Quarrying in a tribal society

Burton, John

doi:10.1080/00438243.1984.9979930

Cited by 51 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…This is particularly true in the case of hunter-gatherer lithic procurement. A widespread interest in social and economic organization and craft production in horticultural groups has led to more synthetic studies of procurement in some areas (Cobb 2000; also see Burton (1984) for an ethnographic example). However, archaeological views of hunter-gatherer procurement have been dominated by the assumption that access to quarries is a low-cost activity 'embedded' in overall mobility patterns, which in turn are driven by subsistence practices (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Windy Ridge quartzite quarry: hunter-gatherer mining and hunter-gatherer land use on the North American Continental Divide

Bamforth¹

2006

World Archaeology

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Studies of hunter-gatherer activity at lithic raw material sources are relatively rare and largely descriptive, in part because archaeologists have viewed hunter-gatherer lithic procurement as a casual and low-cost activity. This paper presents the results of fieldwork at a hunter-gatherer quartzite quarry along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado that suggests that this perspective is incorrect. Hunter-gatherer groups at the site quarried stone intensively, although they did not often transport this stone any great distance. This suggests that it is useful to reconsider the way we think about lithic procurement, and particularly that we rethink the concepts of 'direct' and 'indirect' procurement. The data presented here highlight the ability of quarry sites to expand our understanding of how mobile human groups used the landscape.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Windy Ridge quartzite quarry: hunter-gatherer mining and hunter-gatherer land use on the North American Continental Divide

Bamforth¹

2006

World Archaeology

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“…Following our understanding of Middle Pleistocene societies (e.g., Gamble 1999;Gamble and Poor 2005) we find it hard to believe that regiments of hominins took over Sede Ilan and exploited the quarry landscape like locusts. Taking into account the available ethnographic studies of stone quarrying conducted among simple societies in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Polynesia (e.g., Binford and O'Connell 1984;Burton 1984;Jones 1984;Jones and White 1988;Pétrequin and Pétrequin 1993a,b;Hampton 1999) it becomes clear that all these groups were repeatedly exploiting specific stone sources for generations; the mode of exploitation was rather slow according to the group's needs; quarrying expeditions were small; and the stay at the quarry site was always rather short. In addition, it appears that in all cases stone quarries were conceived as highly important, dangerous, and sacred places; in many cases ceremonies are conducted before and after quarrying; and the quarrying activity itself is performed solely by males.…”

Section: Long Term Use Of Specific Flint Outcrops and Recurrent Largmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the Face of the Earth: Human Behavior at Sede Ilan, an Extensive Lower–Middle Paleolithic Quarry Site in Israel

Barkai

Gopher

2009

Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies

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The Middle Pleistocene flint extraction and reduction complex of Sede Ilan is presented as a model for human behavior related to both raw material economy and landscape perception. The organized, large scale quarrying and flintknapping is dated to the Lower Paleolithic (represented by handaxe manufacture) and the Middle Paleolithic (dominated by the use of the Levallois technique). No evidence of Later Paleolithic or Neolithic-Chalclithic extraction and reduction was found at the Sede Ilan complex. The chapter discusses the following issues: (i) the familiarity of Middle Pleistocene Hominins with the landscape and natural resources; (ii) long-term use of specific flint outcrops and recurrent, large-scale use of designated industrial areas; (iii) the significant alteration of the pristine landscape; (iv) quarry landscape maintenance;(v) the possibility of traditional ecological knowledge, land-use legacies, and resource management and conservation practiced at the Sede Ilan quarrying complex. Our major conclusion is that the extensive Sede Ilan quarrying landscape reflects the talent of prehistoric man to procure large quantities of flint using a rare combination of knowledge, sophistication, and care.Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies Edited by Brian Adams and Brooke S. Blades

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“…In the New Guinea Highlands, for example, axe preforms were commonly being exchanged (Burton 1984(Burton , 1989. The extensive evidence of production at settlement sites surrounding the source, where axes were being fully finished, combined with the absence of data on production activities at the sources itself, indicate that the production centres are the only likely candidates from which finished greenstone core tools were obtained.…”

Section: Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stone Artefact Production and Exchange among the Lesser Antilles

Knippenberg¹

2007

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Quarrying in a tribal society

Cited by 51 publications

References 11 publications

The Windy Ridge quartzite quarry: hunter-gatherer mining and hunter-gatherer land use on the North American Continental Divide

The Windy Ridge quartzite quarry: hunter-gatherer mining and hunter-gatherer land use on the North American Continental Divide

Changing the Face of the Earth: Human Behavior at Sede Ilan, an Extensive Lower–Middle Paleolithic Quarry Site in Israel

Stone Artefact Production and Exchange among the Lesser Antilles

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