History of experiments and debates on the identification of soft-hammer flakes
Received date: 2021-05-16
Revised date: 2021-10-21
Online published: 2023-02-20
The soft-hammer technique refers to the method that removing flakes by direct percussion using indenters made of soft materials, usually involving wood, bones, antlers or soft stones. The use of soft-hammer technique is beneficial for controlling the morphology of flakes more effectively, which is considered to be an important sign of the progress of ancient human cognitive and technological level. Since the early 20th century, the principle of soft-hammer technique and the characteristics of soft-hammer flakes have been described by scholars during the observation of prehistoric lithic assemblages and knapping experiments. It was generally believed that flakes produced by soft-hammer percussion were usually with special attributes such as diffuse bulb of force and lipping, which were usually regarded as direct evidence. Due to the lack of soft hammer discovery in archaeological sites, these attributes usually act as the only evidence for the existence of soft-hammer technique. But with the development of targeted knapping experiments, the above-mentioned attributes have been proved to be the results of multiple factors during the percussion process, such as properties of raw materials, force angle, edge angle and even the style of different knappers and it is controversial to distinguish soft and hard hammer technique based on the characteristics of flakes. This paper reviews the process of recognizing of soft-hammer technique and the history of systematic experiments. It is suggested that the “attributes of soft-hammer flakes” should not be taken as the only evidence for the existence of soft-hammer technique, but need to take into account various factors involved in the whole percussion process. We call for the establishment of a database containing experimental and archaeological data to provide richer comparative materials for the lithic analysis.
Key words： soft-hammer technique; lip; bulb of force; knapping experiments
Yu CAO , Mingjie YI . History of experiments and debates on the identification of soft-hammer flakes[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2023 , 42(01) : 36 -45 . DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2022.0009
| [1] | Bordes F. Etude comparative des différentes techniques de taille du silex et des roches dures[J]. L’Anthropologie, 1947, 51: 1-29 |
| [2] | Bordes F. Typologie du Paléolithique inférieur et moyen[M]. Bordeaux: Institut de Préhistoire de l’Université de Bordeaux, 1961, 18 |
| [3] | Bordaz J. Tools of the Old and New Stone Age[M]. New York: The Natural History Press, 1989, 25 |
| [4] | Crabtree D. An introduction to flintworking[M]. Pocatello, Idaho: Idaho State University Museum, 1972, 8-9 |
| [5] | Madsen B. New evidence of late Paleolithic settlement in East Jutland[J]. Journal of Danish Archaeology, 1983, 2: 12-31 |
| [6] | Pelegrin J, Inizan M. Soft hammerstone percussion use in bidirectional blade-tool production at Acila 36 and in bifacial knapping at Shagra (Qatar)[J]. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2013, 24: 79-86 |
| [7] | Pelegrin J. Les techniques de débitage laminaire au Tardiglaciaire: critères de diagnose et quelques réflexions. Mémoires du Musée de Préhistoire d’Ile de France[J]. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2000, 7: 73-86 |
| [8] | Coutier L. Expérience de taille pour rechercher les anciennes techniques paléolithiques[J]. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Fran?aise, 1929, 26: 172-174 |
| [9] | Bar-Yosef O. Archaeological occurrences in the Middle Pleistocene of Israel[A]. In: Butzer KW and Isaac GL (Eds.). After the Australopithecines: Stratigraphy, Ecology and Culture Change in the Middle Pleistocene[C]. Chicago: Aldine, 1975: 571-604 |
| [10] | Bordes F. Le paléolithique en Europe[M]. Paris: CNRS, 1984, 56 |
| [11] | Sharon G, Goren-Inbar N. Soft percussor use at the Gesher Benot Ya,aqov Acheulian site?[J]. Journal of The Israel Prehistoric Society, 1999, 28: 55-79 |
| [12] | McNabb J, Cole J. The Mirror Cracked: symmetry and refinement in the Acheulean handaxe[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2015, 3: 100-111 |
| [13] | Bordes F. The old stone age (4th edition)[M]. London: Bowes and Bowes Publisher Ltd, 1963, 114-119 |
