What is it about?
Stone tool use is a significant milestone in human evolution. Using mediation analysis, we show that toolmakers can control stone flakes' size and shape by manipulating platform width. This is a variable previously thought to be of minimal relevance.
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Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Our study shows for the first time how platform width can be incorporated into models of stone flake formation. This information clarifies the process by which ancient humans controlled stone flake morphology in stone tool making by changing the striking platform surface. With this knowledge, we show that Neanderthals effectively applied different technological strategies to control flake size and shape 100-60 thousand years ago.
Perspectives
This article shows the significant potential of using cross-disciplinary knowledge (Hertzian cone properties from fracture mechanics) and techniques (mediation analysis from the social sciences) to clarify long-standing questions in Paleolithic archaeology and stone tool research.
Sam Lin
University of Wollongong
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The mediating effect of platform width on the size and shape of stone flakes, PLoS ONE, January 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262920.
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Resources
On the cutting-edge of stone-age technology
Media release about a study that maps the evolutionary efficiency of stone tool technology over the past two million years.
Two million years of flaking stone and the evolutionary efficiency of stone tool technology
A major study mapping the evolutionary efficiency of stone tool technology over the last two million years.
A Synthesis of the Dibble et al. Controlled Experiments into the Mechanics of Lithic Production
A review and synthesis of recent mechanical experiments on stone flake formation.
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