Department of Palaeolithic Studies, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz, Schloss Monrepos, Neuwied, Germany.
PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e29029. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029029. Epub 2011 Dec 27.
Recent findings suggest that the North African Middle Stone Age technocomplex known as the Aterian is both much older than previously assumed, and certainly associated with fossils exhibiting anatomically modern human morphology and behavior. The Aterian is defined by the presence of 'tanged' or 'stemmed' tools, which have been widely assumed to be among the earliest projectile weapon tips. The present study systematically investigates morphological variation in a large sample of Aterian tools to test the hypothesis that these tools were hafted and/or used as projectile weapons.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both classical morphometrics and Elliptical Fourier Analysis of tool outlines are used to show that the shape variation in the sample exhibits size-dependent patterns consistent with a reduction of the tools from the tip down, with the tang remaining intact. Additionally, the process of reduction led to increasing side-to-side asymmetries as the tools got smaller. Finally, a comparison of shape-change trajectories between Aterian tools and Late Paleolithic arrowheads from the North German site of Stellmoor reveal significant differences in terms of the amount and location of the variation.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The patterns of size-dependent shape variation strongly support the functional hypothesis of Aterian tools as hafted knives or scrapers with alternating active edges, rather than as weapon tips. Nevertheless, the same morphological patterns are interpreted as one of the earliest evidences for a hafting modification, and for the successful combination of different raw materials (haft and stone tip) into one implement, in itself an important achievement in the evolution of hominin technologies.
最近的研究结果表明，北非中石器时代的技术复合体，即阿舍利文化，比之前认为的要古老得多，并且肯定与表现出现代人类形态和行为的化石有关。阿舍利文化的定义是存在“有尖”或“有柄”的工具，这些工具被广泛认为是最早的投射武器尖端之一。本研究系统地调查了大量阿舍利工具的形态变化，以检验这些工具是否被安装在柄上并/或用作投射武器的假设。
方法/主要发现：本研究同时使用经典形态计量学和工具轮廓的椭圆傅里叶分析，表明样本中的形状变化表现出与尺寸相关的模式，这与从尖端向下缩小工具的过程一致，同时保持了尖端的完整。此外，随着工具变小，减小过程导致了越来越大的左右不对称。最后，对来自德国北部斯特尔莫尔（Stellmoor）遗址的阿舍利工具和晚旧石器时代箭头的形状变化轨迹进行比较，发现两者在变化的数量和位置方面存在显著差异。
结论/意义：尺寸相关的形状变化模式强烈支持了阿舍利工具作为有柄刀或刮刀的功能假设，这些工具具有交替的活动边缘，而不是作为武器尖端。然而，同样的形态模式被解释为最早的柄部修改之一的证据，以及成功地将不同的原材料（柄和石器尖端）组合成一种工具的证据，这本身就是人类技术进化中的一个重要成就。
