Scholars of the Late Pleistocene in Southern Africa have recently sought to develop models explaining long-term variation between Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age assemblages in terms of variability between “macrolithic” vs. “microlithic” toolmaking systems associated with shifts in hunter-gatherer ecology and land use patterns. While it has often proven extremely difficult to actually test many models, recently developed methods allow us to do so in novel ways. In this dissertation, I use new archaeological data from excavations of two sites in the Namib Desert, as well as new approaches to sourcing lithic artifacts to examine the hypothesis that contrasts between terminal Pleistocene (ca. 15-20 ka BP) and early Holocene (ca. 6-12 ka BP) occupation phases at the two sites represent adaptive responses primarily driven by changes in fluvial regimes and the resource productivity of riparian corridors. Analyzing the lithic assemblage compositions and locating probable source areas for raw materials suggests that terminal Pleistocene groups likely centered land use strategies more toward upland areas east of the study sites and periodically followed broad riparian corridors into the desert itself. Early Holocene groups expanded their ranges and more intensively targeted resources on the open desert plains, dunes, and beaches of the coastal lowlands. My results suggest environmental change may be partially responsible for driving this shift, but new data and methodological tools are needed to address factors like fluctuations in regional population size that may have been driving shifts in the late Pleistocene record of this unique region of Southern Africa.

This study focuses on identifying the function of obsidian tools from the Late Neolithic archaeological site of Contraguda on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The information obtained from use-wear analysis can provide information about changes in subsistence patterns, craft specialization, social differentiation and technology. This research began by collecting geological samples of obsidian from two of the most exploited sources in the Monte Arci volcanic complex of Sardinia. Subsequently, an experimental set of tools was made from these samples, and they were used to work various raw materials that were presumably available in Sardinia during the Neolithic. Wear patterns were studied on the experimental set utilizing macroscopic and low-power microscopy techniques and were compared to the wear on artifacts excavated from the site of Contraguda. The data obtained from this study were used to identify the function of this site, and complement and refine prior interpretations of human activity in this region. Conducting this study in Sardinian obsidian use wear by utilizing the same geological sources that people during the Neolithic were exploiting provides exceptional data and a perspective that may not be otherwise obtained. Finally, general information may be gleaned from the experimental and analytical techniques used in this research by others. Macroscopic and low-power microscopy techniques are expedient, inexpensive, and easily used in the field; however, minimal research has been done using low-power techniques relative to high-power or higher-tech methods. This research also addresses the benefits, limits, and feasibility of low-power approaches on their own, as well as in conjunction with other lithic analysis methods.

En Méditerranée occidentale, l’obsidienne a été dès le début du Néolithique une matière première recherchée en raison de sa grande aptitude à la taille. Originaire d’îles de la zone tyrrhénienne (Sardaigne, Pantelleria, Lipari et Palmarola) elle a circulé dans cette région et elle est considérée comme un important marqueur culturel de diverses formes de communication et d'échanges entre les différentes communautés de la Préhistoire récente. En ce qui concerne la Sardaigne, nous disposons aujourd'hui d'une cartographie des dépôts primaires et secondaires de quatre types d’obsidienne du Monte Arci et il est donc possible de mieux comprendre les systèmes d'approvisionnement de cette matière première dans l'Île et dans le secteur nord-tyrrhénien de la Méditerranée occidentale, zone de diffusion majeure de l'obsidienne sarde. En raison de ses propriétés physiques, l'obsidienne est une roche très apte à la taille et qui enregistre de manière optimale les stigmates de taille. L’objectif de la thèse a consisté essentiellement en l’'analyse d'un référentiel expérimental en obsidienne réalisé par différents tailleurs avec différentes techniques (percussion directe, indirecte et pression). Cette étude a permis de reconnaitre les caractères morphométriques et les stigmates techniques, essentiels pour la discrimination des techniques de débitage, surtout quand elles donnent de pièces ambigües, compatibles avec plusieurs techniques. Elle a aussi permis de comprendre les différences avec le débitage sur silex, à partir de données connues dans la littérature. Sur cette base nous avons fait un premier essai de diagnose technique sur une série en obsidienne (sarde) d'un site du Néolithique sarde ayant livré un mobilier très abondant, avec plusieurs chaînes opératoires et techniques mises en œuvre. / In the western Mediterranean, obsidian is a demanded raw-material since the earliest phases of the Neolithic due to its good knappability. Its main sources are located in the tyrrhenian islands (Sardinia, Pantelleria, Lipari, and Palmarola); obsidian goods have been circulating in the region and they are considered a significant cultural marker of different forms of exchange and interaction networks between prehistoric groups. For what concerns Sardinia, nowadays four different types of both primary and secondary obsidian deposits from Monte Arci are known. It is therefore possible to better understand the exploitation system of this raw-material in Sardinia and in the north-tyrrhenian sector of the western Mediterranean, which roughly corresponds to its main area of diffusion. Due to its physical characteristics, obsidian is extremely suitable for knapping and it bears a detailed record of the knapping stigmata. b The heart of this thesis consists of the analysis of an obsidian reference collection made by different knappers with different techniques(direct, indirect percussion, and pressure). As result, it has been possible to identify the morphometric characters and the technical stigmata associated with each one of the considered techniques. This represents an essential information in order to recognize the different techniques of obsidian débitage used in Prehistory, especially because resulting blanks are often characterize by ambiguous traits, compatible with different techniques. In addition, this study has allowed to understand the differences between obsidian and chert knapping, thanks to the integration of the data available from literature. On these basis, a first technological analysis of an archaeological obsidian collection from Sardinia has been carried out, choosing a Neolithic site (Coddu is Abionis, Terralba, Or) characterized by an abundant assemblage and a diversity of chaînes opératoires and techniques.

This study evaluates how prehispanic central Mexicans made stone tools—primarily from obsidian—and used them in their homes over a period of 3,000 years. Mesoamerican scholars have often assumed the functional purposes of different lithic tools based on their material or technological attributes. Most limit their studies to single sites and extrapolate broader reconstructions of economic activities. I assess stone tool functions and associated economic activities through technological analyses of more than 43,000 lithic artifacts and, in addition, a feasibility study for high magnification use-wear analysis utilizing 589 of these artifacts from multiple household contexts in the central Mexican villages of Amomoloc (900-650 B.C.), Tetel (750-500 B.C.), and Mesitas (600-500 B.C.); the town of La Laguna (600 B.C.-A.D. 150); the city of Teotihuacan (A.D. 200-550); and the Aztec village of Cihuatecpan (A.D. 1150-1550). I determine that pressure blades—the most common tool form—were multifunctional. They were regularly modified via pressure trimming or notching and recycled through bipolar percussion to suit specific tasks. Blade production error rates decreased consistently, especially after the invention of core platform grinding near the end of the Classic period (A.D. 100-600). Preliminary results of the use-wear feasibility study suggest that certain tools became associated with specific tasks. Scrapers were mainly used to produce goods of maguey, wood, and hide. People came to use hafted atlatl dart points and bifacial knives almost exclusively for hunting and meat butchering tasks, respectively, and smaller bifacial drills mostly for shell craft production. Bipolar tools created through anvil percussion were more common during the Formative period (1500 B.C.-A.D. 100), when they were probably used as expedient kitchen utensils. Obsidian tools in central Mexico were not exclusively staple goods. Ritual bloodletting implements are spatially associated with communal altars and commoner and elite residences, but after the Epiclassic period (A.D. 600-900) bloodletting was restricted primarily to temples. Likewise, although weaponry was common during the Classic through Postclassic periods, and jewelry was relatively common during the Late Postclassic period (A.D. 1325-1521), in prehispanic times their spatial distributions were much more restricted across site contexts compared to obsidian staple goods. I demonstrate that in prehispanic central Mexico stone tools were produced and used primarily in household spaces, contrary to models that have emphasized sponsorship by elites or religious institutions. Residents produced stone tools in their homes primarily to satisfy their own needs during the Formative period. As rising populations contributed to urban densities and the development of marketplace economies, household lithic production increased to satisfy broader consumer demand. Producing households often specialized in blade production or followed a multicrafting strategy, in which the scale of production exceeded their own needs.

Stone tools have a critical role to play in our understanding of the behavior of early humans. In particular, the types of raw materials that are present in stone tool assemblages, and the sources from which they are acquired, provide information relating to decision making processes, planning, organization of technology, and group mobility. The characterization of Stone Age lithic artifact assemblages from two rockshelter sites in southern Tanzania, Magubike and Mlambalasi, allowed for the evaluation of inter- and intra-assemblage variability. Raw material characterization was conducted using macroscopic and microscopic analyses. Numerous raw material sourcing studies have been undertaken on Stone Age lithic assemblages recovered from sites in Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. Generally these studies have concentrated on identifying the sources of a particular type of stone raw material such as chert, obsidian, and basalt; however, rarely are the attributes of the whole assemblage examined. Furthermore, few archaeologists describe stone materials in terms of their basic petrographic characteristics. Both of these weaknesses are the direct result of the lack of a standardized methodology for describing lithic raw materials, thus this dissertation outlines a strategy for raw material sourcing, with a focus on description and grounded in geoarchaeological theory. When combined with typological and technological analyses, the results of the raw material analyses suggests the exclusive use of locally acquired lithics.

In this dissertation, I examine the representation of projectile points in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) of Tanzania, and the way in which such tools were used over time and space. This study reviews the different strategies used to produce points during the MSA and LSA. It also examines the mechanisms involved in raw material procurement, hafting technology, and the use of these tools as projectile weapons and how they evolved over time. It is clear that there were different kinds of multi-weapon systems in use in Tanzania during the MSA, LSA and the transition between them. The points examined are from three archaeological sites: Mumba, Nasera and Magubike. They reveal that triangular blanks were preferred for the production of points. Most of them were modified on their proximal ends to provide a suitable binding portion for hafting and aerodynamic movement. Results from the Tip Cross Section Area (TCSA) and weight values suggest that spear and arrow projectiles coexisted in these sites during the MSA and MSA/LSA transition. Both local and exotic rocks were used for the production of points. In previous studies, the appearance of exotic rocks in the archaeological assemblages was correlated with trade and exchange. But here the use of exotics seems to be influenced by functional values such as durability, sharpness and brittleness. Sharp and durable rocks such as chert and quartzite were needed for spears because of their high compression strength. This makes them better able to withstand unintentional breakage after being stressed by the force of impact. Points made of brittle rocks, such as quartz and obsidian, were mainly used for light duty projectiles such as throwing spears (darts) and arrows, because they penetrate the body of an animal better and sometimes break more easily. The presence of points made of exotic or local rocks shows that functional variables were important for projectile technologies. The overall morphological and technological patterns revealed in this study suggest that foragers who made and used points had elaborate technological skills, abstract thinking and developed behavioural capability similar to those of other modern foragers.

This dissertation presents new data on early Paleoindian stone technologies in the Southern Plains periphery. Analyses of lithic artifact assemblages show that significant technological changes occurred between the transitions from pre-Clovis to Clovis and from Clovis to Folsom/Midland. After an initial introduction to the problems in chapter one, a detailed technological description of the pre-Clovis assemblage from the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas is presented. Site-scale and general technological comparisons to Clovis reveal similarities and differences. I conclude that the pre-Clovis assemblage at Friedkin cannot be considered Clovis, but could represent an ancestral technological assemblage. The third chapter presents the analysis of Clovis bifaces from the Hogeye site, Texas. I identify patterns in the biface reduction process and suggest that these patterns could be use to distinguish between regional Clovis cultural signatures and the idiosyncrasies of individual Clovis flintknappers. The fourth chapter compares Clovis and Folsom/Midland technologies and site-use at a single site, the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas. I show that while late-stage biface reduction and point production were the focus of both occupations, Folsom/Midland groups also reduced some early- or middle- stage bifacial cores. More broadly, the Friedkin site shows that Clovis and Folsom/Midland settlement along Buttermilk Creek varied. Ultimately, this dissertation provides new evidence of possible Clovis origins, documents Clovis biface reduction signatures, and identifies site-use and technological similarities and differences between Clovis and Folsom/Midland. Defining and comparing early Paleoindian adaptations and technologies is key to understanding how humans dispersed into North America and how they adapted to new and changing environments during the last Ice Age.

