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Interpreting typological variation of Middle Paleolithic scrapers: Function, style, or sequence of reduction?
... This has led to significant debate about the meaning of tool forms and their ability to inform us about the technological, cognitive, cultural and social capacities of our ancestors (e.g. Binford, 1973;Binford & Binford, 1966;Bisson, 2001;Bordes, 1953Bordes, , 1967Bordes, , 1981Bordes et al., 1972;Bordes & de Sonneville-Bordes, 1970;Chase, 1991;Chazan, 1995;Corbey et al., 2016;Dibble, 1984Dibble, , 1991Holloway, 1969;Kohn & Mithen, 1999;McBrearty & Brooks, 2000;Rolland & Dibble, 1990;Semenov, 1964;Wynn, 1988). The origins of the concept of lithic standardization can be traced back to influential attempts to attribute meaning to stone tool assemblage variability (e.g. ...
... Bordes, 1953) and have their ties to the debates that followed (e.g. Binford, 1973;Binford & Binford, 1966;Bordes, 1953Bordes, , 1967Bordes, , 1981Bordes et al., 1972;Bordes & de Sonneville-Bordes, 1970;Dibble, 1984Dibble, , 1991Semenov, 1964). These perspectives thus connect to the wider discussion on the meaning of lithic assemblage variability. ...
... Decisions made about blank production, selection, and tool shaping reflect functional demands dictated by the tasks the tools were made for and whether they were meant to be used handheld or hafted. Stone tool life cycles, including resharpening (see Dibble, 1984Dibble, , 1987Dibble, , 1989Dibble, , 1991Dibble, , 1995Frison, 1968;Shott & Weedman, 2007) are equally important determinants of tool morphology at discard. ...
Functional data accumulated over the recent decades confirm that tool use mechanics, working edge maintenance, and hafting are important factors determining stone tool form. Yet such data are rarely considered in studies on lithic standardization, and tool hafting has entered the discussion mostly in the form of untested hypotheses. In this paper, we examine the effects of tool use, resharpening, and hafting on lithic standardization by drawing on recent use-wear data on Paleolithic domestic tools and projectiles. We evaluate morphological constraints posed by different tool use tasks and hafting systems, and the effects of these on blank selection. We conclude that the concept of standardization can be useful in making sense of lithic assemblage patterning, but it needs to be redefined to accommodate functional considerations. We advise shifting the focus from stone tool form to working edge qualities and hafted tool design, which drastically alters the perspective on inter-assemblage variability.
... Following the traditional Middle Paleolithic typology developed by Bordes (1961), archaeologists use linear dimensions (length, width and thickness) as the standard measurements (following the technological or flaking axis and the symmetry axis of the piece) to evaluate the reduction of the overall size and thickness of Middle Paleolithic unifacial tools (scrapers and points) for interpreting their morphological variability in terms of technology and function (Dibble, 1984(Dibble, , 1988(Dibble, , 1995Kuhn, 1990;Eren et al., 2005). More recent studies analyzing the effects of tool reduction from resharpening typically utilize allometric modelling to estimate the relationship between changes in size and shape of unifacial tools in terms of their design and duration of use (Ioviţă, 2009(Ioviţă, , 2010Cardillo, 2010;Shott & Trail, 2010;Eren, 2013;Andrews et al., 2015;Morales et al., 2015;Shott, 2020;Knell, 2022). ...
The northwestern Caucasus is part of the Eastern Micoquian cultural area. The Micoquian assemblages in this region include tool types that are defined as small broad handaxes, Mousterian points, convergent and angled scrapers, and rare limaces. All these types represent the group of convergent tools that are defined by two basic elements: two convergent retouched edges. The focus of this study is to investigate the significance of morphological variability among convergent tools characteristic to the Eastern Micoquian. We undertook a morphometric analysis of 188 convergent tools from Mezmaiskaya Cave. The results indicated five tool groups.
... As such, replicating the rings as they currently exist may not be representative of an "ideal" specimen; the open rings replicated in this paper may constitute those whose hafting elements were nearly "worn out" but still functional. This phenomenon is well known in lithics studies, where the tendency of an implement to change shape over its use-life is often termed the Frison Effect (Dibble, 1984(Dibble, , 1995Frison, 1968). In this light, specimen MAN 55054 c, a large specimen with tabs of unequal length, is of note for several reasons. ...
