Stone Age Sites in the Making: Experiments in the Formation and Transformation of Archaeological Occurrences 9780860544074, 9781407345895

Citation preview

Stone Age Sites in the Making Experiments in the Formation and Transformation of Archaeological Occurrences

Kathy Diane Schick

BAR International Series 319 1986

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 ODQ, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc .., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

BAR -S319,1986

©

'Stone Age Sites in the Making'.

Kathy Diane Schick,1986

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9780860544074 paperback ISBN 9781407345895 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860544074 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

D edication

T o t he l ate G lynn L lywelyn I saac, w hose i nquiring m ind a nd g enerous s pirit t aught u s s o m uch .

T ABLE O F C ONTENTS

L IST O F F IGURES L IST O F T ABLES

x iii

C HAPTER 1 : I NTRODUCTION I ntroduction

1

D evelopmental A spects o f S ite F ormation S tudies

4

S ite F ormation R esearch: P erspectives a nd O bjectives C oncepts o f S ite E nvironment a nd C ontext

5 6

C ultural a nd B iophysical P rocesses o f S ite F ormation

8

C HAPTER 2 : M ETHODOLOGY I ntroduction P rocesses u nder C onsideration B ehavioral P rocesses N atural P rocesses E xperimental V ariables: A S ummary

1 1 1 2 1 2 1 4 1 7

C HAPTER 3 : F LAKING E XPERIMENTS I ntroduction C haracteristics C onsidered D ebitage S ize D istribution F lake S catter P atterns C onclusion

2 0 2 1 2 1 3 2 4 2

C HAPTER 4 : F LUME E XPERIMENTS I ntroduction : T he P roblem E xperimental D esign F low V elocity a nd A rtifact T ransport E xperimental R uns a nd t heir R esults E ffect o f F low V elocity H ydraulic E ffects o f A rtifact M orphology S ubstrate I nteraction A rtifact I nteraction S ummary C HAPTER 5 : E XPERIMENTAL S ITE R ESULTS I ntroduction

4 3 4 4 4 6 4 9 4 9 5 0

5 3 5 5 5 8

6 0

E nvironmental S ettings

6 1

D ifferential D isturbance: R ankings a nd I ndices R anking D isturbance: A S ummary O bservable P roducts o f S ite T ransformation A ssemblage C omposition S patial C onfigurations D ifferential A rtifact R ecovery

6 3

R edeposition a nd R econcentration S ite C ementation C onjoining A rtifacts S ummary

8 3 8 3 8 4 8 5

6 9 6 9 7 0 7 7 8 1

C HAPTER 6 : E XTRAPOLATING F ORMATION P ROCESSES F ROM T HEIR P RODUCTS 8 7 8 8

I ntroduction D isturbance: A M atter o f D egree v ii

-

A nalysis o f A rchaeological E vidence C riteria A ssessment o f S ite P atterns S ummary a nd D iscussion B ehavioral P rocesses a nd T heir I mpact

9 0 9 0 9 4 1 12 1 13

C onclusion

18

C HAPTER 7 : A RCHAEOLOGICAL A PPLICATIONS O F E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS I ntroduction K oobi F ora S ites L ower M ember S ites F xJj 1

19 1 22 1 22

F xJj 3 F xJj 1 0 U pper M ember S ites F xJj 1 6 F xJj 1 8

1 26 1 27 1 28 1 28 1 34

F xJj 3 3 F xJj 6 3 F xJj 5 0 S ite F ormation a t K oobi F ora:

1 35 1 36 1 42 1 47

A S ummary

C onclusion K oobi F ora S ites O ther P otential S ite A pplications S tone T ransport B ehavior a nd S ite F ormation C HAPTER 8 : C ONCLUSION I ntroduction S ummary o f t he S ite F ormation S tudy B ehavioral P rocesses a nd t he F ormation o f A rchaeological R esidues I ntroduction D iscard B ehavior : P rimary v s. S econdary R efuse I mport, E xport, a nd D iscard B ehaviors " Man v s. N ature": T he A rchaeologist's D ilemma

A PPENDIX A . E XPERIMENTAL S ITES: D ESCRIPTION A ND A NALYSIS F looded W orkshop S ite E xperimental S ites l a, l b, a nd l c E xperimental S ite 6 E xperimental S ite 1 2 E xperimental S ites 1 3, 1 4, a nd 1 5 S ite 1 4 S ite 1 5 S ite 1 3 E xperimental S ite 1 9 E xperimental S ite 2 0 E xperimental E xperimental E xperimental S ite 2 3 S ite 2 4 S ite 2 5 E xperimental E xperimental

S ite 2 1 S ite 2 2 S ites 2 3,

2 4, a nd 2 5

S ites 2 6 a nd 2 7 S ite 2 8

v iii

1 53 1 53 1 54 1 56

1 58 1 58

1 63 1 64 1 65 1 68

1 71 1 72 1 83 1 96 2 04 2 07 2 09 2 09 2 11 2 16 2 22 2 27 2 32 2 37 2 39 2 42 2 47 2 49 2 58

E xperimental S ite 3 4

2 63

E xperimental S ite 3 6 E xperimental S ite 3 7

2 70 2 77

E xperimental S ite 3 8

2 80

A PPENDIX B .

E XPERIMENTAL S ITES: B EFORE A ND A FTER F REQUENCIES , C ORE P ROPORTIONS, A ND C UMULATIVE S IZE D ISTRIBUTIONS

G raphs o f c umulative s ize d istribution o f E xperimental S ite d ebitage b efore a nd a fter d isturbance T able B 1. D ebitage s ize d istribution o f E xperimental S ite d ebitage b efore a nd a fter d isturbance

2 86

3 00

T able B -2. C ore p roportions w ith E xperimental S ite a ssemblages b efore a nd a fter d isturbance 3 01 3 03

B IBLIOGRAPHY

i x

L IST O F F IGURES

3 .1

M ean d ebitage s ize d istribution a nd c onfidence i ntervals f rom 1 07 f laking e xperiments

2 4

3 .2

C omparison o f d ebitage s ize d istributions f rom f laking e xperiments: A ll c ores v ersus l arge c ores

2 5

3 .3

D ebitage s ize d istributions f rom f laking e xperiments:

3 .4 3 .5 3 .6

3 .7 3 .8

3 .9 4 .1 4 .2

4 .3

4 .4 4 .5 4 .6

4 .7

F raction s eparation w ith g eological s creens C umulative d ebitage s ize d istribution b y c ore t ype C umulative d ebitage s ize d istribution b y r aw m aterial F lake s catter p atterns: C omparison o f f lake a rrays b y d ebitage s ize F lake s catter e xtent: D ense s catter a gainst m aximum s catter e xtent F lake s catter e xtent a s a f unction o f s tance/distance f rom g round F lake s catter p atterns: V ariations a mong s tances M odes o f s ediment t ransport f or a rchaeological p articles H julstrom 's d iagram: T he r elationship b etween p article s ize a nd c urrent v elocity i n s ediment t ransport a nd d eposition M odified H julstrom d iagram: T ransport v elocities f or s tone a rtifactual m aterials H ydraulic s tabilization M odels f or h ydraulic t ransport o f s tone a rtifacts S cour a nd s edimentation o f i mmobile e lements P article i nteraction a nd i ts e ffect i n r etarding e rosion a nd e nhancing d eposition

5 .1

R ank o rder l ist o f e xperimental s ites: I n o rder o f i ncreasing d isturnace

5 .2

A ssemblage c omposition o f e xperimental s ites b efore a nd

5 .3

a fter d isturbance R ecovery r ates a nd c hange i n a ssemblage p roportions i n e xperimental s ites

5 .4 6 .1 6 .2

F looded W orkshop S ite: T ransport o f d iverse a ssemblage c omponents M odel o f s ite a lteration a t i ncreasing d isturbance l evels

2 6 2 9 3 0 3 5 3 7 3 8

3 9 4 5

4 7 4 8

5 2

5 4

5 6 5 7 6 5 7 1

7 4 8 0 8 9

6 .8

F low c hart f or i nspection o f a rchaeological s ites f or e vidence o f d isturbance T oth 's t echnological f lake t ypes F looded W orkshop S ite: D istribution p lots o f a ssemblage c omponents T rend s urface a nalysis o f s patial d istributions a t t he F looded W orkshop S ite M odel o f f luvial d istribution o f l ithic a ssemblages V ariation i n p revailing e nergy l evels, s edimentary g rain s ize, a nd d epostional m ode a long a n a lluvial p rofile M odel o f t he b alance b etween e rosional a nd d epositional

6 .9

f orces i n d iverse e nvironmental r egimes A ssemblage f ormation : t he b ehavioral i mpact

7 .1 7 .2

K oobi F ora s ites: K oobi F ora s ites:

( grouped i nto g eological s ize g rades)

1 24

7 .3

• F i x t ij 1 6: D istribution o f m aterials w ithin T rench B

1 30

6 .3 6 .4

6 .5 6 .6 6 .7

9 1

9 3 9 6 9 8 1 01 1 09 1 10

14

C umulative d ebitage s ize d istributions.. 1 23 C umulative d ebitage s ize d istributions

7 .4

T rend s urface a nalysis o f d iverse a ssemblage c omponents a t F xJj 1 6

F xJj 1 6: D ifferences i n a ssemblage c omposition a long t he s tream p rofile 7 .6 F xJj 6 3: S tone a rtifact o rientations 7 .7 F xJj 5 0 : P lot o f c onjoining a rtifact s catter i n c omparison t o e xperimental f lake s catters 7 .8 F xJj 5 0: S tages o f f laking i ndicated b y c onjoining 7 .9 F xJj 5 0 : S tone t ransport a nd e conomy 7 .10 F xJj 5 0: S tone a rtifact o rientations 7 .11 F xJj 5 0: T rend s urface a nalysis o f a ssemblage d istribution 7 .12 F xJj 5 0: S catter v ectors a mong c onjoining p ieces 8 .1 M odel o f s ite d estruction a nd p reservation a long a s tream p rofile 8 .2 M odel o f r elationship b etween b ehavior a nd a rchaeological c ontexts

1 31

7 .5

x i

1 33 1 37 1 39 1 40 1 45 1 46 1 48 1 51 1 61 1 66

F IGURES I N A PPENDICES

A PPENDIX A : D escriptions a nd a nalyses o f S ite E xperiments A 1 P lan o f F looded W orkshop S ite a rea A -2 P lot o f a ssemblage c omponents a t F looded W orkshop S ite A -3 P rofile o f f loodplain d epression a t F looded W orkshop A -4 F looded W orkshop S ite: D ownstream c hange i n d ebitage p roportions

1 73 1 74 1 77 1 79

A -5

F looded W orkshop S ite: A ssemblage c omposition i n d ifferent a reas o f r edeposition

1 80

A -6

S ites l a,

1 84

A -7 A -8 A -9

S ite l b: R ose d iagram o f o rientations S ites 3 a a nd 3 b: P lan a nd c ross-channel p rofile o f a rea . S ite 6 : P lan a t T ime 1

A 10 S ite 6 : A 11 S ite 6 : A 12 A 13 A 14 A 15

l b,

a nd l c:

P lan o f l ayout r egion

P rofile a t T imes 0 a nd 1 P lan a t T ime 2

S ite 6 : S tratigraphic S ection a t T ime 2 S ite 1 2: P lan o f l ayout r egion S ites 1 3, 1 4, a nd 1 5: P lan o f l ayout r egion S ite 1 3: P lan o f a rtifact d istribution i n e xcavation

1 91 1 94 1 97 1 99 2 00 2 02 2 05 2 08 2 10

A 16 S ite 1 9: P lan o f l ayout r egion a nd e xcavation A 17 S ites 1 9, 2 6, 2 7, 2 3, 2 4, 2 5: P lan o f r egion

2 17 2 18

A 18 S ite 2 0:

2 23

P lan o f a rea a nd a rtifact d istribution

A 19 S ite 2 1: P lan o f a rea a nd a rtifact d istribution A -20 S ite 2 2: P lan o f r egion a nd c ross-channel p rofile A -21 S ite 2 2: P lan o f e xcavation

2 28 2 33 2 35

A -22 A -23 A -24 A -25 A -26

S ites 2 3, 2 4, a nd 2 5: R egion p lan a nd p rofile S ite 2 3: P lan o f l ayout r egion a nd e xcavation S ite 2 4: P lan o f l ayout r egion a nd e xcavation S ite 2 4: A rtifact o rientations S ites 2 6 a nd 2 7: P lan o f l ayout r egion a nd a rtifact d istribution

2 38 2 40 2 43 2 45

S ites 2 6 S ite 2 8: S ite 3 4: S ite 3 4 : S ite 3 6: S ite 3 6: S ite 3 7: S ite 3 8:

2 54 2 59 2 64 2 66 2 72 2 73 2 79 2 81

A -27 A -28 A -29 A -30 A -3 1 A -32 A -33 A -34

a nd 2 7: A rtifact o rientation a nd d ip P lan o f l ayout r egion a nd e xcavation P lan o f o verall l ayout r egion P lan o f e xcavation a nd a rtifact p lots P lan o f l ayout r egion B efore a nd a fter a rtifact d ensities P lan a nd s ection o f e xcavation P lan o f l ayout r egion

A PPENDIX B : C UMULATIVE F REQUENCY D ISTRIBUTIONS O F D EBITAGE S IZE C LASSES B EFORE A ND A FTER D ISTURBANCE

x ii

2 50

2 86

L IST O F T ABLES

3 .1

D ebitage f rom f laking e xperiments: O verall s ize d istribut ion f rom t he e ntire d ebitage p opulation a nd mean p roport ions f rom 1 07 f laking

3 .2

5 .1

e xperi ments

D imensions o f e xperimental f laking s catters:

4 0

L ist a nd

6 2

o f E xperimental S ites, t heir t heir g eneral r esults

G eneral e nvironments o f d eposition

6 .2

P ossible e nvironments s ites

7 .1

Mean s ize o f

maximum s catter d iameter v ersus a rea o f d ense s catter—

6 .1

6 .3

2 7

o f d eposition

Alluvial sedi mentary c haracteristics B ehaviors P rior c ore

e nvironmental

r egime,

1 04 f or

a rchaeological 1 05

environments

and

t heir 1 06

i ndicated f rom c onjoininng s ets a t F xJj

k napping , discard

o n-site c ore r eductions, o r t ransport

a nd

5 0:

s ubsequent 1 44

A PPENDIX B B -1

A ssemblage c omposition o f E xperimental S ites b efore a nd after

B -2

disturbance

C ore p roportions d isturbance

i n E xperimental

3 00 S ites b efore a nd a fter 3 01

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I

w ould

l ike

t o

e xtend

m y

i ndividuals w ho h ave h elped m e i n s tages

o f

t his

r esearch.

W ithout

w hether i n t he f orm o f a dvice, s upport F irst

o f

t o a g reat m any

w ays

t hroughout

o f

e ncouragement,

a ll,

I

o we

t he

l argest

a dvisor a t B erkeley,

t o c onduct t his s tudy.

i nsights,

a ssistance o r

t he

m e

a

d ebt

o f

t hanks

l ate G lynn I saac,

H e w as a p rime i nstigator

t o

i n

p osing

t he

t rying t o a nswer, a nd h e c arried t he w ay. A s a n a dvisor, h e

s timulating b lend o f v ital

i nvolvement i n m y r esearch

a ble t o p ursue s tudies a t B erkeley u nder h is g uidance,

p rivileged

m y

w ho i nspired

a long w ith a d etachment t hat a llowed m e t he l atitude t o e xplore o f i nvestigation a s I s aw f it. I f eel e xtremely f ortunate t o b een

a ll

t heir i nvaluable c ontributions -

b asic q uestions t hat t his s tudy w as o ut t he p ioneering w ork i n l eading o ffered

g ratitude

t his s tudy w ould c ertainly n ever h ave b een a ccomplished.

d issertation m e

w arm v ariety

l ines h ave

a nd v ery

t o h ave k nown a nd w orked w ith h im.

T o m y o ther a dvisor

a t

B erkeley,

D esmond

C lark,

I

w ish

t o

e xpress m y t hanks a nd d eep a ppreciation f or t he d irection a nd s upport h e h as p rovided t hroughout m y g raduate s tudies a nd e ver s ince. H is v ast s tore o f k nowledge a nd p erspectives,

a s w ell

a s

h is

s eemingly

b oundless i nterests a nd e nthusiasm f or i nvestigation i nto a w ide r ange o f f ields, h ave e nriched m y s tudies i mmeasureably a nd h ave b een a t rue s ource o f i nspiration t o m e. I w ould

l ike

p articipate

t o t hank

l aboratory s tudies o f b roadened

F .

m y

t he

o f

a nd

d ifferent

t his s tudy. h as

g iven

s et

t hroughout

r espect f or t he s pirit a nd i mparts

t o

M any

o ther

i nvaluable

f ormation

a nd h as s upplied m e

T his

m e

t o

t o c arry o ut r esearch

p rocesses a nd e xperience

h as t heir

w ith

a

t hat h as h elped m e i n p ursuing

f or t he s upport a nd

m y r esearch,

a nd

e ncouragement

h e

f or t he s pecial s ense o f

s ubstance o f s cientific i nquiry

s cientists o ut

t his

l aboratory

h ave

p layed

r esearch.

t raining

f irst i ntroduced m any o f u s t he e ye o f a m icroscope. i nto

i nviting

w hich

h e

t hose a round h im.

d evelop a nd c arry

i n

p eriods

o f f ield

m ajor r oles i n h elping m e R ichard

L .

s edimentological

H ay

p rovided

a nalysis,

a nd

t o A frica a nd A frican s ediments t hrough I an F indlater p rovided v aluable i nsights

t he p alaeogeographical b ackground

e xtended

f or

m aterials.

s ite

o f q uestions

I a m v ery g rateful m e

H owell

a nd f or a llowing m e

A mbrona

a ppreciation

c omplexities o f i nteraction, n ew

C lark

i n r esearch a t A mbrona,

r esearch.

a t

K oobi

F ora

d uring

s ome

T im W hite h as h ad a n i mportant

i nfluence i n t he d evelopment o f a pproach i n t his s tudy a nd h as b een a v ital p rotagonist f or d ealing w ith a vailable e vidence

w ith

c ritical

r igor. I t he

w ould

K oobi

i nteraction

l ike

F ora i n

t o

t hank a s a g roup a ll o f t he

R esearch t he

f ield,

P roject a nd

f or f or

t heir s haring

f ellow m embers o f

c ompanionship

p ursuing s tudies o f o ur e volutionary p ast. I o ffer t hanks S ept, F iona M arshall, Z efe K aufulu, A nnie V incent, J . W .

x i. v

a nd

a s trong i nterest i n t o J eanne K H arris,

B arbara

I saac,

B ehrensmeyer, a nd

K arin

H arris,

F rnncis M usonda,

E llen

K roll,

H enry

a nd H ilde S chwartz,

t heir c amaraderie w hen l iving a nd w orking t ogether i n t he

I t hank H azel P otgeiter f or h er f riendship a nd p rovided d uring s tays i n N airobi. F or t heir w ithout

a bsolutely

w hose

M usa

i nvaluable

a nd

a nd

w ish

i mpossible,

L oriano

t o

I saac c o-directed M useums

o f

s t2adfast

e fforts,

h ave

a nd

I w ould

l ike

t o

t hank

e xpress m y t hanks t o R ichard t he K oobi

K enya,

a nd

r eceived

e specially

f or t heir r esourceful a ssistance i n c ountless

t o

L eakey,

F ora R esearch P roject,

t o

t he

c ourse

o f

w ho w ith G lynn t he

N ational

t he K enyan G overnment f or a llowing m e t he

o pportunity t o p ursue t his r esearch, a nd f or s upplying s upport i n a g reat n umber o f w ays i n c arrying i t o ut I

f ield.

f or t he l odging s he

w ays w hile l iving a nd w orking o ut o f f ly c amps d uring m uch o f t he e xperimental p rogram. I

K ay

h elp t he o peration o f t his s tudy w ould h ave b een m uch

m ore d ifficult i f n ot J ohn

B unn,

f or v aluable h elp

s upport

f or

l ogistical

t his r esearch f rom a v ariety o f

s ources o ver t he y ears. I w ould l ike t o t hank N ational S cience F oundation, t he S igma X i R esearch S ociety, t he B oise F und, t he L eakey F oundation, v arious

a nd

t he

f acets o f t his

F inally,

L owie

F und

f or

t heir

c ontributions t o m ake

r esearch p ossible.

I w ould e xtend m y g ratitude

t o

m y

h usband,

N icholos

T oth, f or h is e ncouragement a nd h is c ountless c ontributions t o t his r esearch t hroughout a ll o f i ts p hases. I t hank h im a s w ell f or b eing t he f irst o ne t o a sk m e t hat n agging q uestion, a t a W oodland s ite o n t he s hores o f L ake E rie: " Just h ow d id t his s ite g et b uried, a nyway?"

XV

C HAPTER 1 :

I NTRODUCTION

" the e arthworm s teps f orth a s a w orker o f v ast g eological c hanges...a f riend o f m an...and a n a lly o f t he S ociety f or t he p reservation o f a ncient m onuments" ( a r eviewer o f C harles D arwin's e arthworm s tudy,

1 88 1)

I NTRODUCTION A rchaeological

s ites

a re n either p ure n or p ristine p roducts o f

h uman h ands. R ather, t hey h ave b een f ormed a nd s haped t hrough t he a ction o f a c omplex c ombination o f h uman a nd n on-human a gencies. A rchaeological s ite f ormation w ill b e v iewed h ere a s a c ontinuous, o ngoing p rocess t hat e xtends t hroughout t he p eriod o r p eriods o f s ite o ccupation, t hrough t he d uration o f i ts a bandonment, t hroughout t he i ncorporation o f i ts m aterial r esidues i n s oil o r s ediment i f t his o ccurs, a nd o n t o t he t ime o f i ts d iscovery a nd e xcavation. A w ide r ange o f p rocesses i ntervene i n t he f ormation o f a s ite t hroughout a ny o f t hese p hases, a ffecting i ts u ltimate c omposition, t he c ondition a nd r elative p reservation o f i ts c omponent t heir s patial c onfigurations a nd a ssociations. C oncern w ith a h olistic,

m aterials,

a nd

p rocess-oriented p erspective i s p art o f

a w idespread s hift w ithin a rchaeological r esearch w ithin t he p ast 1 5 y ears. I t i s i n p art a n o utgrowth a nd o utcome o f i deas g enerated b y t he " New A rchaeology" o f t he 1 960's, s tressing a s i t d id t he r ecognition o f p atterns i n a rchaeological r esidues. S uch p atterns, g enerally c oncerning p hysical a ttributes o f a rtifacts ( Spaulding 's " formal d imensions":1960) o r t heir o verall s patial r elationships a nd a ssociations ( "spatial d imensions"), t heoretically r epresented a nd r evealed a spects o f p alaeoethnographic b ehavior p atterns ( e.g., B inford 1 962, 1 968; C larke 1 968 ; D eetz 1 963, 1 968a, 1 968b; H ill 1 968, 1 970). A p eriod o f c autious w ithdrawal a nd r econsideration f ollowed t he s omewhat b uoyant o ptimism o f t his p hase o f d evelopment i n a rchaeological t hought. T here e merged a w idespread a nd g rowing d emand f or a b etter e mpirical u nderstanding b etween p rocess a nd p roduct i n f orming t he

o f t he r elationship o bservable, o ften

p atterned p roducts i n t he a rchaeological r ecord. I n l arge p art, t his h as c onstituted a c all f or a f uller a nd m ore d etailed r eference c ollection o f o bservations t o b e u sed i n m aking i nferences w hen i nterpreting a rchaeological d ata ( Isaac 1 967; S chiffer 1 972, 1 976; S hackley 1 978; C larke a nd C hapman 1 978; a nd B inford 1 98 1, a re . some e xamples o f e xplicit s upport f or t his a pproach t o a rchaeological i nvestigation). 1

C omparative o bservations h ave b een n otoriously s parse

f or

w ork

w ith t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord. T his p roblem i s c ompounded b y t he r elative s carcity a nd r estricted v ariety o f t he d ata b ase i n c omparison t o l ater p eriods o f t ime. S imilar o r c orrelative p rocesses f or p roducing e arly a rchaeological t races a re f ew i n t he m odern

' w orld,

a nd

a re m ost o ften a rguable a s w ell.

A lso t here h as

b een a mple t ime a nd o pportunity f or m ultiple p rocesses t o o perate o n a nd c onfound a ny b ehaviorally-induced p atterns. P roducing s ound o r w ell-founded i nterpretations u nder s uch c ircumstances c an b e e specially c hallenging. A s D esmond C lark h as o bserved f or t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord, w here p roblems o f p reservation a nd r etrieval a re p articularly t rying: " Meaningful r econstructions o f h ominid b ehavior p atterns d uring L ower P alaeolithic t imes m ust d epend o n t he a mount o f d ata p reserved o n t he l iving s ites a nd o n t he p rehistorian 's a bility , a ided b y h is c olleagues i n t he n atural a nd s ocial s ciences, t o a ssess a nd i nterpret t he s ignificance o f t he e vidence" ( 1966:202)

T his l atter f actor,

t he p roblem o f m aking r eliable i nferences o r

i ntepretations f rom t he l imited d ata s et a vailable, d own i nto c omponents b y B inford: " Statements a bout s ignificance

o f

t he h istorical, o bserved

f unctional,

w as l ater

b roken

o r p rocessual

c haracteristics

o f

t he

a rchaeological r ecord h ave b een e valuated b y t wo c riteria: ( 1) t he d egree t o w hich o ur k nowledge o f c ontemporary p eoples m ight j ustifiably b e p rojected b ack t o e xtinct s ociocultural s ystems, a nd ( 2) t he d egree t o w hich w e m ight h ave c onfidence i n t he p rofessional c ompetence a nd i ntellectual h onesty o f t he a rchaeologist a dvancing i nterpretations."

T his

( 1968:16).

i nherent p roblem o f t he f railty o f t he i nferential p rocess

i s n ot r estricted t o t he t raditional a rchaeological i nterpretations, i n w hich d ata w as g enerally c ollected w ithout s pecific h ypotheses i n m ind, b ut a pplies a s w ell t o s tudies d evoted t o e xplicit t esting o f h ypotheses. A lthough t he l ogic o f s uch i nquiries i s m ore s traight-forward a nd d eliberate, t he i nitial c onstruction o f a t entative i nterpretation o r . hypothesis s till n ecessitates i nduction f rom a vailable d ata s ources: " The d eductive a pproach m erely r emoves s ubjectivity b y

o ne

s tep, b ecause t he h ypothesis t o b e t ested i s d erived b y a n i nductive p rocess f rom a nalogous e thnographic d ata." ( Deetz 1 97 1:148)

I saac ( 1967) o bserved t hat a rchaeological i nterpretations h ave v ery o ften r elied u pon a p riori r easoning r egarding t he o rigin o f s pecific s ite f eatures a nd s trongly s tressed t he n eed f or e mpirical i nvestigation o f t he e ffect t hat v arious p rocesses c an h ave u pon a rchaeological r esidues. T he s tudy t o b e p resented h ere w as, i n 2

f act, u pon

i nspired b y I saac's t heoretical w ork i n t his a rena, a nd b uilt h is p ioneering e xperimental w ork. A w ide r ange o f r esearchers

n ow h ave e ncouraged o r t hemselves e ngaged i n r esearch d irected t oward b uilding b etter e mpirical f oundations f or a rchaeological i nterpretation. S uch i nvestigations h ave j oined s tudies w ith s imilar o bjectives t hat g enerally c ome u nder t he r ubric o f t aphonomy w ithin p alaeontology. W hile t aphonomy c oncentrates u pon t he p rocesses i mpinging u pon o rganic r emains ( contributing t o t heir b urial, p reservation o r d estruction, t ransport a nd s cattering, a ccumulation a nd m ixing w ith o ther m aterials, e tc.), s ite f ormation s tudies f ocus u pon a b roader r ange o f m aterials ( organic a nd i norganic) w hich h ave b een i n s ome w ay a ssociated w ith h uman a ctivities, o r w ith t he p hysical p roducts o f s uch a ctivities. T he t wo f ields o f i nvestigation h ave m any s imilarities i n b oth r esearch d esign a nd o bjectives, r elying s trongly u pon e xperimental a nd o bservational s tudies o f m odern p rocesses a nd t heir p roducts. I n f act, m any a rchaeologically-oriented p ractitioners a ttempt t o s ubsume m any o f t he f indings o f t aphonomy i n o rder t o c ontrol f or n atural f actors a ffecting f aunal r emains a t a rchaeological s ites. A s f ocus h as s hifted u pon t he p rocesses a ffecting o bservable p roducts a t a rchaeological s ites, t here h as a lso e volved a c hanging c onception o f w hat a n a rchaeological s ite a ctually i s, a nd o f w hat c onstitutes a rchaeological d ata. A s ite i s n ow v idwed l ess a s a t wo-dimensional, g raphic p ortrait o f p rehistoric b ehavior , w hether d ealt w ith i n t erms o f r esidual " living f loors" o r, m ore a bstractly, " patterned p roducts" o f p alaeolifeways. R ather , w hat i s d esignated e x p ost f acto a s a n " site" i s a m ulti-dimensional p roduct o f a v ariety o f p rocesses o perating i n t andem a nd i n s equence t o p roduce t he o bserved p roducts. A long w ith t his r efinement i n t he s ite c oncept, a rchaeological d ata m ay b e d efined a s s pecific a spects o f t he a vailable p hysical e vidence ( e.g. C larke 1 978; S ullivan 1 978), u sually m aterial o r s patial, r ather t han a s a c ontained, d elimited s et o f i nformation w hich t he a rchaeologist g oes o ut a nd " collects". S o d efined, a rchaeological d ata i s t heoretically l imitless; i n p ractical t erms, i t m ay b e u sefully a nd r eliably e xpanded a s s ite f ormation

s tudies

i ndicate

p rocess

" signatures"

w ithin

v arious

a spects o f t heir p roducts. A nother m ajor t hrust w ithin t he m odern c oncept o f s ite f ormation p rocesses, h as b een t o b roaden t he c ontext ( e.g., B utzer 1 978, 1 980,

a rchaeological p erspective o n 1 982; G ladfelter 1 977, 1 98 1;

S choenwetter 1 98 1). C oncern h as a risen o nly t o c onsider g eological a nd g eomorphological e vidence m ore s eriously a nd e xplicitly, b ut e ven t o e xpand t he s cope o f i nterest a nd s ynthesis i n a rchaeological s tudies t o e mbrace a b roader e cological c oncept o f b oth a rchaeological s ite f ormation a nd h uman a daptation ( Butzer 1 982). A w ide v ariety o f s tudies h as a lready b een

g enerated

b y

t he

o verall

s hift i n e mphasis i n a rchaeological r esearch o utlined a bove. T hese h ave p roduced s uch a w ealth o f i nformation a bout s ome f ormational p rocesses t hat, a s G ifford h as o bserved, " the ' cautionary n ote ' i s s lowly b eing r eplaced b y

g eneralizations

( 1980:93). 3

a nd

t estable

h ypotheses"

D EVELOPMENTAL A SPECTS O F S ITE F ORMATION S TUDIES T here h ave b een s ite f ormation s tudies,

s everal d iscrete s tages i n t he d evelopment o f a nd i n t he a pplication o f t he r esults o f s uch

r esearch t o a rchaeological m aterials. T his d evelopment h as e ntailed c onstruction o f a s et o f p remises c oncerning h ow s ites f orm, a nd h ow t heir f ormation m ay b e s tudied i n a u seful, i nformative w ay. T hese m ay b e c haracterized a s, i n g eneral o rder o f t heir r ecognition: 1 ) S ite f ormation p rocesses a re m ultiple, v ariety o f b oth c ultural a nd n on-cultural a gencies. 2 ) D iscrete p rocesses c an o peration,

u sually

i n

b e

s eparated

o ut

a nd c an i nvolve a

a nd

o bserved

o bservational o r e xperimental s tudies.

i n T his

m ay b e d one w ith a v ariety o f b oth b ehavioral a nd n atural p rocesses, a nd t heir r espective p roducts m ay t hen b e o bserved a nd a nalyzed. 3 ) T here a re r egular p rocess-product r elationships, t hat i s, e ach p rocess m ay p roduce a r egular, p redictable r esult ( within r easonable b ounds) i n s ome m aterial r esidue l eft b y t he p rocess. 4 ) T he r espective p rocesses i nvolved c an b e i nferred f rom t he p roducts, a t l east i n s ome i nstances. I mportantly, a ny c hance o f a mbiguity i n d oing t his, f or i nstance w hen t here a re c onvergent r esults"

o f

d iverse

p rocesses,

c ould

d elineated. P otentially, a dditional h elp r esolve s uch c ases o f o verlap. E arly i n t he d evelopment c oncentrated o n a dvocacy o f ( 1),

a lso

" aspects"

b e

r ecognized

a nd

o f t he e vidence c ould

o f t his f ield, m uch e ffort w as i .e., p romoting t he n ecessity f or a

s hift i n p erspective a nd p rocedure i n a pproaching a rchaeological d ata a nd t heir i nterpretation. M ore r ecently , a g reat d eal o f r esearch h as b een d evoted t o s tages 2 a nd 3 , o r i solating s pecific p rocesses t hat m ight b e r elevant i n p articular c ases, c haracterizing t heir p roducts.

a nd

t hen

o bserving

a nd

T he l ast s tage, r eliably a nd w ith g ood j ustification i nferring p rocess f rom p roduct, w ill b e t he l ongest t o c ome, s ince c ontrol m ust b e m aintained f or B ehrensmeyer h ave t aphonomy o perating

a m ultitude o f p rocesses. o bserved r egarding s tudies

a nd s ite f ormation, i n t he p resent,

A s i n

G ifford a nd b oth f ields,

e xperiments m ay " show" p rocess b ut t hen a rchaeological a nd

p alaeontological s ituations o f t he p ast m ust b e i nferred ( 1977: 2 65): T he f ormer d oes n ot a lways l ead e asily a nd d irectly t o t he l atter . I deally w hat i s r equired i s t he g eneration o f " If a nd o nly i f" s tatements r egarding t he p rocesses r esponsible f or p roducing o bserved p henomena. A long w ith t his w e m ust r ecognize o ther " If-then" s tatements r egarding t he p roduction o f t he a rchaeological r ecord, i ncluding t he p ossible p roduction o f s imilar o r c onvergent r esults b y d ifferent p rocesses. d iverse p rocesses S ome s cholarly a nd i nsightful s tudies a re n ow e merging.that a ttempt t o c arry r esearch i n t he f ield t o t his l evel. E xamples o f s uch w ork w ould i nclude s tudies o f m ore s pecific q uestions r egarding s ite f ormation p rocesses a t h and ( e.g., V illa a nd C ourtin 1 983, a l ook a t v ertical d ispersion o f a rtifacts a nd t rampling e ffects) a nd,

4

a t a b roader l evel, a p owerful a ttempt b y B rain ( 198 1) t o c ontrol f or c arnivore v s. h ominid r esponsibility i n f orming t he f aunal d eposits i n S outh A frican c aves. M ore s tudies o f t his s ort s hould e merge a s m ore i nformation i s p roduced r egarding t he v ariety o f p rocesses a t w ork i n s ite f ormation , b oth t hose p revalent a t a w ide r ange o f s ites a nd t hose m ore p eculiar t o a p articular s ite a t h and.

