Search

Recent syntheses for the Long Island Sound region argue for long-term cultural continuity amongst Holocene coastal hunter-gatherers. These notions derive primarily from studies of quartz lithic assemblages, which archaeologists argue show structural stasis over time. The remaining variability is explained with a 'distance to source' model in which near-coastal sites tend to show a lack of quartz conservation while interior sites show quartz recycling. Under this model, technological strategies traditionally associated with raw material conservation (e.g., bipolar reduction) should not occur at near-coastal sites. We test the 'distance to source' model by reexamining a quartz lithic assemblage from Eagle's Nest-Long Island's richest Holocene coastal hunter-gatherer site. We find conclusive evidence for bipolar reduction in the site's "block/shatter" materials. Toolmakers used bipolar reduction to conserve raw material. Toolmakers also used anvils and bipolar reduction to open quartz cobbles, to stabilize freehand cores, to efficiently access cutting edges, and possibly to create crushed coarse quartz temper for pottery production. Our results point to previously unrecognized aspects of behavioral variability in the Eagle's Nest lithic assemblage and to possible revision of the 'distance to source' model. Similar variability may be present at other North American sites with quartz "block/shatter" material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present experimental data examining the energetics and identification of axial bipolar reduction in contexts of lithic miniaturization on milky quartz. These experiments answer two specific questions. First, does bipolar reduction provide any benefits over freehand reduction? Second, can axial bipolar reduction be distinguished from freehand reduction? Our data show that bipolar reduction requires significantly less time to reduce a percentage unit of core mass and to produce a millimeter of cutting edge on milky quartz than freehand reduction. Milky quartz bipolar reduction surpasses even the cutting edge production efficiency of obsidian pressure blades. We outline a series of quantitative criteria for identifying bipolar cores and flakes. Our results show that bipolar cores and flakes can be distinguished from those produced using freehand reduction by quantifying platform crushing, distal flake rebound scars, bulb shearing, as well as axial, bipolar, and splintered flake terminations. Our results challenge the widely held perceptions about the wastefulness of bipolar reduction and provide clear guidelines for identifying this reduction strategy in archaeological milky quartz assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar reduction is usually connected with quartz material, and the less predictable fracture of quartz makes the recognition of bipolar products highly uncertain. At Zhoukoudian locality 1 (ZKD1) in north China, numerous bipolar reduction artifacts were reported, and this has become a major technological label of the lithic industry. However, few experimental analyses have been conducted on this site. This study conducted experimental analysis to build an experimental referential framework for distinguishing bipolar products, and then chose a small lithic artifact sample from layers 4–5 to evaluate the role of bipolar reduction. These data show freehand reduction produces a higher percentage of usable flakes and also more cutting edges per flake than that by bipolar reduction in general. More freehand reduction flakes were chosen as tool blanks than bipolar flakes. The contribution of the bipolar flaking method to the lithic industry of Zhoukoudian locality 1 has been overestimated. This paper proposes that bipolar reduction is likely to have been an expedient strategy as a supplement of freehand reduction at Zhoukoudian locality 1. Consequently, it should be seen as an adaptive characteristic of the industry instead of an evolutionary one, and also cannot be used to trace technological diffusion or cultural tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithic assemblage of the Pont-de-Lavaud site (Indre, France) shows a technical choice within the Lower Pleistocene European Mode 1 sites, which is defined by the widespread use of the bipolar-on-anvil knapping technique. Although it is traditionally considered an expedient percussion method, in this lithic assemblage a selective technical behavior regarding the reduction methods and raw material is identified. In this respect, different knapping methods are applied in accordance with a combination of the percussion axis and the recurrence of the reduction series. These features are also observed in the archaeological record from other Lower and Middle Pleistocene sites, which are discussed in the text. The role of this knapping technique in the hominin technology is, in our opinion, greater than previously believed. Its implementation cannot be considered as proof of opportunistic or expedient activities. The bipolar-on-anvil technique is applied in different contexts, on different raw materials and as a technical choice or gesture in the reduction sequences. Because of its low technical requirements, it can be considered as a successful technological strategy for overcoming raw material constraints for producing some specific types of pieces. Its ubiquitous presence, both from a diachronic and geographical point of view, is proof of its considerable technical versatility and, hence, of Mode 1 hominin technological flexibility and capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]