Taphonomic Comparisons of Stone Tool Transport: Surface vs. Excavated Collections

Summary

It has been argued that surface assemblages may provide insights into questions regarding large scale patterns of human behavior such as mobility and stone tool transport. However, excavated material is often preferred over surface assemblages due to concerns of potential biases introduced by the process of exposure. Here, we examine this claim by comparing measures of stone tool transport between surface and excavated assemblages. Surface and excavated lithic assemblages were collected from the similar locations in East Turkana, Kenya. Size distributions of each assemblage were compared to determine differences that may be introduced by taphonomic bias. Measures of cortex, volume, and stone tool reduction were then applied to each assemblage to determine influence of lateral displacement on proxies of stone tool transport. Preliminary results suggest that, despite gross differences in size distributions between the two assemblages, signatures of stone tool transport preserved in excavated assemblages are also reflected in surface assemblages. This is dependent on the measures of transport that are investigated. A discussion of the preliminary results and the efficacy of various measures of stone tool transport is reviewed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22072