S ITE F ORMATION R ESEARCH:

P ERSPECTIVES A ND O BJECTIVES

A ttention h as b een d rawn b y a n umber o f r esearchers t o h ow v arious c ultural p rocesses ( or b ehavioral p rocesses) c an a ffect t he n ature o f a rchaeological c onfiguration i n m odern e thnographic i nstances ( e.g. B inford 1 976, 1 978a, 1 978b, 1 979; C lark a nd K urashina 1 98 1; G ould 1 969, 1 980; H eider 1 967; K ramer 1 979; L ee 1 965; M urray

1 980 ;

O 'Connell

1 980;

R athje

1 974,

1 979;

a nd Y ellen 1 974,

1 977, a s a n ecessarily i ncomplete l isting o f t he e xtensive l iterature n ow a vailable o n s uch t opics). M any h ave a lso e xplicitly p robed t he c omplications o f i nteraction b etween c ultural a nd n on-cultural p rocesses i n i nfluencing t he p reservation, p atterning, d istribution, a nd e ven t he d iscovery o f a rchaeological r esidues ( Binford 1 978b, G ifford 1 977, 1 98 1; G ifford a nd B ehrensmeyer 1 977). ( See S chiffer , 1 983, f or a n e xcellent o verview o f v arious f acets o f r esearch o n s ite f ormation p rocesses). O ther s tudies h ave e xplored h ow a w ide r ange o f.natural a gencies c an d isturb s ites o r i n s ome w ay a lter c ultural d eposits ( see W ood a nd J ohnson, 1 978, f or a s urvey o f s uch p rocesses). T he n ature o f t he i nteraction o f t he s ite a nd i ts g eological s etting i s t he s pecific f ocus i n o thers ( Lathrap 1 968; B utzer 1 97 1; S hackley 1 975; D avidson a nd S hackley 1 975;

G ladfelter 1 977;

T urnbaugh 1 978).

A n umber o f c ontrolled e xperimental a nd o bservational s tudies h ave n ow b een c onducted t hat d irectly e xamine t he e ffects o f s ome p rominent n atural a gencies o n a rtifactual a nd p alaeontological m aterials. A p artial l isting o f t hese w ould i nclude: J ewel a nd D imbleby, 1 966 ( overall c hanges i n a n e arthwork o ver t ime); I saac, 1 967 ( fluvial t ransport o f s tones a nd b ones); V oorhies, 1 969 ( fluvial t ransport o f b ones); S hackley 1 974 ( stream a brasion o f a rtifacts); B ehrensmeyer, 1 975 ( taphonomy, f luvial t ransport o f b one); R ick, 1 976 ( slope p rocesses a nd a rtifact d istributions); W ymer , 1 976 ( stream a brasion o f a rtifacts); C ahen a nd M oeyersons, 1 977 ( vertical d ispersion o f a rtifacts t hrough w etting a nd d rying o f s ediments); T urnbaugh, 1 978 ( effects o f am ajor f lood e vent u pon a rchaeological s ites); B ehrensmeyer , 1 978 ( bone w eathering s tages); H arris, 1 978 ( fluvial t ransport o f a rtifacts); H anson , 1 980 f luvial t ransport o f b one); B ehrensmeyer a nd H ill ( eds.), 1 980 ( volume o n t aphonomy); S hipman, 1 98 1 ( taphonomy); V illa, 1 982 ( vertical d ispersion o f a rtifacts);

B oaz,

1 982

( taphonomy,

m odern b one d eposits);

a nd V illa

a nd C ourtin, 1 983, a nd G ifford e t.al., ( in p ress), ( trampling a nd v ertical d ispersion o f a rtifacts). A p recocious f orerunner i n s uch s tudies w as, o f c ourse, C harles D arwin ( 188 1), w ith h is m onograph o n t he

b urial

o f R oman r emains i n E ngland t hrough t urbation o f s oil b y

e arthworms. 5

S chiffer ( 1983:676-678) h as p resented a n i nsightful p ortrait

o f

s ome o f t he d iverse c onceptions o f f ormation p rocesses a s t hey a ppear i n t he a rchaeological l iterature. T hese a re c haracterized a s: 1 ) t he " entropy" c oncept, e pitomized b y A scher 's ( 1968) v iew o f p rogressive d egradation o f t he q uantity a nd t he q uality o f e vidence o ver t ime ( time's a rrow"). T his v iew i s p romoted i n s ome o f t he w ork o f D aniel ( 1972) a nd C larke ( 1973), i n w hich a d ominant c oncept i s a s ubtractive m odel o f t ransmission o f p ast i nformation ( discussed i n S ullivan, 1 978). 2 ) t he " sampling b ias" c oncept, o r t he v iew t hat p hysical r emains v ery s electively r epresent b ehavior, a n i nitial b ias f urther e nhanced b y d ifferential p reservation o ver t ime. T his v iew h as b een p resented b y C owgill ( 1970) a nd C ollins ( 1975) i n a t heoretical s ense ( discussed i n S chiffer), a nd i n m ore s pecific a pplication b y a n umber o f r esearchers, s uch a s B onnichsen ( 1973); m any c ontributors i n B ehrensmeyer a nd H ill ( 1980); B rain ( 198 1); G ifford ( 198 1); a nd S hipman ( 198 1). 3 ) T he " transformational c oncept", f ormation p rocesses e xhibit p atterning ,

o r t he v iew t hat a ll a nd t hus t hey m ay a ll,

b ehavioral p rocesses a s w ell a s p rocesses o f s ubsequent " disturbance" o r a lteration, h ave p atterned, a nd p redictable, c onsequences ( notable e xamples a re B inford 1 98 1; V illa a nd C ourtin 1 983; i nformation, w hether i t p ost-depositional a rchaeologist.

R athje a nd S chiffer 1 982; S chiffer 1 976; W ood a nd J ohnson 1 978). I n t his v iew , a ll t ells o f o n-site b ehavior o r o f

d isturbance,

i s

v iable

a nd

v aluable

t o

T he p osition t aken t hroughout t his s tudy w ill b e t hat a ll

t he

t hree

o f t hese c oncepts a re v alid a nd u seful. T hat i s, o ver t ime i nformation l oss d efinitely o ccurs, d ifferential p reservation i s n ot r andom b ut i s s elective, a nd t he o verall t ransformation m ay o ccur i n p redictable a nd p atterned w ays w ith r espect t o t he p rocesses i nvolved. A lthough s tudies o f s ite " transformation" c ould b e t aken t o s ubsume t he o ther t wo, c omponents

o f

t his

l oss a nd b ias a re t wo

t ransformation

e xtremely

i mportant

t hat a re w orthwhile t o c onsider

i ndividually a s t hey c ontribute t o p atterned t ransformation . S ite f ormation w ill t hus b e c onsidered i n t his s tudy i n l ight o f e ach o f t hese a spects a s r equired.

C ONCEPTS O F S ITE E NVIRONMENT A ND S ITE C ONTEXT P ossibly t he e arliest p ublished c onsideration

o f

t he

e vidence

f or s ite c ontext a nd i ts s ignificance r egarding a rtifacts c ontained i n a g eological d eposit w as t he c ommunique s ent b y J ohn F rere t o t he A ntiquarian S ociety o f L ondon i n 1 797. I n t his l etter, F rere ( 1800) a nnounced t he d iscovery o f f lint a rtifacts u nearthed a t H oxne a nd p resented a rguments f or c onsiderable a ntiquity o f t hese f inds, a s w ell a s d eliberations o n t he a ncient g eomorphological s urroundings o f t he m aterial a nd t heir a pparent p reservation a t t he m anufacture. 6

p lace

o f

t heir

S ince

t hat t ime,

t he c oncept o f s ite c ontext h as h ad a s omewhat

v aried h istory. I t h as g enerally b een e mployed b y a rchaeologists i n t erms o f " primary" v ersus " secondary" o r " derived" c ontext. T his g enerally h as i mplied p reservation o f a rtifacts a t t he l ocus o f u se o r d iscard o n t he o ne h and, a s o pposed t o t heir r edeposition a t s ome d istance a way t hrough f orces o ther t han h uman a ction. R eference h as a lso b een m ade t o a rchaeological v ersus g eological c ontext o f e xcavated s ites, e mphasizing t he i nferred p rimary o r i n s itu ( in t heir o riginal p lace) c haracter o f t he d eposit i n t he f ormer , a nd a n e xtremely d isturbed, d erived s etting f or t he a rtifacts i n t he l atter . I n a t l east o ne i nstance ( Kleindienst 1 961), a t ripartite d ivision h as b een e mployed, d iscriminating b etween p rimary ( archaeological), d erived

( archaeological)

a nd g eological c ontext,

g iving

s ome

r ough

s caling o f t he d egree o f d isturbance, b ut p ortraying a s omewhat c onfusing d ivision b etween a rchaeological a nd g eological c ontext. T hus, r eferences t o s ite c ontext h ave g enerally b een l oaded i nferences r egarding t he s ite 's i mmediate g eological e nvironment a nd, i mportantly, h ow f orces i n t his e nvironment h ave a ffected t he s ite's m aterials. S tudies o f s ite e nvironment, o n t he o ther h and, t ended f or m any d ecades t o c oncentrate u pon s tratigraphy a nd c limate. F or l ong t hey f ocused u pon r elative c hronology, o ften e videnced p rimarily t hrough s uccessions p ointed o ut, m any

o f c limatic c hanges. A s B utzer ( 197 1) h as o f t hese s tudies n eglected i nterpretation o f t he

i mmediate s ite e nvironment d uring h abitation L ater, i nterest s hifted o r e xpanded t o t he p roblem o f d iscerning s pecifics o f p rehistoric h abitat, a nd i ts p ossibilities f or e xploitation a nd a daptation. ( e.g. J .G.D. C lark 1 954; J .D. C lark 1 960; F lannery 1 969). I n s ome c ases e xtremely d etailed r esearch b y s pecialists i n r elated d isciplines h as f ocused e xplicitly o n a rchaeological q uestions c oncerning a s ite's p alaeoenvironment a nd i ts p ossibilities f or e xploitation a nd u tilization. A p rime e xample o f s uch w ork i s H ay 's t horough s tudy o f t he g eology o f O lduvai G orge a nd c onsideration o f i ts i mplications r egarding p alaeoenvironments a t t he o ccupation ( Hay 1 973, 1 976).

t imes

o f

s ite

C ontext c arries i mplications b eyond t hat d enoted b y e nvironment, b ut, a s m entioned a bove, a ssessments o f c ontext h ave o ften b een m ade w ithout f ull a ppreciation o f t he g eological s ituation o f t he s ite o r i ts e ffect u pon s ite c omposition a nd s patial a rrangement. C ontext m ay b e d efined v ery b roadly a s " the i nterrelated c onditions i n w hich s omething e xists o r o ccurs.

W ithin t he p ast d ecade i n a rchaeological

r esearch, t he t erm h as g ained a dded e mphasis a nd m eaning b eyond t hat e mployed i n e arlier s tudies. B utzer h as b een a c onsistently s trong p roponent o f a v ery b road s ense o f c ontext i n a rchaeological i nvestigations ( Butzer 1 978, 1 980, 1 982), w hich h as b een l abelled b y s ome t he " contextual a pproach". a rchaeology, t he e mphasis i s

I n t he p roposed f ield o f c ontextual u pon t he c oncept o f a d ynamic

i nteraction b etween human a nd o verall e nvironmental v ariables, a nd t he a pplication o f m ethodologies o f n atural s cience d isciplines t o a rchaeological 1 98 1).

r esearch

( Butzer 1 983;

7

G ladfelter 1 977;

S choenwetter

t hat,

S choenwetter, b orrowing e xplicitly f rom B utzer , h as s uggested a lthough " description a nd e xplanation o f b ehavioral s equence

a nd p alaeoethnography a re n ot t o b e i gnored, t hey m ay b e m ore u sefully i mplemented a s e lements o f a m ore h olistic l ook a t t he i nteractive p rocesses o f b ehavioral a nd ' biophysical' v ariables i n h uman c ommunities" ( 198 1: 3 73-375). H is r ecommendation i s t hat t he m ethodology

o f

i nvestigation

w ill

r equire

a

p rofound

s hift

i n

a rchaeology, a llowing a m ore s ystemic c onceptualization o f p rocesses r esponsible f or o bserved p henomena. M ost i mportantly, t his s uggested a pproach: " grants n o p riority o f v alue t o

a nthropological

k nowledge

i n g eneralizing s uites o f e xpectations ( models) o f t he c haracteristics a nd c omponents o f p rehistoric c ultural o r b ehavioral s ystems a nd s ubsystems"

( Schoenwetter 1 98 1:375).

A lthough t his a pproach i s e normously d ifficult t o c arry o ut ( as S choenwetter a dmits), i t w ould b e a n e xtremely u seful o ne t o e mulate i n

i nvestigating

s ite

f ormation

p rocesses.

B ehavioral p rocesses

w ould n ot n ecessarily p redominate a s p otential m odels f or o bservable p roducts i n t he a rchaeological r ecord. P atterns w ould f irst b e e xamined w ithout a llegiance t o p articular m odels, b ehavioral o r o therwise, a nd t hen a lternative p rocesses e xplored f or t heir a pplicability. S uch a b roadly o pen-minded a pproach t o i nterpretations o f a rchaeological d ata, c onsidering a r ange o f p ossible b ehavioral a nd n atural p rocesses f or i nput i nto e vident p atterns, w ill b e a d esirable r oute f or a rchaeological i nvestigation, p articularly o nce s ufficient p rocess-product r elationships.

s tudies a re c ompleted o f a v ariety o f

C ULTURAL A ND B IOPHYSICAL P ROCESSES O F S ITE F ORMATION A s f ollows f rom t he p receding d iscussion, s ite f ormation w ill n ecessarily i nvolve a w ide v ariety o f p rocesses. F or a ny p eriod o f t ime t hese w ill i nclude c ultural o r h uman b ehavioral p rocesses, i nvolving b ehaviors s uch a s r aw m aterial p rocurement, a rtifact m anufacture, t ransport o f r aw m aterials a nd a rtifacts, a rtifact u se, r ecycling, d iscard, l oss, a nd s o o n. C ulturally d eposited m aterials w ill t hen b e s ubjected t o a v ariety o f n atural p rocesses, i ncluding a r ange o f a nimals)

b iological a gencies ( e.g. a s w ell a s p hysical f actors

t he w ork o f v egetation o r ( freezing a nd t hawing, w etting

a nd d rying, s olifluction, f looding a nd f luvial t ransport, b y m echanical a nd c hemical m eans, e tc.).

w eathering

S ince t he r ange o f p ossible p rocesses s uitable f or i nvestigation i s s o v ast, w ithin t his s tudy a s elected s et o f s ite f ormation p rocesses w ill b e c onsidered i n s ome d etail. T he p rocesses c hosen f or s tudy ( to b e d iscussed f urther i n t he p roceeding c hapter) w ere j udged t o b e e specially p ertinent t o i nvestigation o f e arly s ites i n t he a rchaeological r ecord, s pectrum o f s ites

a s w ell a s g enerally a pplicable t o a b road

t hroughout t ime a nd g eographical r ange. 8

P ROCESSES U NDER I NVESTIGATION O ut o f t he l arge f ormation, a p revalent

s et o f n atural a gencies a t w ork i n s ite c ommon d enominator i s t he a ction o f

s edimentary p rocesses. V ery o ften t hese e ffectively b ury t he a rchaeological r esidues, a nd s o c an e ven a id i n t heir p reservation a s i ntact r esidues a gainst a gencies o f w eathering, t rampling, e rosion, s cavenging a nd r ecycling o f m aterials, e tc. M ost s ites a re b uried, p artially o r c ompletely, a nd t hus t hey h ave n ecessarily e ndured s ome p rocesses

o f

s edimentation

i n t he c ourse o f t heir h istory.

I n t he

c ase o f e arly a rchaeological o ccurrences ( Oldowan a nd A cheulean i ndustries), a nd t hroughout m ost o f p rehistoric t ime a s w ell, s ites a re m ost c ommonly i n s edimentary c ontexts a ssociated w ith w ater. T hese a re p rimarily i n :

b odies

o f

1 ) a lluvial s ettings ( channels a nd f loodplains, s ometimes i n f acies c lose t o a l ake) ( e.g. O lduvai G orge, K oobi F ora, G adeb, O mo, N atron, V aal R iver, K alambo F alls, I simila, O lorgesailie, K ilombe, C hesowanja, t he J os P lateau s ites i n W est A frica, A rkin 8 , K nor A bu A nga, s ome l evels a t H oxne, S wanscombe, C lacton-on-Sea, L atamne, C asablanca S .T.I.C., M elka K ontoure, S t. A cheul, A bbeville, s ome l evels a t ' Ubeidiya, p robably T orralba a nd A mbrona ( sometimes i n f acies c lose t o a l ocal b asin o r l ake), e tc.); 2 )

1 ,

l ake m argin o r b asin s ituations

3 ) m arine b eaches ( e.g. B aia F arta, A sochracona);

( e.g.

' Ubeidiya,

S idi A bderahman,

H oxne);

T erra A mata,

M oroccan

4 ) o r, i n s ome c ases, i n a ssociation w ith s pring d eposits, s ometimes i n a lluvial f acies ( e.g. A drar B ous, S idi Z in, T ernifine, K harga O asis, D akhla O asis, B ir S ahara, A manzi). I n g laciated E urope, t he c onstancy o r c onsistency w ith r egard t o t he g eological s etting o f e arly s ites i s e ven m ore p ronounced t han i n A frica a nd A sia: A s W ymer h as p ointed o ut ( 1976), o ver 9 5% o f L ower P alaeolithic e vidence i n B ritain i s c onstituted b y a rtifacts i n f luvial g ravel d eposits. T he b ulk o f e arly

s ites,

t hen,

o ccur

i n

s ome

p roximity

t o

f luvial c hannels ( Isaac, 1 972). S uch s edimentary b iases a re n ot u nexpected, c onsidering b oth t he d ependence o f h umans a nd m ost o ther a nimals u pon l ocal w ater s ources, m ostly r ivers, a s w ell a s t he d ominance o f s tream d eposits w ithin t he s edimentary r ecord: " Streams a re t he m ost i mportant o f t he a gents r esponsible f or t he r emoval f rom t he l and o f t he p roducts o f w eathering a nd f or t he c onstruction o f n ew b odies o f s ediment w ithin l and m asses o r o n t heir i mmediate m argins." ( Allen 1 965:170).

P rocesses o f s edimentation c an b e v astly i mportant, t hen, i n t he f ormation o f t hese s ites a nd, h ence, i n t he p reservation o f a rchaeological e vidence. B ut a t t he s ame t ime, t hey c an d rastically a ffect a rchaeological m aterials, i n e ither s ubtle o r p rofound w ays. 9

E ven o verbank f low, t hat r esponsible f or t he l evee a nd f loodbasin d eposits s o c ommonly c onsidered i nsurance o f " primary c ontext" f or a rchaeological m aterials, c an w reak h avoc u pon s ite m aterials. F or e xample, t he v elocities a chieved b y o verbank f low c an b e v ery d estructive: . some o f t he o bserved v elocities a re r ather

h igh,

e ven

a s g reat a s m ean v elocities o bserved i n n atural c hannels t hemselves. T hese r esults a re p lausible i f o ne c onsiders t hat t he s lope m ay b e g reater a nd t he r oughness o f t he f lood-plain s ection m ay b e l ess t han t he r oughness m ain c hannel" ( Wolman a nd L eopold, 1 957:97).

T hus s edimentary p rocesses,

o f

t he

p articularly i n f luvial s ettings b ut

a lso i n l acustrine o r b each s ituations a s w ell, w ill b e c onsidered h ere i n s ome d etail f or t heir p otential e ffects u pon a rchaeological r esidues. T he p redominant c omponent s ituations w ill b e e xamined, a s w ell a s B asic

a spects

e xamined, a rtifact

o f

p rocesses a t w ork i n s uch t heir r espective p roducts.

c ultural p rocesses o f s ite f ormation w ill a lso b e

p articularly t hose c ontributing t o t he c reation o f s tone o f c oncentrations o n t he l andscape. T he i nterplay o f t hese

t wo s ets o f f orces, a s o bserved w ithin c ontrolled e xperiments, i n f orming a nd t ransforming c ultural d eposits w ill a lso b e c onsidered. A p rimary c oncern t hroughout t his s tudy w ill b e t he m atter o f h ow t he a rchaeologist c an r ecognize t he w orking o f d ifferent

s ite

f ormation

p rocesses f rom p atterns o bservable i n e xcavated t races. T he

m ajor

f ocus

o f

t his

e xamination

o f a rchaeological s ite

f ormation w ill b e t he r esults o f a n e xperimental s tudy o f s ite f ormation p rocesses, p articularly p rocesses c ommonly a t w ork a t P alaeolithic s ites. T he g eneral m ethodology o f t he r esearch a nd t he c omponents o f s ite f ormation t hat w ere i nvestigated w ill b e d escribed i n t he f ollowing c hapter. R esults o f s ome e xperiments e xamining c ultural p rocesses, i .e., s tone a rtifact m anufacturing a ctivities, w ill

t hen

b e

d iscussed

( Chapter 3 ).

I n C hapter 4 r esults o f s ome

f lume ( laboratory c hannel) e xperiments w ill b e c onsidered: t hese w ere c arried o ut t o e xamine d irectly a nd u nder c ontrolled c onditions h ydraulic t ransport o f s tone a rtifacts. C hapter 5 p resents a s ynthesis o f t he r esults o f a l arge s et o f s imulated s ite e xperiments l eft o n t he l andscape a nd s ubjected t o a v ariety o f n atural p rocesses. C hapter 6 a ttends t o t he g eneral p roblem o f a pplying t hese r esults t o a rchaeological i nstances, a nd i n C hapter 7 s ome e arly P lio-Pleistocene a rchaeological s ites a re e valuated i n l ight o f t he r esults o f t he e xperimental s tudy. S ome g eneral c onclusions o f t he e ntire s tudy a re p resented i n t he f inal C hapter. A m ore d etailed p resentation o f t he i ndividual e xperiments a nd t heir r esults i s i ncluded i n t he a ppendices.

1 0

C HAPTER 2 :

M ETHODOLOGY

" The d egree o f c ompleteness w ith w hich w e c an d educe t he c onditions o f d eposition o f a ncient s trata i s i n d irect p roportion t o o ur k nowledge o f r ecent s ediments a nd t he f actors d etermining t heir a ttributes" ( J.R.L.

A llen)

I NTRODUCTION W hile t he a rchaeological r ecord d ocuments h uman a ctivity, i t d oes n ot a lways d ispense v ery f reely w ith c lues a s t o w hat t hose b ehaviors a ctually w ere. I n t he L ower P alaeolithic, i n p articular, t he e vidence i s e specially c ryptic: s ites g enerally c onsist o f p atches o r c oncentrations o f s tone a rtifacts, s ometimes w ith f aunal r emains a t t he s ame l ocation . T he s tone m aterials s how d efinite s igns o f h uman m anufacture b y p ercussive b lows, i .e. c onchoidal f racture, p atterned f laking o f c ores, a nd s o f orth. T he a rtifacts u sually c onsist o f s tone c ores o r c ore t ools f rom w hich f lakes h ave b een s truck, a long w ith s ome f lakes p roduced f rom t hose o r s imilar c ores. T he s ites g enerally s tand o ut a s d istinct c oncentrations o f s uch m aterials w ithin p ortions o f t he p alaeolandscape o bservable i n m odern e rosion c uts. B ones a re s ometimes w hole, b ut m ost o ften a re i n f ragmented c ondition. T hese s ites a re f ound w ithin a ncient, s tratified w ater.

s edimentary

d eposits

w hich h ave m ost o ften b een l aid b y

A lthough t he a rtifactual m aterials h ave o bviously b een f ashioned b y e arly s omewhat

h ominids, f urther i nformation a bout e arly l ifeways i s m ore d ifficult t o r etrieve ( see B inford 1 98 1; T oth a nd

S chick 1 986). F or i nstance, q uestions t hat h ave b een o r m ight b e a sked a bout t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord c ould i nclude:

w ell

1 ) W hat d oes t he p resence o f s tone a rtifacts a t t he s ite s ignify? W ere t hey b eing m ade t here, w ere t hey u sed a t t he l ocation, w ere t hey m erely d iscarded t here, 2 ) W hat i s s tone

a nd

e tc.

t he " meaning" o f t he s patial a ssociation b etween

t he b one?

l ocation t o c onsume?

t he

W ere h ominids b ringing i n a nimal f oods t o t his W ere t hey s cavenging c arnivore

k ill

s ites

o r

l airs? W ere t hey s cavenging a t a p lace o f d eath o r d eposition o f c arcasses b y n atural m eans? O r i s t he c ontiguity o f t he a rtifacts a nd t he f aunal r emains a r esult o f s ome o ther f actors, b ringing t hem t ogether d uring t he l ives o f t he a nimals, o r a fterwards d rawing t hem i nto t he s ame d eposits?

1 1

3 )

H ow

h ave

t he

m aterials l eft a t t he s ite b een i ncorporated

w ithin t he b ody o f s ediment f rom

w hich

t hey

a re

e xcavated?

W hat

f orces h ave a cted u pon t hem s ince t he s ite w as o ccupied a nd h ow h ave t hese a ffected t he p atterns o f a rchaeological m aterials? T he r esearch t hat w ill b e d escribed h ere h as b een d esigned t o e xplore a spects o f s ome o f t hese q uestions. A b asic p remise o f t his s tudy h as b een L yell's P rinciple o f U niformitarianism. P rocesses o perating i n t he p resent w ere i nvestigated i n o rder t o g lean i nsight i nto t hose t hat h ave c ontributed t o t he f ormation o f e arly a rchaeological s ites. T he a pproach t aken t o s tudy t hose p rocesses w as e ssentially e xperimental. A p rogram o f e xperiments w as c arried o ut w hich w as s pecifically d esigned t o e lucidate p articular f eatures o f s ite f ormation a nd t ransformation , b oth i n p rocess a nd i n o bservable e ffect. P ROCESSES U NDER C ONSIDERATION T he

p rocesses

c hosen f or s tudy w ere t hose d eemed m ost c ritical

a nd m ost n early u niversal f or t he b ulk o f a rchaeological e vidence f rom e arly s ites i n t he L ower P leistocene i n E ast A frica; m ost a re a lso a pplicable t o m any s ites t hroughout t ime a nd t o o ther a reas o f t he w orld. T hese p rocesses w ere o f t wo g eneral s orts: 1 ) T hose r esponsible f or t he i nitial g eneration o f a rchaeological r esidues: t he b asic b ehavioral o r " cultural" p rocesses ( correlates o f S chiffer 's c -transforms)

( 1976).

2 ) T hose t hat o ccur a fter c ultural d eposition, p articularly t hose t hat a re i nvolved i n t he i ncorporation o f t hese t races w ithin t heir s edimentary c ontext: t he " natural" p rocesses ( correlates o f S chiffer 's n -transforms). T his s tudy h as e ntailed i nvestigation o f b oth s ets o f p rocesses, t hose r esponsible f or t he g eneration o f o bservable t races a t t he e arly s ites, a s w ell a s h ow s ome n atural f orces c an a ffect t hese t races a nd s o a lter o r t ransform m aterial r esidues. B EHAVIORAL P ROCESSES I n t his s tudy t he b asic s et o f b ehavioral p rocesses c onsidered t o b e o bservable g ivens i n t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord w ere q uite r estricted i n n umber . M aterial e vidence a t e arly a rchaeological s ites, p articularly t hose o f O ldowan t radition, w as p roduced b y h ominid f orms w ith n o l iving p hysical o r b ehavioral a nalog . T hese a ncestral p opulations r epresent v arious s tages o r r ather p oints a long t he l ineage w hich h as l ed

t o t he p hysical a nd c ultural m anifestations

o f m odern H omo s apiens. T he b ehavioral r epertoire o f t hese p ast f orms, t heir s ocial o rganization, t heir f oraging g roup s ize a nd r ange, e ven t heir l evel o f c ultural c omplexity a re n ot w ell-known. T hey a re t he s ubject o f i nquiry, a nd p rior a ssumptions a bout t hem s hould b e k ept t o a m inimum.

•

B asic e lements o f w hat i s w ell k nown o r e stablished a bout b ehaviors

a re

v ery

n early

r educible t o a f ew b asic " facts":

l ived i n a t l east s ome a reas o f t he t he A frican c ontinent

( and

t heir t hey l eft

f ossil t estimony t o t his f act) a nd t hey, a t l east a t t imes, m anufactured s tone a rtifacts a nd ( presumably) u sed t hem f or s ome t ask 1 2

o r s et o f t asks. s cattered

u pon

F urthermore, t he

l andscape

t hese a rtifacts b ut

a lso

i n

a re

f ound

n ot

o nly

q uite d istinctive a nd

c ontextually a nomalous c oncentrations o n t he a ncient l andscape. D eliberately f ashioned s tone a rtifacts s tand f acto

e vidence

e arly p eriod, i ndividuals.

o f

b ehavior

t hat

a s

t he

b asic

d e

i s d eemed t o b e c ultural i n t his

i .e. b ased o n l earning a nd t ransmission b etween I n f act, t hese a rtifacts s erve v irtually a s n ecessary

a nd s ufficient c onditions f or o ur d iscernment o f e arly b ehavior. S tone t ool m anufacture, t hen, w as a b asic i nvestigation h ere r egarding t he p roduction o f t hese

c ultural u nit o f m aterial

r esidues t hat w e c all a rchaeological s ites. F lake s catter p atterns S ince w e k now e arly h ominids f laked s tones, a rchaeologists f ind c lusters o f s tone a rtifacts i n s ites

a nd s ince s tratified

i n a ncient d eposits, a f irst s tep i n i nquiry r eadily s uggests i tself : w hat p atterns o f a rtifacts a re p roduced o n t he g round s imply b y t he a ct o f f laking, i f n othing i s p icked u p o r r earranged? H ow d o t he p atterns d iffer d epending o n w hether t he a rtisan 's s tance, w hether h e s its, s quats, k neels, s tands, e tc? T he s patial a rray f ound a mong c onjoining o r r efitting f lakes a t a n a rchaeological s ite c an p otentially r eflect a spects o f t he m anufacturing p rocess. A n umber o f e xperiments w ere c arried o ut s pecifically t o e xamine t he s patial p atterns o f d ebris g enerated i n s tone t ool m anufacture. O f p articular i nterest, t hen, w ere t he e xtent a nd s hape o f t he f lake s catters p roduced, i nternal p atterning w ithin t he s catters, a nd t he r elationship b etween t he s tance o f t he s tone k napper a nd t he r esultant f lake a rrays. R eplicas o f s imple O ldowan c ore f orms w ere m anufactured a nd t he f lake s catters p roduced w ere r ecorded. O f p rimary i nterest w ere t he a rrangement o f f lakes o f a s ize l ikely t o b e c onjoined i n a n a rchaeological s ituation, o r f lakes a nd f lake f ragments l arger t han 2 c m i n m aximum d imension, a lthough g eneral d istribution o f s maller f lake d ebris w as a lso n oted. T hese e xperiments w ere c arried o ut o n

a

n umber

o f

s ubstrates

( with s lightly d ifferent f rictional q ualities) i ncluding s ands, s ilts, a nd, f or s ome e xperiments, u pon a c otton c loth p egged t aut o n t he g round. N o d istinct d ifferences w ere o bserved a mong t his s et o f s ubstrates f or t he f laking e xperiments. S uch e xperimentally-derived s catter p atterns c an t hen b e c ompared t o t hose f ound i n a rchaeological i nstances. I n s uch c omparisons t he e xperimental a rrays s et f orth a n ull h ypothesis a s t o t he e xpected c onfiguration , a nd d eviations w ould n ecessitate e xplanation, a s i n t erms o f h ominid b ehavior ( e.g. a rtifact i mport o r e xport),or i n t erms o f p ost-depositional a lteration o f t he s ite b y o ther f orces. D ebitage s ize d istribution I n a ddition t o t he s patial a rrangement o f p roducts o f s tone t ool m anufacture, t here a re o ther a spects o f t he m aterial s o g enerated t hat a re r eadily a nd u sefully o bservable a nd q uantifiable. A l arge n umber o f m anufacturing e xperiments w ere c arried o ut w ith N icholas T oth t o i nvestigate t he q uantities a nd, p articularly, t he s ize c lass 1 3

d istribution o f t he m aterials

p roduced

a s

b y-products

o f

f laking

c ores b y h ard h ammer p ercussion, r egardless o f w hether t he o bject i s t o p roduce t he f lakes o r t he c ore. T oth w as i n t he p rocess o f c arrying a p rogram o f r esearch i nvestigating t he m anufacture a nd t he p ossible u ses o f a rtifacts f ound a t

t hese e arly s ites;

t he

a rtifacts

h e p roduced i n e xperiments f or t he s tudy h ere w ere t echnological r eplicas o f a rtifacts i n t he e arly r ecord. T hat i s, t hey w ere p roduced i n s imilar m aterials t hrough t he a pplication o f s imilar t echniques a nd p rocedures,

a nd c reating s imilar c ore p roducts.

