A few good blades: An experimental test on the productivity of blade cores from the Casa Montero Early Neolithic flint mine (Madrid, Spain)
Keywords:
productivity, experimental test, blade production, Casa Montero flint mine, Early Neolithic
Abstract
Casa Montero flint mine (5337-5218 cal. BCE) was a production centre of blades that were probably distributed in a broad regional framework. Recent research on its lithic record has provided a method for the calculus of productivity for the blade cores based on the striking platform potential area. Taking into account several factors involved when discarding a blade for use it, the resulting ratio of useful blades per core was smaller than expected in contrast with the high number of cores abandoned in the site.
Shape, size and quality variability of raw material increased the difficulty of that approach. The blade reduction at Casa Montero was determined by the raw material variability within a core, the occurrence of raw material defects and knapping accidents and the presence of knappers with different skill levels. Most of the cores were discarded at different moments of the reduction process and only 40.5% reached the production of blades. The estimation results show a ratio of 3 to 20 blades per core. Nevertheless, an estimated amount of ~251,000 adequate blades were produced and potentially used in a time span of just a hundred years and in a context of very low population density as the Central Iberian Peninsula in Early Neolithic was.
In order to contrast the core productivity estimation method, an experimental test was carried out. This paper focuses on the results of this test, applying and adjusting the initial method.
References
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Eren, M.I., Greenspan, A. & Sampson, C.G. 2008, Are Upper Paleolithic blade cores more productive than Middle Paleolithic discoidal cores? A replication experiment, Journal of Human Evolution, 55: 952-961. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.07.009
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Gallet, M. 1998, Pour une technologie des débitages laminaires préhistoriques, Dossier de documentation archéologique Vol. 19, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Éditions, Paris, 180 p. (in French) (For a technology of prehistoric blade knapping)
Gibaja, J. F., Estremera, M. S., Ibáñez, J. J., & Perales, U. 2013, Instrumentos líticos tallados del asentamiento neolítico de La Vaquera (Segovia) empleados en actividades agrícolas, Zephyrvs, 70: 33-47. (in Spanish) (Knapped lithic tools from La Vaquera (Segovia) neolithic settlement used in farming activities) URL: http://revistas.usal.es/index.php/0514-7336/article/view/9326
Hayden, B., Franco, N. & Spafford, J. 1996, Evaluating lithic strategies and design criteria, In: Stone Tools: Theoretical Insights into Human Prehistory (Odell, G.H., Ed.), Plenum Press, New York: p. 9-45.
Marwick, B. 2008, What attributes are important for the measurement of assemblage reduction intensity? Results from an experimental stone artefact assemblage with relevance to the Hoabinhian of mainland Southeast Asia, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 1189-1200. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.08.007
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Roussel, M., Bourguignon, L. & Soressi, M. 2011, Las ‘bolas’ o ‘boules de caliza’ musterienses: ¿Percutores?, el ejemplo del ‘fasonado’ de las raederas bifaciales de Quina de Chez-Pinaud (Jonzac, Francia), In: La investigación experimental aplicada a la Arqueología (Morgado, A., Baena, J. & García, D., Eds.), Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, Granada: p. 69-76. (in Spanish) (The Mousterian “balls” or “limestone boules”: Hammers?, The façonnage of Quina bifacial scrapers from Chez-Pinaud (Jonzac, France))
Sheets, P.D. & Muto, G.R. 1972, Pressure blades and total cutting edge: An experiment in lithic technology, Science, 175: 632-634. doi:10.1126/science.175.4022.632
Tarantini, M., Galiberti, A. & Mazzarocchi, F., 2011, Prehistoric Flint Mines of the Gargano: An Overview, In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times. (Madrid, 14-17 October 2009) (Capote, M., Consuegra, S., Díaz-del-Río, P. & Terradas, X., Eds.), British Archaeological Reports International Series Vol. 2260, Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 253 264
Tarriño, A., Elorrieta, I., García-Rojas, M., Orue, Í. & Sánchez, A. 2014, Neolithic Flint Mines of Treviño (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain), Journal of Lithic Studies, 1(2): 129-147. doi:10.2218/jls.v1i2.1098
Bustillo, M. A., Castañeda, N., Capote, M., Consuegra, S., Criado, C., Díaz-Del-Río, P., Orozco, T., Pérez-Jiménez, J.L. & Terradas, X. 2009, Is The Macroscopic Classification of Flint Useful? A Petroarchaeological Analysis and Characterization of Flint Raw Materials from The Iberian Neolithic Mine of Casa Montero. Archaeometry, 51(2): 175-196. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2008.00403.x
Capote, M., Castañeda, N., Consuegra, S., Criado, C. & Díaz-Del-Río, P. 2008, Flint mining in Early Neolithic Iberia: A preliminary report on ‘Casa Montero’ (Madrid, Spain), In: Flint mining in prehistoric Europe: Interpreting the archaeological records. Papers presented at the 12th Annual Conference of the European Association of Archaeologists, Cracow (Poland) (Allard, P., Bostyn, F., Giligny, F. & Lech, J., Eds.), British Archaeological Reports International Series Vol. 1891. Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 123-137.
