Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Archaeological tools'
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Durham, Peter. "Image processing and hypermedia tools for archaeological classification." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360695.
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McColl, Lynsey Jane. "Statistical tools for investigating contemporaneity and co-location in archaeological records." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.489094.
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For many archaeological and palaeo-environmental problems issues of contemporaneity are paramount. A widely discussed example is whether or not the first modern humans in Europe were contemporary with Neanderthals. There are two key reasons why such issues are difficult to resolve. First there is no formal, universal definition of contemporaneity. Second, the dates of the relevant phenomena are not precisely known, because the available evidence about them arises from radiocarbon dating. In this thesis, we tackle both of these obstacles by providing a clear, flexible definition of contemporaneity and recommending the use of probabilistic statements about contemporaneity in order to quantify the temporal uncertainty.
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Sandgathe, Dennis Michael. "The detection of unmodified flake tools in archaeological assemblages in the Eastern Slopes, Alberta." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ34322.pdf.
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Ogilvie, Ticca Margaret Alison. "Water in archaeological wood : a critical appraisal of some diagnostic tools for degradation assessment." Thesis, Durham University, 2000. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1528/.
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Moore, Christopher R. "PRODUCTION, EXCHANGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION IN THE GREEN RIVER REGION OF WESTERN KENTUCKY: A MULTISCALAR APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF TWO SHELL MIDDEN SITES." UKnowledge, 2011. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/130.
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The Green River region of western Kentucky has been a focus of Archaic period research since 1915. Currently, the region is playing an important role in discussions of Archaic hunter-gatherer cultural complexity. Unfortunately, many of the larger Green River sites contain several archaeological components ranging from the Early to Late Archaic periods. Understanding culture change requires that these multiple components somehow be sorted and addressed individually.
Detailed re-analyses of Works Progress Administration (WPA) era artifact collections from two archaeological sites in the Green River region – the Baker (15Mu12) and Chiggerville (15Oh1) shell middens – indicate that these sites are relatively isolated Middle and Late Archaic components, respectively. The relatively unmixed character of Baker and Chiggerville makes these sites excellent candidates for evaluating aspects of complexity during the Archaic.
After developing a theoretical basis for evaluating the relative complexity of the social organization of the Baker and Chiggerville site inhabitants on the basis of the material record they left behind, I employ detailed analyses of the bone, antler, and stone tools from these two sites to examine six microscalar aspects of complexity – technological organization, subsistence, specialization, leadership, communication networks, and exchange. These microscalar aspects of complexity all can be linked materially to the archaeological record of the Green River region and can be evaluated as proxies for changes in social organization among the hunter-gatherers who inhabited this region during the Middle and Late Archaic periods. Although the Baker assemblage indicated greater complexity in communication networks and certain proxies for leadership and technological organization, most indicators suggest that the Chiggerville site inhabitants were the more complexly organized group and were in the process of developing a tribal-like social formation. This research, therefore, tentatively supports the hypothesis of increasing complexity through time during the Archaic. However, marked differences in the technological strategies utilized by the Baker and Chiggerville site inhabitants indicates these groups may not have been historically related, thereby violating one of the primary assumptions of the project. If this alternative hypothesis is confirmed through additional research, then no conclusions concerning change through time can be derived from this study.
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Pope, Melody K. "Chipped stone, tools and towns an archaeological study of Uruk period lithic production and use at Abu Salabikh, Iraq /." Diss., Online access via UMI:, 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3165060.
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Diersen, Christopher John. "Archaeological analysis of bedded-chert lithic procurement at the Warsaw Quarries, Coshocton County, Ohio." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1014792.
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The Warsaw Quarries of Coshocton County, Ohio, virtually ignored since Holmes' landmark papers of 1919, are investigated to achieve several goals: 1) to create a revised general typology of the material culture of bedded-chert lithic procurement sites; 2) to demonstrate that the occurrence of radiocarbon samples at lithic procurement sites is the norm rather than the exception; 3) to clarify the nature of activity at the site through a synthesis of functional and attribute analyses of material recovered from a peripheral spoils ridge; 4) to demonstrate that data collected at procurement sites by surface collection constitutes an insufficient database for analysis; 5) to test an hypothesis that the presumed absence of classic site elements (stratigraphy, diagnostic artifacts, dateable material) is incorrect. Since the completion of late 19`h and early 20`h century work in the field, analysis of quarry sites in North America has been limited to sporadic and usually very subject-specific research. By neglecting to evaluate the overall nature and function of lithic procurement sites, recent work has relegated lithic procurement to a sub-field of only secondary interest to archaeologists.Department of Anthropology
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Blinke, Jacob, Evelynne Geiger, and Amanda Edlund. "Examination of Ancient Scandinavian Archaeological Findings : From Tortuna in Västerås, Sweden." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-231497.
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This study concerns the examinations of archaeological steel-objects from the Iron Ages, found in Tortuna outside Västerås, Sweden. Not many metallurgical analyses have been made on steel objects from the Iron Ages, most likely in order to preserve the findings. Therefore, very little knowledge about old steel materials exists.The main goal of this study was to investigate how steel-made items from the Iron Ages were created, what they have been used for, and determine what kind of metallurgical knowledge the blacksmiths of the Iron Ages had. The experiments were conducted with light optical microscopy in order to investigate the morphology of the materials and with Vickers hardness test, to investigate the hardness of the materials. The investigation gave varying results for the different iron-made objects. All of the objects have been forged in some way. Most of the objects, were made of heterogeneous low carbon steel with a mainly ferritic structure. Some items also showed a martensitic structure with a ferritic core, which concludes that the smiths probably knew how to quench and temper steel. Due to heavy corrosion on many ofthe items, further investigation is needed to strengthen the conclusions made in this report.Denna studie behandlar undersökningar av arkeologiska stålobjekt från järnåldern,hittade i Tortuna utanför Västerås, Sverige. Det har inte gjorts många metallurgiska analyser på stålobjekt från järnåldern, troligen för att bevara föremålen. Därför finnsdet lite kunskap om gamla stålmaterial. Huvudsyftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur föremål i stål från järnåldern tillverkades, vad de har använts för och bestämma vilken typ av metallurgisk kunskap dåtiens smed besatt. Experimenten utfördes med hjälp av ljus optisk mikroskop för att undersöka materialets morfologi och med hjälp av Vickers hårdhetsprov för att undersöka materialens hårdhet. Undersökningen gav olika resultat för föremålen. Alla föremål är smidda på något sätt. De flesta föremålen bestod av heterogent kolstål med huvudsakligen ferritisk struktur. Vissa föremål visade också en martensitisk struktur med en ferritisk kärna,vilket visar på att smeden troligen visste hur man härdar och anlöper stål. På grund av stor korrosion på många av föremålen krävs ytterligare analyser för att stärka slutsatserna i denna rapport.
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Buonasera, Tammy Yvonne. "Expanding Archaeological Approaches to Ground Stone: Modeling Manufacturing Costs, Analyzing Absorbed Organic Residues, and Exploring Social Dimensions of Milling Tools." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/268534.
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Although ground stone artifacts comprise a substantial portion of the archaeological record, their use as an important source of information about the past has remained underdeveloped. This is especially true for milling tools (mortars, pestles, grinding slabs and handstones) used by hunter-gatherers. Three studies that apply novel techniques and approaches to prehistoric milling technology are presented here. Together they demonstrate that substantial opportunities exist for new avenues of inquiry in the study of these artifacts. The first combines a simple optimization model from behavioral ecology with experimental data to weigh manufacturing costs against gains in grinding efficiency for mobile hunter-gatherers. Results run counter to widespread assumptions that mobile hunter-gatherers should not spend time shaping grinding surfaces on milling tools. Next, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is used to analyze lipid preservation in modified rock features in dry caves at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico. A high concentration of lipids, derived from processing a seed resource, was recovered from a grinding surface in these caves. The lipid content in this surface is comparable to amounts recovered from select pottery sherds that have been used for radiocarbon dating. The third study uses synchronic and diachronic variability in morphology, use-wear, and symbolic content to analyze ground stone milling tools from mortuary contexts in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Archaeological and ethnographic evidence supports the inferred association of certain mortars with feasting and ritual activities. Differences in the representation of some of these forms in male and female graves may reflect changes in the roles of women and men in community ritual and politics.
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Engerdahl, Tomas. "Tools of the Trade : An analysis using conservation and SEM of the context and iron material from the excavation of House X in the city block Humlegården 3 in Sigtuna." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-82870.
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Sigtuna’s trade and production has been the subject of an increasing amount of archaeological investigations during the last 30 years. However, most of the research has been conductedregarding the buildings, coin mints and precious metal objects. This thesis will instead research one of the basics of the production, namely the iron. By reviewing the iron objectsand currency bars from house X in the city block Humlegården 3. Through high precision studies with conservation and scanning electron microscope I will be able to come one step closer to identifying what sort of items were produced on the site and discerning what status and function the smithy had. I will also investigate the possibility to track the origin of the iron.Sigtunas handel och produktion har varit föremål för ett ökande antal arkeologiska undersökningar de senaste 30 åren. De flesta av dessa undersökningar har handlat ombyggnader, mynthus och föremålsstudier. Den här uppsatsen kommer istället att undersöka ett av hantverken som krävs för att kunna utföra många andra hantverk, nämligen järnhantverk. Genom att undersöka järnfynden och ämnesjärnen från hus X i kvarteret Humlegården 3, via detaljerade studier som inkluderar konservering och Svepelektronmikroskop, kommer jag att komma ett steg närmare vilka föremål som producerats på platsen samt utröna vad för status och funktion smedjan hade. Jag kommer även undersöka om det är möjligt att säga någonting om järnets ursprung.
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Wolf, John William. "The Spatial Distribution of Ground Stone Tools as a Marker of Status Differentials in a Chinookan Plank House on the Lower Columbia River." PDXScholar, 1994. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2898.
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Social status was an integral part of the social structure of Northwest Coast societies. The presence of ranked social structures and household space based on rank is reported in the ethnographic literature. Archaeologists have long searched for independent and verifiable means to infer social structure from archaeological deposits. Burial goods have been used to identify status differences. Do other items of material culture also reflect such differences?
The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether or not the distribution of certain tools recovered from a Chinookan plank house on the lower Columbia River paralleled the household residence location that was keyed to social status. Among Northwest Coast societies the household was the basic social and economic unit. Ground stone tools were selected for study because they include tools which were instrumental parts of a technology that depended upon highly organized and scheduled activities, i.e. fishing and house construction. If these tools were controlled by particular individuals or families within the household, their archaeological deposition might reflect social status differences.
Two questions were asked in this study. (1) What is the correlation between the volume of sediment excavated and the number of ground stone artifacts recovered from the house? (2) What is the relationship between residence location and the density of ground stone artifacts recovered from the house?
The ground stone artifacts were identified, classified and counted. Correlation coefficients between the volumes of sediment excavated and the number of ground stone artifacts recovered showed that the correlation was suspiciously weak, in general, and not correlated for fishing net weights. Some factor other than solely excavation volumes was affecting ground stone artifact counts. To answer the second question linear regressions were performed. They revealed that although location was to some degree a function of the density of ground stone artifacts, that relationship was weak at the .05 significance level. However, the relationship was stronger for fishing net weights. It is likely that there are multiple reasons for ground stone tool distributions and sites must be excavated with broad exposures in order to understand the relationship between residence location and artifact densities.
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Schenck, Tine. "Accessing intangible technologies through experimental archaeology : a methodological analysis." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/22018.
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This thesis concerns the relationship between research in experimental archaeology and the intangible of the past. Only a quarter of technological experiments in a sample of 100 studies addresses the intangible of technological practice, and this project sets out to explore if there are conceptual or practical obstacles for this low rate. The thesis begins with an in-depth examination of experimental archaeology and the criteria, paradigms and theories that determine its practice. Through this study, elements of the dichotomy positivism/postmodernism are uncovered and discussed. To resolve this dualism, a third paradigm – philosophical pragmatism – is introduced as an alternative. This conceptual debate represents Part I, and is subsequently collated into a methodological framework for the creation of a typified experiment. Part II consists of the experimental segment of this study, in search for practical obstacles for the exploration of the intangible. Through experimenting with Iron Age Bucket-shaped pots, Mesolithic faceted pebbles and Middle Palaeolithic birch bark tar production, different components of an experiment are highlighted for investigation. An element that comes forward as problematic is the relationship between experimental archaeologists and science ideals that is underscored by experimental tradition. Conclusively, the final discussion leaves the conceptual and practical barriers that may prevent archaeologists from studying the intangible aspects of technology overturned. In sum, this may enable experimental archaeologists to take a fuller view of their own practice and that of the people of the past.
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Clark, Robert James. "Photostimulated luminescence as an archaeological dating tool." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.243957.
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Endzweig, Pamela. "Late archaic variability and change on the southern Columbia plateau : archaeological investigations in the Pine Creek drainage of the Middle John Day River, Wheeler County, Oregon." Thesis, University of Oregon, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/10730.
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2 v. (xxiii, 627 p.): ill., maps. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT E78.O6 E53 1994A major concern of Columbia Plateau archaeology has been the development of the ethnographic "Plateau pattern." Observed during historic times, this lifeway focused on permanent riverine winter villages and intensive use of anadromous fish, with ephemeral use of interior tributaries and uplands for hunting and root gathering. Constrained by a salvage-driven orientation, past archaeological research on the Plateau has been biased towards major rivers, leaving aboriginal lifeways in the interior to be interpreted on the basis of ethnographic analogy, rather than archaeological evidence. The present study utilizes museum collections from the Pine Creek basin, a small tributary of the John Day River, to provide information on prehistoric lifeways in a non-riverine Plateau setting. Cultural assemblages and features from two sites, 35WH7 and 35WH14, were described, classified, and analyzed with regard to temporal distribution, spatial and functional patterning, and regional ties. At 35WH14, evidence of semisubterranean pithouses containing a rich and diverse cultural assemblage suggests long-term and repeated residential occupation of this site by about 2600 B.P. This contrasts with the ephemeral use predicted for the area by ethnographic accounts. Faunal remains identified from 35WH7 and 35WH14 show a persistent emphasis on deer, and little evidence for use of fish; this non-riverine economic base represents a further departure from the ethnographic "Plateau pattern." At both 35WH14 and 35WH7, large pithouses are not evident in components dating after 900 B.P., reflecting a shift to shorter sojourns at these sites. Use of the Study Area as a whole persists, however, and is marked by a proliferation of radiocarbon-dated occupations between 630 and 300 B.P. Clustering of radiocarbon dates from ten sites in the Study Area shows correlations with regional environmental changes. Both taphonomic and cultural factors are discussed. Reduced human use of the area after 300 B.P. is reflected in an abrupt decline in radiocarbon-dated occupations and the near-absence of Euroamerican trade goods. The role of precontact introduced epidemics is considered. Further consideration of spatial and temporal variability in Late Archaic Plateau prehistory is urged.
Committee in charge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Co-chair; Dr. Don E. Dwnond, Co-chair; Dr. Ann Simonds; Dr. Patricia F. McDowell
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Zacharopoulos, Themistoklis. "Orð Víkinganna. The level and scale of literacy in the Viking World : The cases of Birka and Sigtuna." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-433671.
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This thesis aims to study the level and scale of literacy as it expanded in Viking towns during the 8th-12th century. In order to get an understanding of this spread, I have worked with two case-studies of Viking towns, as they were founded and prospered during and by the end of the Viking Age in Sweden; the town of Birka located in Björkö Island in Lake Mälaren, and the town of Sigtuna located in the province of Uppland, in central Sweden. Through the study of selected archaeological material, this paper aims to bring together scattered information and shed light on what we know about the level and spread of literacy in Viking society. The purpose of this endeavour, is to question not only the notion of an illiterate pagan society that the Viking Age Scandinavians are considered to have been, but also question both the methodology in which the scholarly archaeological community studies literacy, as well as the way literacy itself is defined in the study of the ancient world. The paper includes a bibliographic and a material-studying approach, as well as a section where digital archaeological research methods are used with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software in order to illustrate the level and scale of literary expansion in Viking Age Sweden.The proceedings of the Thesis defence were undertaken in the form of a web meeting via Zoom, in accordance to the local restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Strand, Tanner Gregory H. "When Metal met Stone : Searching for traces of metal tool utilization during the production of Late Neolithic Nordic Flint Daggers." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-118810.
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This paper deals with the Late Neolithic Nordic Flint Daggers excavated from the gallery grave at Utbogården, Västergötland County, Sweden. Studies were undertaken in order to gain more understanding regarding the production processes and types of tools utilized during production/reduction, which can be assigned to certain specific, well preserved examples of these daggers. The results of these studies, in turn, will be able to shed light on the processes involved in producing Late Neolithic daggers in general, regardless of their individual states of preservation. This will be attempted by means of experimental flint knapping, comparative microscopic analysis, and chemical analysis.
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Simsek, Gokce. "Interventions On Immovable Archaeological Heritage As A Tool For New Formation Process." Phd thesis, METU, 2009. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12610570/index.pdf.
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In the preservation discourse, interventions are generally viewed as technical issues. Considering that interventions cause variety of changes in the characteristics of archaeological edifices starting from the excavation, these changes constructs and shapes the archaeological edifices in terms of its appearance and meaning. In that respect, interventions act as tools for making changes in archaeological edifices by causing transformation of existing characteristics, loss of some others and adding new ones.
Based on this, the study aims to evaluate interventions by putting change at the center in order to understand how interventions affect archaeological edifice in constructing its appearance and meaning. The study is based on evaluation of intervention through a ‘
new formation process&
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, which is based on two phases. The first phase deals with evaluation of changes in values through the &
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value formation process&
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. The second phase is related with the assessment of changes in the characteristics of archaeological edifice as a whole, in terms of its physical, functional and semantic characteristics. This approach enables the examination of the process of change starting from prior to excavation and the assessment of interventions through the principles of change (reliability, consistency, legibility) and the &
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value formation process&
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. The evaluation method is sampled on certain intervened archaeological edifices on the Curetes Street in Ephesus. The study concludes that the interventions are significant tools for making changes in archaeological edifices throughout its new lifecycle. The &
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value formation process&
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and the &
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new formation process&
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approach can make it possible to predict changes in archaeological edifices, prevent value conflicts caused by interventions and improve the quality of change shaped by interventions. Approaching the intervention process as a change management problem necessitates to develop appropriate change strategies and to define this process as a &
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new formation process&
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.
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McCutcheon, Patrick T. "Archaeological investigations of stone tool heat-treatment technology in southeastern Missouri : an experimental approach /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6451.
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McCutcheon, Patrick T. "Archaeological investigations of stone tool heat treatment technology in Southeastern Missouri : an experimental approach /." Ann Arbor (Mich.) : UMI dissertation services, 1998. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb400205217.
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Madella, Marco. "Morphological analysis of phytoliths : a botanical tool for the interpretation of archaeological and geological sediments from Eurasia." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.421361.
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Calkins, Adam T. "Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Photogrammetrics as a Tool for Archaeological Investigation in 19th Century Historic Archaeology." Thesis, University of Nevada, Reno, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10282879.
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Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and photogrammetrics are a growing part of the archaeological toolkit. They provide a low cost tool to aid in the collection and analysis of aerial imagery. To test the applications of this technology, I completed a partial survey of Aurora, Nevada. Using a UAS, I collected images for three city blocks during the summer of 2015. Using photogrammetric software, I have analyzed the collected image data by creating orthophotomosaics and 3D models of the site. With these models, I have been able to examine topography, foundations, and house lot locations to explore the relationship between historic building material and the remains currently seen on the ground. This thesis shows the methods employed in the collection of aerial imagery and data processing, and the multitude of ways researchers can analyze this data to evaluate archaeological sites.
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Shinabarger, Travis J. "Faunal and osseous tool analysis from KTZ-036 (Kotzebue Archaeological District), a late prehistoric site in Kotzebue, Alaska." Thesis, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1571621.
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Osseous tools are often recovered from coastal archaeological sites in Alaska due to favorable preservation conditions. In northwest Alaska, outside of harpoon typology, these osseous tools are not well analyzed. In 2008, the Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) excavated a multi-component site adjacent to the shore in Kotzebue, Alaska. Organic materials and lithic tools were recovered from three components dated to AD 600, AD 1200-1600, and within the last 300 years. The Shore Avenue collection extends the documented archaeological record of Kotzebue by nearly 750 years. Osseous tools and debitage consisted of 175 artifacts within the collection, while an abundant amount of archaeofauna provided a sample of raw materials available at the site for the manufacture of osseous tools.
This thesis focuses on the probability of raw materials being sourced locally, or through the use of long-distance travel, or trade, through an analysis of the archaeofauna from the Kotzebue Archaeological District, KTZ-036. Such analyses identified caribou antler as a locally-available raw materials for tool production. In contrast, walrus and ivory occurred in much lower frequencies. The archaeological findings were compared with contemporary harvest numbers by modern Native hunters from Kotzebue; the result corroborated the archaeofaunal inferences.
Analyses of the recovered osseous tools revealed a relatively high amount (26.3%) of ivory tools (n=23) and debitage (n=23) for what would be expected through the results of the faunal analysis where walrus made up only 4% (n=22) of the identified sea mammal remains. To determine potential contributing factors for this anomaly, the osseous tools were classified into functional and morphological groups to note possible trends within each group. This was coupled with a literature review of the structural and mechanical characteristics of the osseous materials to identify selective pressures for the manufacture of osseous tools that may push tool-makers to look beyond what is locally available.
Finally a cross-site comparison was completed of eight sites in the Arctic and Subarctic to reveal similarities of use in osseous materials spatially and temporally. Overall, it was determined that when the function of an osseous tool requires it to receive an applied force, a raw material is selected based on its properties that allow it to withstand the applied force. When few or no forces are applied to a tool, selection pressure relaxes, and any osseous material is used in manufacture. Aesthetics of ivory should also be considered, where sheen and carving detail can provide more artistic appeal. These trends are fairly consistent across the Arctic but should be considered in more depth to confirm this observation.
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Sands, Robert J. S. "The recording and archaeological potential of tool marks on prehistoric worked wood : with special reference to Oakbank Crannog, Loch Tay, Scotland." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/20768.
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Well-preserved waterlogged timbers are increasingly being found as more wetland and submerged archaeological sites are being investigated. Such timbers can often preserve a record of the tools used in their working and it is this detail that is at the core of the current study. When a tool is used to work wood the details of its blade edge can be very well preserved on the timber's surface. Points of damage on a blade, possibly a break or bend in the edge, can be registered on the wood surface as either a ridge or a groove running down the long axis of the facet produced. The sequence of ridges or grooves created by a blade can act like a signature for the use of that particular tool. When the same sequence of ridges and grooves are found on facets from different timbers those timbers can be associated through the single tool used in their working. Associations produced in this manner represent manufacture that is probably no more than a few hours apart. Crucially this is directly related to the working of the timbers and is independent of the evidence of association that might be demonstrated through other techniques, such as dendrochronology. This thesis explores the archaeological uses of such information on waterlogged settlement sites with a number of constructional phases. Wooden material from the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age site of Oakbank Crannog, Loch Tay, Perthshire, Scotland, provides the data for this investigation. Crannogs are artificial islands found in both Scottish and Irish lochs. Many crannog sites are now completely submerged and Oakbank crannog represents the only example in Scotland to be excavated underwater using diving equipment.
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Rodrigues, Luciane [UNESP]. "Cognição e ação significativa: contribuições do realismo pragmaticista para a epistemologia contemporânea." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/91752.
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Neste trabalho, procuramos explicitar aspectos do conceito contemporâneo de cognição, fundamentando nossa análise no Realismo Pragmaticista. De acordo com esta perspectiva, a cognição segue o princípio da ação que se configura em duas dimensões: uma ontológico, que caracteriza a ação como hábito, e outro epistemológico, que caracteriza a ação como Semiose. No contexto geral das discussões sobre o conceito de cognição, a definição que mais se difundiu trata a cognição como representação simbólica. A abordagem Representacionista, como é tradicionalmente conhecida, considera que o sujeito abstrai o mundo, formando representações internas, ontologicamente distintas do objeto representado. Em contraste, a capacidade cognitiva do sujeito é vista na concepção pragmaticista como ação significativa, que está necessariamente ligada a sua Realidade Histórica. O conceito-chave desta perspectiva é o de Signo que delimita a forma com que o sujeito pensa seu mundo, através de sua interação com uma história pessoal, formada ao longo do tempo. Em nossa abordagem, símbolos são tipos específicos de processos de significação; sendo que sua caracterização depende do conceito de Signo, mais geral e, por hipótese, mais adequado para o entendimento da noção de cognição. Nesta perspectiva, o sujeito clássico é substituído pelo que chamamos de sujeito semiótico. O sujeito semiótico organiza aspectos de sua realidade histórica através da ação significativa, que somente se torna possível dentro de seu universo semiótico; a realidade histórica do sujeito é, por hipótese, constituída de signos que estão diretamente relacionados com seu universo específico. Para entender a formação da realidade histórica que possibilita a ação significativa do sujeito, aspectos inatos e adquiridos de sua história são considerados. Em nossa abordagem, esses aspectos...
In this work, we elucidate aspects of the contemporary concept of cognition, basing our analysis in the Pragmaticist Realism. According to this perspective, cognition follows a principle of action that is configured in two levels: one ontological that characterizes action as habit, and another one epistemological that characterizes action as Semiosis. In the general context of the discussions on the concept of cognition, the definition that most has been diffused treats cognition as symbolic representation. The Representationalist approach, as it is traditionally known, considers that subjects abstract the world, forming internal representations that are ontologic distinct of the represented object. In contrast, in the present dissertation, the capacity of cognitive organisms is seen as their meaningful action that is necessarily linked with their Historical Reality. The key-concept of our perspective is the Sign that delineates the form subjects think their world, through their interaction with a personal history, formed during their trajectories in time. In our perspective, symbols are specific types of meaningful processes; being their characterization dependent of the concept of Sign. We argue that signs been more general than symbols are more adequate for the explanation of the notion of cognition. In this point of view, the classical cognitive subject is replaced by the semiotic subject, who organizes his historical reality through meaningful actions, which is only possible inside a semiotic universe. The historical realities of semiotic subjects are, by hypothesis, constituted of signs that are directly related with their specific universe. In order to understand the formation of historical reality that makes possible meaningful actions, innate and acquired aspects of their history are considered. In our view, these aspects are treated from the intricate relation between the ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
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Raghavan, Ananth. "Schema Mapper: A Visualization Tool for Incremental Semi-automatic Mapping-based Integration of Heterogeneous Collections into Archaeological Digital Libraries: The ETANA-DL Case Study." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32950.
Full textAbstract:
Schema mapping is a challenging problem. It has come to the fore in recent years; there are important applications like database schema integration and, more recently, digital library (DL) merging of heterogeneous data. With Schema Mapper we demonstrate a semi-automatic tool for schema integration that combines a novel visual interface with an algorithm-based recommendation engine.
We use ETANA-DL, a digital library developed to support integration of data from Near Eastern archaeology sites, as we explore integrating new collections. Schemas are visualized as hyperbolic trees, thus allowing more schema nodes to be displayed at one time. Matches to selections are recommended to the user, which makes the mapping operation easier and faster. Once the user has completed the mapping operation, a wrapper (XSLT Style Sheet) is created automatically with the mappings which can be applied to transform source XML files into target XML files.
Schema Mapper allows editing the target schema as part of the process of incremental enrichment of the target schema. This involves operations like adding a node as a child, renaming a node, and deleting a node. The changes to the target schema also can be logged to disk.
Schema Mapper has been applied to integrate the Megiddo Collection successfully into the ETANA-DL Union Catalog. It also has been applied for data-level mapping, to ensure consistency of data representation to the users who access the information through services provided by the DL. Formative evaluation and a preliminary comparison with MapForce suggest that Schema Mapper may be usefully employed for schema mapping.Master of Science
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Fairlie, J. E. "Getting a handle on it : a first step towards understanding the cognitive evolutionary processes underlying changes in the archaeological record that relate to Pliocene and Pleistocene hand-held tool and hafted tool technologies." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2017. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3014619/.
Full textAbstract:
The main aim of this project is to be able to describe the changes in cognitive ability that have to take place to enable a hominin group that was formerly only able to produce assemblages consisting of reductive or knapped hand-held stone tools, to become a group able to produce a mixed assemblage containing both reductive hand-held tools and also combinatorial hafted tools. Unlike reductive stone tools, hafted tools have pre-processed separate parts that are engineered to fit together to form a single object. Secondary project aims immediately became necessary to support this main aim. The first was to describe the two different groups of tools in a way that showed them as different stages of the same technological dynamic of change. The second was to describe how best to define the over-used word ‘cognition’ in evolutionary terms. The third was to describe how such cognition might change over time in biological terms and also in terms of new cognitive and action potential. It was then necessary to analyse the different technologies included in the period of change considered between 3.3Mya to 0.03Mya, with particular emphasis on the transition between Early to Middle Stone Age and hafted technologies in both Africa and Eurasia. This, and the nature of the cognitive theory chosen as most promising for the project, required the innovation of a new analytical method which focussed on the motor-action or gestural sequences of the technology manufacturer rather than on the finished morphology of the artefacts themselves. Each tool-type gestural sequence was manually coded and then carefully analysed in order to identify gestural pattern commonalities and changes over time. Results show changes in the gestural patterns across the different coded technologies which suggest that evolutionary change is gradual and cumulative, but with moments of emergence when component parts come together to form something new and literally greater than the sum of its parts. Cognitive change is shown to move between a fast and highly effective but implicit, non-language-based cognitive system that relies heavily on rhythmic repetition (early knapping technologies), to a newer system that retains its original ability to use rhythmic repetition but can also incorporate conscious moments of planning, high-level action sequencing, and single discrete actions connected with more derived brain-body systems. This new method of analysis amounts to an exciting innovation that offers up new opportunities to research the evolution of cognition in a more holistic framework both within a single species, and also between different species, particularly of course between modern humans, hominins and modern great apes.
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Rodrigues, Luciane. "Cognição e ação significativa : contribuições do realismo pragmaticista para a epistemologia contemporânea /." Marília : [s.n.], 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/91752.
Full textAbstract:
Resumo: Neste trabalho, procuramos explicitar aspectos do conceito contemporâneo de cognição, fundamentando nossa análise no Realismo Pragmaticista. De acordo com esta perspectiva, a cognição segue o princípio da ação que se configura em duas dimensões: uma ontológico, que caracteriza a ação como hábito, e outro epistemológico, que caracteriza a ação como Semiose. No contexto geral das discussões sobre o conceito de cognição, a definição que mais se difundiu trata a cognição como representação simbólica. A abordagem Representacionista, como é tradicionalmente conhecida, considera que o sujeito abstrai o mundo, formando representações internas, ontologicamente distintas do objeto representado. Em contraste, a capacidade cognitiva do sujeito é vista na concepção pragmaticista como ação significativa, que está necessariamente ligada a sua Realidade Histórica. O conceito-chave desta perspectiva é o de Signo que delimita a forma com que o sujeito pensa seu mundo, através de sua interação com uma história pessoal, formada ao longo do tempo. Em nossa abordagem, símbolos são tipos específicos de processos de significação; sendo que sua caracterização depende do conceito de Signo, mais geral e, por hipótese, mais adequado para o entendimento da noção de cognição. Nesta perspectiva, o sujeito clássico é substituído pelo que chamamos de sujeito semiótico. O sujeito semiótico organiza aspectos de sua realidade histórica através da ação significativa, que somente se torna possível dentro de seu universo semiótico; a realidade histórica do sujeito é, por hipótese, constituída de signos que estão diretamente relacionados com seu universo específico. Para entender a formação da realidade histórica que possibilita a ação significativa do sujeito, aspectos inatos e adquiridos de sua história são considerados. Em nossa abordagem, esses aspectos ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)Abstract: In this work, we elucidate aspects of the contemporary concept of cognition, basing our analysis in the Pragmaticist Realism. According to this perspective, cognition follows a principle of action that is configured in two levels: one ontological that characterizes action as habit, and another one epistemological that characterizes action as Semiosis. In the general context of the discussions on the concept of cognition, the definition that most has been diffused treats cognition as symbolic representation. The Representationalist approach, as it is traditionally known, considers that subjects abstract the world, forming internal representations that are ontologic distinct of the represented object. In contrast, in the present dissertation, the capacity of cognitive organisms is seen as their meaningful action that is necessarily linked with their Historical Reality. The key-concept of our perspective is the Sign that delineates the form subjects think their world, through their interaction with a personal history, formed during their trajectories in time. In our perspective, symbols are specific types of meaningful processes; being their characterization dependent of the concept of Sign. We argue that signs been more general than symbols are more adequate for the explanation of the notion of cognition. In this point of view, the classical cognitive subject is replaced by the semiotic subject, who organizes his historical reality through meaningful actions, which is only possible inside a semiotic universe. The historical realities of semiotic subjects are, by hypothesis, constituted of signs that are directly related with their specific universe. In order to understand the formation of historical reality that makes possible meaningful actions, innate and acquired aspects of their history are considered. In our view, these aspects are treated from the intricate relation between the ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Orientador: Willem Ferdinand Gerardus Haselager
Coorientador: Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez
Banca: Renato Kipnis
Banca: Lauro F. B. da Silveira
Mestre
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Fingerhut, Raetz Doria Lee. "Bone tool assemblages as an aid to shell mound site typologies on the Northwest coast." PDXScholar, 1989. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3929.
Full textAbstract:
Fifteen bone tool assemblages from shell midden sites were compared. Three of these are unpublished sites from Prince Rupert Harbor. They were grouped using cluster analysis. Inter and intragroup variation in bone tool assemblage structure was analyzed. One of the objectives of this study was to generate hypotheses about the function of the unpublished sites by comparing their bone tool assemblages with those from sites which are better understood by looking for underlying patterns in the bone tool assemblages. Other objectives were to test the utility of using bone tool assemblages as a diagnostic tool in analyzing sites and to test the utility of the cluster analysis procedure with this data set.
Hypotheses were developed identifying possible site usage at the three Prince Rupert Harbor sites, Boardwalk (GbTo-31), Garden Island (GbTo-23), and Grassy Bay (GbTn-1). Bone tool assemblages were shown to be a useful aid in site analysis and cluster analysis was quite useful in identifying existing patterns in these data.
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MacLean, Kelsey. "An Analysis of the flaked stone assemblage from the Hiikwis Site Complex, Barkley Sound, British Columbia." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/4407.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis analyses the flaked stone assemblage from the Hiikwis site complex (DfSh-15 and DfSh-16) in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. The Hiikwis flaked stone assemblage is anomalous within Barkley Sound due to the presence of relatively abundant flaked stone in late contexts. Prior to Hiikwis, the most recent flaked stone in Barkley Sound dated to approximately 2000 BP. Hiikwis has flaked stone beginning at approximately 2800 BP and lasting until the final occupation of the site in the early 1900s.
Artifacts are classified based on a descriptive lithic analysis and then the behavioural implications of the assemblage are discussed through use of the chaîne opératoire and theories of technological organization and design theory. Spatial and temporal differences become apparent throughout the site and demonstrate changes in the types of tools used over time. The Hiikwis site complex is compared to other sites within the region, as well as beyond. A discussion of the attributes of the West Coast culture type and the Gulf of Georgia traditions makes it clear that the findings at Hiikwis support the Wakashan Migration Hypothesis. In turn, this assemblage calls for a re-evaluation of the West Coast culture type, while suggesting that there may be other unexcavated sites in Barkley Sound with flaked stone in recent components.Graduate
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Lombard, Marlize. "Archaeological use-trace analyses of stone tools from South Africa." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/3900.
Full textAbstract:
Analytical methods for extracting detailed functional and technological information from Middle Stone Age stone tools were refined and developed. This was achieved within a theoretical framework that insists on multiple-stranded evidence for behavioural interpretation. The methods include micro-residue analysis, macrofracture analysis and usewear analysis. Stone tool assemblages – spanning the period between about 100 000 and 50 000 years ago – from Sibudu Cave, Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Klasies River Cave 2 and Blombos Cave were analysed.
Results derived from macrofracture analyses, that are often conducted as an initial study to assess whether tool classes could have been used in hunting weapons, are used to formulate the following working hypotheses for Stone Age hunting technologies in South Africa: a) some pre-Howiesons Poort pointed tools were used as hafted butchery knives, while others could have been used to tip hunting weapons; b) Howiesons Poort backed tools were probably used as interchangeable pieces in hafted hunting weapons; c) post-Howiesons Poort points were used to tip hunting weapons; d) Later Stone Age hunting technologies were different from those practiced during the Middle Stone Age. The macrofracture results also provided interesting comparable data showing distinct time-related clustering of the results. Although more tools that could have functioned as hunting weapons must be analysed to evaluate the authenticity of these observations, the results suggest that macrofracture studies are important for the study of change in Stone Age hunting behaviours.
The main methodological contribution of this thesis is micro-residue analysis. Advances in this method developed from blind tests on replicated flakes with residues derived from the processing of plant and animal products. Lessons learned from previous blind tests shaped the new research reported here and lead to improved methodology and interpretative skills. The last test in the series of four resulted in the most accurate interpretations because, prior to Test 4,
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identification difficulties experienced during the first three blind tests were addressed through replication. The new work reported here highlights some of the difficulties that can be experienced in the morphological identification of microscopic organic residues, particularly the distinction between animal and plant residues. It is specifically recommended that multi-stranded evidence be used for the identification of animal and plant residues.
Micro-residue analysis of archaeological samples provided direct evidence for functional and hafting interpretations. These can be used to evaluate the hypotheses based on the results of macrofracture analyses and to provide data for further detailed interpretations. For example, it is shown that: a) retouched points from the Still Bay were used as knives hafted to wooden handles; b) segments from the Howiesons Poort were probably hafted in bone and wood shafts in different hafting configurations that varied during the span of the technocomplex; c) Howiesons Poort segments were mostly used on animal material; d) ochre was mixed into the adhesive recipes during the post-Howiesons Poort, the Howiesons Poort and possibly during the Still Bay technocomplexes at Sibudu Cave.
Thus, the multi-analytical approach followed throughout the study contributes evidence for the early development of sophisticated and variable hunting and hafting technologies used by anatomically modern humans in South Africa. Our current knowledge of behavioural trends during the Middle Stone Age has been expanded, allowing rare glimpses into the everyday activities of people living in the deep past. Perceptions of a static, pre-modern technology and unvaried faunal exploitation during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa are unfounded.
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Caruana, Matthew V. "Analyzing percussive technology from the Earlier Stone Age archaeological record." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/18593.
Full textAbstract:
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
April, 2015Percussive technology plays an integral in role lithic tool production and thus has had a significant impact on the evolution of the archaeological record. The characteristic damage patterns that result from percussive activities preserve a record of hominin behaviour, although there remains no comprehensive method for analyzing them. In fact, percussive tools have been largely overlooked in archaeological research, which has obscured their behavioural insights. Recent interests in the commonalities of percussive tool use within the Primate Order have suggested that investigating the evolutionary continuity of these tools may provide a window into the origins of lithic technology. This research presents a framework of analytical techniques for the study of hammerstones from the Earlier Stone Age record. As stone-knapping activities remain the focus of archaeological research, understanding how the use of hammerstones has changed throughout time is a critical concern. A ‘focal lens’ approach is developed to facilitate inter-assemblage comparisons that can be used to construct an evolutionary perspective on the use of these tools. Implications for raw materials, selection behaviours and comparative research are developed to test the potential for future directions in the study of percussive technology.
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Collins, Sophie Jane. "An experimental evaluation of the principles and frameworks for interpreting the function of archaeological stone artefacts." Phd thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/109572.
Full textAbstract:
The ability to understand and identify the functions of stone artefacts recovered from
archaeological assemblages has been a long term goal of lithic technologists and
archaeologists world wide. As one of the primary means by which prehistoric huntergatherers
negotiated the environment around them, understanding stone artefact functions
is central to understanding and reconstructing the prehistoric subsistence and settlement
patterns that depended upon them and, therefore, to meeting the objectives of archaeology
as a field. Two broad approaches to inferring stone artefact function currently dominate
the literature. The first examines macro- and microscopic use-wear preserved on
archaeological specimens, seeking to identify specific artefact functions through analogies
with experimental replication of hypothesized prehistoric tasks. The second approach
explores stone artefact function within a broader, behavioural context, hypothesizing that
tools functioned as a means of increasing efficiency in subsistence strategies by reducing
the costs associated with resource procurement, through the organisation of technology.
Both approaches have gained widespread acceptance within the discipline and form the
basis of countless interpretations of archaeological sites world wide. Yet, to date, neither
approach has been systematically evaluated and tested. Such an evaluation forms the basis
of the research presented here. Evaluation of the principles underlying each approach reveals their dependence upon a
number of untested assumptions about stone artefact function. In particular, the
relationship between artefact morphology and function is revealed to be based largely upon
assumed, rather than demonstrated, knowledge of stone tool use. Failure to explore the
key area of performance in investigations of artefact function and to identify the
morphological attributes responsible for stone artefact performance, has contributed to
technologists' current inability to explain the relationship between form and function in
stone artefacts.
The controlled experimental program carried out in this thesis was designed to address
these issues, both by systematically testing the interpretive ability of the current frameworks
for identifying stone artefact function and also by exploring the relationship between
artefact form and function through an understanding of stone artefact performance. The
results contradict many previous assumptions, revealing a number of misconceptions in
current views on the identification and interpretation of stone artefact function. The
inability to identify unique signatures for particular artefact functions in the patterns of usescarring
produced through artefact use, demonstrated in this thesis, indicates that a consistent relationship between use and the scarnng-wear produced does not exist.
Instead, the features of scars produced through use are shown to be the product of
multiple complex interactions between previously untested variables and relate to both use
and the morphological features of the working edge. This observation is a direct
contradiction of the principles upon which wear analyses are based and, necessarily, calls
into question the interpretive value of this technique. Likewise, the illustration that form
and function are not uniquely connected challenges current assumptions that equate
morphological difference with difference in functional utility. Instead, it is demonstrated
that stone artefact manufacture and performance are responsive to a wide range of
interactions between use and morphological variables, which allows them to respond to
different circumstances by compromising forms, balancing trade-offs and performing a
wide range of functions. The emerging view of the relationship between artefact form and
function is that of a dynamic and interactive system in which adjustments in one aspect of
morphology affect a number of other aspects, each with important consequences for the
subsequent use and later interpretation of stone artefact function. The ability for this research to produce results which contradict current approaches to the
interpretation of stone artefact function indicates that many of the processes and
mechanisms acting upon prehistoric stone artefact manufacture and use have been
misunderstood. These misconceptions highlight inadequacies in previous investigations of
stone artefact function, emphasise the value of adopting more rigorous theoretical and
methodological approaches to the analysis and interpretation of stone artefacts and
highlight the need for archaeologists to embrace a more dynamic view of the relationship
between stone artefact manufacture and use.
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Vavrasek, Jessica Lee. "Faunal Remains from the Pine Hill Site (PS-6), St. Lawrence County, New York." 2010. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/839.
Full textAbstract:
The Pine Hill collection was discovered in the archaeology lab at State University of New York College at Potsdam after remaining unstudied for over 30 years since its initial excavation in the 1960s and 1970s. Pine Hill has been identified as a fifteenth century St. Lawrence Iroquois village site, located in St. Lawrence County, New York. The faunal remains and bone tools from the site indicate food procurement strategies, seasonal activities, the presence of discrete activity areas at the site, and the production and use of a wide range of bone tools. Replication experiments conducted on several bone tool types provide insight about how these tools were made, used, and how quickly they might be discarded. As one of the first reports on a St. Lawrence Iroquois site in the region, this study presents important information about this group.
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Hatch, John B. "Archaeological investigation and technological analysis of the Quartz Mountain Obsidian Quarry, central Oregon." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/33945.
Full textAbstract:
The Quartz Mountain Obsidian Quarry is located in the Southeast corner of the
Bend Fort Rock Ranger District in central Oregon, approximately forty-five miles
southeast of Bend, Oregon.
The research of the Quartz Mountain Obsidian Quarry began with a literature
search of other quarry sites in the area and the use of aerial photos to determine the survey
area. After the survey area was established a ground survey was conducted. Following
the survey several key areas were chosen for surface collections that could answer key
questions: What types of core reductions were being used on Quartz Mountain?; and
What types of materials were being utilized? (red/black obsidian found in rhyolite veins,
red/black obsidian found in fist sized and larger nodule form, or large block black
obsidian).
In order to answer these questions three collection units were established. The
lithic material from the units was collected and analyzed and the information placed into
a database, which was then grouped for statistical analysis, and generated into charts and
tables.
The resulting data was then compared to the information found from an extensive
literature search to see how the material that I collected compared to those found at other
quarry sites. From this information I was able to determine that two different core
reduction methods were being used on Quartz Mountain: blade core and bifacial core.
Along with the different core reduction methods a mobility strategy also came into play.
In this thesis I will use the data gathered to determine the different core reduction
methods and the mobility strategies that are associated with them.Graduation date: 1998
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Alexander, Katharine. "A typological and technological analysis of stone artefacts from the Magubike archaeological site, Iringa Region, southern Tanzania." Master's thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10048/1560.
Full textAbstract:
Previous archaeological research in southern Tanzania has focused on Plio-Pleistocene sites documenting early hominid evolution, or alternatively, the late Holocene Later Stone Age and Iron Age sites documenting the transition from foraging to food production. However, recent surveys and test excavations conducted by Dr. Pamela Willoughby in Iringa have revealed the regions potential for also contributing to the study of the Middle Stone Age, the time period and technological system that coincides with the appearance of anatomically modern humans. Analysis of lithics recovered from two 1m2 test pits during 2006 test excavations at Magubike rockshelter demonstrate the site contains sequences yielding Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, and Iron Age materials. Michael Mehlmans lithic typology is used to place the lithics within a relative cultural historical context. Further analysis documents patterns and intensity of lithic reduction, raw material utilization, and other aspects of lithic production at Magubike throughout time.
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Swader, Paul. "An analysis of end scrapers from Silver Mound, Jackson Co., Wisconsin : examining morphology to assess temporal context /." 2009. http://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/38832.
Full text
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Cohen, Jenny Micheal. "Paleoethnobotany of Kilgii Gwaay: a 10,700 year old Ancestral Haida Archaeological Wet Site." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/5741.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is a case study using paleoethnobotanical analysis of Kilgii Gwaay, a 10,700-year-old wet site in southern Haida Gwaii to explore the use of plants by ancestral Haida. The research investigated questions of early Holocene wood artifact technologies and other plant use before the large-scale arrival of western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a cultural keystone species for Haida in more recent times. The project relied on small-scale excavations and sampling from two main areas of the site: a hearth complex and an activity area at the edge of a paleopond. The archaeobotanical assemblage from these two areas yielded 23 plant taxa representing 14 families in the form of wood, charcoal, seeds, and additional plant macrofossils. A salmonberry and elderberry processing area suggests a seasonal summer occupation. Hemlock wedges and split spruce wood and roots show evidence for wood-splitting technology. The assemblage demonstrates potential for site interpretation based on archaeobotanical remains for the Northwest Coast of North America and highlights the importance of these otherwise relatively unknown plant resources from this early time period.Graduate
cohenjenny2@gmail.com
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Shanks, Orin C. "DNA recovery and identification from stone tool microcracks." Thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/32480.
Full textAbstract:
The studies described here introduce a model for residue preservation on stone
tools. They simulate stone tool manufacture in order to define parameters important
for the study of DNA residues. Microscopic examination of stone tools has identified
microcracks that trap DNA and protein from animal blood cells. Thorough
investigation of different methods to recover residues from stone tools shows that
surface washing leaves DNA and protein, trapped in subsurface microcracks.
However, other extraction techniques are able to release 60-80% of DNA and protein
residues.
Previous research documents the identification of protein from stone tools
sonicated in 5% ammonium hydroxide, but it remains untested whether the same
treatment yields useable DNA. Using this treatment, I identified 13-year-old DNA
residues from experimentally manufactured stone tools. In addition, results clearly
indicate that washing procedures typically used to curate stone tools removed only a
small fraction of the DNA deposited during animal butchery.
Twenty-four pieces of chipped stone recovered from the Bugas-Holding site
were studied to explore the validity of ancient DNA residue identifications. Nine tools
yielded DNA residues. Modern humans did not touch three of these tools, which
suggests that the DNA recovered from them was present prior to excavation. One
tool, which was handled by excavators without gloves, harbored DNA from three
species, and these templates competed during PCR. On at least two tools, handling
after excavation introduced animal DNA unrelated to tool use. Careful testing of
Bugas-Holding chipped stone suggests that stone tools may harbor both ancient and
modern DNA, and that investigators must take great care to exclude modern DNA
from ancient specimens.
Ultimately, I developed and streamlined a method to analyze DNA-containing
residues preserved on stone tools. This led to several technical improvements in
ancient DNA residue analysis. These include a more effective DNA recovery
protocol, methods to measure sensitivity and inhibition of PCR in each sample, and
strategies to surmount competition between templates during amplification, which can
occur in samples that contain DNA from multiple species. These new developments
will help future investigators achieve the full potential of ancient DNA residue
analysis.Graduation date: 2003
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Ambrose, Heather M. "Quantitative integration and three-dimensional visualization of multi-tool archaeological geophysics survey." 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/1426739.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2005.Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 2, 2006) Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Thesis adviser: Gregory S. Baker. Includes bibliographical references.
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Sousa, Luis Augusto Pereira Nadais de. "Use and reuse of termite-fishing mounds by wild chimpanzees in Tanzania: An archaeological approach to perishable toolsites." Master's thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10316/93922.
Full textAbstract:
Dissertação de Mestrado em Evolução e Biologia Humanas apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaOs chimpanzés têm sido alvo de diversos estudos focados na utilização de ferramentas. Dado que a sua capacidade de fabricar e usar, de forma flexível e regular, uma vasta gama de utensílios pode ser comparada com as capacidades tecnológicas dos primeiros humanos, são considerados modelos relevantes para a compreensão das nossas origens tecnológicas. Este estudo analisou dados recolhidos através de métodos arqueológicos com o objetivo de investigar o uso e reuso de termiteiras por duas comunidades de chimpanzés em dois habitats distintos na Tanzânia, Gombe e Issa, semelhantes a habitats onde os primeiros humanos terão evoluído. Os resultados indicam que os chimpanzés da comunidade Kasekela em Gombe exploram termiteiras de forma mais intensiva que os seus congéneres de Issa, provavelmente devido às diferenças entre os dois habitats. Ao contrário do que sucede em Issa, a pesca de térmitas ocorre durante todo o ano em Gombe, apesar de ser esporádica durante a estação seca. Em ambos os sítios, foram detetadas pequenas variações na intensidade de exploração. Em Gombe, a dimensão das termiteiras pode influenciar estas variações, mas o mesmo não parece ser verdade para Issa, talvez porque a densidade da população de chimpanzés é baixa neste sítio. Os resultados sugerem também que o descarte das ferramentas perecíveis depois do uso dá origem à criação de sítios de acumulação com maior densidade de artefactos do que sítios de utensílios líticos explorados por primatas, humanos incluídos. Este é o primeiro estudo detalhado sobre a utilização e reutilização de sítios de ferramentas perecíveis, aumentando o conhecimento sobre processos de formação de sítios e acumulação de ferramentas, e fornecendo indicações sobre as escalas temporais, os comportamentos, e a variabilidade representados em sítios arqueológicos relacionados com a presença dos primeiros humanos.
Chimpanzees have been the focus of numerous studies regarding tool-use. Because their flexibility and regular use and manufacture of a diverse range of tools resemble the tool using skills of early humans, they are considered relevant models for the understanding of our technological origins, likely invisible in the archaeological record. This study analysed data collected through archaeological methods to investigate site use and reuse by termite fishing chimpanzees living in two distinct habitats in west Tanzania, akin to habitats where early humans are thought to have lived: Gombe and Issa. The results indicate that the Kasekela community of Gombe chimpanzees exploit termite mounds more intensively than the Issa population, likely due to constraints imposed by the differences between these two habitats. Contrary to Issa, termite-fishing at Gombe occurs throughout the whole year, albeit only sporadically during the dry season. Within each site, small variations in the intensity of tool-site use were detected. At Gombe, these could be influenced by mound-size, but the same doesn’t seem to be true for Issa, probably because chimpanzee density is low at this site. Results also suggest that the discard of perishable utensils results in the creation of accumulation sites with higher concentrations of artefacts than stone tool primate sites, including early humans. This is the first detailed study of perishable tool-sites use and reuse, adding to the knowledge of processes of site formation and tool accumulation, and providing clues to the timescales, behaviours and variability represented at known hominin sites.
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Smith, Nicole Fenwick. "A geochemical approach to understanding raw material use and stone tool production at the Richardson Island Archaeological Site, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/697.
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