Measuring core reduction using 3D flake scar density: a test case of changing core reduction at Klasies River Mouth,South Africa

A new core reduction index is presented, calculated as the ratio of flake scar number to 3D surface area (SDI). The index is tested experimentally on five types of core (blade, discoid, Levallois, biface and multiplatform cores) and then applied to the core assemblages from five sub-stages of the Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth, South Africa. Preliminary results indicate that the SDI possesses the desirable attributes of a successful reduction index and is a significant improvement on traditional proxy measures of core reduction. The results of the archaeological case study confirm previous untested observations that cores from the Howiesons Poort and MSAIII sub-stages are more heavily reduced than preceding and following stages, and that local and exotic raw materials as well as different types of cores are all more heavily reduced during these periods. The SDI fills a significant lacuna in available core reduction measures.     

Soanian cores and core-tools from Toka,Northern India: Towards a new typo-technological organization

Since the initial ‘discovery’ and explanation of the Soanian industry by H. de Terra and T.T. Paterson in the 1930s, multiple interpretations have been offered by various investigators on its chronology, geographical distribution, relationship with the Acheulian, and technological progression. In most cases, the presence of explicit tool-types and the absence of Acheulian bifaces were the distinguishing features utilized to recognize the industry as well as delineate its technological development through time and space. However, in light of recent intra-regional geoarchaeological investigations and the analyses of a large surface assemblage by the author, the existing framework for Soanian typology is in need of judicious revision. In this paper, some of the methodological and interpretative problems are briefly discussed from a historical perspective and the technological organization of cores and core-based tools from Toka, a rich factory site, is described. Essentially, the Toka assemblage comprises a dynamic range of non-biface tool-types on quartzite, which possess varying patterns of core reduction techniques, edge retouch, and associated use-wear. The study also introduces a modified typological classification of specific chopper morphologies, which may be broadly applicable in global context.