Wear Analysis on Early Mesolithic Microliths from the Verrebroek Site, East Flanders, Belgium

Crombé, Philippe; Perdaen, Yves; Sergant, Joris; Caspar, Jean-Paul

doi:10.1179/jfa.2001.28.3-4.253

Cited by 53 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Microliths, as components of barbed projectiles, may have been economically advantageous in that associated weaponry could have increased success in capturing mobile prey through improved hunting technologies. Microlithic tools served a number of functions (31), but it is often argued that they were components of serial armatures which increased the maintainability and reliability of tools during time-stressed hunting trips (29) and increased penetration and blood loss through multiple cutting edges and internal fragmentation of the adhering barbs (32)(33)(34). It seems likely that the use of microliths in South Asia is associated with changes in subsistence practices, and the various archaeological, genetic, and paleoenvironmental findings presented here, although not conclusive, suggest that this use may have been necessitated in this region by a combination of landscape fragmentation, overall environmental deterioration, and increased population packing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Petraglia

Clarkson

Boivin

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

127

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Genetic studies of South Asia's population history have led to postulations of a significant and early population expansion in the subcontinent, dating to sometime in the Late Pleistocene. We evaluate this argument, based on new mtDNA analyses, and find evidence for significant demographic transition in the subcontinent, dating to 35-28 ka. We then examine the paleoenvironmental and, particularly, archaeological records for this time period and note that this putative demographic event coincides with a period of ecological and technological change in South Asia. We document the development of a new diminutive stone blade (microlithic) technology beginning at 35-30 ka, the first time that the precocity of this transition has been recognized across the subcontinent. We argue that the transition to microlithic technology may relate to changes in subsistence practices, as increasingly large and probably fragmented populations exploited resources in contracting favorable ecological zones just before the onset of full glacial conditions. archaeology ͉ environment ͉ genetics ͉ lithic technology

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Petraglia

Clarkson

Boivin

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

127

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“…Therefore, reconstructing their design constitutes a necessary stage in studies intended to investigate the performance of these tools. Such reconstructions have been attempted in a few studies based on archery experiments involving microliths hafted as projectile inserts in different modes and investigation of projectile damage patterns on experimental and archaeological microliths (Nuzhnyy, 1990(Nuzhnyy, , 1999Crombe at al., 2001). These studies indicated a connection between temporal change in microlithic variability and transformations in the design of projectile weapons during the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Europe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experimental studies with different flint projectile elements have provided descriptions of a variety of fracture types resulting from projectile impact (Fischer et al, 1984, Barton andBergman, 1982;Bergman and Newcomer, 1983;Moss and Newcomer, 1982;Odell and Cowan, 1986;Nuzhnyy, , 1990Nuzhnyy, , 1999Cattelain and Perpère, 1994;Caspar and De Bie, 1996;Crombe at al., 2001;Shea, 1988;Lombard and Pargetter, 2008). The terminology of damage most commonly used in describing fractures resulting from projectile impact was developed through the experimental study of Fisher et al, (1984) based on the morphology of fracture initiation and termination as seen in profile (Ho-Ho classification, Hayden, 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence

Yaroshevich

Kaufman

Nuzhnyy³

et al. 2010

Journal of Archaeological Science

128

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The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. AbstractThe study comprises an experimentally based investigation of interaction between temporal change in the morphology of microlithic tools and transformations in projectile technology during the Late Pleistocene in the Levant. Archery experiments with differently designed arrows fitted with various types of microliths representing subsequent Epipaleolithic cultures of the Levant allowed analyzing performance abilities of the arrows, identifying projectile damage types characteristic of particular hafting modes, detecting factors influencing the frequency of projectile damage and estimating the frequency of projectile damage expected to be found in archaeological samples. The data obtained through the experiments applied in the analysis of the archaeological microliths from Geometric Kebaran and Natufian sites in Israel indicate different approaches to the design of projectiles fitted with microliths characteristic for these cultures. The shift in design, associated with such important economic and social transformations as transition to sedentary settlements and a broad-spectrum economy, may reflect a demand for light, flexible and efficient projectile weapons requiring low time and labor investment for preparation and retooling. The use of such efficient weapons in conditions of growing population density and restricted areas available for Natufian huntergatherers can be considered as one of the factors that could have affected the subsequent transition to food production that took place in the early Holocene.

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“…However, there are some differences in the intensity of retouch, as measured by Kuhn's (1990) Shea 1988Shea , 1997 were found on 4.1% of the blades, 5.0% of the elongated Levallois points, and 12.5% of the Levallois points; all are present on the distal end. These are usually of the 'burinlike'/'burination' or 'flute' type (e.g., Bergman and Newcomer 1983;Crombé et al 2001;Odell and Cowan 1986: 204). The difference between Levallois points and blades is statistically significant (χ²=6.31, df=1, p=0.012).…”

Section: Tabun Cavementioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2013

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Following the stratigraphic sequence described by D. Garrod in her pioneering excavations at Tabun Cave, the Levantine Mousterian is traditionally divided into three sub-stages (B, C, D) according to changes in modal forms of Levallois production. Despite the ubiquity of this terminology, none of these three stages from Tabun has been described in detail. Furthermore, our knowledge of variability in technology and chronology within the Levantine Middle Paleolithic has increased markedly in the last three decades. This variation is especially apparent in the Early Middle Paleolithic, when both Levallois and non-Levallois laminar methods appear in most sites but with different frequencies. In this paper we provide a reconstruction of the Levallois technology in the early Middle Paleolithic of Tabun Cave using assemblages from Jelinek's excavations in Unit IX (Garrod's layer D). In contrast to many other contemporary sites, where non-Levallois laminar production is strongly represented, the assemblage of Unit IX is dominated by a recurrent, unipolar Levallois technology. Understanding the specific character of the "prototype" of Tabun D is an important step towards assessing inter-and intra-assemblage variability within the Levantine Early Middle Paleolithic. Appreciating this variation is in turn essential for explaining the apparently sudden appearance of these early Mousterian assemblages between 200 and 250 kya. The method used at Tabun Unit IX is both flexible and efficient, yielding both large numbers of blanks and a range of products while reducing the waste of material involved in shaping and maintaining of the core. In these assemblages, blades, flakes and Levallois points, and a variety of other products, were produced through systematic exploitation of different parts of the core's surface. In this respect the technology of Tabun Unit IX differs from the 'laminar method' known from other early Levantine assemblages in the organization of production and in its economic features and the range of products. INTRODUCTIONA rcheological studies at Tabun Cave over the past 75 years have fundamentally shaped perceptions of the Middle and Lower Paleolithic in the eastern Mediterranean (e.g., Garrod 1956;Garrod and Bate 1937;Grün and Stringer 2000;Jelinek et al. 1973;Jelinek 1975Jelinek , 1977Jelinek , 1982a Jelinek , b, 1990McCown and Keith 1939;Mercier and Valladas 2003;McPherron 2006). The first phase of work at the site resulted in the standard tripartite division of the Levantine Middle Paleolithic, in which the earliest phase ('Tabun D') is characterized by the abundance of blades and elongated points (Copeland 1975; Garrod and Bate 1937: 77-78; Jelinek 1982a,b; Shea 2003 and references therein). Despite the site's significance, and despite important subsequent work by Jelinek et al. (1973), Meignen (1994 and Monigal (2002), the character of lithic production in the Early Middle Paleolithic (henceforth EMP) of Tabun has not been fully explored. In apparent contrast to many other EMP sites in this r...

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Wear Analysis on Early Mesolithic Microliths from the Verrebroek Site, East Flanders, Belgium

Cited by 53 publications

References 14 publications

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence

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