Mesolithic technology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025

A spring at Blick Mead, Vespasian’s Camp, close to Stonehenge, has preserved substantial Mesolithic deposits, which potentially transform our understanding of the pre-Stonehenge landscape and the establishment of its later ritual character. This report outlines the recent discoveries and concludes with a review of the site and its wider significance. Mesolithic settlement near Stonehenge: excavations at Blick Mead, Vespasian’s Camp, Amesbury by David Jacques and Tom Phillips with contributions by Peter Hoare, Barry Bishop, Tony Legge † and Simon Parfitt Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 107 (2014), pp. 7–27

2025

Конференция: Соединяя пространство и время: методы пространственного анализа в изучении позднего каменного века Евразии (14-17 мая 2025 г., г. Петрозаводск, Карелия)

2025, 27th EAA Annual Meeting (Kiel Virtual, 2021)

327 ENGENDERING PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY [AGE]

2025, Первые радиоуглеродные даты стоянки Замиль-Коба 1 в Крыму // КСИА. 2024 Вып.276. С. 23 – 34

The paper is the first to publish the results of five radiocarbon dates obtained by the AMS-method using bones of terrestrial animals from the excavations of the Zamil-Koba 1 site in Southwestern Crimea conducted by D. A. Kraynov in 1935–1937. Until recently, only four Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites of mountainous Crimea, namely, Shan-Koba, Skalisty rock shelter, Shpan-Koba and Buran-Kaya had the series of dates obtained by the AMS-method. The new series of radiocarbon dates made it possible to date the upper and the lower occupation layers at Zamil-Koba 1 to the first half of the Alleroed and the first half of the Boreal period, respectively.

2025

Статья посвящена результатам эксперимента по перфорации тонко выделанной шкуры с помощью иглы, изготовленной из бивня мамонта. Данное исследование является продолжением ранее начатых работ, направлен-ных на изучение технических алгоритмов перфорации кожи с различными характеристиками. Для реализации эксперимента были созданы: инструмент согласно критериям палеолитических технологий, перфорируемый материал (шкура), прошедший механическую обработку, нити (из эпидермы стеблей конопли). В результате сотни перфораций получены данные о специфике следов утилизации на рабочем инструменте, которые позволяют провести сопоставление с экспериментальными и археологическими материалами. Сделан вывод об особенностях формирования следов износа на поверхности костяной иглы в контексте кратковременной обработки тонкой шкуры.

2025, Archeologie západních Čech 11 (1-2)

2025, Proceedings of Meso’2020 – Tenth International Conference on the Mesolithic in Europe, Toulouse, France, 2020

The Dnieper Rapids Region is situated between the lower and middle reaches of the Dnieper
river between Dnipro and Zaporizhya cities (Ukraine). This stretch of river is a section of the
break through the Ukrainian crystalline shield, which had resulted in the formation of a unique
ecological niche with natural borders, a large number of islands and huge rocks in the riverbed
and a landscape similar to canyon.
Archeological evidence points to long-term inhabitation of several sedentary ancient groups
within the territory. This is con rmed by numerous settlements and burial grounds. Though,
some mobility of population was characteristic inside the region, but entire displaces were cyclical,
stable, systematic and repetitive from year to year. The settlements during the warm season
were generally located on islands and large rocks. Each of those settlements was populated with
a group of people (family, clan) that has provided itself and was engaged in supplying. During
the cold season, a commune of several "island groups" was located in coastal settlements uniting
their work and accumulated resources. Each commune has had a xed system of seasonal
movements on the controlled territory by movement back to already habitable places from past
seasons depending on the season

2025

Will there be a next Nordic TAG? Reflections on theoretical archaeology in the Nordic countries today 14 Metode Jeppe Faerch-Jensen* 3D-scanning af skibstømmer. Teknologisk avancement i rumlig registrering 25