An archaeological survey was conducted in the Clearwater River Valley, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2008 by University of Saskatchewan Masters student Alan Korejbo and a crew of three. Prior to this project, only three sites had been recorded along this 55 km portion of the river. Researching this remote wilderness heritage river in the boreal ecoregion presented substantial logistical barriers; nonetheless, a total of seventeen sites, mostly precontact in nature, were discovered. The density of sites identified in this survey suggests that this region is archaeologically rich; thus, meriting future research. Information collected from this encourages vigorous archaeological resource management in the Clearwater River Provincial Park. Data from this survey may give future researchers a basis from which to start. Survey results and previous research are combined to hypothesize past land usage in northwestern Saskatchewan. Furthermore, coupled with previous research, the data from this project may allow us to suggest possible cultural influence and interaction and ask pertinent questions that may aid in future research here.

An archaeological survey was conducted in the Clearwater River Valley, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2008 by University of Saskatchewan Masters student Alan Korejbo and a crew of three. Prior to this project, only three sites had been recorded along this 55 km portion of the river. Researching this remote wilderness heritage river in the boreal ecoregion presented substantial logistical barriers; nonetheless, a total of seventeen sites, mostly precontact in nature, were discovered. The density of sites identified in this survey suggests that this region is archaeologically rich; thus, meriting future research. Information collected from this encourages vigorous archaeological resource management in the Clearwater River Provincial Park. Data from this survey may give future researchers a basis from which to start. Survey results and previous research are combined to hypothesize past land usage in northwestern Saskatchewan. Furthermore, coupled with previous research, the data from this project may allow us to suggest possible cultural influence and interaction and ask pertinent questions that may aid in future research here.

This dissertation presents new data on Clovis site occupation, technological organization, and settlement in the American Southeast. Evidence suggests that traditionally-accepted, western-centric models do not fully explain Clovis technological characteristics and settlement patterns in the region. My second chapter presents the results of a 40 square meter block excavation on the Topper site (SC) hillside where a buried Clovis assemblage has been recovered. I review the site geomorphology and formation processes to evaluate the context of the Clovis component, characterize the Clovis assemblage and the horizontal distribution of artifacts to understand how the Clovis occupants used this portion of the site, and compare these excavation results to the rest of the archaeological record at Topper to discuss the general nature of the Clovis occupation there. My third chapter focuses on the 174 bifaces from Topper to understand biface production. I present the process of manufacture then measure the variation in production characteristics at the site in terms of our current knowledge of Clovis biface technology. I conclude that Topper flintknappers used reduction strategies typical of Clovis-but created a biface assemblage with greater flexibility in design than documented at most other Clovis sites. Clovis groups adapted to local resource conditions and adjusted the organization of their technology accordingly. My fourth chapter analyzes southeastern Clovis point data and biface assemblages from Carson-Conn-Short (TN), Topper, and Williamson (VA) to test the technological implications of Kelly and Todd’s (1988) high-technology-forager model and Anderson’s (1990) staging-area model. Significant subregional variation exists in Clovis biface systems, such as differences in point morphology and the tempo of biface reduction. This variation suggests the subregions represent distinct populations who distinctly altered aspects of their technology but maintained fundamental elements of the Clovis tradition. Ultimately, I demonstrate there was greater variability in Clovis behavior across America. Recognizing regional variation in the archaeological record is key to understanding the complexities of Clovis origins and dispersal.