Quantifying knapping actions
A Method for Measuring the Angle of Blow on Flakes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5415972 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Li Li (0000-0001-9700-9682, University of Tübingen), Jonathan S Reeves (0000-0002-2017-0539, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology), C Lin (0000-0001-6834-2646, University of Wollongong), Sam C Lin, Claudio Tennie (0000-0002-5302-4925, University of Tübingen), Shannon J P Mcpherron (0000-0002-2063-468X, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology), Shannon P Mcpherron |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Publication date | 2022-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1866-9557 • E-ISSN: 1866-9565 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12520-022-01626-y |
| OpenAlex | W4286696982 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 74 |
Stone artifacts are critical for investigating the evolution of hominin behavior-they are among our only proxies for hominin behavior in deep time. Hominin cognition and skill are often inferred by reconstructing the technical decisions hominins made throughout the knapping process. However, despite many advancements in understanding how hominins knapped, some of the key factors involved in past flake production cannot be easily/readily derived from stone artifacts. In particular, the angle at which the knapper strikes the hammer against the core to remove the flake, or the angle of blow, is a key component of the knapping process that has up to now remained unmeasurable on archeological assemblages. In this study, we introduce a new method for estimating the angle of blow from the ventral surface of flakes. This method was derived from a controlled experiment that explicitly connects fracture mechanics to flake variability. We find that a feature of the flake's bulb of percussion, what we call the bulb angle, is a measurable indicator of the angle of blow. Our experimental finding is further validated in two additional datasets from controlled and replicative knapping experiments. These results demonstrate the utility of continuing to link flake variation with technical decision-making to fracture mechanics. In addition, they also provide a useful and relatively simple means to capture a currently invisible aspect of hominin stone tool production behavior
Archaeology · Flake · Fracture (geology · Geography · Hammer · Knapping · Paleoanthropology · Process (computing · Stone tool · Computer Science · Engineering · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Materials Science · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Artificial Intelligence · Geology · Mechanical Engineering · Paleontology
Quantitative identification of flaking techniques using Bulb Surface Angle (BSA) derived from 3D surface data
En masse scanning and semi-automated surfacing of small objects using micro-CT
The Rules are the Rules. Consistency of Drivers of Flake Size and Shape in Mechanical Flaking Experiments
Flexible Late Mousterian lithic technological organisation at Riparo l’Oscurusciuto (Italy)
The adaptive nature of Neanderthal discoidal technology
Inter-site and Intra-site Comparison of Recycling in Paleolithic Surface Contexts of Central Kazakhstan
To What Extent Are Similarities in Lithic Artifacts Due to Convergence
A Synthesis of the Dibble et al. Controlled Experiments into the Mechanics of Lithic Production
Assessing the Role of Early “Large Cutting Tools” in Flake Production
Stone tool knapping quality and raw material selection behaviour in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor
Ex Oriente Lux? A quantitative comparison between northern Ahmarian and Protoaurignacian
Did Early Pleistocene hominins control hammer strike angles when making stone tools
Controlling Levallois
The definition and interpretation of Levallois technology
A framework for analysing prehistoric stone tool manufacture and a tentative application to some early stone industries
Flintknapping
Earliest known Oldowan artifacts at >2.58 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, highlight early technological diversity
Tool making, hand morphology and fossil hominins
Reduction Sequences in the Manufacture of Mousterian Implements of France
Test, Model, and Method Validation
Estimating original flake mass from 3D scans of platform area
New experimental evidence on the relation between percussion flaking and flake variation
The Effect of Hammer Mass and Velocity on Flake Mass
Introducing a new experimental design for controlled studies of flake formation
Estimating original flake mass on blades using 3D platform area
Middle Stone Age Bifacial Technology and Pressure Flaking at the MIS 3 Site of Toumboura III, Eastern Senegal
Identification par l’expérimentation de la percussion au percuteur de calcaire au Paléolithique moyen
Gestures During Knapping
Platform Variability and Flake Morphology
Flake Size from Platform Attributes
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Oldowan reduction sequences
Early stage blunting causes rapid reductions in stone tool performance
Blade Technology Characterizing the MIS 5 D-A Layers of Sibudu Cave, South Africa
Flake variation in relation to the application of force
A geometric index of reduction for unifacial stone tools
Blade technology and tool forms in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa
Biface Knapping Skill in the East African Acheulean
A geometric morphometric relationship predicts stone flake shape and size variability
Miscellaneous Studies in Hard-Hammer Percussion Flaking
A New Synthesis of Middle Paleolithic Variability
Hand function and tool behavior in early hominids
Late Pliocene hominid knapping skills
The relative effects of core surface morphology on flake shape and other attributes
Hand pressure distribution during Oldowan stone tool production
Hand biomechanics during simulated stone tool use
How do stone knappers predict and control the outcome of flaking? Implications for understanding early stone tool technology
Understanding stone tool-making skill acquisition
The virtual goniometer
On measuring the mean edge angle of lithic tools based on 3-D models - a case study from the southern Levantine Epipalaeolithic
The results of lithic experiments performed on glass cores are applicable to other raw materials
On the Utility and Economization of Unretouched Flakes
The Formation of Flakes
Mechanical Basis of Percussion Flaking
An Exegesis of the Curation Concept
Early Stone Tools and Cultural Transmission
Use and Multifactorial Reconciliation of Uniface Reduction Measures
| Citations per year | 3.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |