Deborah I Olszewski
Biographic Data
| ID | 72972 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Deborah I Olszewski |
| GIVEN NAMES | Deborah I |
| FAMILY NAME | Olszewski |
| SIGNATURE | OLSZEWSKI D I |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pennsylvania |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1350-1210 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 59 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 619 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 57 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
Vial Excavation: Microstratigraphic Excavation in the Laboratory - A Methodology for High Resolution Sampling and Integration of Data from Multiple Analytical Methods
Over the last decades, archaeology has been undergoing a revolution of sorts driven by advances in the archaeological sciences and the ability to extract data from sediments. These new methods work at the micro- or even molecular scale and thus require extremely high levels of precision for the context of the samples. While there have been significant advances in proveniencing techniques, by and large, basic excavation methods have hardly changed…
Fire Use in the Levantine Late Upper Paleolithic and Early Epipaleolithic: The Western Highlands of Jordan
Using a count method of complete and proximal burned debitage ≥ 2.5 cm, Dibble and colleagues recorded a pattern of fire use by southwestern France Neandertals whereby fire use was more common in warmer rather than colder intervals of the late Pleistocene. A recent work by Abdolahzadeh and colleagues indicates that this pattern is also found in other areas of Europe. Here, we apply Dibble and colleagues’ burned lithics count method to assess fire…
To What Extent Are Similarities in Lithic Artifacts Due to Convergence
Lithic analysis in African archaeology: Advances and key themes
Stone artifacts (lithics) preserve for extended periods; thus they are key evidence for probing the evolution of human technological behaviors. Africa boasts the oldest record of stone artifacts, spanning 3.3 Ma, rare instances of ethnographic stone tool‐making, and stone tool archives from diverse ecological settings, making it an anchor for research on the long‐term temporal and spatial trends in human evolution. This paper reviews the applicat…
The Pleistocene Stone Artifact Record of Africa: Technologies, Typologies, and Analytic Approaches
Flaked stone (lithic) artifacts are a ubiquitous cultural material at Pleistocene sites and first appear in the archaeological record 3.3 million years ago (Ma) in East Africa. The African stone artifact record thus covers the longest time span of human prehistory compared to other regions. Lithic artifacts preserve well, and they are often the only cultural materials remaining at a site. Archaeologists have therefore dedicated considerable effor…
Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa: Hominin behavior, geography, and chronology
This handbook showcases an Africa-wide compendium of Stone Age archaeological sites and associated methodological advances and debates
Heat exposed lithics: An experimental approach to quantifying potlids by temperature
The Steppic Early Natufian: Investigations in the Wadi al-Hasa, Jordan
Investigating variability in the frequency of fire use in the archaeological record of Late Pleistocene Europe
The nature of Nubian: Developing current global perspectives on Nubian Levallois technology and the Nubian complex
Operationalizing niche construction theory with stone tools
One of the greatest difficulties with evolutionary approaches in the study of stone tools (lithics) has been finding a mechanism for tying culture and biology in a way that preserves human agency and operates at scales that are visible in the archaeological record. The concept of niche construction, whereby organisms actively construct their environments and change the conditions for selection, could provide a solution to this problem. In this re…
Schuyler, Robert L.
Middle East: Epipaleolithic
Human hunting adaptations at Wadi Madamagh, Jordan at the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum
Aggregates, Formational Emergence, and the Focus on Practice in Stone Artifact Archaeology
The stone artifact record has been one of the major grounds for investigating our evolution. With the predominant focus on their morphological attributes and technological aspects of manufacture, stone artifacts and their assemblages have been analyzed as explicit measures of past behaviors, adaptations, and population histories. This analytical focus on technological and morphological appearance is one of the characteristics of the conventional …
Schuyler, Robert L.
The Steppic Early Natufian: Investigations in the Wadi al-Hasa, Jordan
Middle East: Epipaleolithic
The Initial Upper Palaeolithic in the Levant
The Early Upper Palaeolithic in the Zagros Mountains
Archaeological Variability and Interpretation in Global Perspective
Reductive Technology and the Epipaleolithic of the Middle East and North Africa
Human hunting and site occupation intensity in the Early Epipaleolithic of the Jordanian western highlands
Persistent and ephemeral places in the Early Epipaleolithic in the Wadi al-Hasa region of the western highlands of Jordan
Late Pleistocene eastern Levant: Landscape strategies in open spaces
Major Fallacies Surrounding Stone Artifacts and Assemblages
The Rise and Fall of Seasonal Mobility among Hunter-Gatherers: The Case of the Southern Levant [and Comments and Replies]
On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb
The Zagros Aurignacian
The Transition Between Hunting and Gathering and the Specialized Husbandry of Resources: A Socio-ecological Approach [and Comments and Reply]
Middle Palaeolithic Lithic Technology from the Western High Desert of Egypt
Recent work in the high desert west of Abydos in Egypt has focused on the Middle Palaeolithic technologies known as Nubian 1 and 2 types and classic Levallois, which are abundant and are found in virtually all stages of production. Although these were originally defined and treated as three discrete technologies, refitting and quantitative analyses show that they are variants of one technology. While this has direct implications for interpreting …
Aggregates, Formational Emergence, and the Focus on Practice in Stone Artifact Archaeology
The stone artifact record has been one of the major grounds for investigating our evolution. With the predominant focus on their morphological attributes and technological aspects of manufacture, stone artifacts and their assemblages have been analyzed as explicit measures of past behaviors, adaptations, and population histories. This analytical focus on technological and morphological appearance is one of the characteristics of the conventional …
The Ecological Genetics of Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture [and Comments and Reply]
High Desert Paleolithic Survey at Abydos, Egypt
In the winters of 2000 and 2002–2003 we surveyed a portion of the high desert immediately adjacent to the Nile Valley at Abydos, Egypt. The initial field season assessed the area's potential to contribute to the existing database of Paleolithic landscapes. Limited work done prior to our initial survey indicated that such Paleolithic sites in this region, while present, were relatively infrequent. Contrary to this expectation, we found the desert …
Issues in the Levantine Epipaleolithic: The Madamaghan, Nebekian and Qalkhan (Levant Epipaleolithic)
No two archaeological assemblages are ever identical. Archaeologists are thus continually faced with the problem of recognizing groups of assemblages that are more or less similar. Once grouped, these become named industries, traditions, techno-complexes, and so forth. Such entities are then contrasted with other groupings that contain different characteristics. One of the main problems, of course, is to know how different an assemblage must be f…
Subsistence Ecology in the Mediterranean Forest: Implications for the Origins of Cultivation in the Epipaleolithic Southern Levant
The Epipaleolithic (Iberomaurusian) from Grotte des Contrebandiers, Morocco
The nature of Nubian: Developing current global perspectives on Nubian Levallois technology and the Nubian complex
Beyond the Graver: Reconsidering Burin Function
Desert Pavement Disturbance and Artifact Taphonomy: A Case Study from the Eastern Libyan Plateau, Egypt
Accretionary desert pavements on the eastern Libyan Plateau of central Egypt support a rich Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifact assemblage exhibiting intensive blank production and minimal tool production. These assemblages appear to be in primary context with numerous examples of lithic refits showing on‐site lithic production. However, the smallest (length ≤2.5 cm) archaeological fragments are recovered at a much lower rate on this desert pav…
Nubian Complex strategies in the Egyptian high desert
Tool blank selection, debitage and cores from Abu Hureyra 1, Northern Syria
An analysis of tool blank selection, debitage and cores from the Epipaleolithic levels at Abu Hureyra shows that several chronological changes occur. The most important of these is a reduction in the production of flakes, and consequently less use of flakes as tool blanks through time. The latest levels at Abu Hureyra 1, those of Unit 4, appear to be roughly contemporary with Phase la from Tell Mureybet, and point to similarities, as well as diff…
Beyond the Graver: Reconsidering Burin Function
Burins have long been considered to represent a special class of stone tools, used primarily for engraving. A number of studies, however, have indicated that burins functioned in a variety of very different ways. This study finds evidence that burins were used as cutting/scraping tools, engraving tools, hafting elements, and bladelet cores at three late Pleistocene sites in SW Asia. We suggest that burins should not be considered as a class of to…
The 1993 Excavations at Yutil al-Hasa (WHS 784), an Upper/Epipaleolithic Site in West-Central Jordan
Le sondage effectué en 1984 dans l'abri sous roche effondré de Yutil al-Hasa avait livré des assemblages du Paléolithique supérieur final de tradition ahmarienne. De nouveaux sondages en 1993 ont permis de reconnaître des dépôts du Madamaghien et du Natoufien ancien. L'occupation du site ne fui pas continue au cours des 8 000 ans que couvrent approximativement ces deux phases. Pourtant, l'abri occupait alors une situation privilégiée dans la régi…
A Reassessment of Average Lunate Length as a Chronological Marker
Average lunate length, in conjunction with the percentage of bifacial backing retouch, has been used with moderate success as a chronological marker for ordering late Epipaleolithic Natufian assemblages in the Levant. Several problems with the use of these attributes are discussed, including sample size, radiocarbon dates, and assemblages that do not conform to the proposed frameworks. It is suggested that modifications considering macroenvironme…
Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa: Hominin behavior, geography, and chronology
This handbook showcases an Africa-wide compendium of Stone Age archaeological sites and associated methodological advances and debates
WHS 784 X (Yutil al-Hasa): A Late Ahmarian Site in the Wadi Hasa, West-central Jordan
A collapsed rockshelter site, WHS 784 X (Yutil al-Hasa), in the Wadi Hasa drainage in west-central Jordan was tested in 1984. Technological and typological analyses of the stone artifact assemblages suggest that it pertains to the latest phases of the Levantine Upper Paleolithic ‘Ahmarian Tradition’. Excellent faunal preservation allowed the identification of several ungulate species, as well as other taxa. These data and the topographic setting …
Investigating variability in the frequency of fire use in the archaeological record of Late Pleistocene Europe
Human hunting adaptations at Wadi Madamagh, Jordan at the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum
Heat exposed lithics: An experimental approach to quantifying potlids by temperature
Tools for Thought: Some Comments on the Analysis of Puebloan Chipped Stone Assemblages
Using chipped stone assemblages from five Puebloan sites located in central Arizona, an analysis of both tools and waste materials was recently undertaken as part of the Arizona Public Service Cholla Project. Based on this study we suggest that much of the use of chipped stone was opportunistic and that few formal tool types exist. Viewing data from other assemblages this pattern appears confirmed for much of the Puebloan Southwest. The investiga…
A Reassessment of Average Lunate Length as a Chronological Marker
Average lunate length, in conjunction with the percentage of bifacial backing retouch, has been used with moderate success as a chronological marker for ordering late Epipaleolithic Natufian assemblages in the Levant. Several problems with the use of these attributes are discussed, including sample size, radiocarbon dates, and assemblages that do not conform to the proposed frameworks. It is suggested that modifications considering macroenvironme…
The North Syrian Late Epipaleolithic and Its Relationship to the Natufian Complex
(1988). The North Syrian Late Epipaleolithic and Its Relationship to the Natufian Complex. Levant: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 127-137.
Husbandry and Herd Control in the Upper Paleolithic: A Critical Review of the Evidence [and Comments and Reply]
Tool blank selection, debitage and cores from Abu Hureyra 1, Northern Syria
An analysis of tool blank selection, debitage and cores from the Epipaleolithic levels at Abu Hureyra shows that several chronological changes occur. The most important of these is a reduction in the production of flakes, and consequently less use of flakes as tool blanks through time. The latest levels at Abu Hureyra 1, those of Unit 4, appear to be roughly contemporary with Phase la from Tell Mureybet, and point to similarities, as well as diff…
A Note on Biases in Early Excavations at Mugharet El-Wad and Nahal Oren
Chipped stone artifacts usually comprise the bulk of recovered materials from the archaeological sites of the ear Her span of prehistory. As such, they are used to describe and characterize particular time spans, as well as geographical regions within those time spans. It is imperative, therefore, that these descriptions and characterizations be as accurate as possible. It is widely recognized, however, that early excavators in most parts of the …
WHS 784 X (Yutil al-Hasa): A Late Ahmarian Site in the Wadi Hasa, West-central Jordan
A collapsed rockshelter site, WHS 784 X (Yutil al-Hasa), in the Wadi Hasa drainage in west-central Jordan was tested in 1984. Technological and typological analyses of the stone artifact assemblages suggest that it pertains to the latest phases of the Levantine Upper Paleolithic ‘Ahmarian Tradition’. Excellent faunal preservation allowed the identification of several ungulate species, as well as other taxa. These data and the topographic setting …
