Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel
Abstract Much of what is known about human behavior and subsistence strategies in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic comes from long sequences from caves and rock shelters. In this context, studies of stone tool function have traditionally focused on determining the use of Levallois points and triangu...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27321-5 |
| _version_ | 1797958735673425920 |
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| author | Juan Ignacio Martin-Viveros Maya Oron Andreu Ollé M. Gema Chacón Gonen Sharon |
| author_facet | Juan Ignacio Martin-Viveros Maya Oron Andreu Ollé M. Gema Chacón Gonen Sharon |
| author_sort | Juan Ignacio Martin-Viveros |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Much of what is known about human behavior and subsistence strategies in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic comes from long sequences from caves and rock shelters. In this context, studies of stone tool function have traditionally focused on determining the use of Levallois points and triangular elements, either as projectiles or, more rarely, multipurpose knives. Little is known about such tool use and hafting in Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the Levant through the systematic application of micro-wear analysis. Here we report the results of a low and high-power study performed on the lithic assemblage of the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO, Israel). Most pointed items, including Levallois and non-Levallois points, were used as butchering knives, many of them while hafted; to a much lesser extent they were also used for hide, bone, and wood/plant processing activities. Blades and flakes were mostly handheld and used as butchering knives, with hide, bone, antler, and wood/plant-processing tasks being rare. Hafted artifacts include morphologies and activities for which hafting is not required, indicating that NMO inhabitants possessed varied hafting expertise. Wood/plant processing tools, some of which were hafted, attest that manufacture and maintenance tasks were planned well in advance of game procurement at the site. These results attest to early evidence of hafted butchering knives and hafted plant processing tools for a Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site in the Levant, and support previous interpretations of NMO as a short-term task-specific location focused on animal processing activities, mostly butchery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:23:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93704d3ea9ab4ba7a78959030dc2788d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:23:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-93704d3ea9ab4ba7a78959030dc2788d2023-01-08T12:09:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-01-0113111810.1038/s41598-022-27321-5Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), IsraelJuan Ignacio Martin-Viveros0Maya Oron1Andreu Ollé2M. Gema Chacón3Gonen Sharon4Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA)Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities AuthorityInstitut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA)Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA)Department of Galilee Studies (M.A.), Tel-Hai CollegeAbstract Much of what is known about human behavior and subsistence strategies in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic comes from long sequences from caves and rock shelters. In this context, studies of stone tool function have traditionally focused on determining the use of Levallois points and triangular elements, either as projectiles or, more rarely, multipurpose knives. Little is known about such tool use and hafting in Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the Levant through the systematic application of micro-wear analysis. Here we report the results of a low and high-power study performed on the lithic assemblage of the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO, Israel). Most pointed items, including Levallois and non-Levallois points, were used as butchering knives, many of them while hafted; to a much lesser extent they were also used for hide, bone, and wood/plant processing activities. Blades and flakes were mostly handheld and used as butchering knives, with hide, bone, antler, and wood/plant-processing tasks being rare. Hafted artifacts include morphologies and activities for which hafting is not required, indicating that NMO inhabitants possessed varied hafting expertise. Wood/plant processing tools, some of which were hafted, attest that manufacture and maintenance tasks were planned well in advance of game procurement at the site. These results attest to early evidence of hafted butchering knives and hafted plant processing tools for a Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site in the Levant, and support previous interpretations of NMO as a short-term task-specific location focused on animal processing activities, mostly butchery.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27321-5 |
| spellingShingle | Juan Ignacio Martin-Viveros Maya Oron Andreu Ollé M. Gema Chacón Gonen Sharon Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel Scientific Reports |
| title | Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel |
| title_full | Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel |
| title_fullStr | Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel |
| title_short | Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel |
| title_sort | butchering knives and hafting at the late middle paleolithic open air site of nahal mahanayeem outlet nmo israel |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27321-5 |
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