Castañeda, N. & Criado, C. 2006, La industria lítica de Casa Montero (Vicálvaro, Madrid); resultados preliminares. In: Do Epipaleolítico ao Calcolítico na Península Ibérica. Actas do IV Congresso de Arqueología Peninsular. Faro, 14 a 19 setembro de 2004. Universidade do Algarve, Faro (Portugal) (Ferreira Bicho, N. & Verísssimo, H., Eds.), Universidade do Algarve, Departamento de História, Arqueologia e Património, Centro de Estudos de Património, Faro: p. 229-234. (in Spanish) (Lithic industry from Casa Montero (Vicálvaro, Madrid); preliminar results)
Castañeda, N. 2014, El trabajo del sílex. La mina del Neolítico antiguo de Casa Montero (Madrid) y su Sistema Técnico. PhD. thesis no. 1887/18370 at the Faculty of Philosophy, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 626 p. (in Spanish) (Flint working. Early Neolithic mine of Casa Montero and its Technical System) URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10486/661865
Castañeda, N., Capote, M., Criado, C., Consuegra, S., Díaz-Del-Río, P., Terradas, X. & Orozco, T. 2008, Las cadenas operativas líticas de la mina de sílex de Casa Montero (Madrid), In: Actas del IV Congreso Neolítico Peninsular, Vol. 2 (Hernández Pérez, M.S, Soler Díaz, J.A., López Padilla, J.A.), Museo Arqueológico de Alicante (MARQ), Alicante: p. 231-234. (in Spanish) (The operative sequences from Casa Montero flint mine (Madrid))
Castañeda, N., Casas, C., Criado, C. & Nieto, A. 2015a, Las Cadenas Operativas de fabricación de instrumentos retocados en el conjunto lítico de Casa Montero (Madrid), In: 5.º Congresso do Neolítico Peninsular. Atas. Lisboa 6-8 abril 2011 (Gonçalves, V. S., Diniz, M. & Sousa, A. C., Eds.), UNIARQ (Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa), Lisbon: p. 474-479. (in Spanish) (Operative chaines for making retouched tools from the lithic assemblage of Casa Montero (Madrid))
Castañeda, N., Criado, C., Nieto, A. & Casas, C. 2015b, La producción laminar de Casa Montero (Madrid), In: 5.º Congresso do Neolítico Peninsular. Atas. Lisboa 6-8 abril 2011 (Gonçalves, V. S., Diniz, M. & Sousa, A. C., Eds.), UNIARQ (Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa), Lisbon: p. 480-484. (in Spanish) (Blade production from Casa Montero (Madrid))
Consuegra S., Gallego, M. M. & Castañeda, N. 2004, Minería neolítica en Casa Montero (Vicálvaro, Madrid), Trabajos de Prehistoria, 61(2): 121-140. (in Spanish) (Neolithic mining at Casa Montero (Vicálvaro, Madrid)) doi:10.3989/tp.2004.v61.i2.47
Criado, C., Castañeda, N., Capote, M., Bustillo, M. Á., Pérez-Jiménez, J. L., Consuegra, S., Díaz-del-Río, P., Orozco, T. & Terradas, X. 2010, El ‘sílex Casa Montero’: Estudio y caracterización, In: Minerales y Rocas en las sociedades de la Prehistoria (Domínguez-Bella, S., Ramos, J., Gutiérrez, J.M. & Pérez, M., Eds.), Grupo de Investigación HUM-440, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz: p. 187-198. (in Spanish) (The ‘Casa Montero Flint’: Study and characterization)
Díaz- del-Río, P. & Consuegra, S. 1999, Primeras evidencias de estructuras de habitación y almacenaje neolíticas en el entorno de la Campiña madrileña: El yacimiento de" La Deseada"(Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Madrid), In: II Congrés del Neolític a la Península Ibérica, SAGVNTVM Vol. Extra 2. University of Valencia, Valencia: p. 251-257. (in Spanish) (First evidences of hábitat and storage neolithic structures in Madrid countryside: The site of La Deseada (Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Madrid)) URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/15367
Díaz-del-Río, P. & Consuegra, S. 2011, Time for action. The chronology of mining events at Casa Montero (Madrid, Spain), In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times. (Madrid, 14-17 October 2009) (Capote, M., Consuegra, S., Díaz-del-Río, P. & Terradas, X., Eds.), British Archaeological Reports International Series Vol. 2260, Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 221-229.
