Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Feb 1, 2021
Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key rol... more Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key role in human cultural evolution. Findings from Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave (420–200 kya) suggest that the cave's inhabitants learned and shared knowledge about stone knapping and other adaptive skills throughout the recurrent human occupation of the cave. Here I present the results of a techno-typological and spatial analysis of over 1000 flint cores originating from 12 distinct lithic assemblages of the cave. I will argue that spatial expressions of clusters of cores reflecting skilled and unskilled knapping enable the characterization of social learning mechanisms practiced by the cave's inhabitants. My analysis suggests that different areas of the cave were dedicated to the initial stages of knapping and to the systematic, high skill production of laminar items. A unique group of cores reflecting both skilled and unskilled knapping was also identified, mainly in the vicinity of the hearth. Forms of learning included trial and error mechanisms and sharing of knowledge. These social learning mechanisms led to high proficiency in stone tool knapping and especially in laminar production – a significant technological innovation in the Levant at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period.
Shaped stone balls are ubiquitous in Oldowan and Acheulian sites worldwide. Despite years of rese... more Shaped stone balls are ubiquitous in Oldowan and Acheulian sites worldwide. Despite years of research, very little is known about the shaping process of these items. A comprehensive literary review indicates variability in the types of rocks from which these items were shaped. At a number of sites, however, selectivity in the choice of materials used to make the balls is of note, with carbonate rocks (usually limestone) being preferred over flint and quartz. Do certain qualities of limestone affect the production process of stone balls? Is this selectivity related to their function? And do different rock types affect the development of macro detachments visible on the archaeological items? We explored these questions through a series of experiments, during which stone balls were shaped from different materials and then used for bone breaking. Their active edges (ridges) were documented before and after use. The results show that limestone is a preferred raw material for the peripheral knapping of stone balls because it allows better control of the knapping process, which prevents the balls from splitting. All the tools, however, were effective for intensive use, large detachments were not formed during bone breaking activities, and no differences were recorded between the different rock types in this respect. We thus suggest that the large detachments visible on the archaeological items are deliberate removals that were part of the peripheral shaping process, and following, that these items might have been desired tools rather than by-products of functional activity. It seems that in this process, selectivity of raw materials reflects an informed decision which may have become a cultural norm that was preserved for hundreds of thousands of years.
Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social syste... more Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social systems, functioning as primary assimilators of new technologies. Their role is especially crucial at significant turning points in history, due to a number of childhood-cognitive mechanisms that are activated in learning and playing while engaging in innovative activity. I suggest that these mechanisms developed as part of an evolutionary process that has enabled humans to better adapt to change and prosper. This line of thinking is demonstrated through a synthesis of evolutionary, cognitive-psychological models and a case study from the archaeological record of the Levantine late Lower Paleolithic. In this time, humans developed a set of creative innovations which had to be learned and assimilated, such as the innovative production of blades. I argue that these cultural changes were successfully assimilated by groups inhabiting the Levant due to the enhancement of well-established learning mechanisms, in which children played a significant role. This role might have given them a unique status in their group – as preserving old traditions practiced by their ancestors but also as active agents, part of a collective group effort of tackling present and future challenges.
Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key rol... more Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key role in human cultural evolution. Findings from Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave (420–200 kya) suggest that the cave's inhabitants learned and shared knowledge about stone knapping and other adaptive skills throughout the recurrent human occupation of the cave. Here I present the results of a techno-typological and spatial analysis of over 1000 flint cores originating from 12 distinct lithic assemblages of the cave. I will argue that spatial expressions of clusters of cores reflecting skilled and unskilled knapping enable the characterization of social learning mechanisms practiced by the cave's inhabitants. My analysis suggests that different areas of the cave were dedicated to the initial stages of knapping and to the systematic, high skill production of laminar items. A unique group of cores reflecting both skilled and unskilled knapping was also identified, mainly in the vicinity of the hearth. Forms of learning included trial and error mechanisms and sharing of knowledge. These social learning mechanisms led to high proficiency in stone tool knapping and especially in laminar production – a significant technological innovation in the Levant at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period.
This paper describes the techno-typological affinities of a specific Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic ass... more This paper describes the techno-typological affinities of a specific Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic assemblage dated to over 300 ka years ago from Qesem Cave, a middle Pleistocene site in central Israel. Aspects of blade production, knapping trajectories, and lithic recycling are examined in detail, demonstrating that this assemblage, notwithstanding its initial attribution to the blade-dominated Amudian industry, has some specific characteristics differing from other Amudian assemblages in the cave. The study discusses similarities and differences within the Amudian industry and offers a broader view of the variability within the Amudian industry of Qesem Cave.
Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social syste... more Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social systems, functioning as primary assimilators of new technologies. Their role is especially crucial at significant turning points in history, due to a number of childhood-cognitive mechanisms that are activated in learning and playing while engaging in innovative activity. I suggest that these mechanisms developed as part of an evolutionary process that has enabled humans to better adapt to change and prosper. This line of thinking is demonstrated through a synthesis of evolutionary, cognitive-psychological models and a case study from the archaeological record of the Levantine late Lower Paleolithic. In this time, humans developed a set of creative innovations which had to be learned and assimilated, such as the innovative production of blades. I argue that these cultural changes were successfully assimilated by groups inhabiting the Levant due to the enhancement of well-established learning mechanisms, in which children played a significant role. This role might have given them a unique status in their group – as preserving old traditions practiced by their ancestors but also as active agents, part of a collective group effort of tackling present and future challenges.
In this paper we discuss the universal selection of exceptional materials for tool making in preh... more In this paper we discuss the universal selection of exceptional materials for tool making in prehistory. The interpretation suggested in the literature for these non-standard materials is usually limited to a general statement, considering possible aesthetic values or a general, mostly unexplained, symbolic meaning. We discuss the implications of viewing these materials as active agents and living vital beings in Palaeolithic archaeology as attested in indigenous hunter-gatherer communities all around the world. We suggest that the use of specific materials in the Palaeolithic was meaningful, and beyond its possible ‘symbolic’ meaning, it reflects deep familiarity and complex relations of early humans with the world surrounding them—humans and other-than-human persons (animals, plants, water and stones)—on which they were dependent. We discuss the perception of tools and the materials from which they are made as reflecting relationships, respectful behaviour and functionality from a...
This paper sheds light on the presence and significance of unusually small, colorful, unmodified,... more This paper sheds light on the presence and significance of unusually small, colorful, unmodified, flint pebbles unearthed at Qesem Cave, a late Lower Paleolithic site in Israel. For over two million years, early humans were noticing, collecting and bringing "home" various non-utilitarian objects with aesthetic visible characteristics, in what seems to reflect a basic human trait. Archaeological findings suggest that as early as the Lower Paleolithic, prehistoric humans were also guided by considerations other than economic, cost-benefit ones. Such is the case at Qesem Cave, where seventeen pebbles that are clearly smaller than the smallest pebbles used in the lithic industry on-site were found. These objects do not show any traces of use. Based on archaeological and anthropological evidence, I suggest that the small, natural flint pebbles exhibit noticeable visual characteristics, and therefore they might have been selected and brought to the cave due to their aesthetic tr...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Feb 1, 2021
Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key rol... more Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key role in human cultural evolution. Findings from Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave (420–200 kya) suggest that the cave's inhabitants learned and shared knowledge about stone knapping and other adaptive skills throughout the recurrent human occupation of the cave. Here I present the results of a techno-typological and spatial analysis of over 1000 flint cores originating from 12 distinct lithic assemblages of the cave. I will argue that spatial expressions of clusters of cores reflecting skilled and unskilled knapping enable the characterization of social learning mechanisms practiced by the cave's inhabitants. My analysis suggests that different areas of the cave were dedicated to the initial stages of knapping and to the systematic, high skill production of laminar items. A unique group of cores reflecting both skilled and unskilled knapping was also identified, mainly in the vicinity of the hearth. Forms of learning included trial and error mechanisms and sharing of knowledge. These social learning mechanisms led to high proficiency in stone tool knapping and especially in laminar production – a significant technological innovation in the Levant at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period.
Shaped stone balls are ubiquitous in Oldowan and Acheulian sites worldwide. Despite years of rese... more Shaped stone balls are ubiquitous in Oldowan and Acheulian sites worldwide. Despite years of research, very little is known about the shaping process of these items. A comprehensive literary review indicates variability in the types of rocks from which these items were shaped. At a number of sites, however, selectivity in the choice of materials used to make the balls is of note, with carbonate rocks (usually limestone) being preferred over flint and quartz. Do certain qualities of limestone affect the production process of stone balls? Is this selectivity related to their function? And do different rock types affect the development of macro detachments visible on the archaeological items? We explored these questions through a series of experiments, during which stone balls were shaped from different materials and then used for bone breaking. Their active edges (ridges) were documented before and after use. The results show that limestone is a preferred raw material for the peripheral knapping of stone balls because it allows better control of the knapping process, which prevents the balls from splitting. All the tools, however, were effective for intensive use, large detachments were not formed during bone breaking activities, and no differences were recorded between the different rock types in this respect. We thus suggest that the large detachments visible on the archaeological items are deliberate removals that were part of the peripheral shaping process, and following, that these items might have been desired tools rather than by-products of functional activity. It seems that in this process, selectivity of raw materials reflects an informed decision which may have become a cultural norm that was preserved for hundreds of thousands of years.
Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social syste... more Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social systems, functioning as primary assimilators of new technologies. Their role is especially crucial at significant turning points in history, due to a number of childhood-cognitive mechanisms that are activated in learning and playing while engaging in innovative activity. I suggest that these mechanisms developed as part of an evolutionary process that has enabled humans to better adapt to change and prosper. This line of thinking is demonstrated through a synthesis of evolutionary, cognitive-psychological models and a case study from the archaeological record of the Levantine late Lower Paleolithic. In this time, humans developed a set of creative innovations which had to be learned and assimilated, such as the innovative production of blades. I argue that these cultural changes were successfully assimilated by groups inhabiting the Levant due to the enhancement of well-established learning mechanisms, in which children played a significant role. This role might have given them a unique status in their group – as preserving old traditions practiced by their ancestors but also as active agents, part of a collective group effort of tackling present and future challenges.
Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key rol... more Abstract Social learning and knowledge transmission mechanisms are known to have played a key role in human cultural evolution. Findings from Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave (420–200 kya) suggest that the cave's inhabitants learned and shared knowledge about stone knapping and other adaptive skills throughout the recurrent human occupation of the cave. Here I present the results of a techno-typological and spatial analysis of over 1000 flint cores originating from 12 distinct lithic assemblages of the cave. I will argue that spatial expressions of clusters of cores reflecting skilled and unskilled knapping enable the characterization of social learning mechanisms practiced by the cave's inhabitants. My analysis suggests that different areas of the cave were dedicated to the initial stages of knapping and to the systematic, high skill production of laminar items. A unique group of cores reflecting both skilled and unskilled knapping was also identified, mainly in the vicinity of the hearth. Forms of learning included trial and error mechanisms and sharing of knowledge. These social learning mechanisms led to high proficiency in stone tool knapping and especially in laminar production – a significant technological innovation in the Levant at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period.
This paper describes the techno-typological affinities of a specific Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic ass... more This paper describes the techno-typological affinities of a specific Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic assemblage dated to over 300 ka years ago from Qesem Cave, a middle Pleistocene site in central Israel. Aspects of blade production, knapping trajectories, and lithic recycling are examined in detail, demonstrating that this assemblage, notwithstanding its initial attribution to the blade-dominated Amudian industry, has some specific characteristics differing from other Amudian assemblages in the cave. The study discusses similarities and differences within the Amudian industry and offers a broader view of the variability within the Amudian industry of Qesem Cave.
Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social syste... more Abstract In this paper, I contend that children had a unique position in prehistoric social systems, functioning as primary assimilators of new technologies. Their role is especially crucial at significant turning points in history, due to a number of childhood-cognitive mechanisms that are activated in learning and playing while engaging in innovative activity. I suggest that these mechanisms developed as part of an evolutionary process that has enabled humans to better adapt to change and prosper. This line of thinking is demonstrated through a synthesis of evolutionary, cognitive-psychological models and a case study from the archaeological record of the Levantine late Lower Paleolithic. In this time, humans developed a set of creative innovations which had to be learned and assimilated, such as the innovative production of blades. I argue that these cultural changes were successfully assimilated by groups inhabiting the Levant due to the enhancement of well-established learning mechanisms, in which children played a significant role. This role might have given them a unique status in their group – as preserving old traditions practiced by their ancestors but also as active agents, part of a collective group effort of tackling present and future challenges.
In this paper we discuss the universal selection of exceptional materials for tool making in preh... more In this paper we discuss the universal selection of exceptional materials for tool making in prehistory. The interpretation suggested in the literature for these non-standard materials is usually limited to a general statement, considering possible aesthetic values or a general, mostly unexplained, symbolic meaning. We discuss the implications of viewing these materials as active agents and living vital beings in Palaeolithic archaeology as attested in indigenous hunter-gatherer communities all around the world. We suggest that the use of specific materials in the Palaeolithic was meaningful, and beyond its possible ‘symbolic’ meaning, it reflects deep familiarity and complex relations of early humans with the world surrounding them—humans and other-than-human persons (animals, plants, water and stones)—on which they were dependent. We discuss the perception of tools and the materials from which they are made as reflecting relationships, respectful behaviour and functionality from a...