A ll o f t he s tone d ebris g enerated b y T oth

i n

f laking

a ny

o ne

c ore w as c ollected a nd p assed t hrough a 5 mm s creen i n o rder t o r etrieve a p opulation c omparable t o a rchaeological s amples. T he s ize c lass d istribution o f t he m aterial f rom e ach c ore r eduction w as

t hen

d erived b y g rouping i t i nto s ize c lasses a ccording t o m aximum d imension ( similar t o t he W entworth s ize g roupings u sed i n g eological s tudies). A v ariety o f e arly c ore " types" w as p roduced i n t hese e xperiments, a nd a d iverse s et o f r aw m aterials w as u sed a s w ell, i n o rder t o g auge t he e ffects o f t hese v ariables u pon t he r esultant s ize c lass d istributions. M ost o f t he c ores w ere p roduced i n b asalt, t he p redominant r aw m aterial a t e arly s ites a t K oobi F ora, b ut o ther r ock t ypes s uch a s i gnimbrite, q uartz, c herts, o bsidian a nd e ven f ossil w ood w ere a lso i ncluded. M ost o f t he c ores p roduced w ere a lso t ypes h ighly t ypical o f e arly A frican s ites ( especially o f O ldowan a nd A cheulean m ode), b ut a lso i ncluded w ere s ome e xperiments p roducing s omewhat m ore a dvanced t echnologies, s uch a s L evallois c ores. I n a ddition t o t his l arge s et o f t ool r eductions, s ome a dditional e xperiments w ere c arried o ut t o e xamine t he s ize d istribution o f e ven s maller d ebris ( down t o t he s ize o f a 1 mm g eological s ieve), s uch a s c an b e r ecovered f rom w et-screening p rocedures. N ATURAL P ROCESSES A

l arge

a rchaeological

n umber

o f

r esidues

n atural f rom

t he

p rocesses

u ntil a nd e ven a fter t heir e xcavation . B efore f actors o perating u pon a s ite w ould i nclude: 1 ) 2 )

c an

i mpinge

o n

m oment o f c ultural d eposition u p t hey

a re

b uried,

t rampling b y h umans a nd n on-humans; b one

b reakage,

g nawing,

t hrough t he e fforts o f a v ariety o f

a dditions a nd s ubtractions, c arnivores,

r odents

a nd

e tc., o ther

s cavengers; 3 ) t hermal,

w eathering m echanical,

o f b one a nd s ometimes a nd c hemical a gencies;

s tone

a s

w ell d ue t o

4 ) i n t he c ourse o f s ite b urial, d isturbance b y a ny o f av ariety o f s edimentary p rocesses ( fluvial, c olluvial, l acustrine, e olian , g lacial, e tc.); 5 )

a nd

a fter

b urial

u ntil

t he

t ime o f e xcavation ,

a ny o f a

gencies c an a ffect t he s edimentary d eposits a nd t he m ultitude o f a m aterials t hey c ontain ( e.g. f reezing a nd t hawing, a rtifactual d rying, b ioturbation, c ryoturbation, c ompression a nd w etting a nd s trong a lkalinity o r a cidity, e tc.). ( For a b road c ompaction,

1 4

c onsideration o f t he r ange o f n atural f orces t hat c an c onsult W ood a nd J ohnson: 1 978). I n

a ll

o f

t his,

d estruction a nd l oss,

o rganic

b ut s tone

d ebris

i s

a ffect

s ites,

m uch m ore v ulnerable t . o

a rtifactual

m aterial

c an

a lso

b e

s ubject t o i ntrinsic c hanges s uch a s w eathering a nd a brasion o r , m ore u niversally p erhaps, t o c hanges i n s patial d istributions a nd c onfigurations.

T hus,

t he

m aterial

r esidues

g enerated

b y

p ast

b ehaviors m ay s ubtly o r d ramatically b e a ltered b y p ost-occupational p rocesses. T hese c an o bscure t he p atterns o f m aterial g enerated b y o n-site a ctivities, m aking i nterpretations o f s uch p atterns m ore d ifficult a t b est, h azardous a t l east, w orst. A s h as a lready b een m entioned, p rocesses t hat h as b een s omehow i nvolved

a nd s purious a t a bsolute a c ommon d enominator s et o f i n t he f ormation o f t he

g reat m ajority o f e arly s ites, a re t he s edimentary p rocesses w hich h ave c onstructed t he d eposits i n w hich t hey a re f ound. S uch f orces c an p otentially h ave a p rofound e ffect u pon a ny m aterial r esidues l eft b ehind b y h uman a ctivity. F or t he p urpose o f t his s tudy,

t he a ctions o f

t hese

g eological

p rocesses o f s edimentation w ere c rucial f actors t o b e c onsidered i n e valuating t he i nput o f n atural a gencies i n s ite f ormation. I n a s ense, s edimentary p rocesses h ave h ad a lmost u niversal p otential t o c arry o ut t he t ransformation o f r esidues g enerated b y b ehavioral p rocesses. T hus, t he a ctions o f t hese p rocesses w ere i nvestigated w ith r egard t o t heir p otential e ffects u pon o ccupational d ebris: H ow c an t hey a ffect s ite p reservation o r d estruction, c omposition, a nd a lter s patial c onfigurations?

c hange

s ite

F lume e xperiments S ome

s tudies

w ere c arried o ut i n t he m ore c ontrolled s ituation

o f a l aboratory c hannel o r f lume t o i nvestigate t he b ehavior o f s tone a rtifacts i n r unning

w ater.

T hese

e xperiments

a re

d iscussed

i n

C hapter 4 . S ome o f t he f actors c onsidered i n t hese s tudies i nclude r elative v elocities a t w hich t ransport w as i nitiated, m odes o f m ovement, a nd r elative t ransport r ates a mong d iverse s izes a nd s hapes o f a rtifacts. T hese e xperiments w ere c arried o ut t o g ain a b etter u nderstanding o f h ow s tone w ater.

a rtifacts

c an

b e

a ffected

b y

f lowing

S imulated s ite e xperiments E ven

m ore c ritical t o t his s tudy w as t he e ffect o f p rocesses i n

a ctual g eological s ettings, u pon

a rchaeological

w ith t heir m ore d iverse s ets

r esidues.

T hus

a

p rogram

o f

f orces,

o f s imulated s ite

e xperiments w as c arried o ut: e xperimental s ites c omposed o f r eplicas o f a rchaeological m aterials w ere p laced i n a v ariety o f g eological e nvironments t o o bserve t he e ffects o f p ost-occupational n atural p rocesses o ver a s pan o f t ime. T hese e xperimental s imulations o f p rehistoric s ites w ere p laced i n a r emote, s parsely p opulated a rea o f n orthern K enya, w here d anger o f i ntrusion b y m odern h uman f actors w as m inimized f or t he n early f our-year s pan o f t he e xperiments.

1 5

T he

e xperimental

s ites

w ere

c omposed

o f

a v ariety o f s tone

a rtifactual m aterials a nd u sually a lso i ncluded b one r efuse a s w ell. T he a rtifacts w ere m odern r eplicas o f e arly a rtifact c ore f orms, p rimarily o f O ldowan a nd a lso A cheulean t echnology, a nd t he f lakes a nd

f lake

f ragments

p roduced

i n

f laking

s uch c ores.

M ost s ites

c ontained o ver a f ew h undred a rtifacts, c ores a nd f lakes, i n t otal ( although s ome o f o f t he e arlier s ites i n t he p rogram w ere s maller); t he l argest e xperiment i nvolved n early 5 ,000 s tone a rtifacts a nd o ver 1 00 b ones. I n m ost c ases t he s ites w ere c omposed o f a v ariety o f v arious c ore f orms, a n umber o f h ammerstones o r u nmodified c obbles, a nd a l arge p roportion o f d ebitage ( flakes a nd f lake f ragments). I n m ost c ases t he d ebitage h ad a s ize c lass d istribution c haracteristic o f s tone a rtifact m anufacture ( see C hapter 3 ), a s i f a ll o f t he c ores p resent a t t he s ite h ad b een m anufactured t here. T his p rovided a f ull r ange o f t ypical a rchaeological m aterials f or n atural p rocesses t o a ct u pon. B ones w ere m odern f ood r efuse ( primarily g oat o r s ometimes c ow) o r i solated w ild a nimal e lements f rom t he r egion ( primarily s mall t o m edium-size b ovids), u sually i n f resh t o o nly m oderately w eathered c ondition. T his

p roject

d eveloped

o ut o f a s et o f e xperiments t hat G lynn

I saac w as e ngaging i n d uring t he 1 977 a rchaeological f ield s eason a t K oobi F ora, a nd t hat I w as a ble t o j oin a nd h elp i n d eveloping a nd e xecuting. D uring t he e xtremely h eavy r ains o f t hat y ear, a ll o f t hese e xperiments, w hich h ad b een p laced i n t he d ry b ed o f a n e phemeral s tream, w ere e ntirely w ashed a way a nd d ispersed d ownstream b y f loodwaters. T he o nly n oticeable s tone a rtifact r esidue a fter t hat f lood a bated w as t hat o f N ick T oth 's s tone w orkshop u p o n t he c hannel b ank. T his h ad c ontained d ebris f rom m anufacturing 1 00's o f s tone a rtifacts, a nd w as d iscovered t o b e s trewn f or m ore t han f orty m eters a long t he f loodplain. A fter t he e xtreme r esults o f t his f irst r ound o f e xperiments, s ites w ere p laced i n a v ariety o f g eological s ituations w here f looding o r i nundation s eemed l ikely o r a t l east p ossible w ith v ariable d egrees o f i ntensity. T hese w ere t hen m onitored p eriodically o ver a p eriod o f n early t hree y ears f rom 1 979 t o 1 98 1. ( As n oted a bove, t he i nitial e xperiment, t he F looded W orkshop, u nlike t he o thers w as n ot d eliberately s et o ut b ut r ather w as a n o bservational s tudy c arried o ut o n t he e ffects o f t his f lash f lood o n t he s tone w orkshop). T hese e xperiments w ere t hen p eriodically o ver a p eriod o f n early f our y ears.

m onitored

E nvironmental s ettings f or t hese e xperiments i nvolved a v ariety o f a lluvial s ituations ( channel s cour, c hannel b ar , b raid i sland, c hannel b ank o r l evee, f loodbasin) a nd a f ew l acustrine s ituations a s w ell ( in o ne c ase a h igh-energy b each s ituation, a nd t wo o thers i nvolving l ow-energy l ake m argins). T he a lluvial s ituations w ere a ssociated w ith e phemeral s treams w hich a re u sually d ry b ut p eriodically c arry d rainage w aters d uring r egional b outs o f p recipitation i n o ne o r t wo " rainy s easons" e ach y ear. A lthough t he e nvironment i n t he a rea i s n ow p redominantly e rosional, t here a re t ransitory f luvial a nd f loodplain d eposits a ssociated w ith t hese s tream s ystems. T his e nvironment w as n ot c hosen t o s erve a s a ny s ort o f a s trict a nalog f or p recise e nvironmental c onditions a t t he t ime t he a ncient s ites w ere d eposited; r ather , t he v ariety o f g eological m icroenvironments w ere c hosen t o e xamine t he r ange o f f low c onditions a nd s edimentary f orces w hich c an o perate u pon a s ite d uring b urial.

1 6

A r ange o f c hannel f low s ituations w as s ampled, i nvolving d ifferent a reas w ithin t he c hannel ( scour, b ar, e tc.) a nd c hannels o f v arious s izes. C hannel b ank a nd f loodplain s ites w ere s et o ut : t o l ook a t t he e ffect o f o verbank f low u pon a rchaeological s ites, r egardless o f w hether o r n ot t he b anks w ere a ctual c onstructional l evees,

o r w hether t he r esultant d eposits w ere t ransitory o r l asting

i n t he l arger g eological s ense. N or a re s ediments d eposited u pon t he e xperimental s ites b eing c onsidered a s p recise p oints o f c omparison t o a rchaeological s ituations. R ather t he s ites a re t o s erve a s u seful e xamples o f t he r ange o f f orces t hat c an o perate u pon s ite m aterials a nd t he e ffects t hey c an b ring a bout i n d iverse s edimentary c ircumstances. O nce

a

s ite h ad b een f looded a nd/or b uried i n s ediment,

i t w as

e xcavated. I f t he o riginal s ite a rea h ad s uffered m aterial l oss, t he a rea s urrounding t he s ite a nd o utside o f i t, p rimarily d ownstream, w as e xcavated a s w ell, i n o rder t o e xamine a rtifact d eposition a nd r edistribution p atterns. E xcavation w as g enerally c arried o ut t o d iscern t he l imits o f p atterns o f r edistribution. A reas e ven f urther d ownstream w ere a lso s urveyed f or a dditional t races o f a ny m issing a rtifacts. T o a id i n d etection a nd r ecognition o f e xperimental m aterials, a rtifacts h ad u sually b een c oated w ith y ellow r oad p aint a nd c oded a s t o t heir o rigin. A p roportion o f a rtifacts a t m ost s ites h ad b een c oated w ith a luminum f oil t o a id i n d iscovery a nd r ecovery o f d ispersed a nd b uried a rtifacts u sing a m etal d etector. A n e xcavation p rocedure w as d eveloped i n w hich n ot o nly a rtifact l ocation a nd v ertical p rovenience w ere n oted, b ut f or m ost s ites i nformation w as a lso r ecorded c oncerning a rtifact d ip, o rientation, c lustering a nd i mbrication, a nd m icrosedimentary s tructures. S pecific c omparisons c ould t hen b e m ade r egarding c hanges i n s ite c omposition a nd d istribution s ince t he e xperiment h ad b een i nitiated. F urthermore, f eatures o f t he t ransformed s ite p articulars o f i ts h istory c ould b e d elineated. E XPERIMENTAL V ARIABLES:

t hat

w ould

i ndicate

A S UMMARY

I n s ummary, t hen, s ome v ariable w ere h eld n early c onstant i n t he c ourse o f t hese e xperiments, w hile o thers w ere v aried i ndependently i n o rder t o e xamine t heir e ffects u pon a spects o f s ite c omposition o r c onfiguration. F LAKING E XPERIMENTS D ebitage s ize d istribution H ard-hammer p ercussion w as h eld c onstant a s a f laking t echnique. T he m ajor d ependent v ariable c onsidered w as t he s ize d istribution

o f

d ebitage l arger t han e xcavation s creen s ize

a s

t his v aried a ccording t o: 1 )

r aw m aterial t ype

1 7

( in m ost c ases,

5 r a m),

2 )

t ype o f c ore o r t ool p roduced

3 )

c ore s ize

4 )

r etrieval t echnique

( reducing s creen s ize t o 1 m m)

F lake s catters M ajor d ependent v ariables c onsidered w ere: 1 )

s ize a nd s hape o f t he f lake s catters

2 ) i nternal v ariation w ithin t he s catter b y s ize o r i n t erms o f d ensity a s t hese v aried a ccording t o s tance v ariation, t he m ajor i ndependent v ariable. A s econdary i ndependent v ariable w as g ross d ifference i n f laking t echnique b y h ard-hammer p ercussion , i .e. f laking w ith t he c ore h and-held o r p lacen d irectly o n t he g round ( the l atter s tyle o bserved i n m any n ovices). S ITE M ODIFICATION B Y S EDIMENTARY P ROCESSES F lume e xperiments M ajor i ndependent v ariables c onsidered w ere: 1 )

s ize o f t he a rtifact

2 ) s hape o f t he a rtifact 3 ) s edimentary s ubstrate 4 ) F low v elocity a nd i ts r ate o f c hange

I mportant d ependent v ariables w ere: 1 )

i nitiation o f a rtifact t ransport

2 ) m ode o f m ovement 3 )

r ate o f t ransport

4 ) i nteraction b etween a rtifacts 5 )

i nteraction o f a rtifacts w ith s edimentary s ubstrate

6 ) h ydraulic s tabilization

S ite e xperiments T he b asic c omposition o f t hese s ites w as h eld n early c onstant i n m ost

c ases,

w ith

a

s tandard

s ize

d istribution,

a

s imilar

c ore:debitage r atio, a nd s imilar q uantities o f m aterial f rom s ite t o s ite, t hough t here a re s ome e xceptions t o t his. S patial d istribution a nd a rtifact d ensity w as a lso s tandardized f or t he b ulk o f s ites, 1 8

w ith v arying d egrees o f c lustering n oted i nitially;

o ne

v ery

l arge

s ite h ad t he g reatest i nternal v ariation i n d ensity a nd c lustering o f m aterials a t o utset. A m ajor i ndependent v ariable w as t he s ite 's s etting, o r t he l ocal g eological m icroenvironment. I mportant d ependent v ariables i nclude: 1 ) a mount o f l ocal s ite v icinity 2 )

m aterial l oss

f rom t he s ite o rigin,

a nd f rom t he

d ifferential r ecovery a ccording t o a rtifact s ize a nd t ype

3 ) n ew a ssociation

s patial

d istributions

o f

m aterial

a nd

p atterns

o f

onditions o f r econcentration 4 ) c urial, s edimentary a nd m icrosedimentary f eatures 5 ) artifact b

6 )

a rtifact

d isposition,

e .g.,

d ip,

o rientation,

i mbrication,

e tc.

S ummary r esults o f e ach o f t he i ndividual s ite

e xperiments

a re

p resented i n A ppendix A , a nd C hapter 5 c omprises a s ynthesis o f t hese r esults, o utlining b asic p arameters o f s ite f ormation a nd r ecurrent p atterns f ound i n t ransformed s ites. I n C hapter 6 s ome s uggestions a re

m ade

r egarding

t he

m atter o f d eciphering r espective f ormation

p rocesses i n a rchaeological s ituations. T he p rimary q uestion t hroughout t his s tudy w ill b e h ow c an d iscern b ehavioral i ndicators i n a rchaeological r esidues, a nd b etter d istinguish t hem f rom t hose p atterns c reated b y n atural p rocesses. T he f ollowing c hapter w ill d eal i n s ome d etail w ith s tudies o f s ome b ehaviorally-induced t races, o r

s ome

e lemental

a rtifact

p atterns

m anufacture.

1 9

p roduced

b y

s tone

t ool

C HAPTER 3 : F LAKING E XPERIMENTS

" A m easurement i s a n umber t hat a rises f rom t he i nteraction o f a n o bserver a nd h is i nstruments w ith t he o bject o bserved"

( Marshall W alker, i n T he N ature o f S cientific T hou jir

I NTRODUCTION I n

t his c hapter I w ill b e c onsidering a v ery b asic r elationship

i n t he s ite f ormation p rocess, t hat b etween s tone t ool m anufacture a nd t he p hysical p roducts t hat w ould r emain i n t he a rchaeological r ecord. T he c ritical q uestion a ddressed h ere i s t his: H ow c an w e r ecognize

r esidues

t hat

a re c haracteristic o f l ithic m anufacturing

a ctivities, i .e., w hat a re s ome o f t heir s alient f eatures b eyond t he m ere p resence o f a rtifacts o f d eliberate a nd c ontrolled m anufacture. O f c ourse, l ithic m anufacture p robably d id n ot o ccur a t a ll s ites a t a ll t imes, b ut t he r esidual m aterials f ound a t e arly s ites a re p redominantly t he p roducts o f s uch t ool-making b ehavior. T hus, l ithic m anufacture w ill b e c onsidered h ere a s s omething o f a " smallest c ommon d enominator" o f p rehistoric b ehavior p atterns. T he p resence o r t he a bsence o f e xpected p roducts o f s uch m anufacturing a ctivities c an e asily b e a scertained a t a s ite. T hus t he p rocesses p otentially r esponsible f or s ite p atterns, s uch a s a rtifact m anufacture a nd t ransport, a nd p ost-depositional d isturbance, c an b e b etter d elineated i f w e c an f irst d evelop a f irm s et o f r egarding t he c haracteristics o f k napping r esidues.

e xpectations

T he a pproach t o t his p roblem w as e xplicitly e xperimental,

a s h as

b een t he c ase i n a n umber o f l ithic s tudies i n r ecent y ears. M any o f t he q uestions r egarding l ithic a rtifacts t hat h ave b een i nvestigated t hrough e xperimentation h ave b een c entered l argely u pon t he " how?" a nd t he w hy" o f t heir m anufacture: w hat m aterials, t echniques, a nd c apabilities a re n ecessary t o f ashion t he a rtifacts, a nd f or w hat p urposes m ight t hey h ave b een m ade? C onsiderable r esearch h as b een c arried o ut i nvestigating a spects o f s tone t ool m anufacture a nd u se. F or t he e arly r ecord i n p articular, s tudies b y T oth ( 1982, 1 985a, 1 985b)and J ones ( 1979) h ave i nvestigated h ow s tone m anufactured a nd a lso, i ntensively s tudied b y v arious a rtifacts f orms a re f or a r ange o f t asks.

t ools h ave b een T oth, h ow u seful T oth 's w ork h as

d elineated a r ange o f u seful d ata r etrievable t hrough t echnological a nalysis e ven f rom v ery s imple a ssemblages, u sing e xperimental e vidence f or c omparision.

2 0

F or t he p urposes o f t his s tudy, i t w as u seful t o d evelop a s et o f p redictions r egarding t he s orts o f p atterns o f m aterial t hat w ould r esult a t a l ocale w here s tone t ool m anufacture h ad o ccurred. I n t hese e xperiments i s c haracteristic

t he t echnique u sed w as h ard-hammer p ercussion, a s o f t he e arly P alaeolithic a nd w hich r ecurs

t hroughout p rehistory, a nd t he e nd-products o f t he f laking e pisodes w ere t he t ypical a rtifact f orms f ound a t O ldowan a nd A cheulean s ites i n t he e arly s tages o f p rehistory. T he r easoning h ere w as t hat i f r egular, p redictable p atterns w ould e merge t hrough s uch e xperiments, t hese c ould b e u sefully a pplied i n s ite a nalysis a nd i nterpretation. D eviations f rom p atterns c haracteristic o f k napping a t a l ithic a ccumulation w ould n ecessitate e xplanation. M ost o bvious " alternative e xplanations" t hat c ould b e e xplored o r c onsidered w ould i nclude: 1 )

i mportation o f p re-manufactured a rtifacts t o t he s ite l ocale

2 ) l arge-scale e xportation o f t ool-manufacturing f rom t he s ite 3 ) p ost-occupation d isturbance o f d islocation o f s ome s ite c omponents ( e.g. p rocesses, t rampling, b ioturbation , e tc.).

l ater

p roducts

a way

t he s ite, p roducing t hrough s edimentary

T he p otential i mpact o f t hese o ther p rocesses w ill b e c onsidered i n t his t hesis. T his c hapter w ill a ttempt t o d eal w ith t he

i nitial s et o f e xpectations g enerated

t hrough k napping e xperiments.

C HARACTERISTICS C ONSIDERED

a nd

A b asic q uestion a ddressed h ere w as t his: B eyond t echnological t ypological i nformation, w hat a dditional d ata a re c ontained i n

a rtifact a ssemblages t hat m ay

y ield

i nformation

a s

t o

p ast

s ite

f ormation p rocesses? T his a pproach m akes e xplicit t he d istinction b etween s ite " evidence" ( usually b ut n ot a lways m aterial r emains) a s o pposed t o a nalytical a spects o f t his e vidence. I n t his s ense, i t i s a spects o f o ur e vidence t hat c onstitute t he d ata f or o ur a nalyses a nd i nterpretations ( Sullivan 1 978). A spects o f e vidence d eemed n early u niversal i n t he e arly r ecord ( and p revalent t hroughout t ime) a nd r eadily r ecognizable a nd q uantifiable w ere: 1 ) T he n umbers a nd, p articularly, t he s ize c lass d istribution o f d ebitage p roduced i n t he c ourse o f a rtifact m anufacture. 2 ) T he s patial a rray o f t he f ragments) p roduced i n s tone k napping.

f laking

p roducts

( flakes a nd

D EBITAGE S IZE D ISTRIBUTION R egardless o f w hether t he o bjective p roduce

s pecific

t arget

f orms,

w hether

o f

s tone

k napping

i s

t o

c ore o r f lake p roducts,

a

l arge q uantity o f f lake d ebris i s n ormally p roduced i n t he p rocess. M uch o f t his i s i n t he f orm o f m inute, a morphous f ragments o f s hattered o r b roken f lakes 1 98 1;

F ladmark 1 982;

( Schick

1 980a,

P atterson 1 983).

2 1

1 980b;

H ughes

e t.

a l.

T he g reatest p roportion ( in s heer n umbers) o f t his c onsists o f m inute f lake f ragments w hose m aximum d imension i s o ne m illimeter o r l ess ( Hughes e t. a l. 1 98 1; F ladmark 1 982). A t t he s maller e nd o f t his r ange, t his m aterial a ctually g rades i nto t he s ize r ange o f n atural s edimentary p articles w ithin t he s urrounding g eological m atrix a t m any s ites. A ttempts a re b eing m ade t o s et c riteria t hat r eliably d istinguish n atural f rom h uman-made p articles a mong m aterials o f s uch m inute s ize ( Fladmark 1 982). F or i nstance, s uch c haracteristics

a s

a ngularity

o f

g rains,

t ransparency

o r

t ranslucency, g eometric s hapes, b ulb-like f eatures s eemingly d ue t o c onchoidal f racture, e tc., a re b eing i ndicated a s d istinctive f eatures o f l ithic " dust" o f h uman m anufacture ( Fladmark 1 982). A long w ith i nterest i n i dentifying s uch m aterials, t here h as a lso b een

c all

f or

m aterials o f h uman f laking.

i mproving s uch

r etrieval

d iminutive

t echniques

a t

s ites

s hould

s ize p rove t o b e t ruly d iagnostic o f

A bove t he s ize o f s uch " microdebitage"

( the u pper b oundary

u sed

b y F ladmark i s o ne m illimeter m aximum d imension), t here i s a g reat b ulk o f m inute l ithic m aterial p roduced i n k napping w hich c an b e o f g reat u se i n i dentification o f o n-site m anufacturing a ctivities. T his m aterial i s m ore e asily r etrieved a nd r ecognized, a nd f urthermore i s l ess a mbiguous a s t o i ts m ode o f o rigin w hen f ound d ispersed w ithin a s edimentary m atrix. T he s maller e lements o f t his m acrodebitage" ( i.e., s maller t han 2 c m i n m aximum d imension y et l arger t han a r easonable s creen s ize, e .g . o ne m illimeter f or w et s ieving o r h alf-centimeter i ndicators o f b oth:

f or

d ry

s ieving)

c an

a )

t he l ocus o f o n-site k napping a ctivities a nd

b )

s ubsequent f luvial d isturbance o f a s ite.

b e

s ensitive

M aterials w ithin t his s ize r ange w ould t heoretically h ave l imited u tility, p articularly b efore h afting b ecame n ormal p ractice. F or t his r eason, i t i s h ighly d eliberately b rought t o t he s ite.

u nlikely

t hat

t hey

h ave

b een

A s tudy w as c arried o ut h ere o f s ome c haracteristics o f t his p opulation o f w aste o r d ebitage ( flakes, f lake f ragments a nd a morphous

s hatter),

a s

p roduced i n 1 07 s eparate t ool m anufacturing

e xperiments c arried o ut b etween 1 977 a nd 1 982. N icholas T oth, w ho h as d one e xtensive k napping w ork w ith t he r aw m aterials a nd t he t echnologies c haracteristic o f e arly a rtifact i ndustries, w as t he p rincipal t ool-maker i n t hese e xperiments; I h ave a m oderate a mount o f k napping e xperience, t hough l ess f amiliarity w ith s ome o f t he r aw m aterials u sed, a nd c arried o ut s ome o f t he k napping, b ut w ith n o a ppreciable d ifferences i n r esults. T he E xperiments:

O verall R esults

A ll o f t he d ebitage p roduced i n t he c ourse o f m anufacturing a n i ndividual a rtifact w as c ollected a nd t hen s creened ( using 0 .5 c m m esh a s w as e mployed a t K oobi F ora s ites, w hich w ere t o s erve a s t he p rincipal a rchaeological c omparison f or t he e xperimental r esults). A ll d ebris c aught b y t he s creen b y n ormal s creening p rocedures w as 2 2

u sed i n t his a nalysis.

T he a rtifacts p roduced w ere a v ariety o f c ore

f orms ( cores a nd/or c ore t ools) a nd f lake t ools c haracteristic o f e arly P alaeolithic a ssemblages ( e.g. c hoppers, s crapers, p olyhedrons, d iscoids, h andaxes, p icks) a s w ell a s s ome f orms c haracteristic o f s omewhat l ater p eriods ( Mousterian f lake t ools a nd L evallois c ores). A n

e xtremely r egular s ize d istribution c urve r esulted f rom t his

s et o f e xperiments. T he r esults o f a n i nitial s et o f 3 0 e xperiments w ere p resented i n a n e arlier w ork i n c omparison t o t he s ize d istribution o f d ebitage a t a n a rchaeological s ite a t K oobi F ora ( Schick 1 980). T he r esults d iscussed h ere a re c ompiled f rom t he c omplete s et o f 1 07 e xperiments c arried o ut t o t his d ate. P roportions o f s mall d ebitage ( larger t han s creen s ize b ut l ess t han t wo c m i n m aximum d imension) w ere e xtremely h igh t hroughout, r anging f rom

a pproximately

6 0%

t o

7 5% a mong m ost o f t he e xperiments.

T he

s ize d istributions c onsider m aximum d imension o f t he f lake o r f lake f ragment. I n F igure 3 .1 a re g raphed t he m ean p roportions a nd 9 5% c onfidence i ntervals f or d ebitage p opulation p roportions d erived f rom a ll 1 07 e xperiments i n t he s ample. F igure 3 .2 p resents t he s ize d istribution o f t he c ompiled d ebitage f rom a ll e xperiment a nd c ompares i t t o t he d istribution i n a s pecial s ubset o f t he s ample, t he r eduction o f e xtremely l arge c ores ( greater t han 1 6 c m m aximum d imension). I n e ach o f t hese f igures, t he l arge p roportion o f v ery s mall f ragments ( less t han 2 c m l ong) w ithin t he d ebitage p opulation i s e vident. i n e ach z he m odal d istribution i s i n t he 1 -2 c m r ange, a nd s econdarily i n t he s maller t han 1 c m c lass. ( This s ize c lass i s, o f c ourse, t runcated b y s creening p rocedures). T he s ?7 ,e d istribution c urve i s e ssentially i dentical w hether i t d escribes t he m ean o f p roportions f rom a mong a ll e xperiments ( Figure 1 ) o r t he p roportions o f t he d ebitage p opulation a t l arge ( Figure 2 ) ( Table 3 .1). T he

s lightly

e levated p roportion o f s mall d ebitage p roduced b y

k napping t he v ery l arge c ores' ji , -ure 3 .2) m ay b e d ue t o m ore i mprecision i n m aintaining o ptimum a ngle f or f lake d etachment w ith l arger, m ore u nwieldy c ores. T his c ould l ead t o m ore c ore b attering a nd f lake s hatter.

T he f lake p opulation a lso t rails f urther i nto t he

l arger s ize r anges, a n atural c onsequence, f lake r emoval w ith l arger c ore s izes. F igure 3 .3 f urther

t o

c arries

o ne

t his s ize

m illimeter,

o f c ourse,

d istribution

o f e ffective

a nalysis

d own

e ven

u sing g eological s creen m esh d ivisions.

( This i s t he u pper s ize l imit " microdebitage" ( 1982)). I t i s

o f w hat F ladmark c onsiders e vident t hat t here i s g eometric

i ncrease i n d ebitage q uantities w ith d ecreasing . size. A s t his i s a d ebitage f raction t hat c ould b e e asily r etrieved t hrough s ample w et s ieving, t his c an b e a d iagnostic t ool i n e stablishing t ool m anufacture.

F ladmark f ound a s w ell t hat m icrodebitage ( between 1 .0

m m a nd . 063 m m i n m aximum d imension) c onstituted o ver 9 9.5% b y n umber o f t he d ebitage p roduced w hen m aking b j _faces i n o bsidian t hrough h ard h ammer p ercussion ( Fladmark 1 982:206-7), P atterson a nd S olberger ( 1978)

h ave

a lso

n oted

t hat

l arge q uantities o f s mall d ebitage

t he 6 mm t o 1 8mm s ize r ange, o r d irecf v b oundary) a re p roduced d uring b ifa, ,

2 3

a round t his m anufacture.

