Toward a More Behavioral Approach to Archaeological Lithic Concentrations

Abstract

The argument is presented here that lithic artifact assemblages can be made to yield considerable information on prehistoric behavior patterns, often despite a lack of associated organic material. To illustrate this point, an example has been taken from the Mesolithic settlement of Bergumermeer in the northern Netherlands, from which only prehistoric ground features, stone, and small bits of carbonized remains have been preserved. Proceeding from a functional use-wear analysis of the collection, a four-stage analytical procedure was instituted, employing ethnographically derived models of seasonality, expected resource exploitation, and hunter-gatherer population parameters. This structure enabled the author to provide estimates of several aspects of the prehistoric behavior of the Mesolithic group, including activities, methods of tool prehension, tool use-life and discard rate, number of animals exploited, population of the settlement, and minimum duration of occupation.

Hafting and Retooling: Effects on the Archaeological Record

“…Because hafting and manual prehension traces were so rare on Meer implements, the number of implements that can be confidently interpreted as once-hafted or hand-held is extremely small, but it is my impression that the hafted versions of endscrapers and burins are generally smaller, more extensively worked, and often have more than one working edge. Odell (1980) also found once-hafted and unhafted versions of graving implements at Burgumermeer, a late Mesolithic site in the Netherlands.…”

Blind tests shed light on possibilities and limitations for identifying stone tool prehension and hafting

“…Only Odell attempted to propose valid distinctive criteria (e.g. [12,14,15]). Recently, the work of Odell was extended on a larger and more systematic basis [16].…”

Demography and the Palaeolithic Archaeological Record

“…Schreiber andKintigh 1996). Studies of later prehistoric and historic periods incorporate both relative and absolute population and group size estimates based on the area and number of dwelling structures present (Brown 1987;Casselberry 1974;Casteel 1979;Cook and Heizer 1968;Curet 1998;Davies 2010;DeRoche 1983;Haviland 1969;Hill 1970;Kolb 1985;Kramer 1980Kramer ,1982Kuijit 2000;LeBlanc 1971;Longacre 1976;Milisauskas 1972;Milner 1986;Naroll 1962;Odell 1980;Phillips 1972;Porčić 2011Porčić , 2012Postgate 1994;Read 1978;Storey 1997;Sumner 1979;Thompson 1971;Wiessner 1974). Due to the rarity of dwelling structures in the Palaeolithic archaeological record and the difficulty of distinguishing between habitation and non-habitation space at sites (Yellen 1977),…”