Stone tool experiments and reduction methods at the Acheulean site of Isampur Quarry, India

2009/09/01 by C.B.K. Shipton, Ceri Shipton, M.D. Petraglia +2 · 3 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Action Observation and Synchronization #Primate Behavior and Ecology

paper · doi:10.1017/s0003598x00098987

Abstract

What better way to understand how to make a handaxe or cleaver than getting into an Acheulean quarry and doing it yourself. The authors experimented at Isampur Quarry in India, finding that handaxes were best produced by reducing a slab to shape, while cleavers were best made by striking large flakes. There was a good correspondence with the ancient implements, and the authors deduced that Acheulean hominins were learning and transmitting standardised manufacturing methods to each other.

Cited by

• Acheulian Giant‐Core Technology
• Stone tool shaping without direct cultural transmission
• An introduction to the expansion of Acheulean technology into Southern Iran : Surface Assemblages from Open-Air Localities in the Western Foothills of Jiroft
• Skill and efficiency in Acheulian giant core reduction. [europepmc]

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