Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.025

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	Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean
	Li, Hao 1,2; Kuman, Kathleen 2; Leader, George M.3; Couzens, Raymond 2
	2018-06-30
发表期刊	QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
ISSN	1040-6182
卷号	480 页码:29-42
文章类型	Article
摘要	As a characteristic component of the Acheulean Complex that is particularly significant in understanding the technological behaviour of early hominids, handaxes have been extensively discussed for a very long time. However, the fundamental question of temporal trends in handaxe technology is still debated in current research. To contribute to the further understanding of this question, we present a quantitative study of the technology and morphology of handaxes from two sites widely separated in time-the Rietputs 15 earlier Acheulean ca 1.3 Ma, and the Cave of Hearths later Acheulean ca 0.5 Ma. Results show that the technological practice of handaxe manufacture is consistent and conservative through time in these two sites, despite significant differences in raw materials. These commonalities include the ability to detach large flakes, to shape many handaxes with bifacial flaking, and to apply both primary and secondary flaking in shaping and edge refinement. However, there is an increased investment in the time and energy devoted to flaking of the younger Acheulean handaxe sample. Temporal differences in the morphology of handaxes between the two assemblages are not shown in most metrical attributes and indices used in this study. In contrast, extensive variability is observed at the intra-assemblage level in both samples, with Cave of Hearths showing relatively more variability. We argue that the conservatism and variability shown in the handaxes from these two sites widely separated in time are a reflection of the shared and long-lasting success of the Acheulean technological tradition and its flexibility of adaptation to different subsistence niches. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
关键词	Early Acheulean Later Acheulean Handaxes Rietputs 15 Cave Of Hearths Conservatism And Variability
WOS标题词	Science & Technology ; Physical Sciences
DOI	10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.025
关键词[WOS]	DANJIANGKOU RESERVOIR REGION ; LARGE CUTTING TOOLS ; CENTRAL CHINA ; QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS ; USE-LIFE ; EVOLUTION ; TECHNOLOGY ; ARCHAEOLOGY ; SYMMETRY ; PERSPECTIVE
收录类别	SCI ; SSCI
语种	英语
项目资助者	Chinese Academy of Sciences Pioneer Hundred Talents Program ; China-South Africa Bilateral Programme in Palaeosciences, through the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2007DFB20330) ; National Research Foundation of South Africa(68625) ; NRF(88480)
WOS研究方向	Physical Geography ; Geology
WOS类目	Geography, Physical ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS记录号	WOS:000433229100004
出版者	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/8415
专题	中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所
通讯作者	Li, Hao
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Key Lab Vertebrate Evolut & Human Origins, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 2.Univ Witwatersrand, Sch Geog Archaeol & Environm Studies, ZA-2050 Johannesburg Wits, South Africa 3.Univ Penn, Dept Anthropol, 3260 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Li, Hao,Kuman, Kathleen,Leader, George M.,et al. Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean[J]. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL,2018,480:29-42.
APA	Li, Hao,Kuman, Kathleen,Leader, George M.,&Couzens, Raymond.(2018).Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean.QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL,480,29-42.
MLA	Li, Hao,et al."Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean".QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL 480(2018):29-42.