Driscoll, K. & García-Rojas, M. 2014, Their lips are sealed: Identifying hard stone, soft stone, and antler hammer direct percussion in Palaeolithic prismatic blade production, Journal of Archaeological Science, 47: 134-141. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.008
Eren, M.I., Greenspan, A. & Sampson, C.G. 2008, Are Upper Paleolithic blade cores more productive than Middle Paleolithic discoidal cores? A replication experiment, Journal of Human Evolution, 55: 952-961. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.07.009
Estremera, M. S. 2003, Primeros agricultores y ganaderos en la Meseta Norte: El Neolítico de la Cueva de La Vaquera (Torreiglesias, Segovia), Memorias de Arqueología en Castilla y León Vol. 11, Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación y Cultura, Zamora, 320 p. (in Spanish) (First farmers in North Meseta: The Neolithic at Cueva de la Vaquera (Torreiglesias, Segovia))
Gallet, M. 1998, Pour une technologie des débitages laminaires préhistoriques, Dossier de documentation archéologique Vol. 19, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Éditions, Paris, 180 p. (in French) (For a technology of prehistoric blade knapping)
Gibaja, J. F., Estremera, M. S., Ibáñez, J. J., & Perales, U. 2013, Instrumentos líticos tallados del asentamiento neolítico de La Vaquera (Segovia) empleados en actividades agrícolas, Zephyrvs, 70: 33-47. (in Spanish) (Knapped lithic tools from La Vaquera (Segovia) neolithic settlement used in farming activities) URL: http://revistas.usal.es/index.php/0514-7336/article/view/9326
Hayden, B., Franco, N. & Spafford, J. 1996, Evaluating lithic strategies and design criteria, In: Stone Tools: Theoretical Insights into Human Prehistory (Odell, G.H., Ed.), Plenum Press, New York: p. 9-45.
Marwick, B. 2008, What attributes are important for the measurement of assemblage reduction intensity? Results from an experimental stone artefact assemblage with relevance to the Hoabinhian of mainland Southeast Asia, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 1189-1200. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.08.007
Pelegrin, J. 2000, Les techniques de débitage laminaire au Tardiglaciaire: Critères de diagnose et quelques réflexions. In: L’Europe Centrale et Septentrionale au Tardiglaciaire. Confrontation des modèles régionaux: Actes de la table-ronde internationale de Nemours 14-15-16 mai 1997 (Valentin, B., Bodu, P. & Christensen, M., Eds.), Mémoires de le Musée de Préhistoire de l’Île-de-France Vol. 7, Association pour la Promotion de la Recherche Archéologique en Ile de France (APRAIF), Nemours: p. 73-86. (in French) (Blade knapping techniques in the Late Glacial period: Criteria for diagnosis and some reflections)
Renfrew, C. & Bahn, P. 2000, Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, Thames and Hudson, New York, 640 p.
Roussel, M., Bourguignon, L. & Soressi, M. 2011, Las ‘bolas’ o ‘boules de caliza’ musterienses: ¿Percutores?, el ejemplo del ‘fasonado’ de las raederas bifaciales de Quina de Chez-Pinaud (Jonzac, Francia), In: La investigación experimental aplicada a la Arqueología (Morgado, A., Baena, J. & García, D., Eds.), Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, Granada: p. 69-76. (in Spanish) (The Mousterian “balls” or “limestone boules”: Hammers?, The façonnage of Quina bifacial scrapers from Chez-Pinaud (Jonzac, France))
Sheets, P.D. & Muto, G.R. 1972, Pressure blades and total cutting edge: An experiment in lithic technology, Science, 175: 632-634. doi:10.1126/science.175.4022.632
Tarantini, M., Galiberti, A. & Mazzarocchi, F., 2011, Prehistoric Flint Mines of the Gargano: An Overview, In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times. (Madrid, 14-17 October 2009) (Capote, M., Consuegra, S., Díaz-del-Río, P. & Terradas, X., Eds.), British Archaeological Reports International Series Vol. 2260, Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 253 264
Tarriño, A., Elorrieta, I., García-Rojas, M., Orue, Í. & Sánchez, A. 2014, Neolithic Flint Mines of Treviño (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain), Journal of Lithic Studies, 1(2): 129-147. doi:10.2218/jls.v1i2.1098
Published
15-Sep-2016
How to Cite
Castañeda, N. (2016). A few good blades: An experimental test on the productivity of blade cores from the Casa Montero Early Neolithic flint mine (Madrid, Spain). Journal of Lithic Studies, 3(2), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.v3i2.1435
Issue
Section
ISKM 2015 - Barcelona - Research Articles
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