| [14] | Pelegrin J. Technologie lithique:Le Chatelperronien de Roc-de-Combe (Lot) et de La C?te (Dordogne)[M]. Paris: CNRS, 1995 |
| [15] | Bachellerie F, Bordes J-G, Morala A, Pelegrin J, étude typo-technologique de remontages lithiques de Canaule II, site de plein air en Bergeracois (Creysse, Dordogne)[J]. Paleo, 2007, 19: 259-280 |
| [16] | 赵海龙. 细石叶剥制实验研究[J]. 人类学学报, 2011, 30(1): 22-31 |
| [17] | Smith GM. Taphonomic resolution and hominin subsistence behaviour in the Lower Palaeolithic: Differing data scales and interpretive frameworks at Boxgrove and Swanscombe (UK)[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2013, 40: 3754-3767 |
| [18] | Backwell LR, d’Errico F. The first use of bone tools: A reappraisal of the evidence from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania[J]. Palaeontologia Africana, 2004, 40: 95-158 |
| [19] | Goren-Inbar N. Behavioral and Cultural Origins of Neanderthals: A Levantine Perspective[A]. In: Condemi S, Weniger G-C (Eds.). Continuity and discontinuity in the peopling of Europe[C]. Dordrecht: Springer, 2011, 89-100 |
| [20] | Doyon L, Li Z, Li H, d’Errico F. Discovery of circa 115,000-year-old bone retouchers at Lingjing, Henan, China[J]. PLOS ONE, 2018, 13(3): e0194318 |
| [21] | 关莹, 蔡回阳, 王新金, 等. 贵州毕节老鸦洞遗址1985年出土的石制品[J]. 人类学学报, 2017, 36(3): 304-317 |
| [22] | Griffith AA. The Phenomena of Rupture and Flow in Solids[J]. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical or Physical Character, 1920, 221: 163-198 |
| [23] | Frank FC, Lawn BR. On the theory of Hertzian fracture[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1967, 299: 291-306 |
| [24] | Lawn BR. Partial Cone Crack Formation in a Brittle Material Loaded with a Sliding Spherical Indenter[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1967, 299: 307-316 |
| [25] | Speth JD. Mechanical basis of percussion flaking[J]. American Antiquity, 1972, 37(1): 34-60 |
| [26] | Speth JD. Experimental investigation of hard-hammer percussion flaking[J]. Tebiwa, 1974, 17:7-36 |
| [27] | Moffat CR. The Mechanical Basis of Stone Flaking: Problems and Prospects[J]. Plains Anthropologist, 1981, 26(93): 195-212 |
| [28] | Tsirk A. Regarding fracture initiations[A]. In: Hayden B(Ed). Lithic Use-wear Analysis[M]. New York: Academia Press, 1979, 83-96 |
| [29] | Cotterell B, Kamminga J. The Mechanics of Flaking[A]. In: Hayden B(Ed). Lithic Use-wear Analysis[M]. New York: Academia Press, 1979, 97-112 |
| [30] | Lawn BR. Fracture of Brittle Solids[M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975 |
| [31] | Cotterell B, Kamminga J, Dickson FP. The Essential Mechanics of Conchoidal Flaking[J]. International Journal of Fracture, 1985, 29: 205-221 |
| [32] | Rinehart JS. Fracture of rocks[J]. International Journal of Fracture Mechanics, 1966, 2(3): 534-551 |
| [33] | Cotterell B, Kamminga J. The Formation of Flakes[J]. American antiquity, 1987, 52(4): 675-708 |
| [34] | Crabtree DE. The cone fracture principle and the manufacture of lithic materials[J]. Tebiwa, 1972, 15(2): 22-42 |
| [35] | Witthoft J. The mechanics of conchoidal fracture: a bibliographic notes[J]. Newsletter of Lithic Technology, 1974, 3(3): 50-53 |
| [36] | Magnani M, Rezek Z, Lin SC, et al. Flake variation in relation to the application of force[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014, 46: 37-49 |
| [37] | Lawn B, Wilshaw R. Indentation fracture: principles and applications[J]. Journal of Materials Science, 1975, 10(6):1049-1081 |
| [38] | Roesler F. Brittle fractures near equilibrium[J]. Proceedings of the Physical society(section B), 1956, 69(10): 981-992 |
| [39] | Lawn B, Wilshaw T, Hartley N. A computer simulation study of Hertzian cone crack growth[J]. International Journal of fracture, 1974, 10: 1-16 |
| [40] | Chen LY, Chaudhri MM. Influence of tangential stress on the impact damage of soda-lime glass with spherical projecticles[A]. 18th Intl Congress on High Speed Photography and Photonics, 1989, 955 |
| [41] | Kocer C, Collins RE. Angle of Hertzian cone cracks[J]. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 1998, 81: 1736-1742 |
| [42] | Frank FC, Lawn BR. On the theory of Hertzian fracture[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1967, 299: 291-306 |
| [43] | Moffat CR. The Mechanical Basis of Stone Flaking: Problems and Prospects[J]. Plains Anthropologist, 1981, 26(93): 195-212 |