( in

" micro-macro" S ome p ossible

E xper imen ta l Means a nd 9 5% Con f idence

< 1

,4 4 , c a . 0 C . U )

1 . 1

L I , 0 C ) 0 c 1 E

4. 4

9 3

C

4S 1

•

a l ) $ , . , ( 4 1 7 , c l ) 0 4 s . 0 c o , 4 0 C a 4 a ) -0 e 4 3 . ) / 4 W . r 4

• , 1 nO

4 : 2 4 J C L ) . 3. 1 C U 4 - c n A 4 -, R Z I U ) • r I 5 4 , 1 4 3 0 G 0 -c i ‘ , , ' 0 , • I

3 1

J ) C X a )

r e c o n c e n t r a t i o n

4 4 .

C C C I 4 1 I i U ) C ) . ) 7 , Z 0

e v i d e n t )

C I -, . 0 R I • m l U g n › . • 4 ' 4 . 1

( w a s h e d a w a y w i t h 1 n o s i g n i f i c a n t

I 4 I

C . D i s p e r s e d s i t e s

, 1

( n o a p r e c i a b l e

C U I C V 3 2 0 c a 4 ,1

s e d i m e n t a t i o n )

C E

H

U n d i s t u r b e d s i t e s

Z > , , 1 b . ( ) S 4 s , C U c e

B .

0 0 4 4 -

I .

—

C , i • , 1

w ithin a d elta d uring a f luvial

s ystems

d id

h eavy

n ot

s easonal

r ains.

e xhibit l arge,

( As

s ome

o f

t he

c onstructional l evees i n a

s trict g eological s ense, w ith t he s edimentary s tructures a nd g rain s izes c haracteristic o f a lluvial r idges, c hannel b ank s ituations w ill b e u sed h ere i n t he g eneral s ense t o d enote a reas o utside a nd a bove t he m ajor c hannel o r c hannel s cour a rea. T hey m ay o r m ay n ot b e l evees i n t he s trict s ense, b ut a re n evertheless o nly i nfrequently i nundated b y f loodwaters s pilling o verbank o ut o f t he c hannel p roper a nd g enerally r eceived s ome s uspended s ediment). T he

r esults

o f

t he

t ransformed

s ites

( Table

l a) w ere m ore

i ntermediate, r esting s omewhere b etween n o s ignificant a lteration o r d isturbance o n t he o ne h and a nd n early c omplete s ite e rasure o r d ispersal o f s ite c ontents o n t he o ther. T hese s ites a re l isted h ere i n o rder o f i ncrease i n o verall l evel o f d isturbance ( as d etermined b y a r anking t o b e d iscussed b elow). T his s et c ross-cuts a ll o f t he e nvironmental r egimes:

s ites h ad l eft s ignificant r esidues

( at l east

t emporarily) w ithin c hannel b eds a nd b ars a s w ell a s o n b anks a nd i n f loodbasins. N evertheless, t his s et o f a ltered s ites i s n aturally m uch m ore h eavily w eighted t han t he s et o f d ispersed s ites t oward t he l evee/floodbasin s ituations a s o pposed t o c hannels, w here f lows a re f aster a nd m ore f requent. F urthermore, c hannel s ites w ere, o f c ourse,

m ore h eavily d isturbed t han t hose

s ituated

o n

b anks/levees

a nd i n f loodbasins. T hese e xperiments p rovide a n o verview o f t he p rocess o f s ite f ormation a nd t ransformation b y s edimentary p rocesses a s i t o ccurred i n t hese s ituations. I mportantly , t hey d epict t he r esulting e ffects p roduced b y t his t ransformation w ith r espect t o s ite c omposition a nd t o s patial c onfigurations a nd a ssociations. I n t he f ollowing s ection , c hanges i n t hese s ites w ill b e d iscussed w ith r espect t o a r ange o f c orrelated v ariables w hich t ogether g auge d isturbance. D IFFERENTIAL D ISTURBANCE: E ach

o f

s ite

R ANKINGS A ND I NDICES

t he e xperimental s ites l isted i n T able

l a r epresents a

p oint a t s ome l ocation a cross a f ull r ange o r c ontinuum o f a lteration o r d isturbance. A cross t his s pectrum o f d isturbance, s ites w ere t ransformed a ccording t o a n umber o f v ariables, e ach o f w hich c an u sefully s erve h ere a s a m easure o r i ndex o f t he d isturbance t he s ite h as s uffered. T his o peration i s, o f c ourse, p ossible f rom t he p rivileged v antage h eld i n t he e xperimental s ituation. I t i s i mportant t o r ecognize h ere t hat s ite d isturbance i s a f act t hat c ommonly a ccompanies t he s edimentation p rocess s o o ften r esponsible f or s ite p reservation. T he m ajor q uestion t o b e a ddressed i s n ot s o m uch w hether a s ite i s d isturbed, b ut r ather t o w hat d egree a nd i n w hat w ays. A lthough a p recise, a fter-the-fact d elineation o f e xactly h ow a n a rchaeological s ite h as b een a ltered w ould n ot b e f easible, i t i s p ossible t o u nderstand b etter t he f acets o f s uch t ransformations, t he m odes a nd d irections o f t he c hanges l ikely t o o ccur. E xamination o f

t he

r elevant

v ariables

i nvolved i n s ite t ransformation,

o f h ow

t hey v ary a nd c ovary w ithin t hese e xperiments, a nd o f t heir e ffects u pon t he a rchaeological s ituation, p resents a m ore r ealistic d epiction o f s ite d isturbance

t han d oes a

c ontext

o r " secondary"

i nto e ither " primary"

6 3

b inary

c lassification

c ategories.

o f

T he l ist o f s ites i n F igure 5 .1a a nd 5 .1

b c onstitutes a r anking

o f a ll o f t he s ites i n T able l a. T his i s p resented i n a n o rdered s eries, f rom l east t o m ost d isturbed, e ach s ite r anked a ccording t o t he j oint s um o f i ts r anks i n e ach o f f ive s eparate v ariables. T he v ariables c hosen f or t his r anking m easure s ite a lteration i n d ifferent w ays. T hese v ariables, o r i ndices o f d isturbance, a re: 1 )

o verall

a rtifact

r ecovery

r ate

( i.e,

w hat p ercentage w as

r ecovered o ut o f t he e ntire s et o f a rtifacts o riginally l eft s ite) 2 )

m ean

r ecovery

a rtifact c lasses: h ammerstones) 3 )

s ize

a t

t he

r ate ( an a verage o f r ecovery r ates a mong a ll

d ifferent

d ebitage

s ize

g roups,

d ifferentiation i n r ecovery r ates

c ores,

a nd

( gauged b y m ore t han

5 0% r ecovery i n a ny o f t hese a rtifact c lassess w ithin

a n

e xcavation

i n t he s ite v icinity) 4 )

c hange

i n

m ean

s patial

d ensity o f a rtifacts

( the a verage

a rtifact n umber p er s quare m eter a fter d isturbance r elative b efore d isturbance) 5 ) l ocale, w ithin

t he

s patial

" fixation"

o f

t he

s ite a t

t o

t hat

t he o riginal s ite

o r w hat p roportion o f r ecoverable m aterials h ad r emained t he o riginal s ite b oundaries ( this i s b asically a n i nverse

m easure o f l arge-scale t ranslocation o f g roups o f a rtifacts a way f rom t he s ite o rigin). T hese f ive v ariables w ere c hosen o ut o f t he l arger s et p resented i n F igure 5 .1, a s t he m ost u niversal, r ealistic, a nd s ensitive i ndicators o f s ite d isturbance. F or i nstance, a rtifact r ecovery i n t he o verall s ite v icinity ( index 1 ) i s t he o nly r easonable p rospect i n t he a rchaeological s ituation, s ince o riginal b oundaries w ould r emain h ypothetical a t b est. B one w as n ot a lways p resent o r a bundant a t a ll s ites, a nd p roved s o v ulnerable t o r emoval t hat l ittle g radation w as o bserved i n b one r ecovery. ( Note t hat n o l arge m egafaunal b one w as a vailable f or t hese e xperiments, h owever , a nd t he b ones u sed h ad b een d efleshed, t hough m any s till r etained s ome o f t heir f at a nd m arrow c ontent). T hus s tone a rtifacts w ere u sed h ere a s a m ore u seful g auge o f t he d egreee o f s ite d isturbance. U sing m ean a rtifact r ecovery ( index . 2 ) a nd c onsidering d ifferential l oss b y s ize ( index 3 ) h elped w eight " overall" l oss w ith m ore i nformation a s t o w hat k inds o f s ite d istortion h ad o ccurred. M ean a rtifact d ensity ( index 4 ) w as a m uch b etter i ndication o f o verall d isturbance a nd r edistribution t han w as m aximum o r p eak d ensity, w hich d epended u pon l ocal f luctuations i n w innowing a nd d eposition. " Site f ixation" ( index 5 ) s howed t he l east w ell-correlated c hange a mongst t he o ther f our v ariables, b ut w as i ncluded i n t his r anking s ince i t g rossly c alibrated r edistribution o f s ite c ontents r ather t han j ust c hange i n a ssemblage

c omposition.

R emoval

o f

t his

l ast

r adically a lter t he r ank o rdering p resented h ere, m inor s witches b etween c losely r anked s ites.

6 4

v ariable d oes n ot b ut

o nly

p roduces

TOTAL ART IFACT

EXP .

O r ig ina l s i te

S ITE NO .

TOTAL

RECOVERY

BONE

O ve ra l l e xcava t ion

MEAN

RECOVERY

O r ig ina l s i te

RECOVERY

/ART IFACT CLASS

O ve ra l l e xcava t ion

s .d .

l b 3 8 3b

NA

3 a

N .A .

NA .

1 2

N .A .

NA

1 4

NA ,

N .A .

1 5

NA ,

N .A .

N .A .

N .A .

N .A

N .A .

N .A

*

2 5 1 9 1 20 = 2 8

=

2 2

=

3

3 4 1 3 2 6 ,27 1 6 = 3 6 37 2 4 2 1 2 3

0

1 0 0

1 0

1 () 1 0

1 00 0

NA . = NOT

F igure 5 .1a a nd i ncreasing l evels

1 00

APPLICABLE , NO BONE)

5 .1b . E xperimental o f d isturbance . T hese

s ites r anked a ccording t o a re t he s ites f rom S ection A

o f T able 5 .1, o r t hose e xperiments s ignificantly t ransformed ( buried a nd/or r edistributed) b y s edimentary p rocesses. Of t he s everal v ariables g raphed h ere, f ive were u sed t o p roduce t his r anking: 1 ) T otal a rtifact r ecovery; 2 ) M ean r ecovery r ate b y a rtifact c lass; 3 ) G reater t han 5 0% r ecovery b y a rtifact c lass; 4 ) A rtifact d ensity; a nd 5 )

S ite

f ixation .

( Terms

e xplained

6 5

i n

t he

t ext) .

> 50 % RECOVERY PER

EXP .

ART IFACT

O r ig ina l s ite

S ITE NO lb

J

38

1

3b

I

CLASS

Overa l l e xcava t ion r '

f

DENS ITY

S ITE

OVERALL

MA INTENANCE

F IXAT ION

L EVEL

Max i mu m

Mean

rt i l

I

I

% i n o r ig ina l s i te

OF D ISTURBANCE

1

I .

11 1 _ 1_ 1

1

3a

LO W

1 2

ii L r L I

1 4

Tr

1 5

1

1

11

J

I

1

I

2 5 1 9

LO W

l a

—

z

TO

MODERATE

2 0 2 8 2 2

} MODERATE

3 4 1 3 I_

2 6 ,27

1

6

I

T

3

MODERATE TO H I GH

1

2

3 6 3 7 2 4

H IGH

2 1 2 3

5 (54 I I3I2 ii

1

l

( C la i ms : c i f ,

c ore

4. 4-8 cm ,

3. 2

F igure

5 .1b.

i i

Ii

9 A 5 4 3 2 1

0

1 00 0

a nd h arn merstones . d eb ttage c lass -

4 cm , 2.1 -2 cm ,

1= 0 .7 -1

cm)

1 00

0

5. 8 18 cm ,

1 00

T here o f t hese

i s

v ery s trong a greement a mong r ankings p roduced b y e ach

f ive

i ndices

( indicated

b y

a n

e xtremely

h igh

K endall

C oefficient o f C oncordance A mongst R anks, w , w hose c hi-square h as p v alue o f l ess t hen . 00 1), a s w ould b e e xpected i n v iew o f t he d ramatic

p atterns e vident i n F igure 5 .1.

T here i s a f airly u niform,

c linal t rend n oted i n e ach v ariable t hrough t his o rdered s eries: t here i s a g eneral, g radual d ecline i n e ach a s t he l evel o f d isturbance i ncreases. T his s et o f t rends e xpresses p rogressive s tages o f a lteration o f t he s ites, b oth i n t he c omposition a nd i n t he s patial d istribution o f t he a ssemblages l eft b ehind. W ith i ncreasing d egrees o f d isturbance, w ere o bserved i n e ach o f t he f ive v ariables: 1 .

t he f ollowing t rends

O verall r ecovery r ate

T here w as a d ecline i n

o verall

r ecovery

r ate

o f

b oth

s tone

a rtifacts a nd, e ven m ore s harply, o f t he b one a t t he s ites. B one w as u sually a m ore m inor s ite c omponent i n t hose e xperiments i n w hich i t w as i ncluded, a nd i nvolved w hole b ones a nd b one f ragments i n f resh t o m oderately w eathered c ondition. I ts r ecovery r ate w as n early a lways f airly p oor, u sually p roportionate t o t hat o f s maller d ebitage ( 1-2 c m i n m aximum d imension) a t t he s ite. T he o verall a rtifact r ecovery r ate d eclines v ery r apidly w ith i ncreasing d isturbance, s ince i t i s m easuring l oss o f t he t otal a mount o f a rtifactual m aterial a t a s ite, e ven s mall d ebitage w hich i s m ore e asily l ost a nd w hich, i n t hese e xperiments, 2 .

h ad b een p lentiful a t t he s tart.

M ean r ecovery r ate

T he m ean r ecovery r ate i s t he a verage o f r ecovery r ates f or e ach o f

t he

a rtifact c lasses

( cores,

c obbles,

a nd e ach f lake s ize g roup)

c onsidered s eparately . T his i ndex a lso d eclines w ith i ncreasing d isturbance. T he d ecline h ere i s n ot a s s harp a s i n t he o verall r ate, t hough, s ince t he c ore a nd l arger f lake p opulations a re a ffected l ess s everely t han s maller d ebitage. T he s tandard d eviation a bout t his m ean t ends t o i ncrease w ith r iseing l evels o f d isturbance, r eflecting

t he

g reater

d ivergence i n r ecovery r ates a mong a rtifact

c lasses. L arger f lakes a nd c ores t hus b ecame i ncreasingly " overrepresented" w ith i ncreasing i ntensity o f s ite d isturbance, a nd s maller d ebitage i ncreasingly " underrepresented".

3 .

G reater t han 5 0% r ecovery r ate p er a rtifact c lass

I n a ccord w ith t he a rtifacts m aintaining p opulations.

a bove t rend i s t he m inimally o ne-half

T his i ndex e xphasizes h ow r ecovery ,

i ncreasing o f t heir r ates

s ize o f o riginal

w ere

g raded

a ccording t o a rtifact s ize. S uch h eavy l osses ( greater t han 5 0%) w ere a lways i ncurred f irst b y t he s mallest d ebitage p opulations i n t his o rdered s eries, a nd w ith i ncreasing d isturbance p rogressively l arger a rtifact c lasses j oin t he h eavy c asualty l ist r educed t o l ess t han h alf t heir o riginal n umbers.

6 7

a s

t hey

w ere

A t m oderately d isturbed s ites e xcavation o utside o f t he o riginal s ite a rea t ended t o s well t he r ecovery r ates a mong m ost o f t he c ategories, a s w ill b e d iscussed b elow . T his u sually d ramatically i mproved t he r eturns o f c ores a nd l arger f lakes, o ften t o 5 0% b r b etter, s ince m ore o f t hem w ere r edeposited i n c loser p roximity t o t he o riginal s ite t han w as s o f or t he s maller f lakes a nd d ebitage. 4 .

D ensity c hange

A rtifact d ensity a lso d eclines s harply. T his i s t rue b oth f or m aximum d ensity p er a ny g iven s quare m eter, a nd e ven m ore d rastically, m ean d ensity w ithin t he o verall b oundaries o f t he s ite d istribution. T his w as a r esult b oth o f t he l oss o f m aterials t ransported s ome d istance a way f rom t he s ite, b ut a lso d ue t o t he c ommon s preading o f t he r emaining s ite r esidue o ver a l arger a rea, s ometimes s everal t imes l arger t han t he o riginal s ite a rea. I n f act, i n t wo i nstances ( Sites 2 0 a nd 2 8), a rtifact d ensity p lummeted r adically a lmost e ntirely d ue t o t his " site s pread" p henomenon w ith r elatively m inor l osses o f a rtifactual m aterial f rom t he g eneral v icinity o f t he s ite. P eak o r m aximum d ensity i n a ny s ingle m eter s lower

a nd

s quare

e xhibits

m ore v ariable d ecline w ith i ncreasing d isturbance.

a

T his

i s b ecause s ome l ocalized a reas m ay e scape h eavy w innowing a nd a lteration ( e.g. S ite 1 9) a nd/or t here m ay b e d ownstream a reas w hich r eceive s ignificantly c oncentrated d eposits o f m aterial i n f airly r estricted a reas

5 .

t he

( e.g.,

S ite 3 6 a nd S ites 26 /2 7 ).

S ite f ixation

T he f inal i ndex, t hat o f s ite " fixation", o r t he p roportion o f r ecovered r esidue t hat h as r emained w ith t he o riginal s ite p lot,

g enerally f ollows t he p attern o f c linal d ecrease. T his i s b ecause m ore d isturbed s ites o ften t ended t o b e s patially r edistributed, e ither " stretched" d ownstream f rom t he o riginal s ite a rea o r r elocated o utside o f i t e ntirely. B ut t his i ndex a lso p resents s ome i nteresting d eviations f rom t his c linal t rend: a )

S ome s ites w ere n ot h eavily w innowed,

m aterial f rom t he i mmediate

s ite

v icinity ,

i .e. b ut

d id n ot l ose m uch w ere

n evertheless

c onsiderably s tretched o r r edistributed o ver a m uch l arger a rea t han a t o utset ( Sites 2 0 a nd 2 8 i n p articular). I n s uch c ases, a fter a s ufficiently l arge a rea h ad b een e xcavated, t he s ite c ontents w ere l ittle c hanged o r d epleted f rom t he o riginal a lthough s patial c onfigurations,

d ensities,

a nd

a ssociations

w ere

a ltered

c onsiderably. b )

S ome o ther s ites h ad b een s everely d isturbed,

s uffering h eavy

w innowing a nd m uch d ispersal o f s ite m aterials, l eaving a n oticeable r esidue w hich w as e specially c oncentrated a t t he o riginal s ite l ocation ( Sites 6 , 3 7, a nd 3 6). S uch s ituations, e ither s tretched s ites o r w innowed r esidual s ites, p roduced a bberant j umps i n t he c linal d ecrease i n t he s ite f ixation i ndex, t he o ne d epressing i t a nd t he o ther e nhancing i t o ut o f s ynchrony w ith t he o ther i ndices. T hus, g eological d isturbance m ay p roduce s ite r esidues s tretched o ut f ar b eyond t heir o riginal l ocations i n s ome m ore m oderately d isturbed 6 8

s ites.

I n s ome i nstances o f m ore e xtreme

e xtraction,

s ites

t heir o riginal,

m ay

b e

I n s ummary,

t here i s a n e xtremely h igh d egree o f

b y e ach o f t hese v ariables. a s t o t he

m aterial r esidue a t

A S UMMARY

t he d irection a nd d egree o f s ite c linal

a nd

b y a c onspicuous

s ource l ocation.

R ANKING D ISTURBANCE:

g eneral

d isturbance

r epresented

W ith i ncreasing d isturbance,

d ecrease f or e ach o f t he

r ate o f

c hange

c onformity

i n

t ransformation a s m easured o r s caled

d epending

i ndices,

u pon

t he

t here w as a

w ith s ome v ariation s ensitivity

o f

t he

p articular i ndex. W ith i ncreasing d egrees o f d isturbance m ore m aterial w as l ost f rom t he s ite v icinity, b ut t his w as n ot a n a ll-or-none

p roposition:

L osses

o ccurred

r ange b etween c omplete s ite p reservation e xtreme

a nd

c omplete

l oss o r d ispersal a t

w as g enerally i nversely p roportional

t hroughout a n t he e ntire

w ith

m uch

b urial

t he o ther.

t o s ize,

a t

o ne

R ate o f l oss

a nd i ncreased

f or

a ll

a rtifact c lasses w ith i ncreasing d isturbance. T he d ifferences i n c lass r ecovery r ates w idened w ith r ising d isturbance l evels. T hus, m aterials

r etained

i n

a

s ite's

v icinity

b ecame

i ncreasingly

e xaggerated i n l arge f lake/core p roportions, t hough n ot t o t he e xclusion o f s maller m aterials e xcept i n e xtremely d isturbed i nstances. D ensity a lso u nderwent r edical d ecline, a s m aterials w ere w innowed a way a nd a s r emaining m aterials w ere l arger ( usually m ore e lonagate) a rea.

r edistributed

o ver

a

I t i s e vident f rom t he r esults o f t hese e xperiments t hat d isturbance o f s ites b y f luvial s edimentary p rocesses m ay a lter a s ite s ynchronously i n a v ariety o f w ays, a ltering t he s ite's c haracter w ith r egard t o b oth c omposition a nd s patial d istribution. B eyond s uch g eneral t rends t here a re a n umber o f o ther a spects o f s ite

t ransformation

d iscussed p roducts

b elow.

e vident T hese

a re

i n

t hese m ore

e xperiments

c oncerned

w hich

w ith

w ill

b e

a spects o f t he

o f t ransformation p rocesses.

O BSERVABLE P RODUCTS O F S ITE T RANSFORMATION T he a bove s ection h as p resented g eneral a rchaeological

s ite

p ossible

t o e xtract

s pecific

e ffects

m odification f rom

t he

b y

s ite

t rends

i n

t he

p rocess

s edimentary p rocesses. e xperiment

t hat m ight b e e xpected

r esults

i n a rchaeological

a

I t s et

i s o f

o ccurrences

a s a r esult o f m odification b y s uch p rocesses. S uch m odification c an a lter b oth a ssemblage c omposition a nd s ite c onfiguration i n s pecific w ays, a s w ill b e d iscussed h ere i n m ore d etail. T he d ata s et f or t hese g eneralizations i s p resented a nalyses p resented i n A ppendix A .

i n

t he i ndividual

R ecurrent p atterns o f s ite m odification w ill b e w ith

r egard

t o s ix m ajor c ategories o f e ffect:

1 ) R esultant a ssemblage c omposition 2 ) S patial

d istribution o f a rtifacts

3 ) D ifferential a rtifact r ecovery 4 ) Conditions o f r edeposition a nd r econcentration 5 ) P re-flood c ementation a nd b urial

o f s ite c ontents

6 ) D istribution o f c onjoining a rtifacts

6 9

s ite e xperiment

d iscussed

h ere

1 . A

A SSEMBLAGE C OMPOSITION n umber

o f

o bservations

c an b e m ade r egarding t he e ffect o f

s edimentary f orces o n a ssemblage c omposition, e ffecting c hanges i n b oth t he s ize-class d istribution a nd t he c ore/core t ool:debitage r atio a t a s ite: a )

S mall d ebitage p roportions

E ven v ery m ild w innowing a t a s ite w ill t end d ebitage

p roportions a t a s ite.

N evertheless,

t o

d epress

s mall

v ery s trong w innowing

a nd r adical d isturbance o f a s ite b y f lowing w ater m ay n ot r emove a ll o f t he s maller f lakes a nd d ebitage. I n F igure 5 .2 ( a,b, a nd c ) t he s ize/type d istributions b efore a nd a fter d isturbance a re p resented f or t he s et o f m oderately-to-heavily d isturbed s ites i n F igure 5 .1. F igure 5 .3 ( a,b, a nd c ) s hows t he r ecovery r ates b ehind t hese a ssemblage c hanges a nd t he r esultant c hange i n a ssemblage

p roportion

f or e ach c omponent. I n F igure 5 .2 i t i s e vident t hat t here s ome p roportions o f s mall d ebitage r emain e ven i n f airly h eavily d isturbed c ases a s S ites 2 4,

2 6/27,

3 6,

a nd

2 1

( although

t heir

c umulative

d istributions a re a ltered s ignificantly). T his r etention o f s mall d ebitage e ven a t a v ery d isturbed s ite c an b e i n p art a s tatistical r esult

o f

i ncomplete r emoval o f a n i nitially v ery l arge p opulation,

s uch a s m ight e xist a t a s ite w here a g ood d eal o f h as o ccurred.

t ool

m anufacture

P articularly i f w innowing h as b een o f h igh i ntensity b ut o f r elatively s hort o r e pisodic d uration, t he s mall d ebitage m ay s uffer h eavy l osses b ut w ith s ome s till r emaining. S andier s ediments ( rather t han s ilts) c an e nhance t his p rocess, a s s ome p ercent o f t he s maller a rtifacts m ay e scape t ransport a s t hey b ecome e ngulfed w ithin m igrating r ipples a nd d unes ( Flooded W orkshop S ite, S ite 1 3, a nd S ites 26 /2 7 ). T rampling, o f c ourse, a lso s electively b uries a rtifacts f irst ( e.g. G ifford a nd B ehrensmeyer 1 977). T opographic

h ighs,

e ven

r elatively

m ild

o nes,

s maller

c an a lso h elp

r etain s mall d ebitage e ven a t h ighly d isturbed s ites, a s w innowing m ay b e c hecked l ocally a nd/or d eposition e nhanced b y a s harp d rop i n w ater v elocity ( Site 1 9 f or t he f ormer a nd S ite 3 6 f or t he l atter). O bstructions c an a lso l ocally r educe f low v elocity s ufficiently t o r etard t ransport a nd/or o r e nhance

d eposition

o f

e ven

v ery

s mall

m aterials ( Flooded W orkshop S ite, S ite 3 6, a nd S ites 26 /27 ). S uch s patial t rends a mongst s ize c lasses w ill b e d iscussed f urther b elow . I n s um, t hen, t he s mall d ebitage p roportion w ill l ikely b e r educed b ut n ot a lways e liminated i n t he w innowing p rccess d uring s edimentation. A lthough t he a mount o f r eduction i n t his s mall f raction i s r oughly p roportional t o s everity o f d isturbance ( e.g. f low v elocity, d uration, a nd f requency), t opographic i rregularities a nd o bstructions a nd

t hus

b oost

l ocal f eatures s uch a s c an e nhance d eposition

t he p roportion o f s mall d ebitage i n a r edistributed

a ssemblage. A lso, a s w ill b e d iscussed b elow, l ocal a reas o f d eposition m ay b e r eceiving a l arge p roportion o f s mall d ebitage i n a d ownstream " dumping" a rea.

7 0

B EFORE

AFTER E xpe r i men ta l S ite # 2 5

A 1 9

A

0 / 0

l a

50

20 1 2 34 5 hc

2 34 5 h c

ARTIFACT

CLASS

F igure 5 .2a . A ssemblage c omposition b efore a nd a fter s edimentary d isturbance . G raphed h ere i s t he a ssemblage c omposition ( by a rtifact c lass a nd d ebitage s ize) b efore a nd a fter d isturbance a mong t he s et o f s ites i n F igure 5 .1 w hich h ad i ncurred m ore t han a " Low" l evel o f d isturbance. Composition i s b roken d own b y a rtifact c lass a s i n F igure 5 .1: c =cores, h =hammerstones, a nd d ebitage s ize c lasses ( "1"=5mm s creen s ize u p t o 1 0 mm; " 2"=10 t o 2 0 mm; " 3"=20 t o 4 0 mm; " 4"=40 t o 8 0 mm ;

" 5"=80 t o

1 60 mm ).

7 1

B EFORE

A FTER E xper imen ta l *

p < .005

S i te #

.

2 8

p < .001

2 2

•p< .001

3 4

1 3

0-

•PK .001

2 6 ,27 1 234 5 hc

ART IFACT

CLASS

F igure 5 .2b. B efore a nd a fter a ssemblage c omposition ( continued). ( *p v alue d erived f rom K olmogorov Smirnoff t wo-sample t est o f c umulative f requency d ifferences).

7 2

B Fü g iE

A FTER

50

E xpe r i men ta l S ite #

0

p < .001

36 1

A

1

6

1 1

3 7

A

5 0

24

P < .05

2 1

12 3 4 5 h C

ART IFACT

F igure 5 .2c.

CLASS

B efore a nd a fter a ssemblage c omposition

7 3

( continued).

RECOVERY RATES

% CHANGE I N ASSEMBLAGE % EXPER I MENTAL

1 00

S ITE

1•••••

+ 300.

25

J

[

0-

«

..

, ..0

1B 1

6 1 1= =

= 1 1. 1 1

M

100-

1 00 1

+ 300

1 9

0 0 100

1 00 1• 1 1» 1 ».

+ 30 4 3

A

la

01 100

1 00

+3 00

2 0 1 2 3 4 5 h c

F igure among

5 .3a. t he

1 2 3 4 5 h c

R ecovery

r ates

a nd

e xperimental

s ites

a fter d isturbance b y s edimentary

( Assemblage c omponents

a s

c hange

i n F igures

7 4

5 .1

i n a nd

a ssemblage 5 .2.

p roportions f orces .

RECOVERY RATES

% CHANGE I N ASSEMBLAGE % EXPER I MENTAL

1 001

S ITE

1 *

+300,

1 00

0 1

100

• , . mo rw

N um . .

‚ 1 1•••••

0

r h

0 1 00 1

+300

2 2

0 1 0 01

em m•

I L

A 0

28

a t sar— «

34

t oo l g fg a l Im kommu m me

1 3

100

1 001 4 . 1 1• I I MP

4. 1. 10 . 1

dT

1 2 3 4 5 h c

F igure

0 ]

+300

5 .3b.

+300

26,27 oi 100

1 2 3 4 5 h c

R E C OV E R Y

%

R AT E S

C H AN GE

IN

A S S E M BL A G E

% E XPER I MENTAL

1 001

S ITE +3 00 ]

1

0 1 00 1

100

I

r i

6

+300 ]

3 6 0

r-r--4

4 -1 - 1 7 1

1

C I =

0 100

1 00 0

F

+ 300 ]

C L A S

3 7 0

1 001

1 00

S 4.30 0

2 4 0

0 1

E

b 100 1 *500j

1 00

1 2 3 4 5 h c

2 1 0 Sb to o n n e

100

F igure 5 .3c.

7 6

1 2 3 4 5 h c

#

b .

C ore:Debitage R atio

T he c ore p roportion a t a w innowed s ite n ecessarily r ises w ith i ncreasing d isturbance a s f lakes a re m ore l ikely t o b e w innowed a nd r emoved. A s n oted a bove, t he s maller f lakes, w hich a re i nitially i n r elatively g reat m anufacture

p roportions

h as

s kimming o peration a nd s o i ncrease. n umerical s ite,

i n

o ccurred,

a n

a re

a ssemblage

p articularly

t he c ore

p roportion

w here

i s

q uite

H owever, e ven w ith h eavy w innowing l osses o f m aterial ( >50% o verall) f rom

t he

s tone

v ulnerable

t his

l iable

i t m ay

T his m ay b e m ore a t hree-fold i ncrease o r

m ore i n t he c ore p roportion o f a n a ssemblage, b ut t he r esultant w ould s till r emain h eavily w eighted w ith d ebitage. 2 .

t o

a nd l arge-scale a m anufacturing

c ore p roportion m ay s till r emain r ather l ow ( e.g.,

r ise o nly f rom 3 % t o 1 0%).

t ool

t o

s ite

S PATIAL C ONFIGURATIONS

T here

w ere

m oderately

r ecurrent

d isturbed

r edistribution

p atterns o bserved a mong m any o f t he m ore

s ites

o f

( i.e.,

m aterials)

t hose

w ith

r egarding

s ome

l oss

d ifferential

a nd

s patial

a rrangement o f t he a ssemblage c omponents. I t i s c ritical t o l ook n ot o nly a t t he o verall a ssemblage p roportions, s uch a s s ize c lass d istribution o r c ore:debitage

r atios,

b ut a lso

t o

e xamine a cross-site

s patial t rends i n t hese f or e vidence o f s patial p atterning o r d ifferential d istribution i ndicative o f w ater-related d isturbance a nd t ransport. a )

R esidual s ites w ith h igh c ore p roportions

I n m any c ases t he o riginal s ite a rea c ontained a r esiduum h ad e scaped s ignificant

t ransport.

r ich i n c ores a nd l arge f lakes,

T hese

w hich

" source a reas"

t ended t o b e

b ut o ften s till r etained

s ome s maller

f lakes a nd d ebitage. I n s ome m ore e xtreme c ases, t hese s ite r esidues w ere v ery h eavily s coured a nd n early s tripped o f s maller a rtifacts, l eaving a d eposit o f d ominated b y c ores

a nd

l arger

f lakes

a t

t he

s ource ( Site 2 6/27, 2 0, 1 3, 2 2, a nd 3 7). I n a ny c ase t he r esidue a t t he s ite s ource g enerally e xhibited a m uch h igher c ore p roportion t han

a ny

d ownstream

d eposit.