Archeology: From Foraging to Agriculture: The Levant at the End of the Ice Age. Donald O. Henry
The Ecological Genetics of Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture [and Comments and Reply]
The Transition Between Hunting and Gathering and the Specialized Husbandry of Resources: A Socio-ecological Approach [and Comments and Reply]
The Rise and Fall of Seasonal Mobility among Hunter-Gatherers: The Case of the Southern Levant [and Comments and Replies]
Zarzian Microliths from Warwasi Rockshelter, Iran: Scalene Triangles as Arrow Components
The Zarzian Epipalaeolithic occupation at Warwasi yielded over 17,000 stone artifacts, with previous analyses resulting in a division of the Zarzian levels into four chronological units. Microliths comprise in excess of 35% of each of the unit assemblages, with geometric forms occurring in the top three units. The most common geometric is the scalene triangle (regular and elongated forms). A variety of metric and nonmetric attributes was recorded…
Subsistence Ecology in the Mediterranean Forest: Implications for the Origins of Cultivation in the Epipaleolithic Southern Levant
The 1993 Excavations at Yutil al-Hasa (WHS 784), an Upper/Epipaleolithic Site in West-Central Jordan
Le sondage effectué en 1984 dans l'abri sous roche effondré de Yutil al-Hasa avait livré des assemblages du Paléolithique supérieur final de tradition ahmarienne. De nouveaux sondages en 1993 ont permis de reconnaître des dépôts du Madamaghien et du Natoufien ancien. L'occupation du site ne fui pas continue au cours des 8 000 ans que couvrent approximativement ces deux phases. Pourtant, l'abri occupait alors une situation privilégiée dans la régi…
The Paleolithic Prehistory of the Zagros-Taurus
Situated between Europe, Asia, and the Levantine corridor to Africa, the Zagros-Taurus region has enormous potential for the study of human adaptation and population movement during the Pleistocene. While archaeological work was done in this area 40 years ago, much of it remains unpublished. The political situation restricts research by archaeologists. This volume includes new data and major syntheses of the Paleolithic prehistory of the region, …
The Zagros Aurignacian
Beyond the Graver: Reconsidering Burin Function
Beyond the Graver: Reconsidering Burin Function
Burins have long been considered to represent a special class of stone tools, used primarily for engraving. A number of studies, however, have indicated that burins functioned in a variety of very different ways. This study finds evidence that burins were used as cutting/scraping tools, engraving tools, hafting elements, and bladelet cores at three late Pleistocene sites in SW Asia. We suggest that burins should not be considered as a class of to…
The Harra and the Hamad: Excavations and Surveys in Eastern Jordan, Volume 1 . A. V. G. Betts
Ramad: Site néolithique en Damascène (Syrie) aux VIIIe et VIIe millénaires avant l'êre chrétienne . Henri de Contenson
High Desert Paleolithic Survey at Abydos, Egypt
In the winters of 2000 and 2002–2003 we surveyed a portion of the high desert immediately adjacent to the Nile Valley at Abydos, Egypt. The initial field season assessed the area's potential to contribute to the existing database of Paleolithic landscapes. Limited work done prior to our initial survey indicated that such Paleolithic sites in this region, while present, were relatively infrequent. Contrary to this expectation, we found the desert …
From the River to the Sea: The Palaeolithic and the Neolithic on the Euphrates and in the Northern Levant: Studies in Honour of Lorraine Copeland . Olivier Aurenche, Marie Le Mière, and Paul Sanlavill…
Issues in the Levantine Epipaleolithic: The Madamaghan, Nebekian and Qalkhan (Levant Epipaleolithic)
No two archaeological assemblages are ever identical. Archaeologists are thus continually faced with the problem of recognizing groups of assemblages that are more or less similar. Once grouped, these become named industries, traditions, techno-complexes, and so forth. Such entities are then contrasted with other groupings that contain different characteristics. One of the main problems, of course, is to know how different an assemblage must be f…
Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture
Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture. Douglas J. Kennett and Bruce Winterhalder, eds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. 394 pp
Prospections sur les plateaux désertiques du désert libyque égyptien (Abydos, Moyenne Égypte). Quelques exemples de technologies lithiques
Archaeology (44 works) · Geography (42 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (39 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (35 works) · History (22 works) · Geology (21 works) · Biology (15 works) · Paleontology (14 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (13 works) · History (13 works)