Mesolithic plant processing unveiled
Multiscale use-wear analysis of the ground stone tools from Vlasac (Serbia)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6433552 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A Zupancich (0000-0002-9503-1234, Sapienza University of Rome), E Cristiani (0000-0002-2748-9171, Sapienza University of Rome), Marialetizia Carra (0000-0001-5656-9157, University of Bologna), Dragana Antonović (0000-0002-6534-1258, Arheološki Institut), Dušan Borić (0000-0003-0166-627X, New York University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Pages | 104907-104907 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104907 |
| OpenAlex | W4405311050 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 70 |
Wild grass grains and fleshy fruits were processed using ground stone tools at Vlasac. • Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal the complex life cycles of Late Mesolithic ground stone tools. • Use-wear analysis, surface texture analysis and GIS are combined into a novel multilevel approach. Plants and plant-based foods played a crucial role in human evolution, and the interaction between plants and humans is a highly debated topic in archaeology. Ground stone tools are considered particularly valuable evidence due to their direct involvement in various plant processing tasks. This paper investigates the use of sandstone ground stone tools coming from the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region, used in plant processing tasks, providing clues about the exploitation of vegetal resources during the Mesolithic of the region. Applying a novel approach based on the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including optical microscopy, 3D surface texture analysis, and spatial analysis, we explore the use of ground stone tools in plant processing at the site. Our results highlight the existence of a specific plant-food processing technology in the area of the Danube Gorges during the eight millennium cal BC, alongside the familiarity of these Mesolithic foragers with the consumption of wild plants, long before the introduction of agriculture in this region
Archaeology · Geography · Mesolithic · Mining engineering · Stone tool · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology
Microwear polishes on early stone tools from Koobi Fora, Kenya
Nuts, nut cracking, and pitted stones at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel
Thirty thousand-year-old evidence of plant food processing
Use-Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools
Wild Harvest
Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe
Mesolithic harpoons from Odmut, Montenegro
Revealing the “hidden” Pannonian and Central Balkan Mesolithic
Surface roughness as a quantitative approach to use-wear on macrolithic tools
Use-wear analysis of grinding tools and the exploration of plant processing in the Neolithic of Europe
Functional analyses on sandstone slabs from the submerged Mesolithic/Neolithic site of Neustadt LA 156 (Northern Germany)
Coupling the beams
Harvesting cereals at Dja’de el-Mughara in the northern Levant
Pounding, grinding, transitioning. A use-wear perspective
Sandstone Ground Stone Technology
A methodological approach to the study of archaeological cereal meals
Sickle gloss texture analysis elucidates long-term change in plant harvesting during the transition to agriculture
Pitted stone cobbles in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (Southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, Spain)
Year-old Late Mesolithic garment embroidery from Vlasac (Serbia)
The Middle Paleolithic Ground Stones Tools of Nesher Ramla Unit V (Southern Levant)
The Living and The Dead, Memory and Transition
Late Mesolithic lifeways and deathways at Vlasac (Serbia)
Plant Use in the Mesolithic and its Role in the Transition to Farming
Ground stone tools and spatial organization at the Mesolithic site of font del Ros (southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, Spain)
The Middle Paleolithic ground stones tools of Nesher Ramla unit V (Southern Levant)
Here's the dirt
Using mechanical experiments to study ground stone tool use
New technologies for plant food processing in the Gravettian
Experimental protocols for the study of battered stone anvils from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)
Residue analysis and ornament suspension techniques in prehistory
Searching for hidden activities
Active percussion tools from the Oldowan site of Barranco León (Orce, Andalusia, Spain)
Ground stones
Rethinking Use-Wear Analysis and Experimentation as Applied to the Study of Past Hominin Tool Use
Sandstone grinding/pounding tools
Experimentation in the Formation of Edge Damage
Quantifying 3D Micro‐Surface Changes on Experimental Stones Used to Break Bones and Their Implications for the Analysis of Early Stone Age Pounding Tools
Archaeological Evidence for the Emergence of Language, Symbolism, and Music–An Alternative Multidisciplinary Perspective
A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Investigate Use-Related Biogenic Residues on Palaeolithic Ground Stone Tools
The Origins and development of ground stone assemblages in Late Pleistocene Southwest Asia
Porridge and Pot, Bread and Oven
Pounding tools in HWK EE and EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)
The application of 3D modeling and spatial analysis in the study of groundstones used in wild plants processing
A first approach to women, tools and operational sequences in traditional manual cereal grinding
High-Resolution Casts for Lithic Use-Wear Analysis
Pitted stones in the Acheulean from Olduvai Gorge Beds III and IV (Tanzania)
Cooking in caves
Vlasac revisited
The Invention of Technology
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |