Flaking stone activity in the tradition of iron smelting from the 8th to 17th centuries AD in the Matano region, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

SURYATMAN, SURYATMAN; Triwurjani, Rr.; Adhityatama, Shinatria; Bulbeck, David; Yurnaldi, Dida; Murdihastomo, Ashar; Wahyudiono, Joko; Abdullah, Abdullah; Dhony, Muslim Dimas Khoiru

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102817

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…It is possible that the Austronesians and earlier peoples may have coexisted for generations (Bulbeck, 2004; Hasanuddin et al., 2020; Suryatman et al., 2017, but see Perston, Burhan, et al., 2021), with presently‐unknown effects on stone tool technology and its role in the social lives of these peoples. A further shift in stone technology likely occurred with the advent of metallurgy; stone and metal tools were made contemporaneously in parts of South Sulawesi (Suryatman et al., 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stone‐flaking technology at Leang Bulu Bettue, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Perston

Moore

Suryatman

et al. 2022

Archaeology in Oceania

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Approximately 50000 stone artefacts have been recovered from the prehistoric site of Leang Bulu Bettue (LBB), on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. This large assemblage offers the opportunity to produce a large‐scale, comprehensive model of the early lithic technologies of South Sulawesi. Through the analysis of half of this assemblage, this study identifies a technological shift between the artefacts produced ca.50–40 thousand years ago (ka) – the “Lower Industry” – and the “Upper Industry” artefacts produced ca.40–16 ka. The majority of the assemblage belongs to the Upper Industry, and these artefacts are associated with portable art, ornamentation, and the Homo sapiens remains reported in previous works. These Upper Industry artefacts are largely made on chert that was brought to the site, sometimes in the form of large flake blanks, which was further reduced within the cave and used for ochre and plant processing. Artefact reduction was strategic during this period, and the bipolar method was frequently used for controlled reduction of flakes of various sizes. This represents a shift from the technology seen on the small number of Lower Industry artefacts, recovered from the deeper deposits. The oldest lithic artefacts yet reported from the site were made on immediately available limestone pieces, which were reduced through least‐effort and non‐intensive flake removal dictated by the available platforms. This study is compared to an analysis of Pleistocene artefacts at the nearby site of Leang Burung 2, where a similar technological shift has been observed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stone‐flaking technology at Leang Bulu Bettue, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Perston

Moore

Suryatman

et al. 2022

Archaeology in Oceania

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“…[24,[42][43][44][45][46][47]. However, some feature knapped flint, either as implements in fire-ignition equipment (e.g., the eighth-seventeenth-century AD Indonesian iron production sites; [26]) or as retouched tools and debitage that were probably used for cutting and scraping. In the Mediterranean basin, the latter chiefly occur in third and second-millennia BC copper smelting sites and bronze workshops [47][48][49].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of stone tools in metal production contexts has been reported in previous studies, although these studies mostly focused on ground stones, such as hammerstones and grinding slabs [23][24][25]. In contrast, the role of knapped stones remained largely unexplored, except for their role in fire igniting equipment [26]; although their presence in some metallurgical context has been noted [27,28]. The new excavations at Timna Valley, Israel, provide a novel access point into the intricacies of lithics' displacement by metal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

Shimelmitz,

Ben-Yosef

2023

PLoS ONE

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Metalwork was a major technological innovation that displaced stone-tool technologies and transformed human society and the environment. However, our understanding of these processes remains partial. In this paper, we approach the stone-to-metal transition from a novel angle–the presence of flint knapping at metal production sites. Drawing on excavations at the Late Bronze and Iron Age copper smelting sites in Timna Valley, Israel, we demonstrate that systematic production of expedient stone tools was integral to these sites’ industrial operations, placing it at the heart of the very same metal circulation networks that were presumably responsible for its displacement. The observations from Timna, coupled with evidence for the use of chipped stone technology in other early Iron Age metallurgical contexts, support the hypothesis that it was probably both the high accessibility of iron and its qualities that put an end to the stone tool industry. Copper and bronze could not easily fulfill the function of the ad hoc stone tools and were not used to replace stone tools even if they were available and accessible.

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Flaking stone activity in the tradition of iron smelting from the 8th to 17th centuries AD in the Matano region, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Cited by 2 publications

References 30 publications

Stone‐flaking technology at Leang Bulu Bettue, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Stone‐flaking technology at Leang Bulu Bettue, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

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