Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.

Recycling behaviors are becoming increasingly recognized as important parts of the production and use of stone tools in the Paleolithic. Yet, there are still no well-defined expectations for how recycling affects the appearance of the archaeological record across landscapes. Using an agent-based mod...

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Main Author: Emily Coco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294242
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author Emily Coco
author_facet Emily Coco
author_sort Emily Coco
collection DOAJ
description Recycling behaviors are becoming increasingly recognized as important parts of the production and use of stone tools in the Paleolithic. Yet, there are still no well-defined expectations for how recycling affects the appearance of the archaeological record across landscapes. Using an agent-based model of recycling in surface contexts, this study looks how the archaeological record changes under different conditions of recycling frequency, occupational intensity, mobility, and artifact selection. The simulations also show that while an increased number of recycled artifacts across a landscape does indicate the occurrence of more scavenging and recycling behaviors generally, the location of large numbers of recycled artifacts is not necessarily where the scavenging itself happened. This is particularly true when mobility patterns mean each foraging group spend more time moving around the landscape. The results of the simulations also demonstrate that recycled artifacts are typically those that have been exposed longer in surface contexts, confirming hypothesized relationships between recycling and exposure. In addition to these findings, the recycling simulation shows how archaeological record formation due to recycling behaviors is affected by mobility strategies and selection preferences. While only a simplified model of recycling behaviors, the results of this simulations give us insight into how to better interpret recycling behaviors from the archaeological record, specifically demonstrating the importance of contextualizing the occurrence of recycled artifacts on a wider landscape-level scale.
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spelling doaj.art-7d3b7fe2785a4a78b937125f633c604f2023-12-12T05:34:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-011811e029424210.1371/journal.pone.0294242Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.Emily CocoRecycling behaviors are becoming increasingly recognized as important parts of the production and use of stone tools in the Paleolithic. Yet, there are still no well-defined expectations for how recycling affects the appearance of the archaeological record across landscapes. Using an agent-based model of recycling in surface contexts, this study looks how the archaeological record changes under different conditions of recycling frequency, occupational intensity, mobility, and artifact selection. The simulations also show that while an increased number of recycled artifacts across a landscape does indicate the occurrence of more scavenging and recycling behaviors generally, the location of large numbers of recycled artifacts is not necessarily where the scavenging itself happened. This is particularly true when mobility patterns mean each foraging group spend more time moving around the landscape. The results of the simulations also demonstrate that recycled artifacts are typically those that have been exposed longer in surface contexts, confirming hypothesized relationships between recycling and exposure. In addition to these findings, the recycling simulation shows how archaeological record formation due to recycling behaviors is affected by mobility strategies and selection preferences. While only a simplified model of recycling behaviors, the results of this simulations give us insight into how to better interpret recycling behaviors from the archaeological record, specifically demonstrating the importance of contextualizing the occurrence of recycled artifacts on a wider landscape-level scale.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294242
spellingShingle Emily Coco
Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
PLoS ONE
title Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
title_full Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
title_fullStr Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
title_short Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent-based simulation.
title_sort exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling behaviors through agent based simulation
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294242
work_keys_str_mv AT emilycoco exploringtheimpactofmobilityandselectiononstonetoolrecyclingbehaviorsthroughagentbasedsimulation