stone

The Process of Making Schist Axes of Paja Ul Deˀŋ – “The People of Big Water”

Alexander Akulov (RU)
Paja Ul Deˀŋ [padʒaul’deˀŋ] “The People of Big Water” is a conventional and compact name given to Neolithic inhabitants of the territories of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region in their hypothetical reconstructed language (it is possible to state that these people spoke a language that was very close to Yeniseian languages). Paja Ul Deˀŋ made axes/adzes mainly of schist, a process that takes...

Hafted Tool-use Experiments with Australian Aboriginal Plant Adhesives: Triodia Spinifex, Xanthorrhoea Grass Tree and Lechenaultia divaricata Mindrie

V. Rots (BE),
E. Hayes (AU),
K. Akerman (AU),
P. Green (AU),
C. Clarkson (AU),
C. Lepers (BE),
L. Bordes (FR),
C. McAdams (AU),
E. Foley (AU) and
R. Fullagar (AU)
Hafted stone tools commonly figure in Australian archaeology but hafting traces and manufacture processes are infrequently studied. The Aboriginal processing of resin from Xanthorrhoea (Sol. Ex Sm.) grass tree, Triodia (R.Br.) spinifex and Lechenaultia divaricata (F.Muell.)...

Keep it in your own Backyard: New Experimental Perspectives on Domestic Iron Age Lithic Industries in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

María José Gonzalez,
Martín Cuenca and
Borja Rey Seoane (ES)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Both knapped and polished lithic industries have traditionally been given great regard within the archaeological studies of northwestern Iberian Peninsula, mostly focusing on their typologies and the materials used. However, this has not been the case with other stone objects, such as rolling stones, that tend to appear in...

Stone & Metal: Experimental reproduction of a stone monument of the Metal Age, Located between Liguria and Tuscany (Italy)

Edoardo Ratti (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The Italian region of Lunigiana, is located between Liguria and Tuscany, and is rich in stone statues which were worked from the third millennium B.C. until the beginning of the historical period, around the 6th century B.C. (Anati, 1981). Eighty statues have been collected and show stylized male and female characters...

Basalt Handaxes: Preliminarily Testing the Lithic Translation Strategy Hypothesis and Comparisons with the Fontana Ranuccio Site Bifacial Tools

Giorgio Chelidonio (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The oldest bifacial “handaxes” known so far belong to the “Kokiselei 4” site, dated to 1.76 Ma (West Turkana, Kenya; Texier, 2018). They have been manufactured by direct lithic percussion on magmatic effusive stone materials. Considering that the evolution of “fully operational intelligence” (Wynn, 1979) has been associated with the so-called...

Spinning in Circles: the Production and Function of Upper Palaeolithic Rondelles

A. Needham,
A. Langley,
H. Benton,
S. Biggs,
J. Cousen,
A. Derry,
M. Hardman,
K. Macy,
D. Millar,
E. Murray,
F. Pock,
J. Rowsell,
M. Sandin Catacora,
G. Van Oordt,
D. Veitch-Scoggins and
A. Little (UK)
Rondelles are thin, circular disc cut-outs typically made from the blade of the scapula of medium sized ungulates, such as horse or cervid. These are primarily associated with the Late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian and focused around northwest Europe. Rondelles are frequently...

Obituary: Peter Kelterborn (4 July 1928 – 9 March 2017)

Kurt Altorfer (CH)
On 9 March 2017, Peter Kelterborn, Swiss civil engineer and experimental archaeologist closed his eyes for good at the age of 89. He was known to many of his colleagues through his well-researched works on prehistorical flint and rock technology, but also from his methodological scientific experiments in archaeology. Many cherished him as a modest and thoughtful colleague, friend and counsellor...

Research, Experimentation and Outreach in the Early Neolithic Site of La Draga (Banyoles-Spain)

A. Palomo,
R. Piqué,
X. Terradas,
J. A. Barceló,
J. A. Rodríguez,
M. Buch,
J. Junkmanns,
M. de Diego and
O. López (ES)
The exceptional preservation of organic material in the early Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles, north-east Iberian Peninsula) has allowed lines of research that had rarely been undertaken in the region. The research project carried out at the site of La Draga involves experimental archaeology as a...

Cooking in Baskets Using Hot Rocks

Jonathan Thornton (US)
Baskets are among the most ancient of human artefacts. Everyone is familiar with their most common functions as containers for transport and storage. When told that baskets have also served as cooking vessels, most people will be unable to conceive of how this is possible, yet this was a primary function of baskets for many cultures of the past, and some until the present...