This paper sheds light on the presence and significance of unusually small, colorful, unmodified,... more This paper sheds light on the presence and significance of unusually small, colorful, unmodified, flint pebbles unearthed at Qesem Cave, a late Lower Paleolithic site in Israel. For over two million years, early humans were noticing, collecting and bringing "home" various non-utilitarian objects with aesthetic visible characteristics, in what seems to reflect a basic human trait. Archaeological findings suggest that as early as the Lower Paleolithic, prehistoric humans were also guided by considerations other than economic, cost-benefit ones. Such is the case at Qesem Cave, where seventeen pebbles that are clearly smaller than the smallest pebbles used in the lithic industry on-site were found. These objects do not show any traces of use. Based on archaeological and anthropological evidence, I suggest that the small, natural flint pebbles exhibit noticeable visual characteristics, and therefore they might have been selected and brought to the cave due to their aesthetic tr...
NeandertART International Conference - University of Turin (Italy), 2018
For some three million years humans have been collecting various materials - mainly stones and oc... more For some three million years humans have been collecting various materials - mainly stones and occasionally bones - for the production of tools and for other reasons. Many studies emphasize considerations of material's quality, ease of extraction from the enclosing matrix as well as proximity of the occupation sites to the source, as leading reasons for the selection and use of specific materials. Notwithstanding these technological and economic considerations, there might be other factors that influence specific choices of materials. These may embody interesting aspects regarding the perceptions and cultural, ontological and cosmological patterns of behavior of early humans. Archaeological evidences show that as early as the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, humans had specifically selected certain exceptional materials from a range of suitable sources in order to produce tools. However, in not few cases, exceptional materials were selected and collected but not used in a particular way that can be distinguished by us. Colorful, bright stones with noticeable aesthetics values (such as obsidian and colorful chert, quartzite, and lava) and specific animal bones (such as elephant bones) were selected used for the making of handaxes, blades, scrapers, points etc, while others were brought home and "used" in non-technological manner. The collection and transportation of specific materials is far from being trivial and raises questions concerning the complex relations of early humans with their surrounding – minerals and animals. Among recent indigenous societies (including hunter-gatherer societies), materials used for tool making such as stones are not perceived as passive objects destined to be exploited for economic benefit. Rather, they are considered as part of the cosmos, not very different than human themselves, and are perceived as playing an active role in the social, cosmological and epistemological realms of life. What can we say, in this light, about the universal phenomenon of the selection of exceptional materials in the Paleolithic? This proposed session is aimed at exploring human selection of exceptional materials for different reasons and purposes among past and recent hunter-gatherer societies. The session will be open to papers describing the selection of these materials in Paleolithic sites as well as ethnographic documentations, hopefully contributing to our understanding of the powerful inter-reliance of early humans, tools, minerals and animals.
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Archaeological evidences show that as early as the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, humans had specifically selected certain exceptional materials from a range of suitable sources in order to produce tools. However, in not few cases, exceptional materials were selected and collected but not used in a particular way that can be distinguished by us. Colorful, bright stones with noticeable aesthetics values (such as obsidian and colorful chert, quartzite, and lava) and specific animal bones (such as elephant bones) were selected used for the making of handaxes, blades, scrapers, points etc, while others were brought home and "used" in non-technological manner. The collection and transportation of specific materials is far from being trivial and raises questions concerning the complex relations of early humans with their surrounding – minerals and animals.
Among recent indigenous societies (including hunter-gatherer societies), materials used for tool making such as stones are not perceived as passive objects destined to be exploited for economic benefit. Rather, they are considered as part of the cosmos, not very different than human themselves, and are perceived as playing an active role in the social, cosmological and epistemological realms of life. What can we say, in this light, about the universal phenomenon of the selection of exceptional materials in the Paleolithic?
This proposed session is aimed at exploring human selection of exceptional materials for different reasons and purposes among past and recent hunter-gatherer societies. The session will be open to papers describing the selection of these materials in Paleolithic sites as well as ethnographic documentations, hopefully contributing to our understanding of the powerful inter-reliance of early humans, tools, minerals and animals.