Stone Tool Forms and Functions: A Morphometric Analysis of Modern Humans' Stone Tools From Song Terus Cave (Java,Indonesia)

Stone industries from the beginning of the Holocene of South‐East Asia are difficult to characterize typo‐technologically. We apply modern morphometrics to informal pieces to complement usewear analysis and gain a better understanding of the relation between forms and functions. Both the log shape ratio (LSR) based on linear measurements and elliptical Fourier analysis (EFA) based on 2D outlines are used to analyse a sample of 2372 stone artefacts from Song Terus cave (Java, Indonesia). The results show that no specific form corresponds to a specific function or vice versa. Nevertheless, among used artefacts, EFA highlighted several shape tendencies.     

Microwear study of quartzite artefacts: preliminary results from the Middle Pleistocene site of Payre (South-eastern France)

Preliminary functional results obtained from the quartzite assemblage of the Early Middle Palaeolithic site of Payre (South-eastern France) are presented. In an area rich in flint, hominins at Payre also collected quartzite in their local environment, specifically along the Rhône River banks. Although the Payre lithic assemblage is largely composed of flint, quartzite was introduced in the site mainly as large cutting tools knapped outside. This fact pointed out an apparently highly differential treatment of the raw material types available in the region. A major concern is to understand the reason why. Is there any functional reason for the introduction of those artefacts, perhaps to perform specific activities related to the toughness of quartzite? Or is there any functional differentiation among the various raw materials? Use-wear analysis is a useful tool for better understanding human technological choices and strategies of lithic raw material management. Before attempting to extensively apply use-wear analysis on the quartzite assemblage, we analysed a limited sample to evaluate the general surface preservation. A specific experimental programme with the same local quartzite was carried out in order to provide a reliable comparative reference for interpreting use-wear evidence on archaeological implements. Methodological difficulties related to use-wear analysis applied to quartzite artefacts are also discussed. Both Optical light microscopy (OLM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were employed in this study; however, interpretations were elaborated considering principally SEM micro-graphs.The analysis of the archaeological material showed a good state of preservation of the surfaces with a low incidence of post-depositional alterations. The documented use-wear allowed us to identify the active edges, the kinematics and, more rarely, the worked material. Chopping activities were documented on two large artefacts suggesting a specific utility of those tools.     

Sequence Analysis of Grip and Manipulation During Tool Using Tasks: a New Method to Analyze Hand Use Strategies and Examine Human Specificities

Different factors may have coevolved with hand dexterity such as bipedalism, brain enlargement, language, and the production and use of stone technology. Prehistoric stone tools are thus probably one of the key elements to examine the origin and evolution of these essential functions during human evolution. To gain a better understanding of the variability of traces resulting from use found on stone tools or on the body of the user, to better infer past archaeological tools, and to assess what the tool-using human hand specificities are, it is essential to investigate and describe tool manipulation itself. Studies investigated this question but either focused on static finger postures during grasping, or involved complex kinematic model of the coordination of the fingers necessitating the pose of many markers on the hand excluding the application of the method on non-human species. Here, we propose a new method to describe and quantify the dynamic strategies of tool grip and manipulation without the need of markers. We tested this method on five human subjects who had to make bamboo points using flint flakes. Time-based sequence analysis allowed identifying and describing both consistency and variation among users and types of use depending on the observed variable (e.g., hand contact areas, repositioning). The method proved to be efficient and, to our knowledge, is the only available method to describe and quantify with such detailed level grip and manipulation as dynamic process in both human and non-human primates without high technical constraint.