| [44] | Bordes F. étude comparative de differentes techniques de taille du silex et de roches dures[J]. L’Anthropologie, 1947, 51: 1-29 |
| [45] | Jelinek AJ. Lithic Technology Conference, Les Eyzies, France[J]. American Antiquity, 1965, 31(2): 277 |
| [46] | Newcomer MH. Some Quantitative Experiments in Handaxe Manufacture[J]. World Archaeology, 1971, 3(1): 85-94 |
| [47] | 刘景芝. 直接打制石叶的实验研究[D]. 北京: 北京大学,1986 |
| [48] | Oakley KP. Man the Tool-Maker (5th edition)[M]. London: British Museum, 1961, 25 |
| [49] | Mewhinney H. A Skeptic Views the Billet Flake[J]. American Antiquity, 1964, 30: 203-204 |
| [50] | Hayden B, Hutchings W. Amick D, Mauldin R Whither the billet flake?[A]. In: Amick D, Mauldin R (Eds.). Experiments in Lithic Technology Oxford: BAR International Series, 1989, 235-257 |
| [51] | Schindler B, Koch J. Flakes Giving You Lip? Let Them Speak: An Examination of The Relationship Between Percussor Type and Lipped Platforms[J]. Archaeology of Eastern North America, 2012, 40: 99-106 |
| [52] | Henry DO, Haynes CV, Bradley B. Quantitative Variations in Flaked Stone Debitage[J]. Plains Anthropologist, 1976, 21(71): 57-61 |
| [53] | Patterson LW, Sollberger JB. Replication and classification of small size lithic debitage[J]. Plains Anthropologist, 1978, 23(80): 103-112 |
| [54] | Patterson LW. Replication and Classification of Large Size Lithic Debitage[J]. Lithic Technology, 1982, 11(3): 50-58 |
| [55] | Pelcin AW. The Effect of Indentor Type on Flake Attributes: Evidence from a Controlled Experiment[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1997, 24(7): 613-621 |
| [56] | Driscoll K, García-Rojas M. Their lips are sealed: identifying hard stone, soft stone, and antler hammer direct percussion in Palaeolithic prismatic blade production[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014, 47: 134-141 |
| [57] | Redman KL. An Experiment-based Evaluation of the Debitage Attributes Associated With “Hard” and “Soft” Hammer Percussion[D]. Pullman: Washington State University, 1998 |
| [58] | Dibble HL, Whittaker J. New experimental evidence on the relation between percussion flaking flake variation[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1981, 6: 283-296 |
| [59] | Rezek Z, Lin S, Dibble H. The role of controlled experiments in understanding variation in flake production[A]. In: Sullivan AP, Olszewski DI (Eds.). Archaeological Variability and Interpretation in Global Perspective[C]. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2016, 307-320 |
| [60] | Faulkner A. Mechanical Principles of Flintworking[D]. Pullman: Washington State University, 1992 |
| [61] | Bonnichsen R. Models for Deriving Cultural Information from Stone Tools[M]. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1977, 74-177 |
| [62] | Dibble HL, Rezek Z. Introducing a New Experimental Design for Controlled Studies of Flake Formation: Results for Exterior Platform Angle, Platform Depth, Angle of Blow, Velocity, and Force[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2009, 36(9): 1945-1954 |
| [63] | Dibble HL, Whittaker J. New experimental evidence on the relation between percussion flaking flake variation[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1981, 8(3): 283-296 |
| [64] | Lin SC, Rezek Z, Braun D, et al. On the utility and economization of unretouched flakes: the effects of exterior platform angle and platform depth[J]. American Antiquity, 2013, 78: 724-745 |
| [65] | Matthew M, Rezek Z, Lin S, et al. Flake Variation in Relation to the Application of Force[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014, 46: 47-49 |
| [66] | Pelcin AW. The formation of flakes: the role of platform and exterior platform angle in the production of flake initiations and terminations[J]. Journal of archaeological science, 1997, 24(12): 1107-1113 |
| [67] | Driscoll K. Vein quartz in lithic traditions: an analysis based on experimental archaeology[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011, 38(3): 734-745 |
| [68] | Patterson LW. Replication and Classification of Large Size Lithic Debitage[J]. Lithic Technology, 1982, 11(3): 50-58 |
| [69] | 林圣龙. 关于中西方旧石器文化中的软锤技术[J]. 人类学学报, 1994, 13(1): 83-92 |
| [70] | Gao X. Paleolithic cultures in China: Uniqueness and divergence[J]. Current Anthropology, 2013, 54(S8): S358-S370 |
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |