Neandertal fire-making technology inferred from microwear analysis

The emergence of agriculture was one of the most notable behavioral transformations in human history, driving innovations in technologies and settlement globally, referred to as the Neolithic. Wetland agriculture originated in the New Guinea highlands during the mid-Holocene (8000 to 4000 years ago), yet it is unclear if there was associated behavioral change. Here, we report the earliest figurative stone carving and formally manufactured pestles in Oceania, dating to 5050 to 4200 years ago. These discoveries, at the highland site of Waim, occur with the earliest planilateral axe-adzes in New Guinea, the first evidence for fibercraft, and interisland obsidian transfer. The combination of symbolic social systems, complex technologies, and highland agricultural intensification supports an independent emergence of a Neolithic ~1000 years before the arrival of Neolithic migrants (Lapita) from Southeast Asia.

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“…Pyroxenite has high concentrations of iron-rich minerals, which create sparks for lighting fires (c.f. "strike-a-light") (21).…”

Section: Stone Tool Technological Innovations From 5050 To 4200 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence of a Neolithic in highland New Guinea by 5000 to 4000 years ago

et al. 2020

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“…Such lines of evidence in combination with a techno-functional and refit analysis could potentially allow one to identify whether a given artifact was an active or an objective piece (Peacock 1989), and/or even identify its function (e.g. Sorensen et al 2018). For example, if one were to analyse a quartzite spheroid in such a manner, one could potentially identify ingrained within the artifact a mineral indexical of an igneous rock type which could suggest that the spheroid was used as a hammerstone or was alternatively flaked with an igneous hammerstone (see Jones 1994).…”

Section: Future Research Opportunities and Outstanding Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithic Raw Material Characterisation at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Favreau¹,

Mercader²

2019

Preprint

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Olduvai Gorge is located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Tanzania along the western margin of the East African Rift System. Olduvai’s sedimentary record exhibits a complex sequence of inter-stratified lithic technologies including Oldowan, Acheulean, Middle Stone Age, and Later Stone Age assemblages. While diachronic technological change is perceptible, one aspect that remained largely unchanged through time was the totality of locally available rock types. This study constitutes Olduvai Gorge’s first systematic survey and characterisation of source lithologies using thin section petrography. The primary objectives of this thesis were to establish the range of available lithic raw materials, petrographically characterise these, and determine if there were unique inter-outcrop petrographic signatures to determine if it is feasible to source lithic artifacts at the mineralogical level. Geological samples were collected in primary and secondary positions within the greater Olduvai Gorge region. A total of seventy-four thin sections of sixty-two geological samples from nineteen sources were analysed. By way of comparative analyses, it is shown that four quartzitic outcrops have unique mineral compositions, four meta-granite varieties are unique to individual outcrops, Engelosin phonolite samples are texturally and mineralogically unique, and magmatic samples recovered in secondary position may be sourced to their volcanic centre. The results of this thesis demonstrate it is feasible to differentiate between source material by way of optical mineralogy which implies that sourcing lithic artifacts from Olduvai is possible. Altogether, these revelatory insights will allow future researchers to glean new understandings of hominin raw material transport, as well as ecological and social behaviour within the Olduvai paleobasin.

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“…Prepared core technologies, such as the Levallois technique, became more widespread and allowed the production of smaller and sharper flakes of predetermined shape, also improving efficiency of raw material use and creating more uniform thickness (Lycett and Eren 2013). Further, the production and habitual use of fire by Neandertals is believed to have first occurred during the Late Middle Pleistocene (Roebroeks and Villa 2011;Sorensen et al 2018). Fire provided light and heat necessary for cooking, giving warmth, and improving the properties of lithics (Clark and Harris 1985;Sorensen 2017;Wadley and Prinsloo 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

Kozowyk

Gijn

Langejans

2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Adhesive production is one of the earliest forms of transformative technology, predating ceramics and metallurgy by over 150,000 years. The study of the adhesives used by Neandertals and early modern humans currently plays a significant role in debates about human technological and cognitive evolution. Depending on the type of adhesive used, different production sequences were required. These can vary in complexity and would have needed different knowledge, expertise, and resources to manufacture. However, our knowledge of this important technological development is severely hampered by poorly understood taphonomic processes, which affects the preservation and identification of adhesive materials and leads to a research bias. Here we present the results from a 3-year field preservation experiment. Flint flakes hafted and non-hafted with replica adhesives were left to weather naturally on and below the surface at two locations with different soils and climatic conditions. Differential preservation was recorded on a variety of natural adhesives by digitally measuring the surface area of each residue before and after the elapsed time. Residues were further assessed and photographed using metallographic optical microscopy. Results show that certain adhesives preserve to a significantly higher degree than others, while some materials may be more easily overlooked or visually misdiagnosed. We must therefore be aware of both taphonomic and identification biases when discussing ancient adhesive technology. This research provides a first look that will help us understand the disparities between which adhesives were used in the past and what we find in the archaeological record today.

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Neandertal fire-making technology inferred from microwear analysis

Cited by 60 publications

References 26 publications

Emergence of a Neolithic in highland New Guinea by 5000 to 4000 years ago

Emergence of a Neolithic in highland New Guinea by 5000 to 4000 years ago

Lithic Raw Material Characterisation at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

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