Chapter 8 Flashcards
when are artifact not obviously used by humans
Paleolithic and Lower Paleolithic
Eoliths
pieces of stone found at the beginning of the 20th C in the Lower Pleistocene
what was thought about the shaping of eoliths
they were naturally made
why were eoliths naturally made
there were irregular scars and no bulb formed
what is helpful when examining eoliths
context
why are crude tools harder to distinguish
monkeys have been using tools to crack nuts and leaving cutmarks behind
types of tools found at a site
clues to function
finished tools often turn up in sites
FAR from the stone source
core
the main part of the stone from which the material was removed until the desired shape
primary flake
first flake struck off
have some material of the outer surface or cortex
primary flake
trimming flakes
struck off to achieve the final shape
how can edges of a core be retouched
removing secondary flakes
can the flakes be used as tools too
YES
what does the history of stone tool making show
sporadically increasing degree of refinement over time
first recognizable tool
simple choppers and flakes made from knocking pieces off
microliths
tiny stone tools
Acheulian
evolved over thousands of years
Acheulian period were making
hand-axes
Oldowan industry
earliest stone tools
Oldowan industry had tools like
simple choppers and flakes
Levallois Technique
careful preparation of a core for ONE flake to be used
wasteful and extremely difficult
Levallois technique
upper paleolithic
possible to remove numerous parallel sided blades from a SINGLE stone
blades were retouched to form specialized tools
upper paleolithic
less wasteful way of making tools
upper paleolithic
Chaine Operatoire
sequence of manufacturing steps
a task that would be easier if the knapping was done in one place and ALL the waste material is present
Chain Operatoire
two principal approaches to assessing what decisions the knapper made
- replication
- refitting
refitting of stone tools
attempting to put tools and flakes back together again
a single tool can be used for _______ purposes
many
only direct proof of function is to study
the minute traces of microwear patterns that remain on the original tools
allows to follow the stages of the knapper’s craft and movement around the site
refitting
provides a dynamic POV on the spatial distribution of tools
refitting
even the hardest stones do what
retrain traces of their use
what kind of traces remain on stone
variety of polishes and striations
different kinds of polish are
distinguishable and are very durable
the function of a set of tools
results that can transform our picture of activity at a site
what kind of wear traces are being examined with microwear analysis
- edge flaking
- surface characteristics of polish
- orientation of striations on a stone tool
what did all synthetic materials depend on
the control of heat
first step in developing a new technique and tools was
mastery of fire
pyrotechnology
the control of fire
did the Paleolithic people not know how to make pottery
Not sure, it’s possible
why is there a lack of pottery for the Paleolithic people
they had a mobile life
what does adoption of pottery coincide with
a more stable way of life
temper
the filler incorporated to give added strength and workability
what counteracts cracking or shrinkage during firing
temper
most common temper materials (7)
- crushed shell
- crushed rock
- crushed pottery
- sand
- grass
- straw
- fragments of sponge
finer the temper means
the stronger the pot
_____ is relatively late in the history of technology
glass materials
what was easy and cheap to make
glass
why was glass easy and cheap to make
melting of sand and cooling it again
what happens when the temps for glass are lowered
result in poor-quality of glass
what makes a better result in glass
adding lime
why is ancient glass rare
like metal, it can be reused
was glass more fragile than pottery
NO
faience
a kind of pre-glass
earliest glass material
faience
made by coating a core material of powdered quartz with a alkaline glaze
faience
can provide evidence for the provenience or source of specific beads
faience
one of the most useful techniques for the study of early metallurgy
metallographic examination
copper when under examination can show
when the artifact has been worked from native copper
Iron when under examination can show
lots about the manufactory process that mastery smiths had over their craft
annealing
heat treatment process that changes the physical (sometimes chemical) properties of a material
increases ductility and reduce the hardness to make the metal more workable
anneling
slag
the stone waste matter separated from metals during the smelting of ore
produced during the separation of the molten steel from impurities in steel-making furnace
slag
alloying
the metals are heated until they are molten and mixed and poured into a mold
an alloy is a
combination of the two elements
what was a step forward in metallurgical practice
alloying copper with arsenic or tin
arsenical-bronze or tin-bronze are bother
harder and less brittle than copper
what would show great skill in metal work
fine metal work
how were fine metal work methods found
careful examination without more sophisticated analysis
filigree
form of intricate metalwork achieved by shaping delicate wire pieces into designs
example of filigree
jewelry
granulation
surface is covered with spherule or granules or precious metals
plating
method of bonding metals together
radiocarbon dates of the Pleistocene age extend back more than
30 000 years
North American side of the debate at Pedra Furada
there was NO human occupation in the New World before 12 000
other side of the debate at Pedra Furada
there could have been humans occupying the New World earlier
what was the aim for the site at Pedra Furada
distinguish between human and natural agencies in the site’s general contents
what made the natural objects different than the human made ones at Pedra Furada
- natural flaking never affected more than 1 side
- never removes more than three flakes
- never produces “retouch”
attributes of tools
- morphology
- function
morphology
shape (how we describe it)
morphology can also be
quantifiable
quantifiable
measurements of the tools
function of stone tools
we don’t describe function because it’s not concrete
chipped tools were made by
smacking the rock
why can’t chipped tools be used to date
they change dramatically but consistently
ground tools made by
applying pressure to the rock
what kind of stone was time consuming
ground tools
what looks the same for 1000s of years
ground tools
oldest evidence that survives the best
stone tools
retouching
slowly grind the tool with bone to remove tiny pieces
rectangular
- blades
- bladelets
parallel
- blades
- bladelets
> 12 mm
blades
8 to 12 mm
bladelets
choppers
tool one side is round and the other is used to bash
projectile points are an example of
microliths
primary clay
clay that was apart of stone (natural site)
secondary clay
clay that was transported from the original break-down
smooth, even clay
secondary clay
different sized particles of clay
primary clay
what is the pottery heated in
a kiln
types of decorations of pottery
- incised
- applique
- paint
- slip
- wash
with a wash, we can see
the original pot colour
with a slip, the clay is
dipped into other colours
classification of pottery
- ware
- decoration
- form
ware is the
kind of clay it’s made from
form is not
the function
were can textiles be found
- bog bodies
- tombs
- frozen
how can flax be finished
- fulling
- dyeing
- tanning
tanning is mostly done with
animal hide in the sun
what does tanning do
bleaches the animal skin
dyeing is done by
dipping the flax into clay or paint
fulling is done for
animal skin
fulling dips animal skin into
urine
what is not waterproof
animal skins that have been finished with fulling
