This thesis is concerned with two closely related themes: the inhabitation of the Peak District over the fifth and fourth millennia BC, and the procedures and principles by which we attempt to interpret the durable material traces thereof. A four stage interpretative framework is outlined. Social life is understood through its materiality. The engagement of the self with others is constrained and enabled by that materiality. Archaeologists can represent that process through a textual model. Analogical reasoning mediates each stage and must be made explicit. The Mesolithic and Neolithic, analytical objects constructed through conceptual metaphors, fail to express time and the materiality of practice as mutually constitutive. An integrated theory of landscape and technology is proposed whereby artefacts are understood in terms of relational metaphors, situating them in practice and capturing both their materiality and temporality. Prior research in the study area is critiqued on the basis that the historically specific material conditions therein cannot support models transposed from other regional contexts. A methodology for collection and analysis is developed which privileges those specific conditions in the interpretation of prehistoric technology. Artefact assemblages, it is argued, offer us no unmediated access to prehistoric settlement. No immediate functional equivalence between aggregations similar in composition should be expected. The analysis of stone tools and waste must be integrated with other categories of evidence and interpreted in terms of the potentials offered by their socio-physical context. Original data are analysed in terms of assemblage density, raw material and technological composition, chronological patterning and landscape situation. Integration into the regional corpus, through an explicitly multi-scalar approach, attends to the constitution of social life through practice and developing tradition. The role ascribed to early `monuments' by other archaeologists is particularly brought into question, with respect to the model of relational practice maintained throughout the dissertation.

No description available.

Eldon unifaces are unifacially flaked stone tool artifacts that are unique to the Canadian Plains of the early-Middle Period (7,500-4,500 ya). They are unique because cortex covers the ventral side. The artifacts also have a suit of traits such as being thinned (or an attempt was made to thin), unifically flaked, and there is a preference for them to be made from large quartzite cobbles. Further morphological traits indicate that there are four related types of these tools: Classic, Corner, Side, and Amorphous; the first two are the focus of this thesis. Design theory and Châine Opératoire are used to study how the artifacts were made and used. Other geographic regions are sought for similar artifact forms: Manitoba, Eastern Woodlands /Maritimes, and British Columbia. It is the cobble spall tools from British Columbia that has the most striking similarity in morphology and manufacturing strategy. There are also important differences like in how Eldon unifaces are more heterogeneous and circumscribed to a shorter period of time than the British Columbia artifacts.<p> A morphological and usewear analysis is undertaken to ascertain the function of Classic and Corner Eldon unifaces. The morphological analysis indicates that the tools were likely used to process medium to hard materials; however, the literature is rife with contraditctions on how to relate morphology with function. This questioned the reliability of a morphological approach to function and indicated that it needed to be supported by a usewear approach. The usewear analysis supported the inferences of the tools working medium to hard materials and also indicated how the tools were used (motion). Further, the usewear and morphological analyses also indicated that the Eldon unifaces were likely hafted.

No description available.

One of the most significant finds at the site of Blackman Eddy, Belize, is a series of superimposed structures that date between 1200 B.C.-A.D. 600 (calibrated). Because it was continuously occupied for over 1800 years, this site provides a unique opportunity to examine long-term socio-economic changes in the eastern Maya lowlands. This thesis is a diachronic study of the chipped stone tool artifacts of Blackman Eddy using technological, attribute, and use-wear analysis. The data collected for this study were examined to see what types of raw materials were used in tool production, what types of tools were produced, how they were produced, and what they were used for during the Middle Preclassic, Late Preclassic, and Classic periods. Each of the attributes studied in this thesis creates different opportunities and constraints for the various chipped stone tool industries of Blackman Eddy, and changes in chipped stone artifact attributes between the different structures may be indicative of socio-economic change over time.

Bedrock features represent various economic, social, and symbolic aspects of past societies, but have historically received little study, particularly in North America. Fortunately, new techniques for analyzing spatial configurations, use-wear, and organic residues are beginning to unlock more of the interpretive potential of these features. Though preliminary in nature, the present study contributes to this trend by documenting an application of lipid analysis to bedrock features in a dry rockshelter. Results of this initial application indicate that bedrock features in dry rockshelters may provide especially favorable conditions for the preservation and interpretation of ancient organic residues. Abundant lipids, comparable to concentrations present in some pottery sherds, were extracted from a bedrock grinding surface at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Though the lipids were highly oxidized, degradation products indicative of former unsaturated fatty acids were retained. Comparisons to experimentally aged residues, and absence of a known biomarker for maize, indicate that the bulk of the lipids preserved in the milling surface probably derive from processing an oily nut or seed resource, and not from processing maize. Substantially lower amounts of lipids were recovered from a small, blackened cupule. It is hypothesized that some portion of the lipids in the blackened cupule was deposited from condensed smoke of cooking and heating fires in the caves. Potential for the preservation of organic residues in similar sheltered bedrock contexts is discussed, and a practical method for sampling bedrock features in the field is described.

