New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method

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dc.contributor.authorSchoville, Benjamin Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Kyle Sen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHarris, Jacob Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWilkins, Jayneen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-31T07:40:08Z
dc.date.available2016-10-31T07:40:08Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe Middle Stone Age (MSA) is associated with early evidence for symbolic material culture and complex technological innovations. However, one of the most visible aspects of MSA technologies are unretouched triangular stone points that appear in the archaeological record as early as 500,000 years ago in Africa and persist throughout the MSA. How these tools were being used and discarded across a changing Pleistocene landscape can provide insight into how MSA populations prioritized technological and foraging decisions. Creating inferential links between experimental and archaeological tool use helps to establish prehistoric tool function, but is complicated by the overlaying of post-depositional damage onto behaviorally worn tools. Taphonomic damage patterning can provide insight into site formation history, but may preclude behavioral interpretations of tool function. Here, multiple experimental processes that form edge damage on unretouched lithic points from taphonomic and behavioral processes are presented. These provide experimental distributions of wear on tool edges from known processes that are then quantitatively compared to the archaeological patterning of stone point edge damage from three MSA lithic assemblages--Kathu Pan 1, Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, and Die Kelders Cave 1. By using a model-fitting approach, the results presented here provide evidence for variable MSA behavioral strategies of stone point utilization on the landscape consistent with armature tips at KP1, and cutting tools at PP13B and DK1, as well as damage contributions from post-depositional sources across assemblages. This study provides a method with which landscape-scale questions of early modern human tool-use and site-use can be addressed.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSchoville, B. J., Brown, K. S., Harris, J. A., & Wilkins, J. (2016). New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22369en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSchoville, Benjamin J, Kyle S Brown, Jacob A Harris, and Jayne Wilkins "New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method." <i>PLoS One</i> (2016) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22369en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSchoville, B. J., Brown, K. S., Harris, J. A., & Wilkins, J. (2016). New Experiments and a Model-Driven Approach for Interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function Using the Edge Damage Distribution Method. PloS one, 11(10), e0164088. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164088en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Schoville, Benjamin J AU - Brown, Kyle S AU - Harris, Jacob A AU - Wilkins, Jayne AB - The Middle Stone Age (MSA) is associated with early evidence for symbolic material culture and complex technological innovations. However, one of the most visible aspects of MSA technologies are unretouched triangular stone points that appear in the archaeological record as early as 500,000 years ago in Africa and persist throughout the MSA. How these tools were being used and discarded across a changing Pleistocene landscape can provide insight into how MSA populations prioritized technological and foraging decisions. Creating inferential links between experimental and archaeological tool use helps to establish prehistoric tool function, but is complicated by the overlaying of post-depositional damage onto behaviorally worn tools. Taphonomic damage patterning can provide insight into site formation history, but may preclude behavioral interpretations of tool function. Here, multiple experimental processes that form edge damage on unretouched lithic points from taphonomic and behavioral processes are presented. These provide experimental distributions of wear on tool edges from known processes that are then quantitatively compared to the archaeological patterning of stone point edge damage from three MSA lithic assemblages--Kathu Pan 1, Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, and Die Kelders Cave 1. By using a model-fitting approach, the results presented here provide evidence for variable MSA behavioral strategies of stone point utilization on the landscape consistent with armature tips at KP1, and cutting tools at PP13B and DK1, as well as damage contributions from post-depositional sources across assemblages. This study provides a method with which landscape-scale questions of early modern human tool-use and site-use can be addressed. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0164088 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method TI - New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22369 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164088en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22369
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSchoville BJ, Brown KS, Harris JA, Wilkins J. New experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Method. PLoS One. 2016; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22369.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2016 Schoville et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherArchaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPaleoanthropologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherExperimental archaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherTaphonomyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHistorical archaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBehavioren_ZA
dc.subject.otherCattleen_ZA
dc.subject.otherStatistical distributionsen_ZA
dc.titleNew experiments and a model-driven approach for interpreting Middle Stone Age Lithic Point Function using the Edge Damage Distribution Methoden_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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