Outlining the knapping techniques: Assessment of the shape and regularity of prismatic blades using elliptic Fourier analysis

Radinović, Mihailo; Kajtez, Irina

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103079

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 74 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…Many archaeologists, especially those analysing stone artefacts, now reject typological approaches as overly subjective uncontrolled mixtures of technological and functional variables that often incorporate untested assumptions about the cognitive abilities and cultural organisation of hominins (see Bisson, 2000;Monnier and Missal, 2014;Riede et al, 2020Riede et al, , 2019Shea, 2014;Wilkins, 2020). In parallel with these critiques, archaeologists have been active developing accessible and reproducible methods for geometric morphometric analysis of artefacts (Cardillo and Charlin, 2018;Cortell-Nicolau et al, 2023;Ivanovaitė et al, 2020a;Matzig et al, 2021;Radinović and Kajtez, 2021;Selden and Dockall, 2023;Wang and Marwick, 2020). These morphometric studies often critique established typologies, accelerating the move towards population thinking in archaeology.…”

Section: Population Thinking and Tree Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian inference of material culture phylogenies using continuous traits: A birth–death model for Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age arrowheads from Northwestern Europe

Marwick,

Matzig,

Riede

2023

Preprint

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The twentieth century saw two modes of thinking spread through biological systematics: population thinking and tree thinking. Many archaeologists investigating ancient technologies have adopted the population thinking approach for archaeological systematics, as evident from the rise of work on quantifiable, attribute-based patterns of diversity in studies of past technological systems, much of it driven by application of geometric morphometrics. Yet, tree thinking, as one of the central concepts of phylogenetic biology, remains rare in the archaeological sciences. We review some of the obstacles that have impeded the uptake of this concept by archaeologists. Some of these are conceptual, but we also identify one specific methodological obstacle: the prevailing use of discrete character traits in phylogenetic analysis. This is a major challenge for archaeological applications where standardised trait-analytical protocols are scarce. To address this challenge, we present a case study that demonstrates a Bayesian framework for inferring phylogenies using continuous traits derived from artefact shape coefficients obtained via outline based geometric morphometrics. We use a previously published sample of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age arrowheads from Northwestern Europe to demonstrate the efficacy and accessibility of our approach. We also sketch out the potential for phylogenetic comparative methods to address archaeological questions. From https://github.com/benmarwick/bayesinfmatcultphylo

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Section: Population Thinking and Tree Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian inference of material culture phylogenies using continuous traits: A birth–death model for Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age arrowheads from Northwestern Europe

Marwick,

Matzig,

Riede

2023

Preprint

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New Methods for Old Questions: The Use of Elliptic Fourier Analysis for the Formal Study of Palaeolithic Art

García-Bustos,

García Bustos,

Rivero

2024

J Archaeol Method Theory

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One of the main objectives of Palaeolithic art researchers is to study and systematise the form of artistic representations. Some methodologies include the analysis of qualitative variables, linear measurements or the use of geometric morphometry with landmarks. However, these techniques depend to a large extent on the subjectivity of the researcher, which often leads to biased results. To overcome this issue, we present an application of geometric morphometry using Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA), together with multivariate statistics and hypothesis testing, for the first time to the study of form in prehistoric art. In order to explain its use, the “duck-bill” convention of pre-Magdalenian horses, often used as a chronological and geographical marker, has been used as a case study. This formalism is described disparately in the literature, so the main objective is to use EFA to determine whether it is possible to characterise this type of convention according to the definitions given by certain authors. The results indicate a possible classification of the heads of these animals. Through this taxonomic proposal, it has been possible to verify the great diversity of forms in which the authors classify the duck-bill horses and, therefore, to demonstrate that this peculiar form can be considered neither a conventionalism nor a chronological/regional marker. In conclusion, the methodology based on EFA combined with multivariate statistics for the objective study of form in prehistoric art is effective and opens a new avenue of analysis in the art of prehistoric societies.

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Explaining the Increase in “High-quality Chert” in the Early Upper Paleolithic Artifacts in Southern Jordan: Quantitative Examination of Chert Mechanical Properties and Fracture Predictability

Suga,

Tsukada,

Tarawneh

et al. 2023

J Paleo Arch

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In the studies of aked stone tools, the "quality" of lithic raw material has often been assessed from a viewpoint of its suitability to lithic production, and several studies quanti ed such raw material qualities by measuring mechanical properties of several different rocks like obsidian, chert, and basalt. To advance this approach, this study aims to quantify variations in the quality of chert, which is usually based on the difference in grain-size, e.g., ne-grained chert as "high-quality". For this purpose, we measured two types of hardness, i.e., the rebound hardness by Schmidt Hammer and the Rockwell Hardness (HRC), by using chert samples from southern Jordan, where the use of ne-grained chert increased in the Early Upper Paleolithic (Ahmarian) in association with the development of bladelet technology. The results indicate that ne-grained chert has greater fracture predictability and particularly suitable for the production of bladelets. However, ne-grained chert in southern Jordan suffer from abundant internal fractures and was not used as often as medium-grained chert for Levallois products and robust blades in the Late Middle and Initial Upper Paleolithic. Thus, explaining the prehistoric selectivity of lithic raw materials need to consider fracture predictability as well as other factors, such as actual conditions of occurrences and lithic production technology.

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Outlining the knapping techniques: Assessment of the shape and regularity of prismatic blades using elliptic Fourier analysis

Cited by 5 publications

References 74 publications

Bayesian inference of material culture phylogenies using continuous traits: A birth–death model for Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age arrowheads from Northwestern Europe

Bayesian inference of material culture phylogenies using continuous traits: A birth–death model for Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age arrowheads from Northwestern Europe

New Methods for Old Questions: The Use of Elliptic Fourier Analysis for the Formal Study of Palaeolithic Art

Explaining the Increase in “High-quality Chert” in the Early Upper Paleolithic Artifacts in Southern Jordan: Quantitative Examination of Chert Mechanical Properties and Fracture Predictability

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