Middle Pleistocene (Other Keyword)
1-7 (7 Records)
Evidence for hunting amongst hominin groups in northwestern Europe has emerged as a key archaeological research question over the past century. There are three clear archaeological signatures that suggest the possible manufacture and use of simple wooden weapons in Middle Pleistocene Europe: the collection of wooden spears from Schöningen in Germany from MIS 9, a wooden implement from Clacton-on-Sea from MIS 11, and a horse scapula with a possible impact fracture from Boxgrove from MIS 13....
Dining Out in the Desert: Results From Protein Residue Analysis at the Azraq Oasis, Jordan (2017)
Excavations at Shishan Marsh 1 (SM-1) have provided evidence of a unique ecosystem, along with faunal remains and over 10,000 artifacts made from local flint dating to approximately 250,000 years ago. Forty-six of these artifacts were selected for residue analysis from stratified, in-situ deposits. Extractions from these lithic tools were tested for possible protein residues using the technique of cross-over immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP). The SM-1 artifact extractions were run against eight...
Early Worked Ochre in the Middle Pleistocene at Olorgesailie, Kenya (2016)
Excavation of the Middle Stone Age site of GOK-1 at Olorgesailie (2001-2011) yielded two pieces of iron-rich rock from a well-developed red soil below a tuff dated to 220 ka. The soil’s stratigraphic position in the G locality and the associated lithics suggest it is more comparable to the some of the earliest Middle Stone Age sites in nearby Locality B, which date to over 300 ka. The larger rock exhibits grinding striations exposing powdery red pigment. Furthermore, an incomplete perforation...
Lithic Technology and Reduction Strategies at Shishan Marsh 1 (2017)
The 2013-15 excavations at Shishan Marsh 1 have revealed an impressive array of stone tools at this Middle Pleistocene Oasis. More than 7000 stone tools including: handaxes, scrapers, modified and utilized flakes, burins, Levallois points and flakes, cores, small pebble tools and debitage associated with tool manufacture and refurbishing, have been analyzed. Analysis was conducted on all tools and debitage using the lithic attribute analysis method, and low and high power magnification to...
Raw material characterization and lithic procurement in the Azraq Basin, Jordan, during the Middle Pleistocene: Preliminary results. (2017)
Recent excavations at Shishan Marsh 1 in the Azraq Basin, Jordan, have uncovered several artifact-bearing layers that date to the Middle Pleistocene. A paleoecological assessment of sediments from this period indicates predominantly warm and dry conditions in the region, similar to those of the present. Hominins living under these harsh conditions were forced to contract around a receding spring- and wadi-fed water source for subsistence. In this way, the distances they could venture to acquire...
Spatial distribution and site formation of the Schöningen Spear Horizon, Lower Saxony, Germany (2015)
The discovery of the Schöningen 13II-4 Spear Horizon represents a major milestone in the study human behavioural evolution. Once viewed as a single mass kill site of horses, aided by wooden spears, it is becoming increasingly clear that the site represents multiple hominin hunting episodes along the margin of a middle Pleistocene lakeshore. However, there are still questions to be addressed regarding the spatial relationships between and within the spear, lithic, and faunal assemblages. Here we...
Tool use across space in the Middle Pleistocene: Novel Techniques of Edge Damage Analysis at Elandsfontein, South Africa. (2017)
Although studies of lithic technology have been ongoing for over a century our knowledge of what tools were used for is still poorly resolved. Detailed analysis of microscopic damage has been the major focus studies of tool use. However, these studies are often limited to a subset of tools that have not undergone post-depositional damage and can be studied microscopically. Recently new approaches to damage patterns on the edges of simple flaked tools have been used to develop assemblage scale...