Lithic Artefacts: Production and Use
Code: 44482 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4317545 Prehistoric Archaeology | OT | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Rafael Mico Perez
- Email:
- rafael.mico@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
Teachers
- David Manuel Gómez Gras
- Roberto Risch
- Antoni Palomo Pérez
Prerequisites
Students should be able, at least, to read scientific texts written in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This module focuses on the global analysis of lithic (macrolithic as well as flaked) artefacts from a holistic point of view that tackles the origin of the raw materials, their transformation, and, finally, the use of the achieved tools.
Firstly, the thematic development includes the characterization of rocks through application of geological and geomorphic parameters, with the goal of identifying the areas of extraction of the raw materials. These skills will include a geoarchaeological survay that will involve a field trip. This exercise will conclude with an archaeological assessment of the results, considering social and economic aspects.
Secondly, the study of the artefacts’ process of production will be undertaken. As part of this, the technologies of stonework will be reviewed and the role of experimental archaeology in the understanding of technical and cognitive processes will be assessed. Then, the social functions and forms of consumption of the artefacts (use, maintenance, recycling, and disposal) will be examined. The combination of experimental testing, ethnoarchaeology and functional analysis (traceology and residue analysis) will form key aspects in this regard. This topic includes familiarization with electronic microscopy devices.
Lastly, global archaeological contexts that include lithic material will be examined. Their social contribution in absolute (production volume) and relative (productivity) terms will be assessed, starting with the Lover Palaeolithic up to Later Prehistory and in ethnographic cases.
Competences
- Combine findings from different programmes of specialist analysis, identifying any contradictions and drawing conclusions
- Design research projects on prehistoric archaeological sites and materials
- Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
- Recognise and use suitable theoretical and methodological concepts for the design, planning and execution of projects on prehistoric archaeological sites and materials.
- Recognise present-day challenges in the study of prehistoric archaeology.
- Show rigour, responsibility and quality in research and dissemination work.
- That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
- That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
- Work both individually and in multidisciplinary teams
Learning Outcomes
- Critically apply research techniques in zooarchaeology.
- Critically assess the value of the different tools needed for research in archaeobotany.
- Demonstrate the ability to integrate into a team with specialists from other disciplines.
- Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
- Link field work and the study of prehistoric lithic resources to the specific problems of historical knowledge to be solved.
- That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
- That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
- Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a context of archaeobotanical research.
- Use the specific technical vocabulary for interpretation in the field of archaeobotany.
- Use the specific technical vocabulary for interpretation.
Content
A. Methods of geoarchaeology
Dr. David Gómez Gras i Dr. Roberto Risch
B. The petrographic, technologic and functional study of (macro)lithic artefacts
Dr. Alba Masclans and Dr. Roberto Risch
C. Analysis of lithic artefacts from an experimental perspective
Dr. Toni Palomo
D. Lithic technology and human evolution
Dr. Rafael Mora
Methodology
The course includes seminars, field work, experimental production of lithic artefacts, and different and microscopy.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Cognitive abilities of hominids and technologic processes. | 6 | 0.24 | 8, 7, 5, 4 |
| Develop basic skills to autonomously carry out a tecno-functional approach to lithic tools. | 40 | 1.6 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 5, 4, 9 |
| State of play in the discussion on human evolution. | 6 | 0.24 | 6, 8, 4 |
| Understanding of petrographic and mechanical properties of raw materials. | 12 | 0.48 | 3, 11, 6, 8, 7, 5, 4 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Paleo-economic analisis of sexual and social divisions of labour, based on lithic artefacts. | 20 | 0.8 | 6, 8, 7, 4, 9 |
| Practical study of a fluvial deposit in order to assess and quantify which lithologies can be used as artefacts, as well as which geological units they come from. | 6 | 0.24 | 3, 6, 8, 7, 5, 4 |
| To gain autonomy when carrying out a process of experimental research. | 16 | 0.64 | 6, 8, 7, 5 |
Assessment
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance at seminars and practica | 50% | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 6, 8, 7, 5, 4, 9 |
| Autonomous work concerning a specific archaeological problem | 35% | 20 | 0.8 | 3, 8, 7, 5, 4, 9 |
| Geoarchaeological field work | 15% | 4 | 0.16 | 3, 11, 6, 8, 5, 9 |
Bibliography
Ache, M., Delgado-Raack, S., Molina, E., Risch, R. & Rosell-Melé, A. 2017, ‘Evidence of bee products processing: A functional definition of a specialized type of macro-lithic tool’, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14, 638-650.
Adams, J., Delgado, S., De Breuil, L., Hamon, C., Plisson, H., Risch, R. (2009). Functional analysis of macro-lithic artefacts: a focus on working surfaces. At: Sternke, F., Eigeland, L. and Costa, L.J. (Eds.), L’utilisation préhistorique de matières premières lithiques alternatives. Oxford, British International Series 1939, pp. 43-66.
Delgado-Raack, S. und Risch, R. (2016): “Bronze Age cereal processing in southern Iberia: A material approach to the production and use of grinding equipment”, Journal of Lithic Studies, 3 (3): 125-145.
Delgado-Raack S., Risch R., Martínez, F. & Rosas M. 2020, Material principles and economic relations underlying Neolithic axe circulation in Western Europe, J. of Archaeological Method & Theory, 27(4), 771–798 (doi: 10.1007/s10816-019-09425-x)
Masclans, A., Hamon, C., Jeunesse, C., Bickle, P. (2021): A sexual division of labour at the start of agriculture? A multi-proxy comparison through grave good stone tool technological and use-wear analysis. PlosOne https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249130
Masclans, A. (2020): Use-wear Analyses of Polished and Bevelled Stone Artefacts during the Sepulcres de Fossa/ Pit Burials Horizon (NE Iberia, c. 4000–3400 cal B.C.). British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) (International series). ISBN: 9781407317007.
Pétrequin, P., Cassen, S. Errera, M. Klassen, L. Sheridan, A. Pétrequin, A.M., (Eds.) (2012): JADE. Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen, Ve au IVe millénaires av. J.C. Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté, N. 1224, Collection Les cahiers de la MSHE Ledoux 17, Série Dynamiques territoriales 6.
Risch, R. (2008), “From production traces to social organisation: towards an epistemology of Functional Analysis”, en L. Longo y N. Skakun (eds), “Prehistoric Technology” 40 years later: Functional Studies and the Russian Legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress, Verona (20th-23rd April 2005), B.A.R., IS 1783, Archeopress, Oxford (2008), pp. 513-521.
Risch, R. (2011), “Social and economic organisation of stone axe production and distribution in the western Mediterranean”, en V. Davis y M. Edmonds (eds), Stone Axe Studies III, Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp. 99-118.
Risch, R. & Martínez Fernández, F. (2008), “Dimensiones naturales y sociales de la producción de hachas en el noreste de la península Ibérica”, Trabajos de Prehistoria, vol. 65,1, pp. 47-71.
D. Lithic technology and human evolution
Braun, D. R., Aldeias, V., Archer, W., Arrowsmith, J. R., Baraki, N., Campisano, C. J., Deino, A. L., DiMaggio, E. N., Dupont-Nivet, G., Engda, B., Feary, D. A., Garello, D. I., Kerfelew, Z., McPherron, S. P., Patterson, D. B., Reeves, J. S., Thompson, J. C. y Reed, K. E. (2019). "Earliest known Oldowan artifacts at >2.58 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, highlight early technological diversity." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(24): 11712.
de la Torre, I. (2016). "The origins of the Acheulean: past and present perspectives on a major transition in human evolution." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 371(1698).
Harmand, S., Lewis, J. E., Feibel, C. S., Lepre, C. J., Prat, S., Lenoble, A., Boes, X., Quinn, R. L., Brenet, M., Arroyo, A., Taylor, N., Clement, S., Daver, G., Brugal, J.-P., Leakey, L., Mortlock, R. A., Wright, J. D., Lokorodi, S., Kirwa, C., Kent, D. V. y Roche, H. (2015). "3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya." Nature 521(7552): 310-315.
Haslam, M., Hernandez-Aguilar, A., Ling, V., Carvalho, S., de la Torre, I., DeStefano, A., Du, A., Hardy, B., Harris, J., Marchant, L., Matsuzawa, T., McGrew, W., Mercader, J., Mora, R., Petraglia, M., Roche, H., Visalberghi, E. y Warren, R. (2009). "Primate archaeology." Nature 460(7253): 339-344.
Haslam, M., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Proffitt, T., Arroyo, A., Falótico, T., Fragaszy, D., Gumert, M., Harris, J. W. K., Huffman, M. A., Kalan, A. K., Malaivijitnond, S., Matsuzawa, T., McGrew, W., Ottoni, E. B., Pascual-Garrido, A., Piel, A., Pruetz, J., Schuppli, C., Stewart, F., Tan, A., Visalberghi, E. y Luncz, L. V. (2017). "Primate archaeology evolves." Nature Ecology & Evolution 1(10): 1431-1437.
Kuhn, S. L. (2020). The evolution of Paleolithic Tehcnologies. London, Routledge.
Mora, R. y Torre Sainz, I. d. l. (2005). "Percussion tools in Olduvai Beds I and II (Tanzania): Implications for early human activities." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology(24): 179-192.
Proffitt, T., Luncz, L. V., Falótico, T., Ottoni, E. B., de la Torre, I. y Haslam, M. (2016). "Wild mon
Software
A. Methods of geoarchaeology
A.1. Introduction to the petrographic and geochemical study of rocks and minerals, as the main methods of characterization of raw materials in archaeology. Importance of textural and compositional features of lithologies in archaeometrical studies.
A.2. Laboratory exercise: De visu, microscopical and chemical identification of lithologies that are relevant to archaeological research.
A.3. Field work: Study of the lithologies of a fluvial terrace, quantification of the types of clasts, and assignment of the rocks to the cartographic units on the geological map of the river basin. Analysis of the secondary deposits considering “social affordability level” of the raw materials.
Spcific skills:
-The students will learn how to identify the main types of rocks and will understand that compositional and textural features determine their use as lithic artefacts.
-They will learn to carry out a practical study of a fluvial deposit in order to assess and quantify which lithologies can be used as artefacts, as well as which geological units they come from.
B. The petrographic, technologic and functional study of (macro)lithic artefacts
B.1. Development of a research process based on the study of macrolithic artefacts: study of grinding processes as a means of sexual and social exploitation.
B.2. Presentation of a research process based on the study of polished and bevelled macrolithic artefacts (BMA): functional study of the BMAs used in the study of sexual division of labour in the Neolithic.
Explanation of the main methods and techniques used on the technological and functional study of the BMAs. Exercise on the tecno-functional study of archaeological materials.
B.3. Development of an experimental test with macrolithic artefacts that includes their development and usein different activities. Observation and discussion of results on a functional level.
Specific Skills:
- Understanding of planification, development and completion of a research process based on the study of polished and bevelled macrolithic artefacts.
- Grasp the main chances for interpretation that the study of BMAs can offer.
- Develop basic skills to autonomously carry out a first tecno-functional approach to BMAs.
- Gaining autonomy when carrying out a process of experimental research.
C. Analysis of lithic artefacts from an experimental perspective
This block will focus on the production and use of the tools from an experimental perspective. Here, the students will see demonstrations and partake in practical exercises. Based on specific case studies, the experimental module wants to delve into how research on flaked lithic artefacts is approached. The analysed cases will allow students to deal with topics such as the characterization of raw materials, the technologic processes, and the purpose of the produced tools. Archaeological experimentation as basic methodology will often be applied to contrast hypothesis.
C.1. Introduction to the study of lithic industry in recent Prehistory. The flaked lithic industry in the early Neolithic: characterization of the material’s origin, carving methods, applied technology, and purpose. Demonstration of carving methods and techniques in the early Neolithic. Indirect percussion.
C.2. Flaked lithic industry in the middle Neolithic, jagged flint, and heat treatment. Characterization of the material’s origin, carving methods, applied technology, and purpose. Demonstration of carving methods and techniques in the middle Neolithic. Pressure flaking.
C.3. Flaked lithic industry in the late Neolithic, production of big sheets, use of lever pressure. Characterization of the material’s origin, carving methods, applied technology, and purpose.
Specific Skills:
- Gaining autonomy when carrying out a process of experimental research.
D. Lithic technology and human evolution
In this block, methods and concepts tackled in earlier sessions will be applied with the purpose of envisioning human evolution through lithic technology. The protagonists (hominins) and the technical skills linked to them will be put into context.
D.1. Myths and legends in the origin of lithic technology. Primates facing the Homo genus.
D.2. Comparing technologies in the Lomekwian, Oldowan and Acheulean.
D.3. Technology and typology (H. Neanderthal and H. Sapiens)
Specific Skills:
- The role of ethics in archaeologic discussion
- Identifying raw materials
- Identifying cultural objects based on the stigma and variables that make them up
- Cognitive abilities of hominids and technologic processes
- Archaeological contexts and their meanings in relation to lithic objects
- Training of the senses during the identifying of technical abilities
- State of play in the discussion on human evolution