( Two

e xceptions t o t his w ere s ites

w hich s uffered v ery h eavy s cour a t s ignificant r edeposition d ownstream. a rea w as d eposit

c ompletely s coured b ut t here w as a f airly c oncentrated o f c ores i n a g ravel b ar d ownstream. I n t he o ther, t he

F looded W orkshop, e roded

t he s ource b ut a chieved I n o ne, S ite 2 4, t he s ource

o f

e xtremely

t he s ource

m aterial,

a nd

c ore-rich

a rea

w as

a gain

h eavily

s coured

a nd

t he m ajor d ownstream d eposit b egan w ith a n

c luster

o f

a rtifacts

a round

a

c lump

o f

v egetation). b ) I n

L ocalized d ebitage-rich a reas s ome

v ery

d isturbed

d isturbance o r o f l arge-scale p roportions, a n u ndisturbed v ariable i f t here m ore

o f

a t

s ites

v ery

r edeposition

l ocalized h ad

v ery

a reas h igh

o f l ow d ebitage

t imes e ven m imicking t he s ize c lass d istribution o f w orkshop

s ite.

I f

a n

a rchaeological

s ite

s hows

s patial d istribution o f d ebitage, i t w ould b e u seful t o s ee i s b e c oincident t opographic v ariation, f or i nstance w ith t he

s maller

m aterial

r esting

7 7

o n

l ess

h eavily

s coured

t opographic h ighs. O f c ourse, c onjoining s tudies w ould a lso b e v aluable i n s uch c ases, a s r efitting p ieces w ould l ikely b e r ather s carce ( though n ot i mpossible) i n s uch i nstances. ( See t he d iscussion b elow o f e vidence f rom c onjoining p ieces). O bjects w hich m ight o bstruct f low, s uch a s b oulders, t rees, c arcasses, o f e ven s mall

c lumps

o f

P roblematically, p resence. I n

a ddition

v egetation

c an

a lso

b ring

a bout s uch d eposits.

s ome o f t hese m ay l eave n o l asting r ecord

t o

i ntrasite

d istribution p atterns,

o f

t heir

p referential

a rtifact o rientation a s w ell a s i nclination o r d ip c an a lso p rovide v aluable e vidence o f t he r eworking o f a s ite b y f luvial f orces. T hese c riteria m ay a lso r eveal t he v ector o f t he d isturbance a gencies ( and h ence t he d irection o f a ny r edistribution) a nd c an a lso g ive s ome i ndication o f t he f low v elocity o r t he i ntensity o f d isturbance a t a s ite. T he a pplication o f t hese c riteria w ill b e d iscussed f urther i n t he f inal s ection o f t his c hapter. c )

S patial g aps

A c ommon f eature o f a n umber o f t he w innowed a nd r edistributed e xperimental s ites w as a v irtual g ap o r a rea w ith l ow a rtifact d ensity j ust d ownstream f rom t he o riginal s ite l ocale o r r esiduum ( Sites 2 0, 2 8, 1 3, 2 6/27, W orkshop S ite). T he f ew a rtifacts w ithin t his l ow d ensity g ap ( which c ould e xtend f or a s l ittle a s a m eter o r f or m any m eters b efore r edeposition b egan) g enerally t ended t o b e s maller f lakes w hich h ad b een s wept o ut o f t he s ite b ut, w hether c aught i n m igrating s ediments, b y v egetation, o r w hatever, h ad b een r edeposited n ot f ar a way. T his m ay b e i n p art a s tatistical b y-product o f t he h igh d ebitage p roportions i n t he e xperimental s ites a nd t he i nability f or a ll o f t hese m aterials t o e scape t he s ite a rea e xcept i n e xtremely h igh v elocity, p rolonged f loods. T he f ew m aterials w ithin s uch g aps c onstituted a " smudging" o f a rtifacts o utside t he o riginal s ite ( as o pposed t o t he o verall s ite " stretching" d iscussed b elow t hat w as c ommonly o bserved a t d isturbed s ites). I n g eneral,

s uch g aps a re t o b e e xpected i n a reas w here t he f low

i s m aintaining s ufficient v elocity t o c ontinue t ransport o f a rtifacts a lready s et i n m otion. i nitiated, v elocity c an

O nce i nertia i s o vercome a nd t ransport i s d rop b y a pproximately o ne t hird b efore

d eposition w ill b egin; h ence t his g ap i s l argely a s patial e xpression o f t he d elay i n f low v elocity r eduction. W hile s uch g aps w ere c ommon j ust o utside t he o riginal s ite p lot, t hey c an a lso o ccur d ownstream f rom a n a rea o f r edeposition. F or i nstance, a t t he F looded W orkshop S ite, j ust b eyond a m ajor d ownstream d eposit, t he c urrent v elocity r evived s ufficiently t o c arry a rtifacts t hat m ade i t t hus f ar f or a d istance o f a nother 1 5 m eters. A t t his p oint t he f low v elocity s uddenly d issipated a nd t he r emaining a rtifacts d ropped

o ut

o f

f low,

p roducing

t he

t erminal

" flake t rail". A s light i ncrease i n s lope a long t he b ank h ere m ay b e p artially r esponsible f or t his g ap b y s tepping u p f low v elocity i n i n t his r egion, i llustrating t he s trong r ole t hat l ocal t opography c an p lay i n a ffecting f low v elocity a nd h ence s ite r edistribution d uring s edimentation. 7 8

d )

D ownstream t rends i n a ssemblage c omposition

I n t hese s ite e xperiments a rtifact d eposits d ownstream w ere n ot t ranslocations o f t he o riginal d istribution n or j umbled d umps

m ere w here

t he

m aterial

w as

d ropped

i nternal g radations o r s patial

e n

m asse.

t rends i n

R ather,

a ccord

w ith

t hey s howed t he

r ate

o f

d ecline i n f low v elocity o f t he w ater t ransporting t he s ite c ontents. T hese t rends a pparently v aried a ccording t o t he v elocity l evel a nd i ts r ate o f d ecrease, s uch t hat a s harp d rop p roduced a t ighter c luster w ith l ess p ronounced s orting, w hile a g radually w aning f low c ould p roduce a n e longate,

l ower d ensity d eposit w ith m ore p ronounced

i nternal d ifferentiation o r s orting c urrent v elocity.

d ue

t o

a

g radually

d eclining

T he m ost s triking e xample o f t he l atter e ffect w as i n t he W orkshop S ite, w here t he s ite c ontents w ere r edistributed o ver a d istance

o f n early 4 0 m eters.

d ownstream r ise u niform i ncrease A ppendix

A ).

p ortrays

s pace t here w as n ot o nly a

i n t he d ebitage p roportion b ut a lso a d ramatically i n t he s mall d ebitage f raction ( see F igure A -3 i n S uch t rends

f or e ach a rtifact i n F igure 5 .4. m eters

W ithin t his

r eflect

t he d ifferential d eposition r ates

s ize c lass ( exhibited i n t he " survivorship c urve" T his c urve i s p articularly i nteresting s ince i t

s trictly s ize-dependent d eposition w ithin d ownsteam,

b ut w ithin t he l ast

t he e ffect o f a rtifact m orphology a nd s ubst-ite s uperior t ransport o f m oderate s ize

t he

f irst

t wenty

t wenty m eters o f d eposit s hows

f lakes

i nteraction

i n

s ediments i n t he m iddle r eaches o f t he s ite. S ites 2 6/27, 1 3, a nd, t o s ome e xtent, S ite 2 0 e xhibit s imilar s patial t rends a rtifact t oward w ere

d istribution,

T hese

t rends

m atter o f g radual s hifts i n a ssemblage c haracter r ather t han

a bsolute s equential e )

2 8, i n

s ize d istribution b ecoming s kewed m ore

s maller a rtifacts i n t he d ownstream d irection. a

o ften

w ith

t he

r ight o n t hrough t he s andy

t urnover o r s eparation o f a ssemblage c omponents.

S ite s tretching

I n c onjunction w ith t he e ffects l arge-scale c hanges i n s ite

d iscussed b oundaries

a bove, t here w ere a nd c onfigurations

ccurrence O ne c ommon o

d uring t he c ourse o f s ite t ransformation.

w as

ites w hen s ome t he s ite s tretching t hat w as i ncurred i n m any o f t he s s ome d istance P roportion o f a s ite's m aterials w as r edistributed a nd e ffective d ownstream. I n m any i nstances, s ome w innowing n o thers t he d ispersal o f s ome o f t he a rtifacts a lso o ccurred, b ut i i n t he i mmediate m ajority o f a s ite's c ontents w ere r etrieved atter c ases ( Sites 2 0 a nd 2 8 i n p articular), v icinity. I n t he l w as v ery g ood-to-excellent r ecovery ut d ensities p lummeted d ue s ignificant s ize, b ite b oundaries. e longation o f t he s o verall

f ) A n

t he

c onsiderable

D islocation/reassociation o f a ssemblage c omponents u ltimate

o utcome

d estruction o f o riginal c reation

f or a rtifacts o f a ny t o

o f

b ogus

o f

a ll

a rtifact

o nes.

T hus,

o f

t he

a bove

a ssociations s tudies

a nd,

f actors

i s

t he

m oreover ,

t he

o f m aterial a ssociations

( e.g., amongst s tone a rtifacts o r b etween a rtifacts a nd b one) w ould s ustain o nly a v ery c oarse d egree o f r esolution; f ine-grained a spects o f

s patial

d istribution

c ould

h ighlight f luvially-modified r ather

7 9

0

r , C s ) C I ) " C , •2 C G C C

E

( Z 2 .

C 4 )

4 . 4 G •

E

•

r e

r1 4

o

W bO N • r (

G )

N

E

W

I E

r 4

> , " I C E . 0W

•

•• :C I

a ) 4 . 1

0

C t ) ( 1 ) 2 c u

C U O

0

X C L . 0 ) • H , . G C f ) W 4 c 0 0

v 0 4 4 ) 0

0

c E o

D O W N S T R E A M

0

U

^ 0 W

U ) • H • H

I i

S U R V I O R S H I P

4 4 " c ) W 7 : 3 f : 4 Q 0 •• = r T 1 C V

0

0

• H , G U ) 4 0

C l ) 4 4 C ) C I

• H

• H

4 C l )

4 C I

C O G

" c °

( c 2 o .

0 . 1

C I ) E

4

0 4 . )

2

4 1 'r 4 •r 4 • c o C I ) E C . 1 ) • 0 4 1 4 • H • • • • 4 1 4 . )

—

0

W

• H

C i l C l ) C I S T i U

4 . ) 0

4 . 1 C I ) › ,

d e p o s i t e d

4 4 0

4 . J U C O 4 1 •f 1 4 . ) 4 a l

8 0

0

• H c o 2 I • r i C D E

z $ . 4• H 0

-C I

W

0

W 0

b CE z , 4, c c o z " c 1

• H 0

4

u ) L I U 0

C f )

1

e

0 C . ) 0 C I ) I _ 0 U ) U ) 0 c t i 4 , . Z c . ) • H

C G r 1

0

c , 1 1 Z

e i C

1 4

c f ) r c o l

" 2 C U

) 4 1

• 0

2

c t l u )

e e •H

U ) r ( 1 4 1 4 1 " 0 0 M I 0 P . c t / • H C I ) 0 1 ) • r • I 4 _ i T-I " C : 1 G 4 _ i ' 4 4 C I ) C I . / G 4 1 • I • J • H R I 0 f 1 . G 2 5

= •

( I ) W W

• c o v I

6, 1

4 1 C I

9 1

W ( 1

c r f ) • r 1 c r ) 0

w o . ) , z c r )4 i oC C J w 44 4 0

4 1

• H

b i D 4 ) ^ C G / • • • . 1 : 1 0 4 4 0 0 1 G . G r e

C l . ) C I ) . G 4 1 • H 4 1 t l )

4J

( 1 . ) 4 .

W • r i 4 J

4 4 C U

4 )

4 J c i ) 4 1 U )

a l

1 1 W C l )

5 • H

C l )

C / ) 0

G

( I )

C U r 4

r

C d , . 0 4 -1

R I

C S ) W

1C

0 • H 4 )

C r i" z ;

^ 4 t n

E

c C / G ) L I r 1 ? D O • H 4 G

c o

• H

• H

s m a l e r o n e s ,

C I

.0

41

t han b ehaviorally-induced p atterns. F urther i nterpretive p roblems w ould b e c reated s ince i ncreased s cattering n ecessarily d iminishes t he l ikelihood o f r etrieving a ll o f t he m aterials o riginally a t t he s ite, a nd i nternal s orting w ould m ake a ny o ne s ubset l ees r epresentative o f t he o riginal p opulation. I n r edistributed s ites,

t he

r esultant

s ite

c onfiguration

w as

m ore e longate, s ometimes s everal t imes o ver, a nd i t w ould b e q uite p ossible f or o nly a p ortion o f t he s ite t o b e r etrieved ( e.g., d ue t o l imitations t o t he e xcavation, l oss t o e rosion, o r s imple n on-discovery o r n on-recognition o f t he t rue e xtent o f t he s ite). T he a ssemblage s ample s o d erived w ould p robably b e a s omewhat s kewed s ample o f t he o riginal s ite m aterials, s ince t he r edistributed m aterials w ould h ave b een s orted t o s ome d egree ( minor o r m ajor) b y t he w aters t hat h ad t ransported a nd r edeposited t hem. F or e xample, t he r esultant e xcavation c ould b e d ominated b y s mall d ebitage i n m ore d istal d eposits o r o n t opographic h ighs ( e.g. t he b ar d eposit a t S ite 3 6, a round t he t ree i n S ites 26 /2 7 , a nd i n t he t erminal d eposits a t t he W orkshop S ite). O r t he e xcavated a rea c ould c ontain a m ix o f c ores w ith a l ess w ell-sorted s et o f f lakes ( e.g., t he " middle r eaches" o f m ost s ites), o r a w ell-sorted c ombination o f c ores a nd l arge f lakes ( the o riginal s ite r esiduums i n m any o f t he e xperiments, e .g. S ite 2 0, 2 8, 6 , a nd 3 6). O bviously, f or p atterns a t a s ite,

p urposes o f d eciphering s patial d istribution i t i s c ritical t o r ecognize f lüvially i nduced o r

d istorted a rrangements o f m aterial.

E qually,

e ven f or t he a ssessment

o f a ssemblage c omposition i tself a nd a ny t echnological, c omparative t ypological i nformation i t m ay y ield,

f unctional o r i t i s a lso

i mperative t o r ecognize a nd t ry t o a ssess t he d egree o f w innowing a nd s orting t he s ite m ay h ave s uffered.

3 .

D IFFERENTIAL A RTIFACT R ECOVERY

a )

E ffect o f a rtifact s ize a nd t ype

T here w ere d ifferent ( by

s ize

a nd b y t ype,

r ecovery r ates a mongst t he a rtifact c lasses

i .e „

w hether f lake,

c ore,

o r h ammerstone)

a t

a ll t he d isturbed s ites ( see F igure 5 .3:a, b , a nd c ). T hese w ere g enerally s ize-dependent, w ith b etter r ecovery f or l arger a rtifacts a t a ll l evels o f d isturbance. T he r ecovery o f v ery l arge f lakes ( >8cm l ong) u sually e qualled o r e ven e xceeded t hat o f o ften h eavier c ores ( due t o h ydraulic f actors, a s d iscussed i n C hapter 4 ). C obbles o r h ammerstones

t ended t o b e s omewhat m ore m obile

o r

v ulnerable

t o

w innowing a nd r emoval t han w ere c ores o r l arge f lakes. T hey c an t hus b e p referentially r emoved f rom a w innowed s ite, o r m oved f urther d ownstream t han m ost c ores a nd l arge f lakes. W ithin t he c ategory o f f lakes a nd d ebitage,

r ecovery r ates t end t o d iminish w ith s ize.

T his

t rend w as a pparent a t a ll l evels o f d isturbance, f rom m ild t o s evere. W ith i ncreasing d isturbance, r ecovery r ates o f a ll a rtifact c lasses t ended

t o d ecline.

E xceptions s pecial

t o t his

c ircumstances.

t rend w ere f ew, O ne

( Site

a nd c an

b e

c orrelated

w ith

1 9) h ad f airly u niform r ecovery

r ates, a s o ne h alf o f t he s ite w as u naltered a nd t he m aterials r etained i n t his h alf m inimizes t he l osses f rom t he h eavily w innowed

8 1

p ortion o f t he s ite.

S uch a n i nstance h ighlights t he n eed t o i nspect

f or a cross-site c hanges i n a ssemblage c omposition, d ramatic c ut-off b etween u ntouched h alf o f t he s ite. A nother ( Site 2 4)

t he

h eavily

a s

w innowed

i s m arked b y t he e xtremely

t here

s ector

p oor

w as a nd

r ecovery

a t he

o f

i ts d ebitage c omponents a s o pposed t o h igh r eturns a mongst c ores a nd h ammerstones. A t t his s ite t he m aterials h ad b een r emoved c ompletely f rom t he o riginal s ite a rea a nd m any o f t hem r edeposited a t t he s tream e dge w ithin a g ravel b ar m ore t han 2 0 m eters d ownstream. T he p rolonged w innowing d uring t ransport h ad s orted t he m aterials e xtremely w ell, r emoving t he s maller a rtifacts a nd d umping a f airly c oncentrated r esidue o f c ores a nd h ammerstones ( more t han o ne-half o f t he o riginal s et) w ithin a n e stablished d eposit o f n atural c lasts o f s imilar s ize. T hus, s evere a nd p rolonged w innowing m ay e xaggerate t he r ecovery g ap b etween c ores a nd f lakes, i f a s ignificant d eposit c an b e m aintained o r r e-created i n t he p rocess. A nother

r ather

s pecial

i nstance

o f

d ifferential

r ecovery

o ccurred a t S ite 3 4, w here t he r eturns a mongst s mall d ebitage w ere e xtremely p oor, w hereas r ecovery r ates r ose d ramatically f or t he l arger a rtifact c ategories. T his r epresents a n i nstance o f a pparently s ustained w innowing b ut a t a c ontrolled, f airly m inimal l evel o f i ntensity ( i.e. l ow f low v elocity). T hus, t here w as a s harp c ut-off a s t o t he s ize o f a rtifact a ffected b y t he f low: T hose s ize g roups b elow t his c ut-off w ere d ramatibally r educed i n f requency, b )

w hile l arger a rtifacts w ere m inimally a ffected.

D ifferential r ecovery a nd a ssemblage c omposition

A t h igher l evels o f d isturbance, e ventually

p roduced

a

f inal

i ncreasingly

a ssemblage

s evere

w innowing

c omposition t hat d iffered

s ignificantly f rom t he o riginal ( see F igure 5 .2, a ,b a nd c , a nd F igure 5 .3, a , b , a nd c ). A t t he m ajority o f t he m ore d isturbed s ites, t he c umulative f requency d istribution o f m aterials d iffers f rom t he o riginal t o a s tatistically s ignificant d egree, e ven t hough m any r etain s till r ather h igh d ebitage p roportions. T he s ites w ith a s ignificantly a ltered s ize/type d istribution a re n oted i n F igure 5 .2. ( All o f t hese d iffered f rom t heir o riginal s tate w ith a m inimum p v alue o f l ess t han . 05 i n K olmorogorov-Smirnov t wo-sample t ests o f c umulative f requency d ifferences). T he l ower l evel o f s ignificance f or t he v ery h eavily d isturbed s ites i s d ue t o t he v ery s mall s ize o f t he r esultant a ssemblages. I n a ll c ases t he c umulative c urve r ose m uch m ore s lowly i n t he d isturbed a ssemblage t han i n t he o riginal, t he s mall d ebitage h ad b een s everely r educed i n p roportion. A s g enerally

n oted

a bove,

i ncur

m ajor

a ssemblages c hanges

i n

a ltered

d uring

p roportion

f or

a s

s edimentation m ost

a rtifact

c lasses. T he c hanges f rom " before" t o " after" a ssemblage p roportions m ay n ot, o f c ourse, b e p recisely i nferred i n t he a rchaeological s ituation. H owever, i t s hould b e r ecognized t hat t he r esultant s ite c omposition a fter m oderate d isturbance w ill r epresent s ignificant s hifts i n p roportion f or e ach a rtifact c lass ( Figure 5 .3). T he g eneral t rend a mongst a ssemblage c omponents a t i ncreasing l evels o f d isturbance i s f or l arge f lake a nd c ore p roportions t o b e m agnified, s ometimes s everal

t imes

o ver.

O n

8 2

t he

o ther

h and,

t he

s maller

d ebitage p roportions t end t o b e r educed, t heir o riginal n umbers. S uch

s hifts

i n

a ssemblage

o ften t o l ess t han h alf o f

c omposition

r esulted

f rom

t he

c ombination o f d ifferent r ecovery r ates a mong a rtifact c lasses a cting u pon a ssemblage p roportions t hat w ere i nitially d ifferent. T he l atter f actor, i nitial p roportions, h ere b uffered t he e ffect o f d ifferential r ecovery, s ince h igher l osses w ere s uffered - a mong s maller , b ut i nitially p lentiful, m aterials i n t hese e xperiments. T hus i n c ases o f m ild t o m oderate d isturbance t he a ssemblage p roportions c hanged " sluggishly", b ut s ufficient d isturbance p roduced s ignificant c hanges f rom t he o riginal. 4 .

R EDEPOSITION A ND R ECONCENTRATION

I n a f ew i nstances i n t he s ite e xperiments, h ot-spots" o f d eposition h ad d eveloped w here a rtifactual m aterials w ere c lustered o r r edeposited i n o bvious r econcentrations. N one o f t hese w ere o f t he m agnitude o f s ome a rchaeological d eposits w here h ydraulic r econcentration o f m aterials h as b een s uspected ( see I saac, 1 968 a nd 1 977, f or c onsideration o f p ossible f luvial i nvolvement i n b uilding l arge c oncentrations o f A cheulean m aterials a t s ome s ites a t O lorgesailie). H owever, c onsidering t he r elative p aucity o f a rtifactual m aterials w ithin t he s tream s ystems i n t hese s tudies, t he i nstances w here r econcentrations d id o ccur s erve t o h ighlight t he p ossibility o f a gglomerations o f a rtifacts b uilding u p i n n atural d umping a reas w ithin a s tream s ystem. T he r econcentrations h ere w ere d ominated b y a rtifactual m aterials f rom o ne o r m ore s ites w ithin t he s tream s ystem, o r e lse b y a m ix o f n atural a nd a rtifactual c lasts o f s imilar s ize. T hey o ccurred a round o bstacles i n t he f low s uch a s t rees o r o ther v egetation ( Sites 2 6/27 a nd t he W orkshop S ite); w ithin a n atural g ravel b ar ( as i n S ite 2 4) w here n atural m aterials u ndoubtedly i nteracted d eposition; v elocity

w ith t he a rtifactual p articles i n t opographic h ighs w hich h ad

a nd t riggered d eposition ( Site 3 6);

a nd e nhanced t heir c hecked l ocal f low

o r w here f lood v elocity

s uddenly d issipated w ithin a c hannel ( Site 1 9) l eaving a d eposit o f a c ohort o f m aterials t hat h ad t ravelled o ver 2 0 m eters d ownstream. S ome o f t he d eposition o n t he f loodplain a t t he W orkshop S ite w as a pparently t riggered b y a s udden w ane i n f low v elocity d ue t o c hanges i n l ocal t opography ( a d ecline i n s lope c oupled w ith a f lattening o f l ocal r elief, b roadening t he . e ffective c hannel).

5 .

S ITE C EMENTATION

I n t hree i nstances a n i nteresting p re-flood p henomenon o ccurred w hich a cted t o h elp r etard e rosion a nd s ite d isturbance i n s ubsequent s edimentary i nterludes.

I n

s ome

s ites

s ituated

o n

f ine-grained

s edimentary s ubstrates ( silts o r s ilty c lays), s ite m aterials b ecame i mbedded a nd v irtually c emented w ithin t he g round s urface b efore t hey w ere f inally b uried.

A t s ites

1 2 a nd 3 4,

t he

a rtifactual

m aterials

w ere f irst l ocked i nto t heir u nderlying f loodplain s ediments a nd s ome t ime a fterward w ere b uried d uring t he c ourse o f a f lood. S ite 3 8, a l akeside s ite, t he s ite c ontents h ad b een s imilarly c emented i nto t heir

u nderlying

s ediments,

p artially

8 3

b urying

s maller a rtifacts,

t hough t he s ite h ad n ot y et b een f ully b uried f inal m onitoring i n t his s tudy.

b y

t he

t ime

o f

t he

T his p henomenon w as a pparently d ue t o t he w etting a nd s ubsequent d rying o f t he s ediments a fter b outs o f r ain. U pon d rying, t he m uddied, f ine-grained s ubstrate w ould s hrink a nd s o e nclose t he a rtifacts a nd l ock t hem i nto p lace. T his p rocess w ould, o f c ourse, h elp t o r etard e rosion i n a ny s ubsequent f loods o r s urface w ashes, a nd

h elp p reserve s ite c omposition a nd c onfiguration.

i n s uch c onditions w ere m ore v ulnerable d ecomposition, h owever, h eavier b one l oss d ue t o

t o

s urface

B ony e lements w eathering

a nd

t han i n s ome m ore d isturbed s ites w ith t ransport b ut m ore r apid b urial o f r emaining

e lements. T his p rocess w as o nly o bserved i n f ine-grained s ediments ( silt g rade a nd s maller) t hat c ould b ecome m uddied d uring r ainy p eriods. A lso a ll t hree i nstances w ere s omewhat r emoved f rom t he l ocal s ource o f i nundation ( stream o r l ake). S uch

c ementation-before-burial

w ould

b e

m ore

l ikely i n m ore

d istal p arts o f a s edimentary r egime,

a s i n a f lood b asin o r

t oe

w ould f ine-grained s ediments b e

o f

a

a vailable, b efore

l evee,

w here

n ot

o nly

b ut a lso a s ite m ay b e

b eing

f looded

b y

l ikely

t o

i ndure

o n

s everal

t he r ains

a d irectional o verbank f low o r s heetwash.

S oil f ormation p rocesses o n a l evee o r i n a f loodbasin c ould a ct i n a s imilar w ay t o b ury a rtifactual m aterials b efore s edimentation o ccurs.

I n

s uch

c ases,

i f

s ubsequent

s edimentation

d oes

n ot

s uccessfully e rode t he s ubstrate, m aterial c onfigurations w ould r emain r elatively u nmodified. S uch m aterials w ould, o f c ourse, r emain

e xposed

o ccupants.

f or

L arger

c ompletely, g eological

e xploitation o bjects

a nd

w ould

b e

e xtraction l ess

b y

l ikely

f uture t o

b e

s ite b uried

a nd s o w ould b e m ore p rone t o s ubsequent d isturbance b y o r b iological a gencies w ithout e rosion o f t he s edimentary

s ubstrate. T rampling a lso h elps b ury o bjects w ithout a ccretional s edimentation, a nd l ikewise p referentially i nters s maller o bjects r ather t han l arger o nes ( as o bserved i n e xcavation o f a p ortion o f a n e xperimental w orkshop i n t his s tudy a nd r eported b y G ifford a nd B ehrensmeyer

f or

t he

e thnographic c amp) 6 .

b one

s ample

i n

t heir

e xcavation

o f

a n

( 1977).

C ONJOINING A RTIFACTS

C onjoining o r f itting p ieces w ill o f o n-site

r emain a n e xcellent

i ndicator

t ool m anufacture a nd d e f acto e vidence o f a r elatively l ow

l evel o f s ite d isturbance. T he r esults f rom o ne o f t he e xperiments, S ite 3 6, s hould, h owever, s erve a s a w arning r egarding t he c onstraints o f i nterpretations f rom c ore r econstructions, a nd t he c are w ith w ith s uch e vidence s hould b e c onsidered. S ite 3 6 h ad s uffered e xtremely h eavy d ispersal o f m aterials a way f rom t he s ite v icinity:

o ver 9 0% o f n early

4 900

a t

t he

s ite h ad b een r emoved i n t he c ourse o f s edimentation a nd b urial.

T he

s ite

h ad,

h owever,

r etained

s ome s ets o f f lakes

a rtifacts

f rom i ndividual c ore

r eductions, a nd i n s ome c ases t hese h ad r etained s ome f lakes t hat a ctually j oined t ogether. T here h ad b een 6 s pecific c ore r eduction s ets, i ts

t hat i s,

a c ore w ith a ll t he f lakes a nd

p roduction,

l eft

a t

f ragments

t he s ite o riginally.

r emnants o f 5o f t hese w ere r etrieved 8 4

g enerated

i n

A fter s edimentation,

i n e xcavating t he s ite.

A mong

w ere 3 p airs o f c onjoining f lakes,

t hese

T hese r efitting p ieces h ad

2 p airs

f rom t he s ame c ore.

r emained a t a s ite w hich h ad b een s tripped

o f w ell o ver 4 ,000 a rtifacts b y f luvial p rocesses.

T hey w ould n ot i n

t hemselves s erve a s c onvincing e vidence o f a n " undisturbed" s uch e vidence c ould

e asily

e xtent

a nd

o f

e rosion

m islead

o ne

i nto

s ite,

b ut

u nderestimating

t he

s ite t ransformation t hat h ad o ccurred.

T he

c onjoining p airs h ad n ot a ll b een s eparated g reatest d istance w as a bout 4 m eters).

t o a

g reat

e xtent

( the

A h int o f t he w ater t ransport

t hat h ad o ccurred w as a c onsistent l inear t rend b etween t he f lake s ets i n a ll t hree i nstances w hich r eflected t he v ector o f d isturbance a t

t he s ite. T horough c onjoining s tudies

p resence o f c onjoining e xtent o f s uch i nstances:

n ot n ecessarily v erify t hat i n

w ould h elp e stablish

n ot

o nly

t he

m aterials a t a s ite, b ut a lso t he l imits o r a f ew i nstances o f c onjoining a t a s ite d o i t i s u ndisturbed.

T he

c onjoining a ttempts m ust b e s eriously c onsidered

l imitations

m et

i n a ssessing t he

n ature o f a s ite a ssemblage, a nd, o f c ourse, c onsistent l inear t rends a mong c onjoining s ets s uch a s n oted a bove m ay s erve a s w arning o f a lteration o f a n a ssemblage d uring s edimentation. d iscussed f urther i n t he f ollowing c hapter. I n s ome i nstances p ost-depositional e rosion a nd o f

a

s ite

( or

a p art o f i t)

m ay a lso o ccur,

T his w ill b e

r esedimentation

p roducing r olling a nd

a brasion o f s ome e lements o f c onjoining s ets o f a rtifacts. b een

n oted

a t

t he

M iddle

T his

h as

P alaeolithic w orkshop s ite o f M esvin i n

B elgium ( D. C ahen, p ers. c omm.), w here s ome c onjoining e lements a re i n f ine-grained a lluvium a re i n r elatively f resh c ondition w hile t heir p artners w ithin c onsiderably r olled.

a c ontiguous

( and

l ater)

c hannel d eposit a re

S UMMARY T he o verall p resented h ere

r esults o f t he s imulated s ite e xperiments h ave a nd c ommon p atterns a nd f eatures o f

t ransformation o utlined. i n

i ndividual

d etail

E ach o f t he s ite e xperiments i n

t he

A ppendix

r eferences t o r elevant e xperiments h ave c hapter t o i ndicate t he d ata s et M ost

o f

t he

m odification

b een s ite

i s

d escribed

t o

t his

w ork,

p articular

b een

m ade

t hroughout

t his

f or t he g eneralizations m ade h ere. p atterns n oted i n t his s ynthesis o f

r esults i nvolve s ome d egree o f s ite

a lteration

t hrough

r emoval

o f

m aterial f rom t he s ite, a p rocess o f s ubtractive d istortion. S ome i nstances h ave b een n oted a s w ell i n w hich a dditive d istortion h as o ccurred,

a s

f rom t he m ixing o f m aterials f rom t wo s ites i n t he s ame

s tream s ystem ( as o bserved h ere, a long w ith s imultaneous s ubtractive d istortion t hrough l oss o f m aterials). I n o ne i nstance, a n ew a gglomeration o f m aterial w as b uilt u p w hich c ombined c lasts

i n

u pstream.

a

s tream

T his

w ith

a rtifacts

d erived

l atter c ase a lso e ntailed

f rom

l arge b ed s ome

s ubtractive d istortion,

n otably m oved i nto a n ew m ode o f a ccumulation o f m aterial t hat h ave

s pecial

s uccess

i mplications

l oad

d istance b ut

c ould

f or s ite i nterpretation i f c arried o n w ith

o ver s ome t ime.

8 5

T he s et o f s imulated s ite e xperiments c arried o ut i n t his p rovide i nformation r egarding h ow a rchaeological t ransformed d uring t he p rocess o f s edimentation a nd

s tudy

s ites m ay b e b urial. S uch

t ransformations m ay o ccur a cross a c ontinuum, f rom m inimal r earrangement o r l oss i n s ome i nstances t o c omplete o r n early c omplete d ispersal i n o thers. C ertain r egular p atterns h ave b een o bserved i n t he c ourse o f s uch t ransformations,

w hich c an p otentially

b e r ecognized w ithin e xcavated a rchaeological o ccurrences r espective

t he b een

t he

a bove. p otential

a rchaeological

R ecurrent

p atterns

t heir

t ransformation p rocess a s o bserved i n t he s ite e xperiments h ave d elineated

d educed.

a nd w ithin

w ith

c auses

T he f ollowing c hapter w ill d eal a pplication

s ituation,

w here

o f o ne

t hese i s

f aced

i n f urther d etail

f indings w ith

p roducts o f s ite f ormation p rocesses a nd m ust d educe a gencies.

