Groupe de Recherche Apprentissage et Contexte, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 54 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris, France.
J Hum Evol. 2010 Aug;59(2):155-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.04.006. Epub 2010 Jul 1.
The aim of the current study was to provide detailed data on the skill at controlling conchoidal fracture, data that may be used to help infer the processes responsible for generating the technological diversity observed in Early Stone Age sites. We conducted an experiment with modern stone knappers with different skill levels and systematically analyzed not only the products of flaking (i.e., detached flakes) but also the intentions prior to flaking, as well as the actions taken to control the shape of a flake through direct hard-hammer percussion. Only modern stone knappers with extensive knapping experience proved capable of predicting and controlling the shape of a flake, which indicated the significant difficulty of controlling the shape of flakes. Evidence was found that knowing the consequence of a strike given to a core at hand requires the acute exploration of the properties of the core and hammerstone to comply with the higher-order relationship among potential platform variables, kinetic energy of the hammerstone at impact, and flake dimension that reflects the constraints of conchoidal fracture. We argue that without this ability, controlling the shape of a flake or the organized débitage of flakes observed in some of the Early Stone Age sites may not have been possible. We further suggest that, given the difficulty and the nature of the skill, the evidence of precise control of conchoidal fracture in the Early Stone Age record may be indicative of the recurrence of a learning situation that allows the transmission of the skill, possibly through providing the opportunities for first-hand experience.
本研究旨在提供关于控制贝壳状断裂技术的详细数据，这些数据可用于帮助推断产生旧石器时代遗址中观察到的技术多样性的过程。我们与不同技能水平的现代石器工匠进行了一项实验，系统地分析了不仅是剥落的产物（即，脱离的薄片），还有在剥落之前的意图，以及通过直接硬锤冲击来控制薄片形状的行动。只有具有广泛打制经验的现代石器工匠才能预测和控制薄片的形状，这表明控制薄片形状的难度很大。有证据表明，要知道给定手头核心的打击后果，就需要敏锐地探索核心和石锤的特性，以符合潜在平台变量、冲击时石锤的动能以及反映贝壳状断裂约束的薄片尺寸之间的高阶关系。我们认为，如果没有这种能力，就不可能控制薄片的形状或在某些旧石器时代遗址中观察到的有组织的薄片剥落。我们进一步提出，鉴于难度和技能的性质，旧石器时代记录中贝壳状断裂的精确控制的证据可能表明学习情况的反复出现，这可能是通过提供第一手经验的机会来实现的。
