Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel 3498838, Haifa, Israel.
School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0030, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2020 Jun;143:102787. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102787. Epub 2020 Apr 25.
Changes in the ways Paleolithic foragers exploited raw material sources are linked to mobility, the demands of production, and investment in quarrying. Here, we analyze the use of raw materials in a long series of superimposed layers from Tabun Cave dating to the Middle Pleistocene, attributed to the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods. Using the cortex preserved on the surfaces of artifacts, including blanks, tools and cores, we distinguished between flints obtained from primary and secondary geological contexts. The results from Tabun Cave indicate that the exploitation of secondary sources was fairly common during the earlier part of the Lower Paleolithic sequence. It decreased during the later part of the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex of the Lower Paleolithic, coinciding with growing use of predetermined technological strategies, which demand high-quality raw materials. By the Middle Paleolithic, primary and secondary raw materials are generally designated for different reduction trajectories, suggesting a growing distinction and formalization of technological strategies. The need for the 'best' stone for Middle Paleolithic laminar and Levallois production may have necessitated increased investment in raw material procurement. During most of the Lower Paleolithic, raw material needs could have been met easily through a purely embedded strategy, in which raw material was collected while focusing on other activities. Starting in the late Acheulo-Yabrudian and especially during the Middle Paleolithic, the focus on primary geological contexts may have demanded greater planning of visits to raw material outcrops. In other words, in the Middle Paleolithic and possibly already during the very end of the Lower Paleolithic, raw material procurement had greater influence on patterns of movement through the landscape.
旧石器时代的觅食者对原材料来源的利用方式的变化与流动性、生产需求以及对采石场的投资有关。在这里，我们分析了来自塔本洞穴的一系列叠加层的原材料利用情况，这些层的年代可追溯到中更新世，属于旧石器时代的下部和中期。我们利用保存在工具和核心等制品表面的外皮，区分了来自原生和次生地质环境的火石。塔本洞穴的结果表明，在旧石器时代下部序列的早期，对次生资源的利用相当普遍。在旧石器时代下部阿舍利-亚伯都利期复合体的后期，这种利用减少了，这与日益采用预定技术策略相吻合，这些策略需要高质量的原材料。到了中石器时代，原生和次生原材料通常用于不同的减少轨迹，这表明技术策略的区别和正式化程度不断提高。中石器时代层状和勒瓦娄哇技术对“最好”的石头的需求可能需要增加对原材料采购的投资。在大部分旧石器时代下部，通过纯粹的嵌入式策略很容易满足原材料需求，在这种策略中，在专注于其他活动的同时收集原材料。从阿舍利-亚伯都利期晚期开始，尤其是在中石器时代，对原生地质环境的关注可能需要更计划地访问原材料露头。换句话说，在中石器时代，可能已经在旧石器时代下部末期，原材料采购对景观中运动模式的影响更大。