2025

Innenfor E18 Langangen–Lanner-prosjektet ble det i 2020 utgravd fire lokaliteter (id 222339–222342) nedenfor toppen av Blåfjell lengst sør på Sundsåsen. De fire lokalitetene, kalt Blåfjell 1–4 (fra høyest/eldst til lavest/yngst), lå mellom ca. 40 og 60 moh. og er datert til ulike deler av mellommesolitikum og seinmesolitikum, med hovedbruksfaser mellom ca. 7800 og 5200 f.Kr. Enkelte gjenstandsfunn og C14-resultater tyder også på bruk av området i neolitikum. På alle de fire lokalitetene ble det i tillegg avdekket kokegroper/ildsteder fra eldre jernalder. Gjenstandsmateriale og prøver fra utgravningene av lokalitetene er tilvekstført under C-nummer 62935–62938. Registreringsfunnene er katalogisert under C61033–61036. Fra utgravingen av lokalitetene foreligger det til sammen ca. 23.900 gjenstander av flint og andre steinsorter. Et omfattende prøvemateriale kommer i tillegg. Totalt foreligger det 57 radiologiske dateringer utført på trekull, brente hasselnøttskall og brente bein. Av disse faller 38 dateringer innenfor steinalderen. Blåfjell 3 (C62937) lå i en smal dalgang mellom ca. 56 moh. i nord og ca. 48–49 moh. i sør, og var ca. 1450 m2 stor. I likhet med de andre lokalitetene ble Blåfjell 3 utgravd i tre trinn; maskinell avtorving (ca. 960 m2) og prøvekvadranter (40 stk.), deretter konvensjonell graving i ruter og lag (totalt 116 m2 i lag 1, 54m2 i lag 2) og til slutt maskinell flateavdekking (ca. 400 m2). Skjørbrent stein funnet i gravde ruter ble veid. Rutegravingen ble konsentrert til den sørlige delen av lokaliteten, hvor funnfrekvensen var høyest og løsmasselagene tykkest. I sørvest var deler av lokaliteten overlagret av nedraste stein og grusmasser. Til sammen ble 20 strukturer avdekket og snaut 9100 steingjenstander ble samlet inn, hvorav 94 % er av flint. Blant disse er det en redskapsandel på 2,5 %. En mulig mikrolitt, en mulig mikrostikkel samt koniske og bipolare kjerner inngår i flintmaterialet. Bergartsmaterialet omfatter flatmeisler, en brukket enkel hakke og flere trinnøkser på ulike produksjons- og bruksstadier, samt slipeplater av sandstein. I tillegg ble et omfattende prøvemateriale, deriblant 41 fragmenter av brente bein, (5,4 g) samlet inn. Alle kunne bestemmes til pattedyr, mens tre beinfragmenter er av mellomstore arter, med morfologi og størrelse tilsvarende sel/villsvin/hund/hjortedyr. Med enkelte unntak (to tangespisser av flint) kan gjenstandsmaterialet karakteriseres som enhetlig og typisk mellommesolittisk. Det foreligger totalt 23 C14-dateringer (brent bein, trekull, hasselnøttskall) fra lokaliteten. Av disse faller 15 til mellommesolitikum, med to hovedbruksfaser innenfor ca. 7600–7000 f.Kr. og ca. 7000–6700 f.Kr. I tillegg faller én datering til TN, én til SN, mens seks prøver og enkelte strukturer viser til aktiviteter (og skogbranner?) på stedet også i FRJA, RT, FVT og MVT.

2025, Hukay

All remains produced by humans are called artefacts. For prehistoric archaeologists the most important artefacts were made of stone. Stones are usually hard and resistable, especially those used by prehistoric men to make tools. While most organic materials may disappear during time, under "regular" geological conditions stone tools will last over millions of years. Thus, they contain most of the informations archaeologists get from prehistoric life. Over 99% of the time span humans exist, stones played a major role to fulfill almost all functions necessary for subsistence. They were used for cutting, scraping, carving, boring, grinding and more. All the functions today metal is used for were formerly done with stones. The first stone tools which appear at least 3 million years ago had a simple design and were made from pebbles or rocks. Beside flakes they are so-called choppers or chopping tools. Because of some disadvantages, especially the less to control cleavage, prehistoric humans learned to choose silicate rocks like quartzite, radiolarite, chert or flintstone. They showed both great hardness and sharpness and good cleavage qualities. During the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic stone tools commonly were made by knapping. Because chert/flintstone is quite brittle the working parts of flint tools soon became damaged and scarred during extensive labour. The lifespan of such tools were quite short. Especially for heavy detaching and splinting activities on harder working materials the techniques of stone grinding were developed at the end of the Mesolithic or beginning of the Neolithic. Now it was possible to make sharp and resistant tools out of tenacious and

2025, Vela Pećina cave near Kali on Ugljan – a new late upper Paleolithic site in the northern Dalmatian islands // Vela Pećina kod Kali na Ugljanu – novo nalazište kasnoga gornjeg paleolitika na sjevernodalmatinskim otocima

The paper presents the results of trial excavations at Vela Pećina cave near Kali on the island of Ugljan, and in particular the results of techno-typological and petrographic analyses of the lithic find assemblage. It considers the site’s significance in the settlement grid of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers within the context of the time period confirmed by radiocarbon dating and the site’s geographic location on the margins of the presently submerged Adriatic Plain. // U radu se iznose rezultati probnog iskopavanja Vele pećine kod Kali na otoku Ugljanu, s naglaskom na rezultate tehno-tipološke i petrografske analize litičkog skupa nalaza. Razmatra se značenje lokaliteta u mreži naseljavanja gornjopaleolitičkih lovaca sakupljača s obzirom na vremensko razdoblje potvrđeno radiokarbonskim datiranjem i geografski položaj lokaliteta na rubu danas potopljene Jadranske nizine.

2024, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

Plants and plant-based foods played a crucial role in human evolution, and the interaction between plants and humans is a highly debated topic in archaeology. Ground stone tools are considered particularly valuable evidence due to their direct involvement in various plant processing tasks. This paper investigates the use of sandstone ground stone tools coming from the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region, used in plant processing
tasks, providing clues about the exploitation of vegetal resources during the Mesolithic of the region. Applying a novel approach based on the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including optical
microscopy, 3D surface texture analysis, and spatial analysis, we explore the use of ground stone tools in plant processing at the site. Our results highlight the existence of a specific plant-food processing technology in the area of the Danube Gorges during the eight millennium cal BC, alongside the familiarity of these Mesolithic foragers with the consumption of wild plants, long before the introduction of agriculture in this region.

2024, Eastern Mediterranean Contact Area in the Early Prehistory. Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts

In recent years, the evidence of increased settlement of the central Balkans in the period immediately before and at the beginning of the LGM has multiplied. One of the researched sites is the Potpeč cave in southern Serbia, radiometrically dated to the period 28–24 ka cal BP. The preliminary results of the analysis indicate that the cave represented a temporary camp of the Early Epigravetian groups who, in addition to hunting, also engaged in fishing. Among the remains of the fauna, the bones of mammals that inhabited different biomes (hare, ibex, wild boar) were identified, as well as the remains of birds, fish and herpetofauna. In addition, the unique feature of the Potpeč faunal assemblage is the great number of micromammal remains, which provide valuable data for the reconstruction of palaeoecological conditions. Whereas the accumulation of bird, herpetofauna and micromammal remains was probably not a result of anthropogenic influence, the deposition of large and medium-sized mammal remains, as well as fish, was most likely related to human activity. This is especially the case with ibex, with sporadic evidence of butchering and burning on the bones of this species, and fish – given its size, taphonomy, and skeletal element distribution. As a subsistence strategy, fishing appears as early as the Upper Paleolithic (especially from the LGM), as part of the “Broad Spectrum Revolution”. Of the fish remains that could be determined, 3 vertebrae originated from fairly large huchen (Hucho hucho) specimens, measuring between 70 and 82 cm in length. Among the artifacts found in the cave were cores, blades, bladelets, and backed tools. The evidence from Potpeč and other Gravettian and Epigravettian sites in the interior of the Balkans indicate that this area
was a glacial refugium for human groups in the LGM. It is yet to be established whether it was the local population or the newcomers from more northern areas which moved south at the beginning of cooling.

2024, Collegium antropologicum

Archaeological finds of personal ornaments reveal not only behavioural patterns of the society they belong to, but also their forms of manifestations indicate connections, contacts and communication paths, exchange networks and movements of prehistoric populations. This paper advances the current knowledge regarding ornamental traditions in Eastern Adriatic area during Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. Thirteen prehistoric sites from this area have yielded more than thousand finds of ornamental assemblage, making Eastern Adriatic coast and hinterland fruitful area for the research of this type of archaeological assemblage. Results of the analysis have shown existence of diachronic changes in the selection of raw materials from Upper Palaeolithic to Mesolithic period. Personal ornaments are less abundant during Upper Palaeolithic, but are typologically diverse compared to Mesolithic period when the selectivity of the raw material with the large increase of the number of...

2024, Prehistoric ornaments in a changing environment. An integrated approach to the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Columbella rustica shells from the Vlakno cave, Croatia

This paper advances knowledge of human behavioural and adaptational strategies in coastal areas related to acquiring, producing and distributing ornaments, specifically, the omnipresent marine gastropod Columbella
rustica. By applying quantitative and qualitative approaches to the most extensive collection of Columbella rustica shells in the Eastern Adriatic region discovered in the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic levels of Vlakno cave in Croatia, we have determined the complete step-by-step life cycle of this bead type, in particular, where and how shells were collected, produced, used, distributed and discarded. By integrating different methodologies, our data revealed changes in the collection strategies, reduction of the shell size during the Mesolithic period, and standardisation and continuity in production techniques. Detailed analyses of broken shells in the archaeological assemblage identified the presence of technological traces resulting from processing mistakes,
supporting our hypothesis of on-site production. A significant share of used and unused standardised beads points that bead production at this site was for personal use but also likely for the exchange and distribution
systems. Standardised, systematic and long-lasting activity related to the ornaments places Vlakno cave as one of the leading centres for maintaining regional exchange and communication networks in the Eastern Adriatic region during significant climatic and environmental changes happening in this region in the Late Pleniglacial
and the early Holocene. Detecting on-site activities related to the ornaments in Vlakno cave has extended our understanding of how symbolic motives influenced the settlement model of the Late Pleniglacial and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Eastern Adriatic region and overall contributed to fundamental questions about the complexity of ancient human societies’ adaptation strategies.

2024

During the 7th and 6th millenniums BC, major changes occurred over a widespread area in the lithic industries of the late Mesolithic. We focused our research on notched blades and bladelets knapped by pressure or indirect percussion. We managed to define this technical process by Late Mesolithic Notched Blades from Western Europe and North Africa 233 showing that these notches result from voluntary retouch, with variability in retouch modes and in uses (different operating processes and worked materials). It is a simple technical concept, connected to the recurring mode of operation, but with varied functional purposes that comes out as a result of this survey carried out in France, Belgium, Spain, Morocco and Tunisia.

2024, Veleia Revista De Prehistoria Historia Antigua Arqueologia Y Filologia Clasicas

Presentamos una pieza procedente del yacimiento Mesolítico de la cueva de El Espertín cuya presencia en contextos superopaleolíticos o Mesolíticos del Norte peninsular había sido propuesta por H. Barandiaran pero cuya existencia en dichos periodos no había sido claramente contrastada. Se trata de un anzuelo plano con escotaduras laterales característico del Grupo III, tipo secundario 12.2. Su presencia amplia la variabilidad de este Grupo hasta ahora restringida a los tipos biapuntados.

2024, Fund&Fortid

Hvordan Guldhornene er brugt både nationalt og kulturelt og også i kommerciel henseende, siden de i 1802 blev stjålet og smeltet om.

2024, Compte-rendu du XVIII° congrès mondial de l’UISPP

results from the technological analysis indicate the presence of several expedient technologies, more elaborate opposed striking platform knapping sequences and a possible diachronic evolution in preferential raw material use. Both spatial analyses and lithic technology are reinforced by an extensive microwear analysis that can specify the objectives of the knapping sequences and mostly the spatial organization of the different activities (butchery, hide and plant scraping, osseous tools manufacturing...) for each occupation phase. In the future, the results from Kerkhove will have to be compared with those previously obtained with the same protocol from other (dryland) sites in northwestern Belgium.

2024, Documenta Praehistorica

Despite extensive research and excavations across the central Balkans, Early Holocene sites have so far been documented only in the Iron Gates region – for which there are several possible explanations. Some scholars argue that the apparent lack of Mesolithic sites is due to inadequate research efforts in the region, while others suggest that the ecological conditions in the central Balkans during the Early Holocene may not have been favourable to the subsistence of hunter-gatherer communities. Contrary to previous beliefs, recent investigations of caves in eastern Serbia have revealed that humans inhabited the region during the Mesolithic. Traces of settlement of Mesolithic groups, dating back to the 7th millennium cal BC and employing comparable technology and economic practices to Mesolithic communities in other parts of the Balkan Peninsula, have been documented at the Pešterija Cave, situated south of Pirot in southeastern Serbia. The fact that the site is located relatively close to the oldest Neolithic sites in the Iron Gates and northwest Bulgaria, and is potentially contemporaneous with them, offers a completely new perspective on the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in this part of the Balkans.

2024, Preistoria Alpina

Abstract: Mesolithic lithic scatters were identified in the highland district of San Vito di Cadore (1800-2700 m a.s.l.) since the late 1970s, mostly enhanced by the discovery of the site of Mondeval de Sora. From 2011 to 2015 a new archaeological survey project was developed in this territory, focusing on the area between Passo Giau and Col de la Puina. A “total archaeology approach” enabled different types of archaeological evidence to be recorded. In this paper the Mesolithic assemblages are presented. Both previously identified and newly recognised find-spots were positioned, described and spatially analysed in connection to the topography of the investigated territory, in order to provide insights on the settlement strategies adopted by the Mesolithic groups in this area.
Key Words: Lithic scatters, Mesolithic, Belluno Dolomites, Landscape Archaeology

2024

1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università dell’Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy 2 Laboratorio di Archeobiologia dei Musei Civici di Como, Piazza Medaglie d’Oro 1, 22100 Como, Italy 3 Dipartimento di Storia, Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, Università Cattolica di Milano, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy 4 Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università di Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d’Este 32, 44100 Ferrara, Italy

2024, XLVII skupština i godišnji skup Srpskog arheološkog društva: program, izveštaji i apstrakti

O prisustvu mezolitskih zajednica na teritoriji Srbije van područja Đerdapa sve do nedavno je moglo da se raspravlja samo na osnovu površinskih nalaza sa lokaliteta Hajdukovo i 13. maj, radiokarbonskih datuma dobijenih za osteološki materijal sa nekoliko neolitskih nalazišta na severu zemlje (Magareći mlin, Topole-Bač, Gospođinci-Nove zemlje, Grabovac - Đurića vinogradi) i ostataka faune iz pećine Bukovac kod Despotovca. To se promenilo 2022. i 2023. godine, kada su kulturni ostaci iz perioda mezolita nađeni u pećini Pešterija kod Zvonačke banje. U sloju 3 ove pećine, koji je radiometrijski datovan u 7. i početak 6. milenijuma pre n.e. konstatovani su mezolitski okresani artefakti, ostaci faune, fragmenti koštanih alatki i zubi sa tragovima obrade koji su verovatno korišćeni kao nakit. Poseban značaj ima činjenica da je u Pešteriji nađen zub virezuba, budući da su zubi od ove vrste riba često korišćeni za ukrašavanje u mezolitu Đerdapa. U sloju 3 Pešterije nađeni su i artefakti od "balkanskog kremena" (među kojima i jedan umetak za kompozitno oruđe), karakteristični za rani neolit centralnog i istočnog Balkana. Nalazi od "balkanskog kremena" ukazuju na to da su postojali kontakti između mezolitskih zajednica koje su naseljavale Pešteriju i neolitskih zajednica u susednim oblastima.

2024

Робота відноситься до області машинобудування і металообробки, зокремадо збірних відрізним і канавочним різцям, дисковим відрізним і торцевим фрезам з механічним кріпленням багатогранних непереточуваних пластин, а також до ріжучих пластин для їх оснащення. Запропоновані нові пластини виключають перехідні ділянки на вершинах за рахунок заточування лисок або викруглянь на бічних гранях, що забезпечує можливість їх застосування для відрізки заготовок і для чистової обробки поверхонь. Работа относится к области машиностроения и металлообработки, в частности-к сборным отрезным и канавочным резцам, дисковым, отрезным и торцовым фрезам с механическим креплением многогранных неперетачиваемых пластин, а также к режущим пластинам для их оснащения. Предложенные новые пластины исключают переходные участки на вершинах за счет заточки лысок или выкружек на боковых гранях, что обеспечивает возможность их применения для отрезки заготовок и для чистовой обработки поверхностей. The paper concerns the field of mechanical engineering and machining, in particular: the assembled severed and grooved cutters, disk, severed and face milling cutters, with mechanical fastening of multifaceted no reface cutting plates for their equipment. The new plates offered exclude transitive sites at the tops at the expense of sharpening flats or covers on lateral sides, that provides the opportunity of their application for cutting work pieces and finish-machining flat surfaces.

2024, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

At the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites (9500-5500 cal BCE) of Lepenski Vir and Vlasac in the Danube Gorges of Serbia, numerous disarticulated human remains were unearthed along with articulated skeletons. In many cases primary burial was only a temporary stage in the funerary ritual and skeletonised bodies were exhumed, manipulated, and relocated. The majority of bodies were left to decay within the ground prior to exhumation and disarticulation. In some instances, however, the presence of cut-marks indicates that human intervention occurred before completion of the natural decay process. In this paper we present frequency, distribution and micro-morphometric analyses of cut-marks on disarticulated human bones from Lepenski Vir and Vlasac. The use of a Focus Variation Microscope (the Alicona 'InfiniteFocus') has enabled 3-dimensional quantitative analyses of cut-mark characteristics. The location and infrequency of cut-marks strongly suggest that active defleshing was not a systematic part of funerary ritual at these sites, but it more likely occurred on bodies that were accidentally unearthed prior to skeletonisation. Based on the micro-morphometric analysis, discernible and measurable differences exist between different cutting practices and we now better understand the ways in which human bodies were treated. Taking into account other taphonomic observations, we suggest that cutting occurred on partially decomposed bodies.

2024

Vast areas of the both sides of the Urals with different ecotones were populated by foraging communities that sustained their way of life for several millennia. The instability of ecological niches due to climatic and/ or anthropogenic factors and the variability of biodiversity may have forced societies to change their adaptation mechanisms-through the development of new habitats, the adoption of innovation, the formation of new social and economic systems and networks. Crucial changes of the 7th-6th mill calBC within these hunter-gatherer societies are marked by settlement of larger areas, appearance of ceramics which became of a wide use in the whole hunter-gatherer world, increase of sedentism, changes in foraging strategies, and new settlement systems manifesting all a new way of life. The asynchronous appearance of these changes in different societies may have been due to their rate of acceptance of innovations, the speed of the process, the way how they were transferred. The new 'Neolithic' networks established might have been limited both by natural and, possibly, cultural borders. The session aims to show how local foraging groups reacted to the new reality, accepted and adapted to it or not. We are encouraging papers showing changes occurred comparing to the preceding Mesolithic time, the speed of these processes; the innovations emerged, whether these processes were triggered by global and local paleoclimatic changes through archaeological studies and implication of natural scientific methods.

2024, Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt

Archaeological surveys and excavations from 2005 to 2023 in the municipality of Muotathal have so far revealed nine
Mesolithic sites with radiocarbon-dated charcoal and faunal remains, as well as typologically identifable silices. The
differing topographical situations of the sites and fnd assemblages make it possible to propose a modelled reconstruction of land usage by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups in the mountainous Alpine study area. Base camps, campsites
at passages obligés and hunting observation posts visited in summer or autumn can be identifed. In winter, groups of
people probably remained on the Swiss Plateau. Determination of siliceous raw materials provides evidence of contacts
and exchange systems involving the Central Plateau, the Jura, the Alpine Rhine Valley and southern Alpine regions.
Palaeoethnobotanical, osteological, anthracological and malacological investigations additionally provide valuable data
regarding the climate, environment and anthropogenic supply strategies.