This paper offers a functional hypothesis for Upper Paleolithic open rings (a puzzling class of artifacts also known as objets arciformes) discovered at the French archaeological sites of Le Placard (Charente dept.), Petit Cloup Barrat, and “Cave à Endives” (Lot dept.). These open rings were manufactured from antler and have pointed tabs on either side of a gap, resulting in a shape reminiscent of the Greek letter Omega (Ω). All twelve known rings (including a preform) have been attributed to either the Magdalenian or the Badegoulian. To date, no consensus has been reached on what function they perform, and functional hypotheses vary widely. To address this conundrum, this research points out morphological similarities between ethnographic examples of spearthrower components for the first time and hypothesizes that open rings were part of such prehistoric weapon systems. The open rings were reproduced in a variety of materials, hafted as finger loops, and subjected to experimental throwing of darts. In that capacity, they were found to work efficiently with observed use-wear in support of the proposed functional hypothesis.
... Thus, linking the morphology of artifacts to people's culture while overlooking recycling can significantly bias the accuracy of the final interpretation of those same cultures. Good examples of this were given for Acheulean handaxes (McPherron, 1994) (Fig. 6), Mousterian side-scrapers (Dibble, 1984) and Upper Palaeolithic burins (Igreja et al., 2006). Recycling can also give important insights into the proximity or distance of raw material sources to an archaeological site, and about their value. ...
... Their morphologies reflect specific activities and the increased operability of the edges. The chronological value of the associations and percentages of retouched tools is indeterminable due to classificatory subjectivism and morphological continuity between some types (Dibble, 1984). The low proportion of retouched tools in alluvial contexts, such as Guadiana T3, reflects the high availability of raw materials reducing the need to recondition cutting edges. ...
The Acheulean of the southern Iberian Peninsula is markedly similar to the north African Acheulean. However, the characteristics of the stone tool assemblages are heterogeneous and represent complex cultural phenomena. From MIS 15, the lithic assemblages in fluvial (Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Guadalete rivers), fluvio-lacustrine (Solana del Zamborino) and karstic (Cueva del Ángel, Bolomor, Cueva Negra del río Quípar, Cueva Horá and Santa Ana) contexts exhibit analogies and technical differences representative of a phenomenon of multiplicity. Contributing to this phenomenon is the perception of technological stasis or conservatism of the Acheulean technocomplex and the different technical responses articulated by hominins to achieve equivalent results. These equivalences generate the uniformity that allows us to recognise typologies of large cutting tools (LCTs) regardless of the lithic materials used or the organisational structures of the operational sequences. These diversified typologies include handaxes, picks, and cleavers, which maintain a consistent presence despite innovations such as the Levallois flaking method. In some cases, the presence of cleavers and spheroids affects the range of represented typologies. Beneath the uniformity of the handaxes, lie organisational differences in the operational sequences. The changes and differences in the use of flakes to shape handaxes, the representation of cleavers and diversification of shaped-tool typologies all suggest differential cultural behaviours linked in part to divergent contexts. These aspects indicate that this multiplicity is related to diffusion, adaptation and cultural changes produced at the margins of the conservatism of this technocomplex. Observed changes could indicate inter-group cultural replacements, most of which retained a similar techno-typological diversity to that seen in the north African Acheulean until MIS 5. Cyclical climate change during the Middle Pleistocene affected the Strait of Gibraltar, regulating its function and conditioning the circulation of hominins and affecting cultural interactions between southern Iberian groups.
... Stone tool types are interpreted as providing explanations about function, ethnicity, environment and raw material differences. Dibble (1984Dibble ( , 1988a has attributed variability in stone tool forms as fiinctional rather than stylistic. ...
p>The core argument demonstrates that the archaeological notion of transitions is untenable. They structure the past into blocks of time, thereby amalgamating behaviour patterns and establishing universal interpretations that are situated outside of hominid action. Within the current framework a transition is a historical junction point in chronological time, organised according to change and variation in archaeological assemblages. Several models have been proffered to explain change, but the underlying framework through which transitions are established has rarely been questioned, because of their key role in the interpretation of hominid evolution.
This traditional framework is critiques and two themes are addressed to re-contextualise Middle Pleistocene archaeological interpretation. Firstly, in an exploration of the concepts of temporality and the taskscape, it is argued that time and space are mutually produced through hominid action. This alters the interpretation of change and variation, which is my second theme. I conclude that they exist in unison, as change is a constant although inconsistent process of transformation.
