Lithic artifacts and the production of metallic goods. A case of study in northwestern Argentina

Beyond use-wear traces. Going from tools to people by means of archaeological wear an residue analyses , 2021

The objective of our research is start to understand the processes of knapping and the use of lithic artefacts involved in the production of metallic goods in the Rincon Chico 15 metallurgical workshop, located in the Andean region of north-western Argentina, during the Late Period (ca. 900‑1500 AD). The approach combines the complementary perspective of experimental work with native copper and the use-wear analysis of lithic artefacts. Such an approach has never been carried out in technological studies of Argentine archaeology and the available information on the subject for the southern region of the Andes is very limited. The results obtained so far have allowed us to begin to recognize the diversity of traces present in lithic artefacts that could indicate their use at different stages of the production of metal goods in the workshop. We consider as an initial hypothesis that some of the recorded microscopic traces occurred during deformation, rolling or polishing work in native copper and tin bronze. Trace analysis also allowed us to observe the presence of impregnations unknown so far in other artefacts from metallurgical contexts in local archaeology.

2016

This article analyses the relationship between the characteristics of the raw materials and the cutting edges of Sierra de Atapuerca lithic tools during the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. In previous publications, we have analysed how the cutting edge and weight of a tool determine its cutting efficiency and the amount of force it is capable of applying. In this paper, we aim to complete that study with an analysis of the influence of the physical-mechanical aptitudes of the raw materials on these edges. The analysis of the qualities of the raw materials, their influence on the development of knapping processes and the final formats of the tool edges inform us about their suitability for producing edges with certain potential capacities. The relationship between morpho-potential elements (length, angle, resistance, etc.) and the qualities of the raw materials has not been empirically studied under explicitly stated experimental conditions in materials from the Palaeolithic era in Europe. This study maintains that the characteristics of raw materials are of fundamental importance in determining the potential uses of these lithic assemblages.

Malgré le caractère inhabituel de son système de référence, la Préhistoire et avant tout une histoire des techniques Leroi-Gourhan, 1962 The behavioural significance of lithic production, even though intensively investigated, is still mostly unsolved, while the vivacious discussion in the scientific community has brought to elaborate diverse methods and to develop many typological schemes. Investigating about the relationship between stone tools production and human behaviour deals with the reconstruction of techniques and functions and aims to reconstruct the economical choices performed by past humans. The overall interface of these main issues would aim, in the very end, to reconstruct veritable economic strategies and social dynamics performed by human groups who interacted with given environmental settings. In this sense stone tools production and their function are probably some of the most fundamental issues which directly deal with the material traces of past human activities, mingling the strict survival commitments related to evaluation of costs and benefits of a series of actions in order to get the goal. By establishing a cause-effect relationship between human labour and matter to be transformed, by means of integrated approaches to the study of lithic assemblages it is possible to model an answer to basic questions for scholars who deals with prehistoric activities: why, how, what is being produced? In the last phase of the investigative process it is worth to ask for the human group and the time in which all the actions had been performed. In this heuristic, cultural labelling came definitely at last.

Quaternary International. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.049, 2014

Lithic resources at the Central Plateau of Santa Cruz (Argentina) are abundant, ubiquitous and of very good quality for knapping. They have been exploited by hunter–gatherer societies since the latest Pleistocene until the Late Holocene. The study of their distribution, availability, and ways of exploitation at the quarries, together with the information stemming from the archaeological sites, enable the understanding of the first stages of tool production and consumption. In this paper, two quarries from La María Archaeological Locality (Cantera de Sílex de CDM and Cantera Bosque Petrificado) are studied and compared. Their geomorphologic location is described. The lithological characteristics of the outcrops, the size of the stones, and the variability of raw materials available at them are also addressed. The accessibility and visibility of the quarries are analyzed. The way raw materials were exploited at the sources is evaluated taking into consideration their relationship with the local and regional structure of lithic resources. The information generated for the quarries is complemented and compared with the local trends identified for the habitation sites. This enabled the formulation of a general model about the first stages of production. Although the quarries have different types of raw materials (flint and silicified wood), results show that similar technological strategies were implemented in them. These are in agreement with the general trend at the local and regional levels. Both sources are easily accessible from the surrounding landscape. They are visible from nearby areas. Probably, they were exploited mainly from nearby sites. At the quarries, the first stages of tool production were performed: core decortication and preparation and the production of blanks. The acquisition of raw material involved the selection of good quality nodules and boulders and the production of polyhedral cores knapped in multiple directions. These cores could be transported to the habitation sites or could be discarded in situ while still presenting active platforms. On the other hand, differences in some procurement practices might be related to decisions and variations linked to the particular characteristics of the resources in both outcrops.

2023

A l’occasion de ce workshop couplant présentations et expérimentations, nous souhaitons porter au cœur de nos réflexions, en plus du métal, l’usage des matériaux et outils qui permettent l’extraction, l’élaboration et le recyclage des matières métalliques autant que des déchets. Cette approche se double d’une réflexion sur l’interdisciplinarité de notre pratique de l’expérimentation archéologique qui associe archéologues, archéomètres et historiens autour de l’objet et du texte. Cette approche par les matières métalliques autant que par les matières minérales et organiques se veut diachronique et ouverte à différentes aires culturelles. Cette ouverture qui caractérise les travaux expérimentaux conduits sur la plateforme permet des inter comparaisons fructueuses dans une visée transdisciplinaire cultivée de longue date au sein de l’IRAMAT. Le WS se tiendra en hybride. Il est ouvert à tous. Les personnes inscrites pour assister en distanciel recevront un lien peu avant le workshop.

Revista d'arqueologia …, 2008

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Although stone artefacts represent the first tools and the earliest objects studied by archaeologists, they often have been considered as little informative when it comes to later prehistory. However, the study of lithic industries from the Metal Ages has seen a gradual development which has shown their potential: not just regarding the characterisation of societies that produce and use stone tools but also for approaching, from a broader perspective, the subject of technological change. Even if they are summarily labelled as stone tools, there are some significant differences regarding the raw materials used, the techniques and manufacturing methods employed, and their functions. In recognition of these differences, this session is organised in two distinct parts, the first part is dedicated to the flaked stone industries and the second part to the macrolithic stone tools used by metalworkers. In the study of protohistorical and early historical times, the general indifference towards late lithic industries, and the idea that the replacement of stone by metal was a self-evident and automatic process, explains why, traditionally, archaeologists focused on the new materials and technologies related to their productions. Lithic industries were largely neglected and considered a remnant of prehistoric traditions. Although chipped-stone tools were recognized as a component of the material culture of the Metal Ages, lithic industries did not interest archaeologists working on protohistorical and early historical societies, or the Palaeolithic and Neolithic flint tool specialists. The limited importance given to lithic productions as an expression of cultural identities of protohistorial and early historical societies leads the archaeologists

Journal of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2013