2024, STONE AGE Studying Technologies of Non-analogous Environments and Glacial Ecosystems. Papers in Honor of Jürgen Richter

Zusammenfassung - Archäologische Forschungen sind im Allgäu seit den 1930er Jahren durchgeführt worden. Bisher fanden aber nur an drei Stellen fachliche Untersuchungen statt. Die Erstellung einer Chronologie beruht im Wesentlichen auf... more

2024, Springer eBooks

Following dedication: One of the first known examples of Stratigraphie column drawn by L.F. Marsili in Bologna araund 1675 to represent the Messinian Gessoso-solfifera Formation of the Romagna Apennines. Alternations of gypsum, fish-rich... more

2024

В коллекции любого памятника есть группа материалов, не поддающаяся однозначной типологической и функциональной оценке. Как правило, подобные изделия остаются неопубликованными до момента появления аналогов. Среди костяных артефактов стоянки позднего палеолита Черноозерье II последних сезонов работ подобных с десяток. Одни типологически неожиданны, другие неоднозначны в своей функциональной нагрузке. Их постепенная презентация может стать поводом к обсуждению вопросов типологического разнообразия и особенностей утилизации костяных орудий финального плейстоцена на юге Западной Сибири.
Статья адресована презентации фрагмента артефакта ЧЗ.II.21.127, обнаруженного в ходе археологических работ 2021 г. на площади подсектора 3.1 стоянки Черноозерье II. Данное орудие выполнено из плоской расщепленной кости плотоядного животного, с ярко выраженным односторонним лезвием и перфорацией в зоне его кромки. Форма нарушена, но сохранившиеся оригинальные зоны демонстрируют следы сильного износа. Их анализ, описание состояния кости, морфологии сохранившейся части изделия, технологических следов, макро- и микроследов утилизации, проведенная типологическая корреляция, позволяют заявить о выявлении фрагмента комбинированного орудия с двумя, морфологически яркими и функционально дискретными зонами, созданного и использовавшегося, очевидно, для обработки свежих шкур животных.
Комбинированные орудия из камня – явление нередкое, но комбинированный характер костяных артефактов обсуждается нечасто. Предлагаемое сообщение является вариантом комплексного рассмотрения одного из них.
/ Any monument collection has a group of materials that cannot be unambiguously evaluated from a typological and functional point of view. As a rule, such artifacts remain unpublished until the appearance of their counterparts. About a dozen of such bone artifacts of late Paleolithic Cherno-Ozerye II sites have been found in recent seasons. Some of them are typologically uncontemplated; the others are ambiguous in terms of their functional load. Their phased presentation can become an occasion for a discourse on typological diversity and features of utilisation of the final Pleistocene bone tools found in the south of Western Siberia.
The article dwells on the presentation of a fragment of artifact ChZ.II.21.127 discovered during the archaeological excavation in 2021 in subsection 3.1 of Chernoozerye II site. The found tool is made of flat split bone of a carnivorous animal; it has a clear-cut one-sided blade and perforation in its edge area. The shape is distorted, but the surviving original areas show signs of severe wear. Their analysis, the description of the bone condition and the morphology of the preserved part of the object, the technological imprints, macro- and micro traces of utilisation, as well as the performed typological correlation, make it possible to state that the artifact represents a fragment of a combined tool with two morphologically conspicuous and functionally discrete zones, that was apparently created and used for treatment of untouched animal skins.
Combination stone tools are not an uncommon finding, but the combined nature of bone artefacts is a rare subject of discussion. The present report is an option of comprehensive examination of one of such tools.

2024, Archaeologia Polona

The aim of the article is to present the results of a multifaceted analysis of a collection of non-flint stone artefacts obtained during excavations of the complex of Late Palaeolithic camps at site 17 in Nowogród, Golub-Dobrzyń district. It included an obsidian artefact and objects made of crystalline rocks (quartzite, quartzite sandstone, quartz, coarse sandstone and diorite), which were created as a result of knapping the raw material using techniques similar or identical to those used during the processing of flint. The results of petrographic analysis confirmed that these raw materials had come from natural resources located near the site. Most of the analysed artefacts are represented by large flakes. In addition, one chip and two tools, a multiple burin and a pebble tool, were distinguished. Use-wear analysis showed signs of use on two artefacts, including the pebble tool. The obsidian artefact is currently the northernmost Late Palaeolithic find of this type. In order to det...

2024

The aim of the analysis was to find out which methods of softening bone and antler were most effective when using stone tools. Four methods were analysed: immersion in water, boiling in water, soaking in sorrel and soaking in sour milk. The results of micro trace analysis carried out on the tools used in the experiments are presented, the aim being to compare the micro traces on the tools used to work the softened bone/antler. n Grzegorz OSIPOWICZ (Poland) * This is a summarised version. For the full article with exhaustive notes please see www.eurorea.net. n Photo 28 Bone and antler products made using flint tools and softening techniques.

2024, Journal of Lithic Studies

In the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic core processing in Poland was dominated by flint raw materials. The present paper considers the occurrence of non-flint assemblages at the sites Lubrza and Ludowice (Polish Lowland). The focus is on recognition of petrographic studies, technology, typology and use-wear of inventories from both sites. The collections contain debitage, cores and different kinds of tools. As a result the identification of granite, sandstone, quartzite, gneisses, mudstones, slates and single minerals of quartzes and feldspars was established. The use-wear analysis brought good results only in case in porphyry artefacts. The described analyses are accompanied by a review of European non-flint assemblages from Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites and discussion of the role of this type of raw material in core processing.

2024

Insertion chronologique du Mésolithique valaisan La chronologie du Mésolithique valaisan a pour point de départ l'abri-sous-roche de Collombey-Vionnaz, uni¬

2024, Journal of the Korean Archaeological Society

The purpose of this study is to reveal the characteristics of fishing with harpoons and
spears on the Korean Peninsula during the Neolithic Period. For this purpose, tool form
was first examined, with focus on its functional nature. Based on this, type classification
took place and the process of spatio-temporal development was examined. In addition, in
order to make inferences on methods of fishing with harpoons and spears, the relationship
between the tools and animal remains was examined, with verification undertaken using
direct and ethnographic references.
The results of the study revealed that the fixed harpoon was the main type; they represent
the highest proportion, compared to spears or detachable harpoons. In general, fishing
with harpoons and spears in the Incipient and Early Neolithic periods was prevalent in the
eastern and southern coastal areas. In the Middle Neolithic period, this was restricted to the
eastern and northeastern zones of the southern coastal area. This tendency became more
and more prominent into the Late and Epi- Neolithic Periods. On the other hand, the sites
of Dongsam-dong and Seopohang appear to have witnessed more intensive fishing using
harpoons and spears in these later periods.
Fishing using harpoons and spears in the Neolithic period on the Korean peninsula
consisted of the use of fixed harpoons, detachable harpoons, and stingers as a means of
capturing fish and sea mammals. In particular, the connection between fishing gears tools
and sea mammal remains seems to suggest that among pinnipedia, ‘sea lions’ were the
main target. This may be because sea lions could be most effectively captured from a close
range, using fixed harpoons or stingers. This possibility is also attested by the fact that,
compared to northern Japan, the ‘old style’ in terms of technical morphology continued to
be used. In other words, the ecological environment that was suitable for proximal capturing
did not facilitate the development of detachable harpoons, and this must have served
as the background for the formation of the characteristic culture of fishing with harpoons
and spears in the Korean Peninsula.

2024, Journal of Archaeological Science

This paper deals with the quantification of use-wear polish, using image analysis as a means to increase the objectivity of use-wear analysis. The three elements which characterize polish (texture, pattern and degree of development) are measured. Our first results are promising, showing that, if we isolate the degree of development of the polish, the characteristics of pattern and texture enable us to consistently group together polishes from different worked materials (wood, bone, hide, etc.). Image analysis can be used to improve the use-wear methodology.

2024, Geografie. Sborník České geografické společnosti

epa n c i k 0 va: River Terraces at the lower course of the Scizava River from VrabC5i Brod to Kamenny PNvoz.-Geografie-Sbornik CGS, 108,3, pp. 216-226 (2003).-A detailed geomorphological analysis of terraces within this part of the valley is submitted in the article. Only denudated relics of these terraces occur in the studied section of the valley. Comparison to the terrace system of the Vltava River was exerted for the arrangement ofthe Sazava terraces into the stratigraphical chronology. The terraces of the groups IlIA (Gunz 2) up to VII (Wurm) have been identified in the examined part of the Sazava valley. KEY WORDS: geomorphology-river terraces-valley-Bohemian massif-Central Bohemian Hilly land.

2024

2024, Veleia Revista De Prehistoria Historia Antigua Arqueologia Y Filologia Clasicas

2024, Opvscvla archaeologica

U proteklih pedesetak godina istraživanja mezolitika na području Hrvatske zabilježena su brojna nalazišta, neka izuzetno zanimljiva i bogata raznovrsnim nalazima, a neka krivo interpretirana. Kako je jedina prava sinteza tog razdoblja objavljena još 1979. godine, u ovome se radu žele sagledati promjene do kojih je u istraživanjima u međuvremenu došlo te prikazati trenutačni stupanj poznavanja razdoblja mezolitika u Hrvatskoj. Težište rada stavljeno je na kritičko sagledavanje i kratak opis svih zabilježenih mezolitičkih nalazišta te stvaranje njihova popisa sa svom raspoloživom literaturom. Ukupno je u literaturi navedeno 58 nalazišta, od čega 30 arheološki istraženih. Za šest nalazišta imamo i ispravne apsolutne datume. Nekoliko ih je pak upitno ili netočno datirano. Očigledna je neproporcionalnost broja naseobina između pojedinih regija. Razlog tomu može biti različit, no veliko povećanje broja nalazišta u Istri uslijed ciljanih rekognosciranja i istraživanja pokazuje da je vjerojatan razlog različit stupanj istraženosti regija, a ne različit stupanj nastanjenosti u mezolitiku. Iako je stanje istraženosti i poznavanja mezolitika neusporedivo bolje nego prije dvadesetak godina, i dalje su prisutne brojne nepoznanice i potrebno je još dosta istraživanja kako bi razina spoznaje bila na zadovoljavajućoj razini.

2024

Probušene školjke imaju važnu ulogu u raspravama o sustavima razmjene i ukrašavanju tijela tijekom mezolitika Europe. U ovom radu raspravljamo o skupovima nalaza probušenih ljuštura puževa pronađenih tijekom novijih istraživanja mezolitičkih nalazišta u Hrvatskoj. Brojni nalazi pronađeni su na nekoliko nalazišta na sjevernom Jadranu i u špilji Zala u unutrašnjosti Hrvatske, na prostoru Ogulinsko-plaščanske udoline. Nalazi probušenih morskih i slatkovodnih puževa iz obje regije ukazuju na postojanje regionalnih sustava razmjene između obalnih područja i unutrašnjosti tijekom mezolitika.Perforated shells figure prominently in discussions of exchange systems and body ornamentation during the Mesolithic in Europe. In this paper we discuss assemblages of perforated snail shells recovered from recent excavations of Mesolithic sites in Croatia. Numerous finds are found in several sites in Northern Adriatic and in Zala Cave in Croatia’s inland region of Ogulin-Plaški intermountain valley. P...

2024, Quaternary International

The Late Glacial and early Holocene points and harpoons made of bone and antler are one of the most common finds from these periods in the southern Baltic zone. They are a manifestation of the welldeveloped hunter-gatherer economy of that time. The presented work deals with a group of characteristic, uniserial harpoon heads which are mostly well known from Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic contexts. Their common characteristics are: one row of distinct, massive barbs, distinguished tang, and wide, flat base. Originally, the finds of this type discovered on the Polish Lowland, constituted a fairly large collection, with over twenty specimens of this type mentioned in the literature. Unfortunately, the majority of them were discovered at the beginning of twentieth century and most of them were lost during World War II. This paper present the first detailed technological analysis of the seven remaining specimens. The artefacts included represent a valuable source of information on issues related to processing bone material by the Late Glacial and early Holocene communities in the Polish Lowland. Results of the study can also become an important argument in discussion about chronological affiliation of these kind of forms discovered on Polish Lowland.

2023, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

The functionality of Cova da Baleia (Mafra, Portugal) is hereby presented and discussed in this paper. In an excavated area of 500 m2 was identified a large concentration of structures (128), of which 104 were in clay, with two phases of occupation. The absolute chronology indicates a majority occupation of the second half of the 8th millennium cal BCE (Early Mesolithic) and a second phase towards the end of the 7th millennium (Late Mesolithic). Despite the excellent state of conservation of the site, the osteological remains are practically absent, possibly due to taphonomic factors. Cova da Baleia is clearly a distinctive site of the reference framework known of the Early Mesolithic times in Portugal, given the large size of the site (about 1 ha) and its structural complexity. It was clear that an interdisciplinary approach was mandatory in order to fully guarantee the site interpretation, namely regarding its functionality. The results of the use-wear and archaeobotanical studies...

2023, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

The extensive site Bergumermeer S-64B, excavated in the early 1970s, played a pivotal role in the study of the Mesolithic in the Netherlands. The site was interpreted as a Late Mesolithic residential settlement on the basis of various arguments such as the large number of retouched tools, the size of the site and the presence of several alleged dwelling structures. This interpretation formed the basis for hypotheses on demographic patterns and increased sedentism of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. However, owing to a lack of published data these and other claims could not be verified or refuted for several decades. Six years ago, different aspects of the site such as the retouched-tool assemblage and the spatial distribution of the finds, particularly in relation to the putative dwelling structures, were studied within the framework of a national research programme. These analyses identified profound problems, regarding the typomorphological classification of many retouched tools and the fact that a considerable number of artefacts were found in disturbed contexts, hampering an in-depth spatial analysis of the site. In this contribution we will discuss the most important results of these renewed studies, their impact on the spatio-temporal integrity and interpretation of the site and the broader relevance for the study of the Mesolithic in the Low Countries.

2023, ADLFI. Archéologie de la France - Informations. une revue Gallia