Undermining the notion of fixed points of transition renders research focusing on origin points, and therefore modern humans origins, implausible. Current discourse on hominid identity draws on the structural opposition of 'modern' versus 'archaic' humans for interpretation. In contrast, I locate hominid identities through the exploration of social praxis , offering a way of linking recent social theory with the practice of lithic analysis to interpret changing hominid identities. The transformation from the Acheulean to the Middle Stone Age and Middle Palaeolithic is characterised in five case studies that analyse Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblages from the UK, France and South Africa. I demonstrate that there is no single identity for Acheulean, Middle Stone Age or Middle Palaeolithic hominids, and show how non-linear transformations in the detailed analysis of lithic artefacts and the surrounding taskscape can portray changing relations in hominid social life.</p
... In particular, it had its roots in processual approaches of the 1960's, which emphasised the notion of artefact strategy as problem solving process (Gamble 1986:13, 38;Nelson 1991:58). On a practical level, this paradigm shift led to renewed interest in the function of artefacts (Binford 1973;Binford 1966, 1969;Dibble 1983Dibble , 1984Mellars 1969Mellars , 1970Rolland 1977Rolland , 1981, as well as other aspects of the archaeological record, for instance animal residues (Behrensmeyer and Hill 1980;Brain 1981;Hill 1983Hill , 1984Stiner 1991), and site and assemblage formation processes (Foley 1981;Schiffer 1972Schiffer , 1976. At a theoretical level, the shift led to considerable debate as to how to interpret the archaeological record (Binford 1981(Binford , 1989Binford and Stone 1985;Bordes 1973;Bordes and de Sonneville-Bordes 1970;Freeman 1973Freeman , 1981Freeman , 1983Gould 1978Gould , 1980Gould , 1985Gould and Watson 1982;Gould and Saggers 1985;Sackett 1973). ...
p>Regional approaches to the investigation of prehistoric settlement tend to be difficult in areas devoid of either economic, structural or stylistic evidence for the sequential use of the landscape. This is particularly the case in western Scotland where acid soils have contributed to the destruction of most 'soft' archaeological debris. Conversely however, evidence for the manufacture and maintenance of lithic artefacts is abundant in the form of extensive knapping waste. These tend to be spatially discrete however, located on the three island hot-spots of archaeological visibility, namely Rhum, Arran, and the Southern Hebrides archipelago of Islay, Jura and Colonsay. On all three, visibility is probably a function of access to fine grained lithic raw materials.
On the basis of the heterogeneous distribution of these, this thesis takes a regional approach to the Mesolithic settlement of western Scotland. By tracing the movement and differential use of lithic raw materials from Arran to Skye, a model of regional scale integration, but with lower levels of sub-regional mobility is proposed.
This research contributes to the Mesolithic of western Scotland in two substantive ways. Firstly, the regional beach survey has clarified the nature and distribution of beach pebbles as a viable source of flint. Although the beaches have long been recognised as the primary source of flint, their distribution throughout the region, and density at the island scale remained unclear. Survey undertaken at both these scales highlighted the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the deposits. This has significant implications for archaeological visibility in the region, differential raw material use, and the temporal dimension of the beaches as flint sources. Secondly, an approach is developed which makes use of the consistent relationship between volume and surface area in spherical beach pebble raw materials. This provides a useful means for investigating assemblage structure in terms of the nature of raw materials being used. The consistent relationship between proportions of debitage types provides a means for comparing assemblages against an experimental template for which raw material starting conditions are known.</p
... Nicolas Rolland (1981Rolland ( , 1990 suggested that the variability reflected different modalities of landscape exploitation in terms of economy, mobility, raw material selection and use, and that this behavioural diversity was ascribable to the high adaptability of Neanderthal groups to a changing climate and environment. Harold Dibble (1984Dibble ( , 1988Dibble ( , 1995 proposed that typological variability could be attributable to the intense reduction of retouched tools. According to this theory, as the tool edge was worn out with use, the intensity and repetition of resharpening modified the final shape of the tool. ...
This chapter aims is to briefly review the history of research on Neanderthals and to show how we have reached the current behavioural approach, including the complex scenario we have today. The main scientific debates that have marked Neanderthal studies since the discovery of skeletal remains at Feldhofer Cave in 1856 and the theoretical and methodological approaches that have progressively contributed to change and improve our image and understanding of this species are presented. Moreover, this chapter briefly introduces the main scientific issues and perspectives that have dominated the academic scene in the 21st century, which are further detailed in this book.
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