Lithic artifacts

Crystalline Iron ore gemstone, making lithic artifacts... 

Human culture can be observed in the physical artifacts of the past. Even without recorded histories, the partial record of materials that have survived the ravages of time provides us with insight into ancient times. The oldest surviving materials are human bones and the simple stone artifacts that are evidence of ancient workmanship. The stone (or lithic) tools can be used to describe early culture. Whether we study the rough chipped-stone implements of the Paleolithic era or the finer microblade tools of the Neolithic era, it is clear that early humans knew the mechanical properties of many natural materials. It was not until much later that the methods of chemical transformation were learned. 

Chemical methods can sometimes be used to distinguish between stone artifacts that are made with very similar materials. Lithic raw materials were chosen because of properties, such as hardness, that depend upon crystallinity and chemical composition. Geochemical processes determine both the chemical composition and physical properties of the rock. In many cases, lithic artifacts do not require chemical analysis to show that they are made from different materials. A simple visual examination is frequently sufficient. 

In Chapter 2, Hancock, Pavlish, and Sheppard give an example of a case in which visual examination of stone tools was not adequate to differentiate between lithic artifacts that were produced from rocks that were very different in their origins. During the Mesolithic and early Neolithic times, the inhabitants of what is now Portugal used a variety of materials. Although most of the stone tools were classified by the archaeologists as sedimentary cherts, Hancock concluded that many tools were made of volcanic rhyolite. 

Lithic artifacts were collected from three sites south of the industrial town of Sines along the western coast of the southern Portuguese Alentejo province (see Map I). Two of these sites, Samouqueira and Palheiroes do Alegra, are 30 km apart on cliffs above the modem sea shore the third site, Fiais, is 12... 

One important group of lithic artifacts are those made of the softer stones such as steatite. These cultural objects are in general symbolic or decorative objects or are used as containers. These objects reflect an expansion of activities beyond the immediate quest for food. Soapstone is particularly interesting because it occurs in relatively few areas and yet was widely used. Its utility comes from its soft, easily carvable texture and its coeflBcient of thermal expansion which allows heating without cracking. 

While some caution must still be used in interpreting how closely samples must match, it is clear that analysis of the REE in soapstone can be used to obtain new information about the utilization of lithic resources. The reasons that this group of elements can identify the source of soapstone are geochemical. Soapstone is a relatively rare lithic resource formed by fairly complex metamorphic processes which leave a "fingerprint in terms of the trace element content. The distribution of material with this "fingerprint will help archaeologists to imderstand the process and pattern patterns of resource procurement. However, the examples discussed above show that it is also important to know age of the artifacts to interpret the geographical distribution patterns. 

Despite its harsh arctic and subarctic climate, the coast of present-day Labrador has been the home of peoples from several cultural traditions for over 7000 years. Most of the archaeological evidence— the tools and implements left by the prehistoric inhabitants of this area— consists of a variety of lithic (rock) artifacts. The variety of naturally occurring lithic materials utilized indicates that these prehistoric peoples were keen observers of their environment. As in many other parts of the world, the Indian and Eskimo peoples along the Labrador coast found and used the relatively soft, carvable soapstone. Soapstone is a hydrous... 

Evidence of plummet manufacture was not observed from survey and test excavations at the quarry (3). There is no evidence for soapstone utilization by other Indian cultures in the area. Although no lithic tools, which are diagnostic of the Dorset culture, were found at Fleur de Lys, the preform morphology observed in the quarry corresponds to finished Dorset vessels in size and shape. Thus the consistent and uniform technology of soapstone extraction observed at Fleur de Lys is assumed to be only that of the Dorset people. Association of artifacts from dated archaeological sites may provide some indication of the length of time that the quarry was in use. 

Lithic assemblage The complete set of stone artifacts found at an archaeological site. 

Lithics A generic term used for stone artifacts in archaeology and more specifically for flaked stone artifacts. 

Lithics Study of stone artifacts, such as tools or weapons. 

Ten obsidian artifacts each were also selected from two sites in northern Corsica. The Cardial Early Neolithic levels at Strette included over 1000 lithic artifacts, with over 11 % in obsidian the ten artifacts selected came from level XIV of Strette 1 (39, 40). The 24 obsidian artifacts excavated in level VI at Pietracorbara, however, comprised only about 6% of the lithic assemblage there (41). 

Fourteen obsidian artifacts from the small islet of La Scola near Pianosa in the Tuscan Archipelago were also analyzed. About 20% of the 1500 lithics recovered are in obsidian, and they are predominantly microliths with no retouch and showing only the faintest traces of use (42, 43). The analyzed obsidian was recovered from units BC 11-12 1/3 A12 tg3 (13) and A8-9-10 B12, all associated with Cardial ceramics. 

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