An Experimental Study of Bipolar and Freehand Knapping of Naibor Soit Quartz from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). Issue 4 (20th October 2011)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Diez-Martín, Fernando; Yustos, Policarpo Sánchez; Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel; Prendergast, Mary E.
• Is Part Of: American antiquity. Volume 76: Issue 4(2011)
• Page Start: 690
• Page End: 708
• Publication Date: 2011-10-20
• Subjects: North America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- North America -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- America -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- America -- Periodicals; North America -- History -- Periodicals; America -- History -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 970
• DOI: 10.7183/0002-7316.76.4.690
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7316

Abstract

Abstract : Recent excavations carried out in several Bed I and Bed II sites have shown that hominins at Olduvai Gorge used both bipolar and freehand knapping methods for quartz reduction. Due to the petrographic nature of quartz and to its heterogeneous response to fracture, the identification of bipolar knapping at any given site can be ambiguous and controversial. This work aims to overcome this problem by developing an experimental referential framework for the recognition of characteristic features of flakes produced through both bipolar and freehand reduction of Naibor Soit quartz cores. The final goal of this work is to use a set of variables related to the response of local Olduvai quartz to freehand and bipolar fracture, obtained through two independent controlled experiments, in order to statistically differentiate the diagnostic technological traits that best indicate bipolar reduction on this raw material type.