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.

At pre-ceramic archaeological sites, projectile points are the primary diagnostic tool used by archaeologists. This reliance is even more pronounced along the eastern slopes of Alberta and boreal forest environments of Canada. The acidity of the soils, cryoturbation, and other transformative factors almost always destroy all but the most durable cultural material. In order to obtain the best understanding of precontact lifeways under these conditions we need to recognize and appreciate the diagnostic qualities of all lithic artifacts, not just projectile points. The main goal of my thesis will be to look at one such artifact type. In Alberta, predominantly along the eastern slopes, there have been a number of new and unique artifact types recovered from the cultural resource management studies that have been carried out for several forestry companies, oil and gas operations, and coal industries. The one of particular interest for this thesis will be the Embarras Bipoint (Meyer et al. 2002, Meyer 2003; Roe 2005a, 2005b). <p> I intend to look at the geographical and temporal distribution of Embarras Bipoints. At present, Embarras Bipoints have been assigned to the Early Middle Period (7,500 to 5,000 B.P.). I will compile a data set of other large stone tools to compare to Embarras Bipoints. The theoretical approach will be chaîne opératoire which will be supplemented by the experimental replication of Embarras Bipoints. Ultimately, this technological study of Embarras Bipoints will demonstrate that when found in isolation, in the absence of diagnostic projectile points, or in any un-dateable context have the diagnostic qualities to further our understanding of the Early Middle Period along the Eastern Slopes of Alberta.

At pre-ceramic archaeological sites, projectile points are the primary diagnostic tool used by archaeologists. This reliance is even more pronounced along the eastern slopes of Alberta and boreal forest environments of Canada. The acidity of the soils, cryoturbation, and other transformative factors almost always destroy all but the most durable cultural material. In order to obtain the best understanding of precontact lifeways under these conditions we need to recognize and appreciate the diagnostic qualities of all lithic artifacts, not just projectile points. The main goal of my thesis will be to look at one such artifact type. In Alberta, predominantly along the eastern slopes, there have been a number of new and unique artifact types recovered from the cultural resource management studies that have been carried out for several forestry companies, oil and gas operations, and coal industries. The one of particular interest for this thesis will be the Embarras Bipoint (Meyer et al. 2002, Meyer 2003; Roe 2005a, 2005b). <p> I intend to look at the geographical and temporal distribution of Embarras Bipoints. At present, Embarras Bipoints have been assigned to the Early Middle Period (7,500 to 5,000 B.P.). I will compile a data set of other large stone tools to compare to Embarras Bipoints. The theoretical approach will be chaîne opératoire which will be supplemented by the experimental replication of Embarras Bipoints. Ultimately, this technological study of Embarras Bipoints will demonstrate that when found in isolation, in the absence of diagnostic projectile points, or in any un-dateable context have the diagnostic qualities to further our understanding of the Early Middle Period along the Eastern Slopes of Alberta.

The archaeological and technical questions about ancient stone tools lead to various research activities such as chemical and petrographical analysis. Considering research areas and publications it can be suggested that mineralogical studies of stone samples of ancient stone tools have disclosed useful information concerning identification of the stone. Within this context, aim of this study is to determine the chemical, mineralogical and petrographical identities of the stone samples of Karain Cave (Antalya). Most paleolithic caves show one specific time interval layer but Karain Cave shows lower-upper and middle layers which give information about the migration ways between Near East and Europe. Stone tools excavated from Karain Cave are not only first human remainings in Anatolia but also first artworks of Anatolian people.Most of the stone tools excavated from Karain Cave are cherts. These cherts were analysed for archeological aspects but mineralogical, petrographical, and chemical contents have not been analysed yet. During the excavations at the Karain Cave in Antalya many stone pieces in different sizes and colors had been found. In this study ten samples were examined. The methods used consists of thin section, X- ray powder diffraction , scanning - electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis , differential thermal analyses and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine material characteristics of the samples. Petrographically the nine of the samples are chert with some including radiolarian fossils. Microcrystalline &aacute / - quartz is the major mineral in the chert. Only one sample is composed calcite and is identified as micritic limestone. Chemical analysis reflect the typical composition of chert with the average values of / 40.9% Si and 1 sample is limestone, which is composed of 35.7% Ca . Minor elements are Fe, Al, K, and Ti in the samples. Thermal analysis is also supported the thin section studies.Further research is suggested for provenance analysis of stone tools from the Karain Cave.