Lithic variability and raw material exploitation at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Gotera, southern Ethiopia: A combined technological and quantitative approach
a combined technological and quantitative approach
Abstract
Technological variability within East African Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic assemblages is considered a reflection of regional or local identities. These identities are a possible outcome of different social dynamics in human populations or interaction with the environment. Here we analysed the lithic assemblage from GOT 1-S site, in the Gotera area (Southern Ethiopia) in order to integrate fresh data from the region into the broader discussion on the technological variability of the MSA of Eastern Africa. To reach this goal, we considered lithic data from a surface dispersion, through the combination of different methods. Technological and statistical analyses performed on lithic assemblage suggest the existence of two distinct reduction sequences related to different raw materials: quartz and basalt. The technological analysis shows a more opportunistic reduction strategy on basalt artefacts, while the quartz lithic assemblage exhibits a more accurate preparation of core striking platforms and more predetermined products. The results of technological analyses on flakes, tools and cores were elaborated using Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The two analyses allowed to confirm the hypothesis of two reduction strategies according to different raw material selection and managing. Furthermore, the categorical attributes from cores and flakes were processed by means of Correspondence Analysis, highlighting the technological differences linked to the different raw materials exploited. Moreover, the combined results from the technological and statistical analyses proved the validity of this integrated methodology to analyse a lithic collection from a surface context.
References
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Chavaillon, N. & Chavaillon, J. 1985, Gotera : un site paléolithique récent d'Ethiopie. Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, Paris, 58 p. (in French) (“Gotera: A Late Paleolithic site in Ethiopia”)
Clark, J.D. 1988, The Middle Stone Age of East Africa and the beginnings of regional identity. Journal of World Prehistory, 2(3): 235-305. doi:10.1007/BF00975618
Clarke, D.L. 1968, Analytical Archaeology. Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, 684 p.
Davidson, A. 1983, The Omo river project, reconnaissance geology and geochemistry of parts of Ilubabor, Kefa, Gemu Gofa and Sidamo, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Bulletin, 2: 1-89.
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Foley, R. & Mirazón Lahr, M. 1997, Mode 3 Technologies and the Evolution of Modern Humans. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 7(1): 3-36. doi:10.1017/S0959774300001451
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R Core Team 2021, R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, 3569p.
Richter, D., Grün, R., Joannes-Boyau, R., Steele, T.E., Amani, F., Rué, M., Fernandes, P., Raynal, J.-P., Geraads, D., Ben-Ncer, A., Hublin, J.-J. & McPherron, S.P. 2017, The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age. Nature, 546(7657): 293-296. doi:10.1038/nature22335
Scerri, E.M.L. 2013, The Aterian and its place in the North African Middle Stone Age. Quaternary International, 300: 111-130. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.09.008
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Scerri, E.M.L., Gravina, B., Blinkhorn, J. & Delagnes, A. 2016, Can Lithic Attribute Analyses Identify Discrete Reduction Trajectories? A Quantitative Study Using Refitted Lithic Sets. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 23(2): 669-691. doi:10.1007/s10816-015-9255-x
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Scerri, E.M.L. 2018, The origin of our species. New Scientist, 238(3175): 34-37. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(18)30756-5
Scerri, E.M.L., Thomas, M.G., Manica, A., Gunz, P., Stock, J.T., Stringer, C., Grove, M., Groucutt, H.S., Timmermann, A., Rightmire, G.P., d’Errico, F., Tryon, C.A., Drake, N.A., Brooks, A.S., Dennell, R.W., Durbin, R., Henn, B.M., Lee-Thorp, J., deMenocal, P., Petraglia, M.D., Thompson, J.C., Scally, A. & Chikhi, L. 2018, Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(8): 582-594. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005
Scerri, E.M.L. & Spinapolice, E.E. 2019, Lithics of the North African Middle Stone Age: Assumptions, evidence and future directions. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 97: 9-43. doi:10.4436/jass.97002
Scerri, E. M., Chikhi, L., & Thomas, M. G. 2019. Beyond multiregional and simple out-of-Africa models of human evolution. Nature ecology & evolution, 3(10): 1370-1372. doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0992-1
Shea, J.J., Fleagle, J.G. & Assefa, Z. 2007, Context and Chronology of Early Homo sapiens Fossils from the Omo Kibish Formation, Ethiopia. In: Rethinking the human revolution. New behavioural and biological perspectives on the origin and dispersal of modern humans (Mellars, P., Boyle, K., Bar-Yosef, O. & Stringer, C., Eds.) McDonald Institute Monographs, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, UK: p. 153-164.
Shott, M.J. 1994, Size and form in the analysis of flake debris: Review and recent approaches. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 1(1): 69-110. doi:10.1007/BF02229424
Spinapolice, E.E. 2020, Lithic variability and cultures in the East African MSA. In: Culture History and Convergent Evolution: Can We Detect Populations in Prehistory? (Groucutt, H.S., Ed.) Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Springer International Publishing: p. 87-102. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-46126-3_5
Spinapolice, E.E., Gallinaro, M. & Zerboni, A. 2017, New Investigations in Southern Ethiopia (Yabelo and Gotera): Pleistocene and Holocene Archaeological Evidence. Scienze dell'Antichità, 23(1): 37-47.
Stringer, C. 2016, The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1698): 20150237. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0237
Stringer, C. & Galway-Witham, J. 2017, On the origin of our species. Nature, 546(7657): 212-214. doi:10.1038/546212a
Tostevin, G.B. 2012, Seeing Lithics: A Middle-Range Theory for Testing for Cultural Transmission in the Pleistocene. American School of Prehistoric Research monograph series. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 608 p.
Tryon, C.A. & Faith, J.T. 2013, Variability in the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa. Current Anthropology, 54(S8): S234-S254. doi:10.1086/673752
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Published
15-Mar-2021
How to Cite
Fusco, M., Carletti, E., Gallinaro, M., Zerboni, A., & Spinapolice, E. (2021). Lithic variability and raw material exploitation at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) site of Gotera, southern Ethiopia: A combined technological and quantitative approach. Journal of Lithic Studies, 8(1), 29 p. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.6530
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Section
Research articles from the MetroArcheo conference
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