, and Technology in the Bronze and Iron Ages, 2023
The emergence of bronze tools in deposits and graves in Bronze Age Europe has for a long time been associated with craftsmen. The deposited tools belong especially to the toolkits of metalworkers and are therefore seen as indicators for the participation of metalworkers in events such as the depositing of bronzes. A closer look at the material shows however that the number of deposited tools in Bronze Age hoards is less than 3%. Most tools are multifunctional and are used for many different crafting activities. In contrast, there are only a few tools with a specific function. A functional analysis of tools in the Carpathian Basin, Central Europe, and southern Scandinavia could be an indication of the social status of craftsmen. The connection between artisans suggests that an in-depth study would further our understanding of their function and status, the crafting sphere they belonged to, and the materials they used. This study deals with questions about the occurrence and treatment of tools in deposits and graves. Furthermore, the handling of tools and their significance for Bronze Age craftsmen and their societies will be discussed.