Publications (11) View all
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Chapter: 3D Modeling: New Method for Quantifying Post-depositional Damages
01/2013: pages 11-20; , ISBN: 9783642280207 -
Article: Flakes Crossing the Straits? Entame Flakes and Northern Africa–Iberia Contact During the Acheulean
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ABSTRACT: The entame core method was defined after studying the Acheulean bifaces from the site of Ternifine, Algeria. This specialized core method for the production of larges flakes (>10 cm) used for biface blanks involves the detachment of primary large flakes from skillfully selected quartzite cobbles. While technologically simple, a competent selection of raw material and dexterous detachment of the flake resulted in a blank perfectly suitable for the production of bifaces, with minimal further shaping required. This core method resulted in high frequencies of entame blanks in the Ternifine lithic assemblages, as well as from the Iberian Peninsula Acheulean, but not in assemblages from other large flake Acheulean sites. It is suggested that the frequent use of the entame core method common to both North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula indicates similarity in lithic tradition during the Acheulean. This may support the view of North African origin for the Iberian Acheulean during the Middle Pleistocene. La méthode de débitage par entame a été définie lors de l'étude des bifaces acheuléens du site de Ternifine en Algérie. Cette méthode, spécialisée dans la production de grands éclats (>10cm) utilisés comme supports de bifaces implique le détachement d'éclats primaires sur des galets en quartzite soigneusement sélectionnés. La méthode est simple et c'est la sélection rigoureuse du bloc et le soin apporté au détachement de l'éclat qui permet d'obtenir un support parfaitement adapté à la production de bifaces, requérant de ce fait un façonnage minimal. L'emploi de cette méthode est révélé par la forte fréquence de supports d'entame dans les assemblages lithiques acheuléens de Ternifine et de la Péninsule Ibérique. Ces derniers sont en revanche absents des autres sites acheuléens spécialisés dans la production de grands éclats. Il est ici proposé que l'usage fréquent de la méthode par entame, commun à l'Afrique du Nord et à la Péninsule Ibérique, reflète des traditions lithiques communes entre ces deux espaces. Cela pourrait soutenir l'idée que l'Acheuléen ibérique trouve son origine en Afrique du Nord, au Pléistocène moyen. KeywordsAcheulean core technology–Acheulean bifaces–North Africa–Iberia–Large flakes– Entame core method– Entame blanks–Ternifine–AlgeriaAfrican Archaeological Review 04/2012; 28(2):125-140. -
Article: The technology and significance of the Acheulian giant cores of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel
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ABSTRACT: The presence of very large lithic artifacts at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov is one of the site’s most distinctive and enlightening features. Basalt giant cores and their products, modified by a variety of core methods and found in association with different hominin activities, occur throughout the stratigraphic sequence of the site. In this paper we describe the giant artifacts of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov together with their reduction sequence, from the nature and acquisition of the raw material, through the shaping of the cores, to the discarded cores and their typical waste products. We then discuss the significance of these finds and their implications for understanding the site and its varied activities, as well as for Acheulian cognitive abilities and behavior during the early Middle Pleistocene on the margins of the paleo-Lake Hula.Journal of Archaeological Science 01/2011; 38(8):1901-1917. · 1.91 Impact Factor -
Article: Studying post depositional damage on Acheulian bifaces using 3-D scanning.
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ABSTRACT: In this study, we explore post-depositional damage observed on Acheulian bifacial tools by comparing two assemblages: a collection of archaeological handaxes which shows pronounced damage marks associated with high energy water accumulation system, and an experimental assemblage that was rolled and battered in a controlled simulation experiment. Scanning the two assemblages with a precise 3-D optical scanner and subjecting the measured surfaces to the same mathematical analysis enabled the development of quantitative measures assessing and comparing the degree of damage observed on archaeological and experimental tools. The method presented here enables the definition of morphological patterns typically resulting from battering and different from intentional controlled knapping. The most important kinds of damage included the formation of deep, random 'notch-like' scars on the lateral edges and substantial degrees of damage to the tip of the tools, but minimal damage to the artifact's butt. Quantifying the degree of damage and its location and morphological characters allows us to present a method by which post depositional damage on archaeological tools can be measured.Journal of Human Evolution 03/2010; 60(4):398-406. · 3.64 Impact Factor -
Article: Cultural conservatism and variability in the Acheulian sequence of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov.
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ABSTRACT: The Acheulian Technocomplex exhibits two phenomena: variability and conservatism. Variability is expressed in the composition and frequencies of tool types, particularly in the varying frequencies of bifaces (handaxes and cleavers). Conservatism is expressed in the continuous presence of bifaces along an immense time trajectory. The site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY) offers a unique opportunity to study aspects of variability and conservatism as a result of its long cultural-stratigraphic sequence containing superimposed lithic assemblages. This study explores aspects of variability and conservatism within the Acheulian lithic assemblages of GBY, with emphasis placed on the bifacial tools. While variability has been studied through a comparison of typological frequencies in a series of assemblages from the site, evidence for conservatism was examined in the production modes expressed by the reduction sequence of the bifaces. We demonstrate that while pronounced typological variability is observed among the GBY assemblages, they were all manufactured by the same technology. The technology, size, and morphology of the bifaces throughout the entire stratigraphic sequence of GBY reflect the strong conservatism of their makers. We conclude that the biface frequency cannot be considered as a chrono/cultural marker that might otherwise allow us to distinguish between different phases within the Acheulian. The variability observed within the assemblages is explained as a result of different activities, tasks, and functions, which were carried out at specific localities along the shores of the paleo-Hula Lake in the early Middle Pleistocene.Journal of Human Evolution 03/2010; 60(4):387-97. · 3.64 Impact Factor
