The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evidence from Africa,the Levant,and Europe

Projectile weaponry is a human cultural universal, but its origins and antiquity remain poorly understood. Stone- and bone-tipped projectile weapons have long been treated as emergent features of the "Upper Paleolithic" behavioral revolution. Recently it has been proposed that projectile technology was in widespread use among Homo sapiens populations in Africa during Middle Stone Age (MSA) times. One obstacle to researching the origins of projectile point technology is that the criteria archaeologists employ for recognizing plausible and implausible stone projectile points are largely subjective (overall tool shape, microwear traces). Tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) is a ballistically significant dimension that works well at discriminating North American stone projectile points (spearthrower dart tips and arrowheads) from spear points. This paper compares the TCSA values of ethnographic North American stone projectile points to hypothetical Middle and Upper Paleolithic stone projectile points from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. The results of this comparison do not support the hypothesis of widespread use of stone-tipped projectiles in Africa, the Levant, or Europe prior to 40 Ka. In the New World and in Australia, where we have the richest ethnographic record of stone projectile point use, these implements are largely employed in big-game hunting and in warfare. One or both of these factors may have played a role in the widespread adoption of stone projectile point technology after 40 Ka.     

An Early Upper Palaeolithic Stone Tool Assemblage from Mughr El-Hamamah,Jordan: An Interim Report

Mughr el-Hamamah (Jordan) Layer B contains an Early Upper Palaeolithic stone tool assemblage dating to around 39–45 kya cal b.p. This assemblage is unusual in that it samples human forager activities around the ecotone between the Transjordanian Plateau and the palaeo-lake (Lake Lisan) that filled much of the Jordan Valley during Late Pleistocene times. This paper describes that assemblage, comparing it to other Levantine Upper Palaeolithic assemblages of equivalent antiquity. The Mughr el-Hamamah Layer B assemblage appears most similar to Early Ahmarian assemblages, but it departs from typical such assemblages in ways that may reflect local conditions’ influence on human activities carried out in and near the cave. Mughr el-Hamamah raises new questions about changes in residential mobility, off-site provisioning and foraging activity, and on-site task diversity in the Early Upper Palaeolithic period.     

A River Runs Through It: Landscape and the Evolution of Bronze Age Networks in the Carpathian Basin

The homogeneous and circumscribed character of the Carpathian Basin makes it an ideal setting for examining the interplay of topography and resource distribution in the development of Bronze Age social networks. Such networks include both systems of settlement and land use, and the patterns of interconnection between communities and regions that facilitate trade and exchange. Drawing on new excavations and increasingly common radiocarbon dates within the region, the alteration in these networks from earlier Copper Age and Neolithic patterns can be traced. It is suggested that the substantial river systems of the region provided the principal axes for the movement of goods during the Bronze Age and that control of these water routes was contested among neighboring communities and polities. It is further argued that contrastive overland trade connections also developed which, at least initially, transported distinct materials. Later, these overland connections undermined and superseded the pre-existing riverine systems.     

Lithic Modes A–I: A New Framework for Describing Global-Scale Variation in Stone Tool Technology Illustrated with Evidence from the East Mediterranean Levant

Grahame Clark’s framework for describing stone tool assemblages in terms of five technological “modes” enjoys wide use in European, African, and Asian prehistory. With greater usage and increases in the global archaeological database for prehistory, problems and weaknesses of Clark’s framework have become apparent. This paper reviews these problems and proposes an updated framework, modes A–I, for describing variability in stone tool production strategies. The value of this new framework for prehistory is illustrated using data from the East Mediterranean Levant.     

The Amman Citadel Inscription Again

Iron I sites in the northwestern Negev were identified as Philistine on the basis of the references to Philistines in this region in the book of Genesis, its proximity to Gaza, and the occurrence of Philistine pottery. Triggered by emerging discrepancies between the finds at these sites and the presumed Philistine attributes (e.g. the rarity of pork, hearths), this article aims to reevaluate the finds in the periphery of Philistia, mainly in the northwestern Negev, but also in the Shephelah and the Yarkon basin. A systematic examination of the data reveals a clear pattern in which the population of peripheral sites gradually adopted certain Philistine attributes (Philistine pottery and cooking jugs, which were avoided during the first phase of Philistine settlement), but continued to systematically avoid others (Aegean-type hearths and significant amounts of pork), and maintained clear and sharp boundaries with the Philistine centers. A thorough examination of the data suggests that most of the inhabitants in the periphery of Philistia were the descendants of the local Canaanite population of the Late Bronze Age, who were in the process of renegotiating their identity with the emerging ethnicities of the Philistines in the urban centers of the southern coastal plain and the Israelites farther west. While not forming a unified group, and probably being politically dominated by Philistia, the inhabitants of the settlements in the periphery of Philistia did not adopt a Philistine identity, maintained clear boundaries with the Philistines, and should not be treated as Philistines.     

Mobility patterns and core technologies in the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant

Mobility is thought to be a significant source of Middle Paleolithic archaeological variability in the East Mediterranean Levant. However, models of Levantine Middle Paleolithic land-use have historically been based on rare and taphonomically sensitive evidence from a limited number of sites. Because lithic artifacts are the most ubiquitous archaeological remains available to the prehistorian, relationships between stone tool technology and mobility patterns can improve tests of hypotheses about prehistoric land-use strategies. This paper examines variation in Middle Paleolithic mobility strategies in the Levant from the perspective of core technology. A model linking expedient core reduction techniques and decreased mobility is adapted from one developed for late prehistoric contexts in the New World. Incorporating core data from numerous Levantine Middle Paleolithic assemblages, this study tests hypotheses about diachronic change, synchronic geographic variation, and possible hominin behavioral differences in mobility strategies.     

Experimental use and quantitative performance analysis of triangular flakes (Levallois points) used as arrowheads

The invention and widespread use of projectile weaponry is a characteristic presumed to exist only with Homo sapiens. However, as finds of wooden material during the early development of projectile weapons are extremely rare, this remains a contentious topic. Recent work has proposed a series of ballistically-significant morphological characteristics of stone points that yield information about their potential use. Here we report on initial experimental approaches to quantifying the performance of relatively simple stone points as arrow armatures. Two experimental trials were performed using a series of 51 Levallois points. The first, against a uniform density target, was designed to give an overall indication of performance. The second, against a simulated animal carcass, demonstrated the durability of these points. The results of this study suggest that small Levallois points could have functioned as arrowheads, albeit ones likely to break after limited use. They also suggest that these points’ penetrating power is strongly controlled by their morphometric characteristics, most notably their perimeter. This latter finding refines a method for assessing hypothetical Paleolithic stone points on the basis of tip cross-sectional area previously proposed by others.     

The Middle Paleolithic of the East Mediterranean Levant

This paper reviews recent developments in geochronology, archaeology, and behavioral interpretations of the Middle Paleolithic Period (ca. 47–250 Kyr) in the East Mediterranean Levant. Neandertals and early modern humans both occupied the Levant during this period. Both these hominids are associated with the Levantine Mousterian stone tool industry and similar sets of faunal remains. The Levant has long been seen as preserving evidence for the origin of modern humans out of Neandertal ancestors. Recent radiometric dates for Levantine Middle Paleolithic contexts challenge this hypothesis. Instead, they suggest the evolutionary relationships between these hominids were far more complicated. Proposed models for Neandertal and early modern human coevolutionary relationships are examined. Intense competition between Neandertals and early modern humans for a narrow human niche may be the context out of which the Upper Paleolithic behavioral revolution arose.