Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)
The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Edinburgh
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Lithic Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/4504 |
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| author | Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun Laura Longo Vera Terekhina Irina Pantyukhina Ekaterina Vinogradova Dmitrii Shulga |
| author_facet | Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun Laura Longo Vera Terekhina Irina Pantyukhina Ekaterina Vinogradova Dmitrii Shulga |
| author_sort | Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains.
This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:08:36Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:08:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Lithic Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-2129a332a11a4e2a81dd19c362f0c1c22022-12-22T02:59:08ZengUniversity of EdinburghJournal of Lithic Studies2055-04722021-12-018223 p.23 p.10.2218/jls.45044504Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun0Laura Longo1Vera Terekhina2Irina Pantyukhina3Ekaterina Vinogradova4Dmitrii Shulga5Institute for the History of Material Culture RASUniversità degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”Institute for the History of Material Culture RASInstitute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far-East, Far-Eastern Branch of the RASMoscow State University named after M.V. LomonosovSaint Petersburg Bread MuseumThe assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains. This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region.http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/4504upper paleolithicrussiastone slabtechnological analysistraceological analysisexperimental analysisbiogenic residues |
| spellingShingle | Natalia Nikolaevna Skakun Laura Longo Vera Terekhina Irina Pantyukhina Ekaterina Vinogradova Dmitrii Shulga Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) Journal of Lithic Studies upper paleolithic russia stone slab technological analysis traceological analysis experimental analysis biogenic residues |
| title | Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) |
| title_full | Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) |
| title_fullStr | Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) |
| title_short | Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia) |
| title_sort | functional use of large stone tool from the upper paleolithic site of kamennaya balka ii the northern azov sea region russia |
| topic | upper paleolithic russia stone slab technological analysis traceological analysis experimental analysis biogenic residues |
| url | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/4504 |
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