8 6

t he

t o

t he

t he m aterial r esponsible

C HAPTER 6 :

E XTRAPOLATING F ORMATION P ROCESSES F ROM T HEIR P RODUCTS " Imagine m ankind a s d welling i n a n u nderground c ave...with n ecks a nd l egs

f ettered..,

b ut l ight c omes

t o t hem f rom a f ire b urning b ehind t hem. . What d o y ou t hink s uch p eople w ould h ave s een o f t hemselves a nd e ach o ther e xcept t heir s hadows,

w hich t he f ire c ast

o n t he o pposite w all o f t he c ave" ( Plato, C aves,

T he A llegory o f t he

T he R epublic)

I NTRODUCTION I n

t he

p receding

c hapter

d iscussion r evolved a round o bserved

m odifications o f t he e xperimental s ites o ver t ime. I n t hese e xperiments, p rior c ondition w as k nown a nd s o w as e asily c ompared o r c ontrasted w ith t he b een

a t

w ork.

r esultant

u nder d irect l aboratory p reconceived d irection,

s ite a fter

s edimentary

p rocesses

T he p rocesses o perating u pon t he s ites,

r ealm,

d epth,

c ontrol,

a nd

w ere

w ithin

p articulars

o f

a

p redetermined

t he p roäess

s ome m easure o f v elocity,

e tc.)

h ad

a lthough n ot o r

( such a s f low

c ould g enerally b e

d erived f rom f eatures a t i n t he s ite v icinity. R ecurrent f eatures o f s ite m odification h ave b een d elineated, w ith r eferences m ade t o i ndividual

e xperiments,

g iving a n o verall p ortrayal o f t he p rocesses

o bserved i n t he c ourse o f t he e xperiments a nd o n

t heir r esultant e ffects

t he e xperimental s ites. I n t his c hapter I w ill a ttempt t o

a nalysis

a n o utline o f a pproaches

e xtract

t hat

f rom

t he

p receding

c an b e h elpful i n r ecognizing

f ormative p rocesses i n a n a rchaeological i nstance. N o " cookbook" f ormula w ill b e o ffered f or d educing a ll f ormative p rocesses t hat h ave b een a t w ork.

R ather I w ill s uggest a nalytical p erspectives a nd

t ools t hat t he w ould a id i n d etecting p ossible a nd p robable a gencies r esponsible f or o bservable s ite p atterns. A t t imes t hese m ay l ead t o s trong

p robabilistic

s tatements

r elative l ack o f s ignificant

r egarding

t ransformation.

s ite

s uggest t hat t he n ature o f t he s ite m ust r emain r elative i mpact o f r esponsible f ormative d istinguishable,

a nd

I n m any s ites s ite's

t here m ay b e

h istory.

p reserved

i n

p roportion

S ites

f airly o f

r equirements a nd

t heir

c arried c ontexts,

f or

s patial o ut

a t

i nconclusive, t he a gencies p oorly

l ittle p roblem i n m aking a n

w ith

t ight

s mall

f loodplain d eposits,

o r

t hey m ay

t he d egree o f d isturbance u ncertain.

a ssessment o f t he p robable d egree o f d isturbance a

d isturbance

I n o ther c ases

c onjoining

s patial

d ebitage,

e tc.,

w ould

c ontained

t end

a " primary c ontext" d istribution t hat l ocation.

d eplete i n d ebitage,

f lakes

s catters, t o

a ccurate

t hat h as o ccurred i n f rom m any c ores

w ith

a

v ery

h igh

i n

v ery

f ine-grained

s atisfy

m ost

r esearchers'

s ite w hose a rtifactual r emains

r esult

p rimarily

O n t he o ther h and,

f rom

a ctivities

s ites i n c hannel

p erhaps e ven e xhibiting s ome d egree o f

8 7

r olling o r a brasion,

a lerts a ll b ut t he m ost o ptimistic

i nvestigator

t o t he p robability o f f luvial i nteraction i n t he s ite's h istory a nd i ts p ossible e ffects. I t i s t he m ore i ntermediate s ituation, a rchaeologist i s f aced w ith a n a mbiguity o f p resents a c hallenge i n m aking a ssessments

o f

t he

i n w hich i nformation, n ature

t he t hat

o f

s ite

c ontext a nd t he m eaning o f a ssemblage c haracter a nd c onfiguration. S uch a mbiguity m ay b e p resented b y m ore i ntermediate g eological c ontexts, w here t he n ature o f t he s edimentary e nvironment i s m ore d ifficult t o a ssess a nd t he f orces a re l ess r eadily d educed. L evees a nd s mall c hannels w ould b e t ypical e xamples o f s uch i ntermediate e nvironments w here a w ide v ariety o f f orces c ould b e a t w ork. A nd e ven w hen t he e nvironment o f f inal d eposition a nd b urial r epresents a d efinitive l ow-energy e nvironment, w hether o n a f loodplain, a l akeshore, a c ave, o r i n a n e olian d eposit, t he r ange o f f orces t hat h ave a cted u pon t he s ite t hroughout i ts h istory m ay b e u nderestimated b y t he s ediments c overing t he s ite. I t s eems a dvisable t o e xamine a s ite t horoughly f rom a v ariety o f d ifferent p erspectives i n o rder t o d etect t he r esponsible f ormative p rocesses. D ISTURBANCE: S ome

A M ATTER O F D EGREE

o f

d isturbance,

t he

e xperimental

s ites

s uffered

r elatively

l ittle

w hile o thers w ere r adically w innowed a nd d ispersed.

T he

b ulk o f t he s ites c onsidered i n d etail h ere s uffered f ates s omewhere b etween t hese e xtremes. I n t hese t he r esultant s ites d isplayed c ommon s ets o f f eatures, m any o f w hich c ould b e i dentified i n t he a rchaeological s ituation. F igure 6 .1 m odels s ome o f t he k inds o f c hanges i n s ite c omposition a nd c onfiguration w hich m ight b e e xpected a t i ncreasing l evels o f d isturbance ( i.e., i f a s till s ignificant r esidue r emains i n t he s ite v icinity a fter s edimentary p rocesses h ave b een a t w ork). T his

m odels p rogressive,

s ubtractive d istortion o f a s ite.

t his m odel t he f inal e xtent o f d iscete s catter h as b een c onstant.

T his

f actor c an,

o f c ourse,

k ept

( In

n early

v ary w idely a t e ach l evel o f

d isturbance d epending o n f lood v elocity a nd d uration, a nd w as h eld c onstant h ere t o a void p resenting a m isleadingly s trict c orrelation b etween d isturbance l evel a nd t otal s patial s pread o f a c oncentrated r esidue).

S ince

d isturbance c an o ccur t o v arying d egrees,

o bviously b e d esirable t o g o b eyond e ither s tamping

a

s ite

i t w ould w ith

a

" primary c ontext" s eal o f a pproval o r e lse r elegating i t t o t he h interlands o f " secondary o r d erived c ontext". I t w ould b e p referable, r ather, t o b e a ble t o e stimate t he p robable d egree o f d isturbance t he s ite m ay h ave s uffered a nd h ow t his m ay h ave a ffected t he s ite p atterns e vident. T he s ite's c ontents a nd s edimentary p arameters, s uffered

d isturbance

t heir s patial d istribution,

a s

w ell

a s

c an y ield e vidence a s t o w hether t he s ite h as d uring t he p rocess o f s edimentation.

T his c an

a lert o ne n ot o nly t o t he p ossibility o f m aterial l osses f rom t he s ite b ut a lso t o t he m atter o f i ts r edistribution ( hence a ltering s ite d ensities, s patial p atterns, a nd a ssociations). N ot o nly t he f act b ut s ome a spects o f t he n ature o f t he r edistribution m ay a lso b e i ndicated,

r evealing

t he

d irection a nd p erhaps e xtent o f t he " site 8 8

0 . 1 • H C l )

r d 1 4 4

0

• ri r 4

0

C f ) • 4 9 4 C f ) 0 ) " 0 0 )

X

C L )

r 1 ▪

C . ) 4

. 1 . ) c . . )

1 . 4 G 4 -, r 4 „ C )

4 " 0 • I J ( 1 ) • r I " 0

4 4

•

c r )

C A

1 4 C T ) C e

1 0 .•••••••••••

•r • I 0 L ) 1

4 4

.. . . ••••• •••• •

C . ) r I G

r

c u

C . )

e r2

G c o

5 4 )

0

C l )

u •

". •

I N D E X O F

c i )

c l

e t I r a .

C i )

Q . )

F I X A T I O N

C . ) • c U

c r ) r 4 0 ) 4 . 3

S I T E R E D I S T R I B U T I O N

a )

S I M U L A T E D

4 . ) e

( +

c • . ;

c n

0

Z I Ä 1

0

c

0 C• 1

M o d e l o f s i t e a l t e r a t i o n a t

A r t i f a c t C l a s

0 0

0

D I S T U R B A N C E

I

0

r . •

t

s pread" a s w ell a s p ointing o ut t he s ource a rea o r o riginal s ite, a s r evealed i n a r esiduum o f m aterials, o ften i solated, w hich r esisted o r e scaped t ransport.

A NALYSIS O F A RCHAEOLOGICAL E VIDENCE C RITERIA S ome o f t he c riteria t hat a re u seful i n a ssessing s ite d isturbance a re p resented i n F igure 6 .2. S ince b ehavior w ill i mpinge o n s ome o f t he s ite c haracteristics, p articularly o n a ssemblage c omposition a nd a ctivity-related s patial d istribution, t hese c riteria h ave b een d ivided i nto t wo g roups, o ne t hat i s d ependent b oth u pon b ehavioral a s w ell a s n atural p rocesses ( top s ection) a nd a nother t hat d epends m ore f ully u pon s edimentary p rocesses a nd i s r elatively i ndependent

o f

a ctivities c arried o ut a t t he s ite

( bottom s ection).

T he p otential i mpact o f b ehavioral v ariation o n s ite p atterns i s c onsidered i n m ore d etail t oward t he e nd o f t his c hapter. T he b ehavioral f actor m ust, o f c ourse, a lways b e c arefully w eighed a gainst

f luvial

i nfluences

i n

i nterpreting

s ite

p atterns.

F or

i nstance, d ebitage-free a ssemblages c ould r esult f rom e xtremely h eavy w innowing o f a w orkshop a rea a s w ell a s f rom t he l arge-scale i mportation o f m anufactured p roducts t o t he s ite a rea. I t i s t hrough t he c ombined u se o f a ll o f t hese c riteria t hat s uch a lternative e xplanations c an b est b e w eighed a nd, h opefully, a t houghtful d ecision m ade a s t o " probable c ause" f or o bserved p atterns. T he c riteria p resented i n F igure 6 .2 c an b e u sed a s a f low c hart f or a nalysis. E valuations o n t he l eft s ide o f t he c hart a re c onsistent w ith e xpectations a t a w orkshop a rea s ealed u nder g entle c ircumstances o f b urial w ithin f ine-grained s uspension d eposits. T hose r egistering o n t he r ight p resent l ess c lear-cut b ehavioral e vidence: s ome o f t he p atterns, f or i nstance t endency f or s patial v ariation b etween c ores a nd d ebitage, c an b e b rought a bout b y h uman b ehavior, s uch a s i ntrasite a ctivity v ariation a nd t ransport, a s w ell a s b y f luvial r eworking o f a s ite. I n s ome i nstances, h owever, s pecific d ifferences c ould b e e xpected b etween f luvially-induced a nd b ehaviorally-produced p atterns, a nd w arning s hould p ossible f luvial i nteraction i n t he s ite's h istory s igns a re n oted a t t he f ar r ight).

b e t aken o f ( some w arning

C ertain c ross-overs b etween r ight a nd l eft o n t he c hart w ould b e e xpected d ue t o b ehavioral r easons, w hile o thers w ould b e d efinitely a nomalous a nd w arn o f p ossible s ite t ransformation b y n atural p rocesses. F or i nstance, a s ite w hich r egisters t oward t he r ight e nd o f t he s pectrum i n t he t op s ection ( e.g., c ore-dominated s ites, l ow i n d ebitage a nd c onjoining), f luvial m odification, m ay l ower s ection,

b ut w ithout t he w arning s ignals o f j ump t o t he l eft e nd o f t he s cale i n t he

i ndicating l ow l evel o f g eological d isturbance.

S uch

a s ite w ould l ikely r epresent a n a rea w here m ost a rtifactual m aterial w as b rought i n r eady-made, p erhaps u sed a nd d iscarded o n t he s ite, a nd s ubsequently b uried i n r elatively g entle c ircumstances. A s econdary h ypothesis t hat t he s ite i s a n u pstream r esidue r esulting f rom s hort-term w innowing s hould b e c onsidered, a nd a ny e vidence o f t his

( preferential

d ip

o r

o rientation, 9 0

c lustering o r i mbrication,

F igure 6 .2. I .

F low c hart f or i nspection o f a rchaeological e vidence.

C riteria d ependent u pon b oth n atural a nd b ehavioral

I NSPECT F OR S et o f P atterns

p rocesses

R esult o f

C haracteristic o f K napping A rea

B ehavioral F actors

W arning o f

( Transport/Activity) O R N atural F actors

P ossible F luvial • M odification

D EBITAGE P ROPORTION

H igh

L ow t o

4 Z 7 e

A S C OMPOSITION

m oderate

T ECHNOLOGICAL C OHERENCY

G ood

V

S imulates

4

S kewed t o l arge

r

# O F S ETS, I tO F F LAKES/SET

•

% O F F LAKES > 2cm

H igh

1 0( , ›

S PATIAL G ood c lustering

A RRAY

S mall % o f F lake T ype V I

F ew o r

m ultiple C ONJOINING

b ut

s mall %

f r

4

P robably

S ome 0

G C I) 0 0 , . 0 • H

N

" C : 1 C . ) u j 0 1 . 1 1 0 " C J C k C I) RI 4 X 3 i , C c l

u s z

c u

4 -3 0 ) _C ) N . 4 0 C U 0

( 1 0

C A ' V 0 . ) • H • H

4 1 0

0

4 )

C l ) 0 ) 4 . J ( D C C O C i ) 4 • J v 1 U C l ) C G R I 0 0 C . ) r 1 ( 1 ) ^• H , G C O G C ( 1 ) C 1 ) G C 0 ) 0

N O C O R T I C A L

• H C O 4 J 0 0 . ) C . ) • H 4 )

t

‚ 2C1) 4V-}G

F L A K E T Y P E S

0 . ) ' C C . ) • H U C i ) 0 ) " C c d 4 -1 r i • H 4 4 4 i 4 . 0 a ( 1 ) c n W C ) , . 0 G J •• H C o 1 3 )

.M 1 10 ••• •• 1 MI

a .

M

r c u _ i

d . ) C O

" 2 ( I —I r H C O

0 1•0 10 .

a .

t 3 1 3 C O ( 1 ) 4 )

e c u

1 3 )

o

c d a ) j r 1

C O

e z

4 i 0

C

C O

0 . ) C I )4 i ri 7 7 1 0 • H 1 1 b . 0 U 4 ) • H • H 4 ) C l ) ö iD › , c t . ) C O 0 r 4 H r 4 0 (0 ' t ) r i G • G C . ) •r -I • • • C O C o E H C V U C . ) C O C o 0 C O •( TN r •i4 i • 4 G 4 ) • r4 4 ) C o r4

• r 1 • T 4

W W 1 C C 00

9 3

0

C O

> , 4 ) c d

C O

C l ) 0

c a r i e d o u t

G

C o

0

r egarding t echnological p rodecures ( See

T oth,

1 982

f or

f urther

a nd

s tages

d iscussion

o f

c ore

r eduction.

o f t hese f lake t ypes a nd

p redictive m odelling o f h uman v s. f luvial t ransport o f a rtifacts o n t he b asis o f t he t echnologies p resent a t a s ite). S uch t echnological i ndicators c an g ive i nitial w arning s uffered s ome w innowing; o ther s ite

t hat t he a ssemblage m ay h ave v ariables c ould t hen b e

i nvestigated f or c orroborative e vidence o f t his. A SSESSMENT O F S ITE P ATTERNS C ritical

f actors

a rchaeological e vidence, 1 .

t o

c onsider

t hen,

w hen

a pproaching

a re a s f ollows:

A ssemblage c omposition,

a nd t he c ore:debitage r atio, a ssemblage. T echnological

p articularly s ize c lass d istribution

w ill g ive a n i nitial p rofile o f t he a nalysis o f t he a ssemblage m ay p rovide a

s et o f e xpectations r egarding t he

t ype a nd

q uantity

o f

f lakes

a nd

d ebitage t hat m ay b e e xpected a t t he s ite i f t ool m anufacture h as b een c arried o ut t here, i .e., i f s ome o r a ll o f t he c ores p resent w ere s haped a

t o s ome d egree o n t he

n ull h ypothesis

w ith t hose i ndicate

t hat t hat

s ite

( Toth

1 982).

T his c an p rovide

f or c omparison o f t he d ebitage p opulations p resent

w ould b e e xpected; s ignificant a lternative h ypotheses, e .g.

d eviations w ould c onsiderable t ool

t ransport t o o r f rom t he s ite, a nd/or p ost-occupation a lteration, s hould b e e xplicitly c onsidered. S uch a p rocedure i s b asically a c heck o n t he t echnological c oherency o f t he a ssemblage, o r w hether t he c ores a nd t he d ebitage m atch t echnologically. T he a nalytical v alue o f t his p rocedure i n a ssessing a rtifact a ssemblages h as b een d emonstrated b y T oth i n h is s tudy o f e arly s tone t ools a t K oobi F ora ( Toth: 1 982). I t i s a lso a v aluable i nitial s tep h ere, i n a ttempting

t o

p atterns,

u nderstand

s ince

i t

f ormative

p rovides

p rocesses

i nsight

i nto

r esponsible f or s ite

a rtifact-manufacturing

p rocesses a t w ork i n i n t he s ite f ormation p rocess. I n

s ome c ases,

m ay b e a l ikely

t ransport o f s ome a lready m anufactured a rtifacts

a lternative

a nd

a

c ore-dominated

p roportions o f s mall d ebitage w ould b e e xpected. o f

s maller

f lakes

t heoretically

a nd

l imited

f ragments u tility

d ocumented o r c onsidered l ikely a mount o f k napping i n t he v icinity. a ctivity

m ay

b e

a pproximated

p ost-occupational d isturbance F or i nstance, e xperiments ( Chapter

T hese

s hould

t han

2

b efore

f airly

w ith

c m

l ong)

f ragments

i s

a nd

t he

l ikelihood

o f

s ome

r ecognized.

p redictable

e xperiments

w ould

r atios i ndicate

a nd

l arger,

o f d ebitage s izes t hat

k napping

p roduce d ebitage s o m any p ieces i n o ne s ize

f rom 1 t o 2 c m l ong,

f rom 5 mm s creen s ize t o n ot c m

o f

i n t he r ecord) m ay i ndicate s ome T he m issing c omponents o f s uch

f or a g iven n umber i n s ome o ther s ize g roup ( or f or e very 4 00 a nd

l ow

q uantities

h afting

i n k napping m aterials o f c obble s ize

p roduced

3 ).

a ctivities

( smaller

( particularly

s ite

H owever,

1 c m l ong,

w e w ould a nd,

r ange f lakes

e xpect a pproximately 3 00

i f m aterials o f s uch s ize a re

t ransported t o o r f rom t he s ite, a bout 2 00 p ieces i n t he 2 t o 4 r ange). A s ite w hich e xhibits s ome r easonable a mount o f k napping

h as o ccurred o n t he s ite s mall d ebitage) d ebitage

i n

b ut h as

c arefully

( from c onjoins,

o r a m oderate p roportion

l ower t han e xpected p roportions o f t his s creened

s amples,

9 4

h as

l ikely s uffered

o f

s mall s ome

d egree o f w innowing d uring d eposition,

o r p ost-depositional d amage o r

a lteration o f t he m aterials. 2 .Intra-site v ariation s patial d istribution o f a rtifacts b y s ize a nd t ype m ust a lso b e s earched a rtifacts o ccurs

f or,

a s

l argely a ccording

c onditions a nd a rtifact m orphology, r ecognizable

p atterns.

t he d ebitage r atio, p roportion, c an

I n

r edeposition

o f

t ransported

t o t he p hysical p arameters o f f low a nd s o p roduces s ome p redictable,

e xtreme c ases,

a d ownstream i ncrease i n

o r e ven s pecifically i n t he s mall s erve a s a s imple w arning s ignal

d ebitage o f s ite

t ranformation b y s edimentary p rocesses. W ithin-site s orting m ay b e e xhibiting

d istinct

t urnover

c omponent

f or

a nother.

c omponent

c an

h elp

F igure 6 .4

( a a nd b )

A

a

r eplacement

s ubtle

h orizontal

r eveal i n

o f o r

s uch

w hich

n ature,

p lot

o f

d ifferential

c omputer

o f

p lots

r ather

o ne

t han

a ssemblage

e ach

a ssemblage

d istribution. a re

( See

p resented

f or

s eparate a rtifact c omponents f rom a s tone t ool w orkshop r edistributed a long a c hannel b ank b y f loodwaters). I f a ny l inear t rends i n d istribution c an b e d iscerned a cross t he s ite,

a l ongitudinal p rofile

( along t he a xis o f

d ebitage

t he

t rend)

o f

c hanging

s ize

o r

i n

d ebitage:core r atio c an h elp e lucidate p referential s orting t hat m ay h ave b een a ccomplished b y w ater ( see t he r eport o n t he F looded W orkshop s ite i n t he A ppendix). I n F igure 6 .5 i s p resented a t rend s urface a nalysis ( Hodder a nd O rton 1 976; D avis 1 973; a nd C horley a nd H aggett 1 965). o f t he d ifferent

a ssemblage

c omponents

o f

t he

r edistributed

w orkshop

m aterials p lotted i n F igure 6 .4. T his t rend s urface d iagram e ssentially d emonstrates d ensity c ontours a cross t he s ite f or t he s pecified

c omponent,

d imension,

e tc.).

e .g. T he

c ores,

d ebitage

8 -16

c m

i n

m aximum

c ontours h ere h ave b een d erived b y t he g rid

g eneralization m ethod, a nd a s f igured h ere, d ensities w ithin f our a djacent m eter s quares.

t hey a re i ndicating S uch a nalysis c an h elp

d elineate w ithin-site s patial t rends i n t erms o f r elative d ensity a cross t wo d imensional s pace. T his a nalysis o f d ensity t rends w ithin a rtifact d istribution y ields f urther i nformation r egarding d ownstream t rends a t

t he s ite:

W hile e ach a rtifact c lass e xhibits a f airly w ide

s patial s pread, d ensity p eaks a nd o verall d istribution t rends s uccessively s maller i tems t end t o s hift f urther d ownstream. A s

a nother

o f

m ethod o f s earching f or o r v erifying s uch p atterns,

t he l ocal s ize c lass d istribution w ithin d iverse s ite l ocales m ay

b e

e xamined. F or e xample, t he c ompositions i n a h ypothetically u pstream a nd i n a m ore d istal o r d ownstream a rea o f t he d eposit m ay b e u sefully c ompared

w hen

i nvestigating

d isturbance.

s uch

c ases

t ransects

I n

a cross

c oncentration h ypothetically r espectively.

t he

a nd

p rojected

e xamine

u pstream, S uch

i t

c an f low

s ize

t he b e

p ossibility u seful

a xis

d istribution

m idstream,

a nd

o ffsuch o f

o f

f luvial

t o t ake s eparate a

l inear

m aterials i n t he

d ownsteam

r eaches

a p rocedure c an h elp e lucidate p ossible s orting

t hat m ay h ave o ccurred a long t he s tream p rofile.

9 5

ART IFACT

R ED ISTR IBUT ION a t

F ti m em b ed

Workshop

• . I t

. .

( p lan )

CONES •

. .•.

CORE

AND TOOLS

. •

1 1 1 --

• •

-

• •

-

•

0 b

l e

V ERY ,

L ANGE

F LAKES ( 8-32 cm)

o w d

0 -4

L ARGE

1 04

F LAKES ( 4-8 cm )

• . • • •

0

F igure

• •

•

•

••

•• . • •

C X ,4

6 .4a .

F looded

Workshop

6

0 WPwle -f M C A M

S ite:

4 0

e XPR W = , x o n d>

r edistributio -n

o f a rtifacts.

During t he course o f a n o verbank f low i nvading t he a rchaeological f ield camp, t he s tone t ool workshop which h ad b een l ocated on t he f loodplain ( roughly within t he c ircular a rea i ndicated a t t he t op l eft)

was

r edistributed

over a d istance

o f 4 0 meters d ownstream .

P oint p lots a re s hown h ere o f i ndividual a rtifacts within various s ize

a nd

o n t he

t ype

c lasses .

( The d ashed

l ine

i ndicates

f loodplain a long w hich t he a rtifacts w ere

9 6

a g entle d epression t ransported).

F LAKES AND FRAGMENTS

.

•

. ;

.

( 2-4 c m )

• •

: •

•.

F LAKES

1 0^

AND FRAGMENTS (1— 2 cm) •

F LAKES AND

1 0

FRAG MENTS ( c1 cm ) • rj er Z•

0

F igure

6 .4b.

-t MIL"r Wit

F looded

4 S

— rC XP

Workshop

CP O W N _ _ _ _ _ M

S ite:

C, M

4 0

M E G T X 0 m>

r edistribution

o f

a rtifacts

( continued). P lotted h ere a re t he s maller d ebitage c omponents, w hich t ended t o d eposit i n g reater p roportions i n m ore d ownstream a reas.

9 7

1 0

0

4 0

30

20

B :

1 -2 cm

C 7e ) 1 0

°

"

50

l b

0

1 0

0 9 1 1 111 1 1 1u M in i m m a r tro

wer mas mr

4.0

2 0

2 0

30

40

.

D : 4-8 cm

20 30 40

1 1. 1 1 1 10 1 1M I

f 0

10

20

meters

M M I IM I

MO

M

M M I I I,

30

4 0

E : 8-32 cm

e *

10

0

0

1 0

20

30

40

20

30

4'0

H : D ens i ty p eaks

( Co res 8 -16 cm )

( 1-2 cm )

( 8-32 cm ) -E ( Co res 4 -8 cA

A FC D-

( 2 -4

6 F igure 6 .5b. a t

11 1•••

0-1 cm ) -(

( 4-8 cm )

cm )

• •

20

1 0

3.0

T rend s urface a nalysis o f a ssemblage

t he F looded W orkshop S ite

9 9

( continued).

40

c omponents

A m odel o f t ypical c hanges i n a s ite a cted u pon a nd s ubstantially r earranged b y f loods i s p resented i n F igure 6 .6. I n t his h ypothetical c ase, d ifferential d istribution o f d iverse c omponents c ould b e n oted, f or e xample, b y s imple v isual i nspection i n t he f ield o r s eparate c omponent p lots. r ich v ariety o f i nformation r egarding

T he n ot

l atter c an y ield a o nly d ifferences i n

d istribution a mong c omponents b ut a lso s ome s pecific s patial a spects o f t hese, e .g. a ny l inearity t o t he t rends, g aps i n d istribution, s trong c lustering, e tc. T he i ncidence o f e ach c omponent w as t hen g raphed a long t he l inear t rend n oted ( to g raphs t o t he l eft i n t he f igure). I n s elected t ransect r ows ( A ,B, a nd C ), l ocal a ssemblage c omposition r eveals a c ore-rich a rea r epresenting a n u pstream l ag r esidue, a nd p rogressive c hange i n t he d ownstream d eposits ( this s patial v ariation i n a ssemblage c omposition i s f igured i n t he g raphs o n t he r ight). I n g eneral,

i ncreasing d ebitage:core r atios a nd m agnified

s mall

d ebitage p roportions w ould b e e xpected i n t he d ownstream d irection. T he s ource a rea o f t he m aterials ( i.e., t he o riginal s ite), i f i t h as r etained a ny o f i ts c ontents, g enerally t ends t o b e r elatively c ore-rich r elative t o d ownstream d eposits, a nd w ithin d ownstream d eposits g enerally t he c ores a re t ending t o d rop o ut o f f low e arlier t han t he d ebitage. T his i s a s tatistical t endency, m eaning t hat a n u pstream a rea w ith a g iven c omposition o f c ores a nd d ebitage w ill c hange g ive w ay d ownstream t o g reater d ebitage p roportions. T he c hange m ay b e g radual o r q uite a brupt, a nd t hei -e m ay b e l ocal a berrations w ithin t he t rend d epending u pon v agaries o f f low, l ocal t opography , o bstructions, a nd o ther s uch f actors. O f c ourse, e ven i n a f luvially m odified s ite, i nitial s patial d istribution w ill a ffect t he f inal a rray o f m aterials. A s l ong a s t he s ite i s n ot d rastically r eworked a nd h asn 't s uffered l ong-term w innowing, s ome o f t he i nitial p atterns c ould s how t hrough t he e ffects o f f luvial f orces. F or i nstance, s eparate a rtifact-rich p atches c ould e ach b e r edistributed b ut s till r etain s ome o f t heir s patial i ntegrity, e ither r emaining c ompletely s eparate o r w ith s ome o verlap, w ith e ach s howing i nternally t he s patial t rends t ypical o f f luvial a ction o utlined h ere. S ites 26 /2 7 w ould s erve a s a n e xample o f s uch a n i nstance a mong t he e xperiments: I n t his c ase, t wo s ites o riginally s eparated b y a s mall d istance w ere b lended b y d ownstream m ovement, b ut t he o riginal s ite f or e ach w as m arked b y a d istinct c ore/large f lake l ag. A nother e xample i s f airly h eavily d isturbed S ite 1 3, w hich l ost l arge q uantities o f i ts c ontents t o a f lood w hich r edistributed t he r emaining m aterials d ownstream 2 0 m eters, s ome e nding u p j ust a t t he o utskirts o f a nother s ite w hich w as b arely t ouched b y t he f lood. I n t his i nstance, f luvial r edistribution w ould b e e vident i n t he t ransported m aterials b ut w ould n ot b e i n i ts n eighboring s ite, w hich w as a t a s lightly h igher e levation . T hese a re t wo e xamples o f h ow s igns c an r emain o f o riginal s ite p atterns e ven a fter m oderate r edistribution.

3 . w innowing

S patial g aps i n a rtifact d istribution m ay b e a nd

r unning w ater.

r edistribution

o f

m aterials

i ndicative

o f

i n a s ite d isturbed b y

P articularly i f t he g ap s eparates d iverse

a ssemblage

c omponents, f or e xample c ore-rich a reas f rom d ebitage-rich a reas, i t m ay w ell r epresent a n i ntermediate r egion o f s uccessful t ransport 1 00

o f l i t h i c

a r e g r a p h e d

T R A N S E C T

c d

C U D 0 • 0 • 0 . C O • c f ) • , . • $ . 4 • c d 0 • Q ) r 1 › , cj

T R A N S E C T S

0 • H O • 1 • • L 4 1 •

0 c —

•1 1 •

D O W N S T R E A M

M O D E L O F R E D I S T R I B U T I O N

In

4j 0 • • 1 : 1

•

Q )

•

4 3

.

Q ) 0 0 •

4 1 • ( / ) 0

• •• ( 1 2 4 1 • 0

• • 0 U

: E )

M o d e l o f

b . 0

0 •‚ a l

C 2 +

•

•

U )

4 1

•

c n i )

e 0 • H ▪• H

4 )

0

C I )

c t i

▪

- 0

N E W S P A T I A L D I S T R I B U T I O N

( 1 )

• c n •

•

E i

C 1 ) • 4 )

1 = 1

U )

c n

4

C

c n • , .

r — I

U )

0

0

• •

—

4 1

• c n

C L )

•

Q )

Q)

C : 1 0 "0

5 c u a oa ( i ) o ( J ) 5 3 ( 1

0

,— I

101

b etween t he u pstream e rosion-resistant r edeposition o f a rtifacts w hen f low h ad d ownstream. w ell;

O f

c ourse,

s uch

g aps c an b e b ehaviorally p roduced a s

o f p articular i nterest i n t esting f or

a ny a ccord o f d iscussed a bove. 4 .

s uch

g aps

s ite r esidue a nd t he s ufficiently a bated h ydraulic

p rocesses

I s

w ith t he i ntrasite d istribution p atterns

C onjoining o r f itting p ieces o f s tone a rtifacts

a t

a

s ite

a re a m ore o bvious i ndication o f t he l ack o f s ite d isturbance w hen t here i s g ood q uantity o f f lakes a nd d ebitage a t a s ite. H owever, t here a re s ome s erious c ontraints t o b e c onsidered i n t he a pplication o f s uch e vidence. F irst, c onjoining s tudies s hould b e s eriously p ursued b efore a p ronouncement m ade a s t o " how w ell" t he s ite g oes b ack

t ogether.

T here

f or a s ufficient a s

t rial,

r aw m aterial(s)

a nd

i s n o s ingle r ule t o f ollow a s a s t his w ill v ary a ccording t o t heir d istinctiveness,

t o w hat m akes s uch

d iversity,

f actors

r eadability

r egarding f lake s cars, a nd i ntrinsic f riability; a ssemblage s ize; d iversity a nd p articular c haracter o f t echnologies r epresented; d egree o f w innowing t he a ssemblage h as s uffered, m ay a t t imes b e c entral o r k eystone i ndividual

r educed f lakes;

t he t he

s uch t hat c onjoining

o r m ade m ore d ifficult b y t he r emoval o f a nd, o f c ourse, t he e xperience a nd

t alents o f t he c onjoiners.

N evertheless, h as b een d edicated

i t i s o nly a fter a g ood d eal o f t ime a nd e ffort t o a ttempts a t c onjoining t hat a n a pproximation

c an b e m ade a s t o t he a mount o f " core r econstruction" p ossible a t t he s ite. I f t here a re a n umber o f i nstances o f c onjoining f lakes o r f lakes a nd e vidence p roducts,

c ores,

t heir

s patial

d istribution

c an

b e

d ifferent c onjoining s ets

t hat m ay i ndicate f luvial

o f

a nd

t hat

r esult

" joins",

f laking

f rom

w hich a re

b lows.

W hile

c an a lso

f lake o r c ore

t he b reaking u p o f a c omplete f lake o r t he r eassembly o f t he d iscrete

f ragmentation o f c omplete

p roducts

f lakes a nd

c an a nd d oes h appen s pontaneously i n t he c ourse o f t ool i t

f or

r edistribution.

D istinction s hould b e m ade a s w ell b etween " fits", f ragments c ore,

n oted

o f o n-the-spot f laking, f or a cross-site c arrying o f f laking o r f or c onsistent l inear t rends t o t he f lake s pread a mong

c ores

m anufacture,

r esult f rom a v ariety o f p ost-depositional p rocesses

s uch

a s t rampling, p ressure f rom s ediment c ompaction, e tc. T hus, " fits" d o n ot i n a nd o f t hemselves d ocument h uman b reakage, b ut

s uch t hey

m ay b e f airly f requent m anufacture h as o ccurred. d ue

t o

t rampling,

t here m ay a lso b e s ome s patial s eparation o f t he

c omponent f ragments. f itting a s

I f i t h as

o ccurred

f ragments c ould r emain q uite

b y s ubsequent o r,

( along w ith a ctual " joins") w here h uman I f s uch p ost-occupational b reakage o ccurs

b ioturbation ( e.g.

d ocumented

b y

a fter

c lose

r odent

s edimentation,

t he

t ogether u nless d isrupted

t unneling

C ahen a nd M oeyerson

o r

( 1977),

r oot

g rowth)

t hrough s ediment

t urbation b y s uch p hysical f orces a s s hrinking a nd s welling. A bsence c onsideration

o f o f

c onjoining, t he

a mount

o r o f

s evere

l imitations

m aterial

a t

t he

t o s ite,

i t

i n

m ust b e

s eriously c onsidered w ith r egard t o e ither t ransport b y h umans o r b y w ater, o r t o c onsiderable i mportation o f m anufacturing p roducts. F or e ach r aw m aterial

t ype s ome e xpectations o f o n-site c ore m odification

c an b e d educed ( in t erms o f a m inimum) f rom s mall d ebitage p resent i n t hat p articular m aterial. I n c ases w here d ebitage i s p resent i n 1 02

m inimal q uantities a nd/or q uite d eplete i n t he s mall

s ize

f raction,

t he p robability o f i mportation o f a rtifacts b y h uman h ands v ersus e xtraction o f d ebitage b y f luvial f orces s hould b e c onsidered. I n s uch c ases, t he i ntrasite p atterns m entioned a bove, a s w ell a s s ite m icrostratigraphy, c an a id i n a ccepting o r r ejecting a f luvial m odification h ypothesis. T he r ole o f b ehavior, p articularly h ominid t ransport o f a rtifacts t o a nd a way f rom t he s ite l ocale, w ill b e c onsidered i n m ore d etail l ater i n t his c hapter. 5 .

S edimentary

a nd m icrosedimentary c ontext i s,

o f c ourse,

o bviously i mportant s ource o f i nformation r egarding a t l east s ome t he

f orces a t w ork i n t he d epositional e nvironment.

o f

T his f actor h as

b een i ntentionally c onsidered r ather l ate i n t his l ist e vidence,

a n

o f

l ines

o f

p rimarily s ince t his a spect o f c ontext c an p rematurely c ast

a s ite's f ate w ithout a dequate c riteria m entioned i n t his s ection.

a ssessment

o f

s ome o f t he o ther

I t s hould b e r eiterated h ere t hat s ites i n c hannels c an s uffer a r ange o f d ifferent d egrees o f d isturbance d uring t he p rocess o f t heir s edimentation

a nd

i ntegrity

d iverse

i n

b urial,

a ffecting

w ays.

a ssemblage

L ikewise,

a utomatically p ristine b ut c an b e a ffected b y t he a gents o f t heir

c omposition

f loodplain

e ither b urial

s ites

a nd

a re n ot

m ildly o r d rastically a s w ell. N evertheless,

s edimentary c ontext m ay g ive a n a pproximation o f s ome s egment o f t he r ange o f f orces t hat f ad a cted o n t he s ite; i t i s a n ecessary b ut o ften i nsufficient c riteria f or i nferring t he ' nature o f s ite d isturbance

d uring

t he p rocess o f s edimentation.

T he m aximum c last

s ize i n t he s urrounding s edimentary m atrix w ill g ive a m inimal e stimate o f t he f low v elocity o f t he d epositional m edium; h owever, m aximum v elocity c an b e g rossly

u nderestimated

i f

f low

v elocities

e xceed t hose n ecessary t o c arry t he s ediment a vailable i n t he s ystem. I n s ome c ases, o nly s mall l enses o f c oarser m aterials, s ands o r g ravels,

m ay p rovide s ubtle c lues o f t he

p roblematic

c ases

i n

f iner-grained

f orces

o perating

s ettings.

i n

m ore

I n o ther i nstances,

e ven t hese s igns m ay b e m issing. D epositional e nvironments: S ome

u seful

r elevant

t o

C haracteristics a nd s ignificance

c lassifications

o f

e nvironments

t his s tudy a re p resented i n T ables 6 .1,

o f

d eposition

6 .2,

a nd 6 .3.

A

l ist o f c ommon d epositional s edimentary e nvironments i s i n T able 6 .1. A rchaeological s ites,

a nd m ost p alaeontological

m aterials

a s

w ell,

a re m ost c ommonly a ssociated w ith a lluvial, a nd i n s ome p laces a nd t ime p eriods, s pelean ( cave) d eposits, a s w ell a s i n e olian, l acustrine/marine s edimentary a ssociated 6 .2.

T he

d eltaic

c haracteristics w ith

e arlier

f loodplain

c ontexts d eposit

a nd

a re t he

b roken g rain

t he

d own

w idely

f urther

s ediment

s ize

a nd

S ome

w ater-laid

P alaeolithic

d eposits

r espective

c haracteristic

o f

s ettings.

o f

t he

d eposits

s ites a re t abulated p revalent

i n T able 6 .3. o rigin,

s edimentary

m ode

i n

g eneral u sually i n T able

a rchaeological F or e ach t ype o f o f

d eposition,

s tructures,

a nd o ther

a ssociated c onditionsare l isted. ( This i s a c ompilation p rimarily f rom J .R.L. A llen, 1 965, a nd a lso f rom S elley, 1 970). T he f loodplain m icroenvironments i ncreasing a verage

e nergy

l evel

a re

a rranged

g enerally

i n

o rder

o f

a nd d isturbance p otential a vailable o n t he

i n t he s edimentary p rocess. 1 03

T errestrial C olluvial/Gravitational L andslide T alus A lluvial F ans a nd p lains R iver c hannels B raided M eandering L evees F loodbas i ns G lacial M oraines O utwash p lains E olian S uspension d eposits P eriglacial l oess D esert p layas T raction d eposits S pelean ( cave)

( sand d unes)

L acustrine/Marine M arine B ackshore B erm F oreshore L ake m argin P layas, s alt l akes,

d eep l akes

D eltaic O n-shore D istributary c hannel L evee M arsh . a nd s wamp I nterdistributary B each O ff-shore C hannel a nd l evee e xtension D istributary m outh b ar D elta f ront p latform ( top-set b eds) P rodelta s lope ( foreset b eds)

T able 6 .1. M cKee,

G eneral e nvironments o f d eposition.

i n S elley,

1 976,

p p.

2 50-251).

1 04

( After S hepard a nd

C OMMON A LLUVIAL D EPOSITS O FTEN C ONTAINING A RCHAEOLOGICAL S ITES S edimentary E nvironment F loodplain d eposits

G eneral c haracter o f s ediments ( In v alley f lats) Substratum o f p oint b ar a nd c hannel l ag d eposits Topstratum o f l evee, c revasse-splay, a nd f loodbasin d eposits Channel-fill d eposits p revalent

A lluvial f an d eposits ( Best d eveloped i n a rid a nd s emi-arid r egions, a long h ill a nd m ountain f ronts) Channel d eposits d ominant, c hannel b ar

p articularly

Overbank s ediments g enerally a bsent Streamfloods a nd s heetfloods r epresent d ominant p rocesses D elta d eposits -S ubstratum d eposits p resent -T opstratum d eposits v ery w ell r epresented

T able 6 .2. P ossible e nvironments o f d eposition f or a rchaeological s ites w ithin a lluvial s ettings.

1 05

4 W G H I 4 4

e I " 0 C Z

C I )

C

a n d C o n d i t i o n s

A s o c i a t e d

4 / 0 0 G 0 H

0 4

a ) a ,

' H I ' C I " a 0 0 a ) 0 -V

" 0

E w

m a t e r i a l

N 4 1 . 2 r -4 ( 1 ) R I 4 1 4 . 0 C a . 0 W U .0 0 : 1 1 . 1 0 4 4 . 0 4 -0 a ) C O 4 4 e l 0 H 0 > , Q 1 W H 4 1 4, 4 -0 -4 4 4 4 0 0 R I 4 -, . 0 a , 0 0 4 a / c / 3 4 i 0 i 5 4 "0

4,

. . .,

. i -

0

4 >1 3 a , a ) H i H 4 " 0 4 4 ' e > ‘ 2,- 0 ( 1 0 O E H O 4 -, 0 I T r 4 0 r I C J 1 1 C a 0

0 " 0

' V r i

•, . 1

N C I I I

0 4

. 0

0

0 4 I 0 › , -H 1 1 I V 4 0 ' V ." C I 0 e n 0 0 0 E ( 1 ) re C U H O . . 0 E u ) -C 1 4 0 0 a l 4 ;

Q

U 3 0 0 4 1 U l $ 4 0 1 . , . 4 e c l P G . 2 U U c . ) 0

n u ) .0 mo.0

C I

a , 0 4 1

a , 4 ) . I 4 C D 0 . C 2

a ,

1 . 4 ( V " 0 0 c l i 1

0

" 0 c U 0 H I 4 , I ) ' L i 4 4 4 . 1 W 3

0

,1

c f ) 0 j : I ' 0 0 0 r I W -0 0 0 7 : 1 0 4 z 4

C . . . . $ . 1 r -i 0 3 04 0 I R I 0 a ) ( . ) . 1 0 4 4 , 4 4 4 4 4 . , 4 1 4 i 4 e 0 > , 1 : • r i . . I 1 . 4 . • , . . . . i . ) 0 0 c t a 4 1 1 4 N , 1 0 0 3 0 4 0 3 ) 0 4 c „ : " i +

1 4

0 C . ) 0

-V

-0

0 c 1

0 c 1

c n

. 4 4 4

e l 0 1 3 c

c n

0 i U 1 0 4

0

4

C r e 1 1 J 1 4 4 H 4 ,4 , 1 ( 1 3 0 . 0 ( 1 3

c n E

1 C a a , 0

H

0

a ,

c o a l 7 1 -0 > , C V -V r i 0 . 0 0 C 1 . I E 4 . E ce r0

U n d i f e r -

" I C 1 :

i 0 c u c u

. . . r . 4 . . 4 1

0 . 0 C . )

c o

4 + 4

( 1 )

4

4 1 0 / 3

i a . )

c i )

I 4 0 4 +

0

4 . 1

4 c 0 . 0 .

L i ,

a . c o

W

H

0 0 , 4 4 .

' 4 -H

1 0

2 4 0

Z .

0

C I ,

C U

Q 1

5 G

c 0 4 c . : ;

0 4 C . :

r i 4

c o 1 4

4 ' V C U C U

e

C O

c r )

4 I c f )

c f )

0

3

c u

t o p s t r a t u m

0 14

e n t i a t e d

4 0 0

A b a n d o n e d

0

4

4 1 7 : 1 « I 0 4 M

B e d l o a d

0

a l

a c r e t i o n

4

V e r t i c a l

C )

a c r e t i o n

a )

4 .0

v e r t i c a l

. 4 4 0

D e p o s i t i o n

S m a l s c a l e

" G

4 1 c 1

W ) 4 4

S m a l s c a l e

L e n t i c u l a r

S t r u c t u r e s

0 0

0 o

C a 4

c o 1 N ., u 0 4 . c o4 ) co 1 1

c L 1 U

t e 0

S u n c r a c k s

. 4 0 C 4 F . T 3

a 1 4 1

0 4 U )

a ) H I

L a m i n a t i o n

. G U

3 0 a a . c u

4 4 1 ,

U C 1

a )

s t r a t i f i c a t i o n

1 . 4 1 c C v )

' 4 2

C I )

S m a l s c a l e

0 G .

4 1 C l 0 U U c l . 4 4 4

S m a l s c a l e

4 C 1

4 '

C . ) C I )

S u n c r a c k s

C a

1

L a m i n a t i o n

0 . 1

G . c a . . 4

e n . 4 a , C I ) 0 ) C C)

W e l t o p o r l y s o r t e d

4 I

, I

0 s . • + a ,

o n s m o t h

I D

C i ) 4 -, 0 0 4 . 0 0

a ) 0 e-i

E r o s i o n a l s u r f a c e s

4 0 0

0 0 e

G r a i n s i z e

a )

a ) a

c o

4 e r 4 0 0 0 .

t h e i r c h a r c t e r i s t i c s ( c o m p i l e d

C r o s b e d i n g

1 4 4

4 1 r e c f )

4 1 0 0 )

c o

S t a b i l i z e d

-0

a .

a ) Q. 4 4 , - 1 " 0 0 . 1 04 0 . f I 0 0 ,I 0 ,I c l ) 0 4 i

m e a n d e r b e l t s

›, Hi

E

x, I

U ) 000 -0 -H I N ,

0 ,4 0 ) > a ) -0

4 , 0

c i )

S ) U ) C1 E M I =

c j 0 4 ) U ) > 0

›, 3 ,

« 9

4 . 4 ) c o

-H ( o n

c a O 0

^0

4

4 4 . ( 1 )j

Q. w

0

. r i ) 4 , I -H 4 . ) C r 1

0 r I 4 . i

0 o

t a ) c o

ÖD

e0 C UE , I (I) c0 U )4 )

4 _ i

0 0

.2

a i 0

c a

U

a . ) Q. G 0 -H 4 -, G ..

5 0 4 -i 4,

0 "0 '0 E c o

a )

c o

0 0 ( 0

>

0 H I 1 : 1 0 0 0 4

, 4 4 . 4 4 . ) R 1 , ) a ) P4

G ) ) ) 4 ) 0 w 00

0

c o -V

W

R 1 4 4 ) Q ) 4 4 4 OD -H W 0 > c a

4 -V 1 . 4 4 4 1 1 ) a. 4 1 R J 0 r4 -c -s

c o C I ) 4 c e 0 0

C I ) 0 -H 4.

w

4 4 1 0

4 4 4 4 Q ) 3

, 4 4 4 . 4 I 4 ) ( 0

, o J

. w o

>o)

0 c o

s t r a t i f i c a t i o n

L a m i n a t i o n

S m a l s c a l e r i p l e s

V e r t i c a l

A c r e t i o n

S m a l s c a l e

a c r e t i o n

V e r t i c a l F l o d b a s i n

Hi 7-, c o U 00 - H • i 0 0 -0 O -4 0 a ) u ) • • 4 . ) c n

c o z e

4 i -H C I J E 0 4 44

G ( 0 .0 C . )

4 , 4 4 4 i n U ) .0 -0 0 0 , i 4 i

a )

F l o d b a s i n

A b a n d o n e d

4 4 0 4 .) 0 C I ) 0 1

1 07

a c r e t i o n

V e r t i c a l

A c r e t i o n

0

C 0 W c l I > c p 4 ) C . )

C : „ 4 -

c o a r s e

C r o s b e d i n g S u n c r a c k s G r a i n s i z e D e p o s i t i o n

>

c a

-a

I

c n 4 . ) ” 4 4 U ) 0

>4

-0

4 o

U )

a.

o

. 1 ,-

. . c u 1 ) U )4 J U ) C I :

" r1

4 -H

. 0 N . i

0 0

0 44

c u I

U )

00 4 4 1 '0 1: , W

0

-

W Q. 0

2

S o m e t i m e s f i n e

O 4.

4 , _ 14 )

S ome g eneralized a lluvial f acies r elationships

a re

i llustrated

i n F igure 6 .7. A ccording t o l ocal g radient a nd s edimentary l oad, d ifferent s edimentary d eposits a re c onstructed w hich d iffer i n t heir g rain s ize a nd d egree o f s orting; i n t he s ource o f t he d eposit ( e.g.

t hese i n t urn r eflect d ifferences b ed l oad o r s uspended l oad) a nd

t he o verall e nergy l evel i n t hat s edimentary e nvironment. A

s chematic

a lluvial

p lan

a nd

e nvironments

s edimentary

c ross-section

a re

p arameters

s hown o f

i n

t hese

o f

F igure

s ome

o f

6 .8.

d eposits

t he c ommon

S ome

a re

o f

t he

n aturally

g ood

i ndicators o f t he o rigin o f t he d eposit a nd g ive s ome s ense o f t he s orts o f f orces t hat h ave a cted i n b uilding t hem. I n F igure 6 .8-A a g eneral a pproximation h as b een m ade o f t he g ross b alance o f f orces o f e rosion a nd d eposition ( E/D) i n t he W hile t he h ighlands a t t he l eft e rosion w ithout s ubstantial n et g ain a lluvial f an e nvironment n et d eposition d oes o ccur.

r espective a lluvial s ettings. a re a lmost t otally d ominated b y i n s edimentary d eposits, t he

i s s trongly d ominated b y e rosion b ut s ome

T he a lluvial f loodplain/delta s edimentary c omplex c ontains a v ariety o f m icroenvironments w ith a p articular r ange o f f orces o perating i n e ach.

C hannels a nd b ar d eposits a re l ikewise

d ominated

b y e rosive f orces, b ut t o s urvive i n t he s edimentary r ecord m ust l ocally a chieve s ome n et d eposition. L evees a s w ell m ay e ndure a r ange

o f

e rosive n et

p rocesses

i n

t heir

d evelopment,

s ome o f t hem m oderately

( more s trongly s o n earer t he c hannel),

d eposition

f rom

p articles

b ut

s uspended

' constitute i n

f inal

o verbank

f low.

F loodbasins r emoved

s ome d istance f rom a ctive c hannels e xperience

t he

o f

w hole

a

s et

l ower-energy

d istal o verbank s uspension l oad. i n

s ome

s ystems

a re

q uite

c onditions,

I n e xtreme f lood

c ommon,

t hey

c onditions,

e xhibits a a s w ell, b e

r ange

b ut

o f

d ifferent

c onditions:

t he d istributary c hannels,

m ay i n h eavy f loods

u nderestimated

w hich

m ay r eceive f airly h igh

v elocity f lows l oaded w ith f ine-grained m aterials, d evelop i nternal, s mall-scale c hannelling. T he s trongly

o n

a s t hey r eceive t he

a nd m ay e ven d elta l ikewise

d eposition

a nd

d ominates

t he i nterdistributaries

r eceive h igh v elocity f lows w hich

m ight

b y l ocal s ediment l oad i n t his d ownstream s egment

o f a d rainage s ystem. A s

i s g enerally r ecognized,

p robability

t han w ill f loodplain s ites v elocity

c hannel s ites w ill

o f m ore s evere d isturbance,

o f

f lood

i n

v iew

o f

e vents a vailable.

h ave

a

greater

w innowing a nd r edistribution t he

h igher

f requency

a nd

A rtifacts i ncorporated w ithin

g ravelly o r e ven s andy c hannel d eposits m ay h ave m oved s ome d istance b efore d eposition, a nd t hey m ay e ven h ave b een r econcentrated i n n atural d umps. p erhaps

e ven

I f t ransport o nly o n h undred's

e vidence o f s ignificant w as

f airly

d isturbed a ssemblage

o f

h ave

r olling o r a brasion

i mmediate.

w ith

t he o rder

m eters

N evertheless,

s ignificant

c hanges

a nd

a

f ew

e xpected

t en's

o r

t here m ay b e n o

p articularly c ontext

w ould

b urial h ighly

t he

i nitial C hannel

c omplete

f orces m ay a lso

a ct

r ecord u pon

t he

o f

w ithin

i f b e

a nd i n a rtifact c onfigurations a nd a ssociations.

b ank o r f loodplain d eposits w ill g enerally t end i ntact

o f

o ccurred,

t o

o ffer

l ocalized a ctivies, s ites

s ealed

i n

t he

m ost

b ut a r ange o f

s uch

s ituations.

S edimentary d eposits u pon a f loodplain, p articularly o n o r n ear a l evee, c an b e b iased i n r epresenting o nly w aning p hases o f f low 1 08

F ANGLOMERATE

I

BRA IDED

MEANDER

SYSTE M

S YSTEM

I mp roved s o r t ing F iner g ra in s ize Dec reas ing

• • •• 4

•

, 5 •

•. 1 1 . • • • •

•

•

r

S cree mud f l ow , a nd s heet f l ood

••

g rad ien t

. •

___—__—"› L atera l a ccret ion , o ften r ap id a ggralat ion

Ve rt ica l a ccre t ion , s lower a ggradat ion

Channe l b ed l oad O verbank s uspended* l oad

F igure 6 .7. A lluvial p rofile d ifferences: c hanges i n f low e nergy, s edimentary g rain s ize, a nd d epositional mode a long a s tream p rofile. ( After

S elley,

1 976).

1 09

+ + — +

+ + +

= +

z t

▪

+

+ +

+ +

+ +

+

+

A lluv ia l R idge A lluv ia l f an

F loodbas in

4* -

L evee 1

>

Channe l

P o in t b ar

L evee

D e lta

i lk

A

Marshes a nd l akes o r p onds

A l>

L ake o r S ea

C revasse s p lay

F igure 6 .8. M odel o f t he b alance b etween e rosional a nd d epositional f orces i n d iverse e nvironmental r egimes. I n A ( above) i s a s chematic p rofile o f t he g eomorphological a nd g eological r egimes s hown i n p lan v iew i n B ( below). I n s ection A I h ave m odelled a g ross a pproximation o f t he b alance b etween t he f orces o f e rosion a nd d eposition o perating i n d iverse m icroenvironments i n t hese d iagrams ( E/D, o r t he r atio o f E rosion t o D eposition,

a s s ymbolized b y " +"

( Erosion).

1 10

( Deposition)

a nd

" -"

r ather

t han

a ny e rosion w hich m ay h ave p receded i t

t he s ubstrate i s m ade s ilts a nd e pisode i n

u p

o f

f ine,

c onsolidated

( particularly i f e rosion-resistant

c lays). L ittle o r n o e vidence m ay r emain o f a n e rosive t hese u sually l aminar, f airly h omogeneous a nd o ften

b ioturbated s ediments, u nless c oarser t raction l oad e scapes t he s tream b ed o r d istinct c hanneling c uts i nto o r b reaches t he l evee ( producing c revasse-splay d eposits). I n

a ny

s ituation

m icrostratigraphic

f eatures s urrounding t he

a rtifacts a s w ell a s a spects o f a rtifact d istribution a nd o rientation c an y ield c lues o f p ost-depositional s ite a lteration.

T hus,

s uch a s s mall s and o r p ebble l enses a bout t he a rtifacts m arked o n t he u pstream ( usually a lso c ausing

e vidence

( often r ather

a nd d ownstream s ides), o r s cour p ockets r elative d escent o f t he b ases o f b ulkier

a rtifacts) c an i ndicate r eworking o f t he s ite b y w ater. I n a ddition, t hree-dimensional o rientation o f t he a rtifacts c an b e u seful i n a chieving

f iner

r esolution

o f

s ite

c ontext.

S uch

a rtifact

p ositioning c an b e b roken d own i nto f actors s uch a s c lustering o r i mbrication; i nclination a nd p referential o rientation o f l ong a xes; a nd m ore

s ubtle i ndicators s uch a s p referential p ositioning o n p lanar

a rtifact f aces. T hese l atter f actors, b asically t he f abric a rtifactual m aterials i n t he d eposit, a re d iscussed b elow. 6 .

Artifact i nclination a nd

t he

l on _e a xis o rientation c an s erve a s

v aluable

i ndicators b oth o f t he v ector a nd

w orking

t he

s ite.

o f

t he

i ntensity

o f

w aters

I nclination o r d ip i s a n e xcellent i ndicator o f

t he d irection o f f low a s w ell

a s

t he

i ntensity

o f

t he

h ydraulic

e vent. A ny r edistribution w ould, o f c ourse, b e i n t he s ame g eneral d irection. A rtifact i nclination i s m ore p ronounced i n m ore e asily e roded

m aterials

s ilts a nd c lays, A lso,

r elntive

t o

t he f low ( e.g.

i n s ands r ather t han

a nd i n f iner r ather t han c oarser s ands a nd g ravels).

w ithin a g iven s ubstrate,

i t w ill b e s teeper w ith g reater

f low

v elocity. T his w as e vident f rom o ne s ite t o a nother a s w ell a s w ithin a s ingle s ite w hich s uffered d ifferent d egrees o f s cour i n d ifferent a reas o f

3 0

( e.g.,

d egrees

: a ction

o r

S ites 2 6/27).

P ronounced a rtifact i nclination

m ore w as c ommonly a ssociated w ith s trong f luvial

a nd m assive r edistribution o f s ite

m ore p ronounced . a round

l arger

O rientation o f a rtifacts f urther c orroborate

m aterials.

( more o bstructive) ( and

b ones)

D ip

i s

a lso

a rtifacts.

w ith d istinct

l ong a xes c an

t he d irectional a spect o f t he f luvial

f orces.

I t

c an a lso g ive a n i dea o f t he v elocity r ange o f t he w aters i f t here i s d ifferential o rientation a ccording t o s ize. I n I saac's s tudy o f t he e ffect o f s tream f low o n a n e xperimental a ssemblage o f c oncrete h andaxes,

m ost

a rtifacts

e nded

u p

t ransverse t o

t he

f low ( Isaac:

1 968).

S imilar r esults w ere f ound i n S ite 3 6 i n t his s tudy. I n b oth c ases s tream f low w as v ery f ast a nd p owerful, e roding m any s ite c ontents

a nd

G enerally, l ess t end

o ften, t o

o nes.

m ore

o ften

p articles

b eing

l ikely t o b e k nocked

r elative

t end

t o

p arallel t o t he f low v ector.

o rient

t o t he f low .

m ore i nto

t his

o rient

M oreover,

i n p arallel t o

( As d iscussed i n C hapter 4 ,

s maller m ore

s trongly a ffecting t he p ositioning o f t hose r emaining.

a rtifacts w ith l ong a xes

t ransverse

s maller a rtifacts

t he f low t han d o l arger

i s p robably a p roduct o f

o verwhelmed b y t he f low a nd t his m ore s table,

L arger p articles,

p arallel

m ore r esistant

t he

s o b eing c ondition

t o m ovement,

m ay b e k nocked a lternately a t o ne e nd o r t he o ther e nd a nd

11

o r,

s o a dopt a

g enerally t ransverse o rientation ( within a n a rc p erpendicular t o f low

d irection;

d ynamic e quilibrium w ith t he s tate. A

s ize

t he

i n f ewer i nstances w ould t hey b e k nocked o ut o f t his

c utoff

f low

i nto

t he

m ore

f or b imodal o rientation,

s table,

t hen,

p arallel

w ould s erve a s a

g eneral i ndication f or t he m aximum a bility o f t he f low

t o

m ove

a nd

o rient r emaining p ieces. T his w ill g ive s ome m inimum i ndication o f t he f low v elocities t hat h ad a cted u pon t he s ite, a nd t hus t heir p otential f or w innowing a nd r edistribution. 7 .

A brasion,

r olling,

a nd e dge d amage o f a rtifacts,

o f c ourse,

s erve a s o bvious c lues o f s edimentary d isturbance a t a s ite. S uch e vidence m ay b e m acroscopically o bvious i n m ore a dvanced c ases, b ut i n o thers m ay b e i ndicated b y m icroscopically e vident, f or i nstance i n t he r idge f lattening s uggested b y S hackley a s a n i ndex o f a brasion ( Shackley:1978). I n

u sing

t hese

c riteria,

v ariability

i n

s uch w ear a nd

t ear

s hould b e o bserved, s ince i t c an b e a c lue a s t o d iverse h istories o f v arious a ssemblage c omponents. C onversely, l ack o f s uch a brasion i s n ot

c onclusive

e vidence

o f

c orresponding

l ack

o f

s edimentary

d isturbance i n a s ite's h istory: b rief e pisodes o f h igh v elocity f low c an d isturb a s ite d rastically w ithout n oticeable e ffects o n t he a rtifact

s urfaces.

C are

s hould

b e

t aken

t o d istinguish b etween

p ossible c hemical w eathering t hat c an o ccur o n a rtifact s urfaces, u sually m ore u niform, l ess s ensitive t o s urface t opography o f t he a rtifact a nd p ossibly d ifferent o n m aterials o f v arying M icrowear w ould b e

p olishes o bscured

c hemistries.

t hat m ay e xist o n t he e dges o f u tilized a rtifacts o r e ven o bliterated b y h eavy r olling a nd

s tream-induced a brasion H oxne, K eeley:1980).

( reported

b y

K eeley f or s ome a rtifacts a t

S UMMARY A ND D ISCUSSION T he e ntire s et o f c riteria d iscussed a bove s hould b e a pplied t he

e vidence

p rovided

b y

i nterpretation c an b e m ade a bove,

b ehavior

r egarding

s ite

w ithin

c ontext.

c an p roduce c ertain s ite p atterns

s ome o f t he a spects o f a d isturbed s ite. l ocale

a

s ite

d ominated

b y

F or

i .e.,

u tilization

A ny f luvial

1 974).

s trong a nd d ramatic p atterns i nstances. b e

a

w ould

p rimary t here

b een a t w ork.

c onsideration. s hould

w innowed

l ags

b e

F or i nstance,

e vident i n a r edistribution h as u pstream

i ndicated a

o r

r esidue,

B ut s ystem

e ven o r

s ite

c ore t ools f ocused

c an b e

a rtifact

b e

d etectable

i f a rea

i n

h igh-energy w ithin

s uch

o f c ourse, f low h as

a

o ther i ndications o f t he f orces

d rainage t hat h ave

s ome s ize-graded d istribution s hould

f luvially d islocated a ssemblage, i solated d ifferent f arts o f t he s ite, d ownstream

d umps.

o r

r esponsibility f or s uch

E vidence o f t he s edimentary e nvironment w ould,

o ccurred i n a s ediment-starved s ystem,

a nd

s patially

l ikely

A s

t hat c an s imulate

e xample,

c ores

p roduced a s a r esult o f f unction, ( O'Connell:

t o

a n a rchaeological s ite b efore a r eliable

i .e. s uch

b e

w here a s i n

I n t he c ase o f a v ery h eavily

t here s hould e xist s ome

e vidence

o f

t he

f luvial

i nterlude. S uch s igns c ould i nvolve o rientation, d ip, i mbrication, o r s trong c lustering o f t he a rtifacts a s w ell a s s edimentary e vidence

1 12

s uch a s g ravel s uch

l enses o r s cour p ockets.

i ndicators o f f luvial d isturbance,

B ut b esides t he

a bsence

o f

t here m ay b e o ther i ntrinsic

s igns w ithin a n a ssemblage t hat c an y ield p ositive c lues a s t o b ehavioral p rocesses r esponsible f or s ite p atterns. I n t he f ollowing s ection

o f

t his

c hapter,

s ome o f t he e ffects

t hat s ome a spects o f

b ehavior c an h ave o n a s ite's m ake-up w ill b e c onsidered. B EHAVIORAL P ROCESSES A ND T HEIR I MPACT I n F igure 6 .9 s ome s imple a spects o f t he i mpact o f

b ehavior

o n

s ite f ormation, p articularly a rtifact a ssemblage f ormation a re c onsidered. V arious c ombinations o f d iscrete b ehaviors r egarding h uman-manufactured

a rtifacts

a re

m odelled,

a nd

e ffects o n t he a rtifact c ollection a t t he s ite a re t hree b ehavioral c omponents c onsidered h ere m anufacture o f a rtifacts a nd t heir t ransport o n w ith r eference

t o

t hat b ounded s pace

t heir

r esultant

s ummarized.

T he

h ave t o d o w ith t he t he l andscape, a ll

c alled a s ite.

T hese c omponents

o f b ehavior a re: 1 )

I mportation o f m anufactured a rtifacts t o t he s ite a rea

2 ) M anufacture o f a rtifacts a t r eshaping o f a ny i mported i tems 3 )

t he s ite a nd/or r esharpening o r

E xportation o f a ny i tems i nvolved

i n

e ither

o f

t he

a bove

p rocesses a way f rom t he s ite a rea I n

t his

c onsidered.

m odel

o nly

t he

m aking

N atural r aw m aterials

p resent a t t he s ite l ocale o r,

o r t ransport o f a rtifacts i s

f or a rtifact

a s i s u sually t he

m anufacture c ase,

m ay

b e

m ay b e b rought

i n a s w ell. T he f low o f r aw m aterials o n t he l andscape i s a nother p roblem o f g reat i nterest a nd i s a dmittedly o f g reat i mportance f or t he

p rocesses

d escribed

h ere.

H owever,

t his

m odel d eliberately

f ocuses u pon a rtifacts, w here t hey a re m ade a nd n ot m ade, b ut r ather i n u se o r i n t ransit, a nd c onsiders t heir t ransport f rom t he p erspective o f a f ixed

l ocation o n t he l andscape - i .e.,

t he " site".

B y f ocusing o n c haracteristics p roduced a t a l ocus o f m anufacture, t hen, t his a pproach c an a lso d elineate a reas w here a rtifacts w ere n ot m ade,

b ut w here

o r d iscarded. p redictions r emain,

t hey w ere i n u se o r i n t ransit a nd f inally a bandoned

T his i s d one i n o rder t o f acilitate t he g eneration a bout b ehavior f rom t he s craps o f e vidence

o f

t hat c ommonly

s pecifically f rom t he a ssemblage o f a rtifacts a t a s ite.

I n t his d iscussion,

t he t erm " site" w ill b e u sed i n a n e xtremely

s imple, f eductionist s ense: a s pace w here p hysical e vidence, u sually m aterial r esidues, r emains o f p rior h uman a ctivity. I n e ssence, t his m eans

t hat w here t here i s s uch e vidence c onstitutes

m aterial l eft k ilometers, i s

o utside o f t his " off" o r " outside"

t he

s ite.

A ny

s pace, r emoved b y 1 0 m eters o r 1 00 t he s ite. T his s imple d efinition

w ill b e d efining

e mployed t o o bviate t he k notty d ifficulties e ncountered i n s ite b oundaries, i n d ifferentiating b etween i ntrasite

a ctivity

a reas

a nd m ultiple s ites,

e tc.

A s a rchaeological e vidence

h as p rofound d ependence u pon m aterial r esidues a rranged

i n s pace,

a nd

t his s pace i s m ost o ften i dentified t hrough e xcavation, f or t he p urposes o f t his d iscussion i t w ill b e m ore c onvenient t o d eal w ith t he s pace s o

i dentified a s

t he s ite,

a ll e lse i s o ff s ite.

13

4 1

+-I

U

€ 5 9

. ; )

c u

4 5 1

4 1

0

44

/ 4

0

44

0

C . ) 0

.2 C O

0

.0

•

C O

0 1 . .

s• • '

5 1

5 1

. 0 c o

TI C

4 . 4 0 1-4 4

N r4

A

W

TI

A

3

0 1

00 .4

" I N

c4

. 0 0 4

C

5 1 . 4 4

C O

k .

. 0

0 / A

L I • • . p4

u

5 1

4 . 4

. 0

0

. . 4

M

• 00

0 I .

4 4 0 41

0

0

4 . 4 0. 1 1

0

C O

-I

O

C O 0 . 00

0 .

0

M

0

00 • C U

6 1

0

0 4.

0 .4 TI

4 40 .

E.

-' > 4 . • 0 0 6 1 2 1 0 1 14 00 1 4

1 4

0 I . W

0. 0 0

44

t l

0

( 5

' 0 C

4 . 4

W

0 .

• .0 C O .1 0 1 44 0 0 0

1 4

0

5 1

0

1 4 .

a

2

4 .0 ,

0 0

0

.4

. 4 0 -

. 0 4 0

0

( 0

.0

t n

4 . 4

4 ä

4 1 ) t a

1 . 1

0

U 0

•-1

• >

00

0

4 1

0

CA

) 0 )

. 44 C O 1 4 4

3 1 .

0

( 4 )

0 1

. X 4 0 . 04 4 4 4 4 0 .

- 0 . 00 4 . I

a -

0

0

4 J

4 4 0

a l

0 C

0 U W

U

0 1 ,-4

0 1

0

. 4 >

00

.4

0

.2

0.

. . 1 0

0 . 1 41

4 -0 . ,4 u . 4 04 0 C O

. 0

.4

.4

4 0. . . 1 2 . .0 0 5,4 0. 0 p , c . ) 0 >

0

0 W

1 4

A

.4 2

44

4 1

4 1

T.

. 0 -1 . = I . c C 0

.

0 .

0

C 0 )

4 4 4 i

0 0

C O

i c . 4.

C

.0

) 4

I l l

4 .

>

. I

I . . 2

c t . .4

.0 4 1 4 0

>

• . • . • •

0

{ 4

0 44 . 4 4

0

0

, • • o 0 . 1

0 C Y 5 1 . X 4 1 0 6 1 1-1

E

.0

0

0

0

00 .4

4 .1 A

.0

0

C I .

0

)

4 1

4 4 J

. 0 4

I . 4 5 1

0 . 0 0

•

4 -4.

0

4 J

I ( 1 ) ( 1 ) w › 1 0 C ) C . ) c n H c 1 : 1 c o r e • 4 4 •H y e • " C 1 4 .J

c d

•

C U 4 .J

. 0

0 •4 . •

› , • • e r o o N . •e t o S . .4 6/ 0 . 10 0 p „ , . 0 4

0 1

• 4 ( L )

c i

0

0 4 4.1 . .... 4) 4 . 4 0 1 0. 0 •4 > 4 1 e 2 w .0 , . . • c 'c ow o 2 " 0 • r 0 . . .. x c u >. .w w g• o _ 4 g o o e 4 . .. . 4 u Jo 0 . 0 1 . .0 . .0 o 0 1 0, . 0 01 . 4• 3 4 0 0 , .40 10 3 ,4 4 0 5 1e 1 4 . I 0 0 1 0 ( 5 4 4 4 . › 1 4' , )

.0

1 4

°

0

„ : , . . -. 0.

g 0

C j

T.

N . ,

.

C

n j

C . )

0

. 01 '

Q c u i

F 4

54

. 0( 5

5 1

M t . Z 0 3 )

. 4 . 1

0 4 1

t '2 4 0 3 . .0 . 0 1 . 4 00 0 6 1 >1 . .. . . . .4 . . 4 . 1 > H 0 0 0 0 t o -0 . 04 4 C . . I

0 0

4 1

. 4 0 4 . ,) > , . . C . .

C O

, _ _ 4

U 0

• , 1 a .>

•o c u

0 0

.

5 4 4

0

4 . J .0

0 0 440

51 : 1 0 0 € 5 . 1 3 1 0. 4 0 )

W L .

W

.X

A

0 . n o re g o a o c o. 1 0 . c a '. u . u . 0

T. -4

0

C J C O

0

•• . 0

0 4 . 3 0 0 , , •. . 4 c u 0

r 1

' 4

00 0 .. . . • 4 . 1 X

4 Z

i . ›• 1

.4 C O 12 0 G I 'V .1 . i-i i l i 0 4 4 14 . 4 0 4 .1 41 4 6 1

2 c 4 . 1 0 0 0a e r

e)

• T 0 0 0 W0 4 0 Z

. V .

. 0 4 I

0.

4. 1

0

I v 1 ow 0 0. . 4

04 4c o . ( O W 0 i--I . 0

• • 1

.1

o C . .

4

1 : 1

g . 4 I .1 4 . 1

. - 1 1 . 4 ‚0 00

4 1

0

4 { Z . 0 4

C U 4 4

o

4 0

0 0 4. 4

0 -

r e 0 ) • • 4 , 3 1

4 .1

r -4 3. 4.

0 1 X

0 1 4 . C O $ 4

4 1

.0

0 1 U

04 1 33 . 0 ,. 0 0.0 1 7 4 .. . N 14 4-1 0 • -4 4 J

C

. 44 I

1 4 0

W 1 4 5 )

-4 . 0 4 1 C 40

W A .4 00 00 0 1 4 4 1 .4 • CO 0 1

_ o

•

4 4 .1 -4

04 • 0

g U

. X 0 c o

E l 1 4

.

r.

C 00 .4 CA

W 4 . 1 a

W

w0 . =4 1

0 ( 5

, d

c o .4 g 0

1 4 0

e.

C

T. t . .

.4 1 1

e .ef_ l , ‘Z, .

0 4 3 3

0 0 1

4 1

4 44 (44 • •

( r 5 , e ,

14:

74 . 3

I C O

. u c g os dc o o -. 0 . 0 0 .

0 .

4

no )5 1 44 4 0 4

C . /

( 54 4( 5 0 F .

5 1 4 . 0 4 4

4

I 0

1 4 . 4 C O

4

g

40 5 )

C . / 0

0 4 . 1 0 w

c i

•

c n

5 1

5 1 4 5 1

0 • .1 ( 5 04 . 1

• •

0

•a . ' 0 o 0) Z'r • 1

3

0

0 , _ M 1 4 X 5 1

0 1 4 c o

• 2

d e

1 .

c o c o

W 0 -. 0.0 4 . 1 4 0 Tj • 1 . 4 0 / 0 .4 0 4 ( 5( 5 4 0 . 4 0 Q . 0' V . 0 00 ( 5 ) 0 0 0 4 1 4..

4

0. 0 0 -4

( 5

. -4

0

6 . 4 C 00

0

0 40

P . ,

1 . 4 0 )

0 .4 .4 0 0 0 4 J -. 4 0 ) 0 ) 0( 5, 4 .4 .1 1 9 .0 1 : 1 0 . 4. 1

F.

0

5 1 ( 5

0

' 0

• • • 0 Ji .

0

0 1. 4

.1

0

4

04 4 .

. 0 ( 5

4 . 1 U 5 1

44

0

r4

4( 5 4 o r N I 0 14. 1 . 4 .4 5 ) 4 3 4 . 4 0 )5 1 C O 00 g 0 . e t C . / T. >5

C H A R C T E R I S T I C S

D I S T I N G U I S H I N G

0

0 a .

00 C O

44

5 1 44'O

I

4,

44

00

3 (50 ( 500 W

e C

4

4 4 .4 . 4 4

w

00

u i s h a b l e i n

00

10 1 00 0

P r e s n t s a

4 4

4 , 4 3

0; T. > 4 4 1 0 . 0 0 .0 0 1 4 0 .0 0 0 00 1 . 4 1 4 C O 0 0. C O 1 4 1 4 . -4 ' 44 4 1 • •

( L ) 4, •H

o 0" I . 0 4 3. 0 •0 •. . 0 0

0

0 .

00

4

4 .

a l >

• e0

5 1 0

c '

5 -0

0

44

J

41

g

r j " 0

1 4 4

11

0

4 4

P O T E N T I A L E F E C T S

C . ) c d

S i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n

C . 1

4 1

TI 1 .

.0

0 1 4

5 .

C O ) 5 1 4 4 .0 0 0

0 1

0 00 )4 0 0 4 1 F -4

U

0 ( 4 4

c 1 . 4

Q ) •r -4

( 1 ) 3 )

i z u

0 a 0 - E

"4

,L 4

4 .J

T 1

c d . " . 4

0 .

a .4 0 00

44

0

0

4 .1

W 4 4 5 1 1 4 44 0 I 0. 4 ' 144 0 . 4 (5

0 3 4 . 40 ) 4 . 1 4 / C O 0

4. 1 1 4 0 0. ( 5

0 0 -4

0 4 . 00 )

0 44 0 0 _e

4 1 . . I ( 5

4 . i x 0

1 4 0 c " . X

) . c i

3

4 . ) 04 4 4 4 1 4 1 . 4 . 4 0

0 c n

4 . 4 X 0

0

4 . 4

E1 4 4

0

.

0 .

X 0 0 Z

A S E M B L A G E

* 1 4

t u 0 3

"4 •

c o

C %

1 14

f o r m a t i o n :

0

( 1 2 )

5 1

4 1

A l a r t i f a c t s

/ 4

3

0 1 1

S o m e i m p o r t p

4 . 1 0

0

0

4i

•r i

U •. I

M ode 1

m ade

I n M ode 1 a ll o f t he s tone a rtifacts l eft a t t he s ite h ave b een t here, w ith n o i mportation o f a ny m anufactured i tems n or e xport

o f a ny o f t he f ashioned p roducts. d istribution c onforms w ell w ith k napping e xperiments

A s a r esult, t hat p redicted

s ize c lass t he b asis o f

a nd c ores a nd c ore t ools

w ould

v ery q uickly b e i n a s mall m inority w ithin t he a ssemblage p roduction o f a f ew h undred f lakes a nd f ragments).

( after

a nd

( see C hapter 3 ),

t he o n

I n e xperiments m aking r eplications o f O ldowan c ore f orms, I f ound t hat f lakes a nd f ragments ( larger t han s creen s ize,

m esh)

made u p a pproximately 9 7% o f t he r esultant

a ssemblages,

o nly

a bout

p erformed

3 %.

S uch

e xperiments

p articular t echnology e vident a t a p redictions.

F or

i nstance,

s hould g iven

b e

s ite

t o

T oth 5 m m c ores

f or

d evelop

t he

s imilar

p roduction o f L ower A cheulean h andaxes

f rom t he b eginning o f t he p rocess ( starting w ith a l arge f lake) t he f inished p roduct, p roduces s omewhat h igher p roportions

t o o f

d ebitage t han d oes t he m anufacture o f O ldowan c ores.

o f

F ashioning

t he m ore r efined U pper A cheulean f orms c an p roduce e xtremely h igh d ebitage p roportions, s ometimes w ell o ver 9 9% ( through e xperiments t he

v arious

s egments

o f

t he

p rocess,

e .g.

p roduction o f b lanks,

f inal s haping, a nd r etouch o r r esharpening c an b e m odeled a nd p roducts i dentified). A lso, w hen f lake p roducts a re a lso b eing w orked d own i nto

" flake t ools"

e xperimentation c an y ield

e stimations

o f t he p roducts o f t he f ull g amut o f t ool-making a ciivities i nvolved. I n

a n

a rea

r esulting

e xcavation ( to t he s patial a ssemblage

w ith

h ypothetically

f ragments w ould c onjoin a nd v irtually

i n

f rom

t heir

t his

f ormation

l imits o f t he r esidue) p erfect

r efitting:

c ores w ould b e a ble t o

e ntirety.

I n

m ode,

w ould

c onjoining

a dequate

r etrieve

a n

a ll f lakes a nd

b e

r econstructed

e xperiments

I h ave

c arried o ut w ith g roups o f a rchaeologists a nd a rchaeology s tudents, h ave f ound t hat s maller d ebitage

( smaller t han 2 c m

l ong,

I

p rimarily

f lake f ragments) c an b e e xtremely d ifficult f or p eople t o r efit e xcept a fter m onumental e xpense o f t ime a nd e ffort. I t i s p robably b est

t o

g auge c onjoining a ccording t o w hat c an b e a ccomplished w ith

a rtifacts

l arger t han 2 c m i n m aximum d imension.

T he s patial d istribution o f s uch c onjoining s ets w ould b e t ight a nd

t he s pread o f m aterial w ould b e r oughly i n

t rajectory

o f

k napping

b lows.

t he

f laking

m aterial h as b een d eliberately m oved a round o n m anufacture, s ome m aterial ( most l ikely c ores a nd o r b e

o utside

t he

i nitial f lake s catters.

f airly

w ith

S egments o f s plit o r s napped

m ay a lso e xhibit s pread i n t he d irection o f

m ay

l ine

t he

f lakes

b low.

I f

t he s ite a fter l arger f lakes)

E xtra n oise w ould,

o f

c ourse, b e p ut i n t he p attern b y d isruption p roduced b y k icking o r t rampling, b ut e xcept i n e xtreme c ases s hould n ot d isrupt a ll o f t he e lements o f t he t rends c ores,

b etween

f lake s catters. f ragmented

b ut m ay w ell d iffer a mong c ores

d ifferent p laces o n t he s ite. w ould

S patial c lustering a nd

b e

r oughly

( if k napping

T he r atio o f f lakes

p redictable,

a nd T oth's w ork

a s

l inear

o ccurred

a t

t o f lake f ragments

( 1982) h as i ndicated

t hat p redictable p roportions o f t echnological f lake p roduced i n f laking c ores w ith a c ortical r ind o r c ortex. T oth's F lake T ypes

s uch

f lakes w ould b e c onsistent f or i ndividual

t ypes a re A ll s ix o f

( defined b y t he p resence a nd l ocation o f c ortex o n 1 13

t he

f lake,

a

b y-product

o f

t he

t echnological

p rocess) w ould b e

p resent a nd i n p redictable p roportions. S uch a n i nstance o f s ite f ormation i s h ypothetical i n t he e arly r ecord: s ites a ppear t o r epresent a m ore c omplicated m ix o f b ehaviors, a s m odeled i n M odes- 2 t hrough 6 . M ode 2 S ites

f ormed i n t his m ode w ould c losely r esemble a M ode b e

t o

t he

e xport

l ikely l arger o nes)

a way

o f s ome o f t he c ores o r f lakes

f rom t he a rea.

( most

f oiled

T his c ould p otentially b e f or u se

d ue

1 s ite,

b ut s ome c onjoining a ttempts w ould p robably

e lsewhere

o r

f or

f urther r eduction o r r eshaping a t a l ater t ime a t a nother l ocation. S ince

c ores

o r l arger,

m ore u seful f lakes w ould b e m ore l ikely

t o b e d eliberately e xported,

t he s ize d istribution o f t he

c ould

t oward

b e

s kewed

s omewhat

t he

s maller

p roportion c ould b e r educed, d epending u pon m anufacture a nd t he a mount o f e xport.

t he T he

a ssemblage

s izes a nd t he c ore e xtent o f o n-site c losest f it t o t his

f ormation m ode i n t he e arly r ecord m ay t he t he A cheulean w orkshop s ite o f C addington i n E ngland, w here l arge n umbers o f a rtifacts a ppear t o h ave b een m ade o n t he s ite a nd s ome o f t hem ( e.g. h andaxes) s ubsequently r emoved. T he M NK C hert F actory s ite a t O lduvai G orge c ould p ossibly f it

t his m odel a s w ell,

n ot y et f ully d ocumented w ith r egard f lake t ypes,

t his

m ode

r aw

m aterials

s ite

p roduced e lsewhere

a re i mported a nd f urther

c ould

b ut m ay b e s kewed

( cores,

m anufacturing

m aterials i s c arried o ut a t t he s ite.

a mount o f o n-site p roduction, t his

t his

i s

o r o verall a ssemblage c omposition.

a nd/or f lakes) o ther

t hough

s patial s catters,

3

M ode I n

t o c onjoining,

o f

c ore

t ools

t hese

o r

D epending u pon t he

a nd i ts b alance w ith t he i mport

q uota,

a lso e xhibit a p redictable s ize c lass d istribution t oward

l arger

l arger f lakes a re b rought i n.

e lements L ikewise,

i f

g reat

p roportions

o f

t he c ore p roportion c ould b e

e levated b y i mportation. C onjoining

w ould

a gain

m anufacture h as o ccurred a t s ome

i solated

e lements

( as

i n

t he s ite,

M ode 2 )

i ndicate

p rimarily b y

w ith n o a vailable f its,

t he

t hat n ot a ll p resence

o f

p erhaps e ven i n r aw

m aterial a typical a t t he s ite. I f m any f lakes a re i mported a nd i f l imited o n-site m anufacture h as o ccurred, t he f lake:fragment r atio c ould b e s omewhat h igh ( since t he m ajority o f l arger d ebitage t end t o b e w hole f lakes i mported c ores p roportion o f

r ather t han f lake f ragments.

O n-site

r eduction

o f

( secondary f lake p roduction) w ould q uickly e levate t he F lake T ype V I ( totally n on-cortical) w ithin t he

a ssemblage, a nd s imultaneously r educe t he p roportion o f T ype V f lakes ( which a re e xpected i n v ery h igh p roportion i n p rimary r eduction o f c ores

f rom

p roportion

c ortical a s

w ell,

c lasts). a gain

C ore i mports c ould

d epending

i mportation a nd o n-site c ore r eduction.

16

u pon

t he

i nflate t he c ore b alance

o f

c ore

M ode 4 I n t his f ormation m ode, a rtifacts a re i mported a nd e xported b ut o n-site k napping i s o ccurring a s w ell. D epending u pon t he b alance o f i mport a nd e xport o f a rtifacts, a nd o f t hese a ctivities w ith p roduction i n t he a rea, s ize c lass d istribution c ould b e n early "n ormal", o r a s p redicted f rom f laking e xperiments, o r c ould b e s omewhat s kewed t oward t he l arger o r s maller e nds o f t he s ize s pectrum. A m oderate a mount o f p roduction ( producing a f ew h undred f lakes a nd f ragments) w ould e ffectively w eight t he s ite w ith a d istribution n ear t o t hat p redicted. C onsiderable i mportation o r e xportation w ould b e n ecessary t o s kew t his r adically i n e ither d irection ( probably t oward t he s maller e nd b y e xport, a nd t oward t he l arger e nd b y i mport).

C onjoining

e vidence

w ould

b e m ixed:

s ome c onjoining s ets a nd

g ood s patial c lustering b etween s ets m ay b e p resent, b ut t here w ould a lso p robably b e b locks o r g aps i n c onjoining s ets a nd e ven f oreign o r e xotic f lakes o r c ores w ith n o f itting p ieces. E arlier s tages o f c ore r eduction w ould l ikely b e m issing i n s ome c onjoining s ets a nd i n l ow p roportion i n t he f lake p opulation a s a w hole ( Flake T ypes I , I I, a nd I II i n p articular f or c obble c ores). A s i n M ode 3 , F lake T ype V I w ould l ikely b e i n r elatively h igh p roportion i n t he a ssemblage, i f p re-flaked c ores a re r educed f urther a t t he s ite. T he 1 .5 m illion-year-old O ldowan s ite a t K oobi F ora, F xJj 5 0, h as y ielded e xcellent d ocumentation ( in c onjoining, a ssemblage ' composition, a nd t echnological F lake T ypes) o f t his r ather c omplex m ix o f p rocesses b ehind i ts f ormation. ( Bunn e t.al: 1 980). M odes 5 a nd 6 S ites p roduced i n t hese m odes w ould b e c omposed e ntirely o f a rtifacts m anufactured e lsewhere a nd b rought i nto t he s ite. I n M ode 6 s ome o f t hese a re a lso s ubsequently r emoved f rom t he

s ite

b y

t he

i mporters o r b y l ater o ccupants. ( These t wo m odes w ould p roduce s ites i ndistinguishable f rom o ne a nother i n f inal r esult, s ince n o e vidence w ould r emain o f r emoved m aterials). C omposed e ntirely o f a rtifacts d eliberately t ransported t o t he s ite l ocation a nd a bandoned t here, s uch s ites w ould t end t o h ave a s ize d istribution s trongly s kewed t oward l arger m aterials. T his w ould b e c omplete

s o u nless t he u nlikely w holesale t ransport o f n early s ets o f r eduction w aste w as o ccurring, w hich w ould r equire

s pecial e ffort a nd g ood c ontainers ( and w ould s eem t o s erve n o g ood p urpose). I n s ome i nstances i t w ould a lso b e p robable t hat c ores a nd c ore t ools w ould b e i mported i n p reference t o f lakes, e ither i f t he c ore f orms a re t hemselves b eing u tilized o r i f t hey a re t ransported f or t he p urpose o f f lake p roduction . I n s uch c ases, t hese c ore f orms w ould l ikely m ake u p a h igh p roportion o f t he a ssemblage, t hough t his c ould b e d epleted o nce a gain b y s ubsequent e xportation i n M ode 6 . T hese M odes c ould b e m ajor o nes a t w ork i n m any a ssemblages d ominated b y l arge c ores a nd c ore t ools, s uch a s h andaxes a nd p icks, i f t hese a ccumulations s how n o s igns o f h ydraulic f orces a t w ork. I n s ome c ases t hese m odes m ay b lend i n w ith M odes 3 a nd 4 t o a m inor e xtent, w ith s ome m inimal a mount o f r esharpening o r r eshaping b eing c arried o ut a t t he s ite. 1 17

S ince h eavy w innowing b y f luvial

f orces c ould a lso p roduce

s uch

a ssemblages o ut o f c ultural d eposits t hat m ay h ave o riginally b een q uite d ifferent, i t i s n ecessary t o s earch v ery d eliberately f or a ny s igns

o f

s uch

s edimentary c onsidered i tself.

d isturbance

a nd a s

a s

o utlined a bove.

m icrosedimentary w ell a s

C onsistent

t he

e vidence

S ummarizing t hese,

s hould

b e

s eriously

t exture o r f abric o f t he a rtifact d eposit

a rtifact

i nclination

a nd

p referred

l ong-axis

o rientation j ointly c an g ive i ndication o f f luvial i nteraction i n t he s ite's

h istory

a nd s ometimes o f i ts d egree o f i ntensity.

A brasion,

i f p resent, c an n aturally b e a p ositive i ndicator o f c onsiderable f luvial i mpact o n t he s ite, a lthough i ts a bsence d oes n ot d iscount t he p ossibility o f s ome v ery s trong b ut s hort-term f luvial

i nterlude

i n t he s ite f ormation p rocess. C ONCLUSION T he

c ompiled

r esults

s urrounding b oth b ehavioral c ontribute

t o

s ite

o f

t he

f ormation,

d educing f ormative p rocesses

e ntire

p rocesses

b e

u niquely

v aluable

i n

e xperiments,

p rocesses

t hat

r esponsible f or e xcavated p atterns.

s uggested h ere t hat o bservations d erived h istory.

o f

n atural

p rovide c omparative i nformation f or

i s

f ormational

r ange

a nd

h elping

d ecipher

S ome b ehaviors

a spects

c arried o ut a t

o f

a

s ite's

t he s ite c an b e

r egistered i n m aterial r esidue p atterns i n s ome p redictable w ays, t hese d iffer i n m any r espects f rom t he d istinct p atterns p roduced i n t he p rocess o f s ite I n

t hat c an

a nd b e

t ransformation d uring s edimentation.

a pproaching s ite a nalysis f rom t his p erspective,

h ypotheses b ecome m ore e xplicit, m ore r eadily s ite p atterns,

I t

f rom e xperimentation c an

a nd

t heir

e xploration

a lternative a nd

t esting

a nd r igorously a ccomplished. S uch h olistic s tudies o f i ncluding t echnological a nalysis o f t he f lake a nd c ore

p opulations, e xcellent r ecovery p rocedures, e xamination o f t he o verall a ssemblage c omposition, t horough c onjoining s tudies, a nd i nspection o f v ariance i n s patial d istributions, i n a ddition t o a nalysis

o f

s edimentary

a nd

n ecessary i n o rder t o a ssess p rocesses t hat h ave b een a t

m icrosedimentary

p arameters,

a re

r elative i mpact o f s ite f ormation w ork. T horough a nalysis o f s uch

p atterns, c omparing t he " real" w ith t he " expected" ( based u pon e xperimental e vidence) s hould a ssist i n p roducing a m ore r eliable a nd m ore

i nformative d ata b ase

i n p rehistoric r esearch,

m ore r ealistic i nterpretations o f p ast b ehaviors a nd

]1 8

a nd,

u ltimately,

l ifeways.

C HAPTER 7 :

A RCHAEOLOGICAL A PPLICATIONS

O F E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS

" But w e a re n ot

c oncerned w ith

h opes o r f ears,

o nly w ith t he

t ruth a s

f ar a s o ur r eason

p ermits u s t o d iscover i t..." ( Charles D arwin, i n t he c onclusion t o T he D escent o f M an, 1 871)

I NTRODUCTION T his

s tudy

h as

s o

f ar

c entered

u pon

e xperimental r esearch

c oncerning P alaeolithic s ite f ormation p rocesses,

a s w ell a s

g eneral

c onsideration o f t he i mplications o f t he e xperimental r esults f or a rchaeological a nalysis. I n t his c hapter I s hall b e d ealing w ith m ore

s pecific

c ases

o f

a rchaeological

a pplications,

p articularly

d ealing i n s ome d etail w ith s ome L ower P leistocene s ites a t K oobi F ora i n n orthern K enya, d ating t o b etween o ne a nd t wo m illion y ears a go.

F inally,

I s hall

c onsider i n g eneral t erms f urther a pplications

t o P alaeolithic s ites e lsewhere i n A frica a nd E urasia. W hen g rappling w ith a rchaeological e vidence,

o f c ourse,

o ne

i s

n ecessarily d ealing w ith t he " after" c ondition o f m aterials t hat h ad b een o riginally d eposited b y s ome s et o f b ehavioral p rocesses a nd t hat T he

h ave

a lso b een a ffected b y d iverse n atural a gencies o ver t ime.

p roblem,

o r,

m ore

a rchaeologist,

i s

t he

U ltimately,

s ite.

a rchaeological

p ositively,

t o d iscern w hat o f

i nvestigation

t he

c hallenge

f or

t he

f orces h ave b een a t w ork i n f orming c ourse,

i s

t he

d esired

d elineation

o f

a im

t he

o f

a ny

b ehaviors

r esponsible f or t he s ite p atterns a t h and. T his

p roblem

i s

p articularly

p erplexing

d ealing w ith t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord,

a nd

i .e.,

c hallenging i n i n

O ldowan

a nd

A cheulean t imes w hen m aterial r emains a t m ost s ites a re r estricted t o s catters o r c lusters o f s tone a rtifacts a nd o ften s ome a nimal r emains a s

w ell.

A rchaeological

s ites

i n

t he

e arly

r ecord

a re

n ot

c haracterized b y a g reat p lethora o f e vidence, e ither i n t erms o f t he n umbers, t he d iversity, o r t he c omplexity o f t he m aterials t hey c ontain. T hat i s n ot t o s ay, h owever, t hat t he b ehavior p atterns r esponsible f or t hese d eposits w ere n ecessarily t hat s imple. t he

c lues

t o

w hat

a ctivities

h ad

p roduced

t hese

R ather,

d eposits

a re

p articularly s ubtle, a nd t he t ask o f d eciphering t hem c orrespondingly d ifficult. A t a m inimum, s ites i n t his p eriod a re c omposed o f s ome q uantity o f m anufactured s tone a rtifacts, s tone t hat h as b een f ractured b y d eliberate p ercussive b lows w ith a nother r ock. T hese a rtifacts a re s ometimes r elatively f ew i n n umber s ufficient

n umber

t o

w arrant

e xcavation),

c oncentrations o f h undreds o r e ven d ebitage)

w ithin

t here a re a lso

a n

e xcavated

f ound p reserved

t housands a rea.

r emains o f 1 19

( generally

i n

s ome

b ut o ften a re f ound o f

p ieces

I n a ddition, a nimals,

i n

( including

a t m any s ites,

u sually

i n

t he

f orm

o f

b ones

o r

b one

f ragments

a nd t eeth.

T he m eaning o f s uch

o ccurrences a s f ar a s f ormative p rocesses r esponsible f or t hem i s m ajor q uestion a t h and f or a rchaeologists.

t he

A lthough s ites d iffer i n t heir d ensities o f a rtifacts a nd i n t he d egree o f c lustering o f m aterials w ithin t he s ite, n evertheless, a s a g roup t hey s tand o ut a s d istinct c oncentrates o f u nusual m aterials o f d eliberate m anufacture o n t he p eriod

t here

a re

m any

p reserved

g aps

o r

a rchaeological i nterpretation:

l andscape.

l acks

i n

I n

t he

e arly

t he d ata a vailable f or

t here i s l ittle g ood,

d efinitive e vidence o f d wellings o r s tructures,

o r

a t

l east,

f or c ontrolled u se o f

f ire o r c ooking ( at l east p rior t o o ne m illion y ears a go), o f t he u se o f n on-stone m aterials a s t ools, o f t he e xploitation o f p lants f or f ood o r o ther u ses, e tc. a rchaelogical r ecord.

w ithin t he f irst m illion y ears o f t he T hese s tone a rtifact c oncentrations a re t he

b asic s ource o f e vidence,

t hen,

f or h uman

b ehavior

p atterns

d uring

s ome m ajor p hases o f o ur e volutionary d evelopment ( i.e., t he r apid i ncrease i n b rain s ize i n o ur g enus a nd t he s pread o ut o f A frica i nto e ntirely n ew e nvironmental a nd g eographic r egimes). I t i s e xtremely i mportant, t his

a rchaeological

t hen,

e vidence

c an

t hat w e a ccurately a ssess t ell

u s

a bout

e volving

w hat h uman

b ehavior, b oth i n t erms o f d eriving i nterpretations t hat a re w ell-substantiated a nd m ore f inely d etailed, a nd i n t erms o f a voiding p remature

a cceptance

o f

h ypotheses

t hat a re n ot w ell d ocumented b y

t he e vidence. A n i mportant e lement i n c arrying o ut'such a n a nalysis i s d etermining h ow a s ite h as b een a ffected b y s edimentary p rocesses i n t he c ourse o f i ts f ormation.

I n t his c hapter

w ill b e e xamining a s et o f s ites i n v iew o f t he e xperimental

f rom t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord r esults t hat h ave b een d escribed a nd

o f

t his

s tudy,

I

d iscussed h ere. T he

f ollowing

a rchaeological

w ill

c onstitute

a

f irst-run

a pplication

d ata o f t he c riteria w hich h ave e merged

t o

i n t his s tudy

a s o f p otential v alue i n d eciphering m ajor f orces a t w ork i n s ite f ormation. I w ill b e c oncentrating p rimarily o n t hose s ites w hich h ave a lready b een t hrough a t horough t echnological a nalysis

b y

T oth

( 1982, 1 985b); m any h ave a lso b een t he s ubject o f d etailed g eological/sedimentological a nalysis b y K aufulu ( 1983), a nd f or w hich w e c onsequently h ave

s ome

g ood

l ines

r espective b ehavioral a nd n atural T his

w ill

n ot

o f

e vidence

r egarding

t he

s ite f ormation p rocesses i nvolved.

c onstitute

a

f inal

a nalysis

o f

t he

s ites

i nvestigated h ere. R ather I w ill a ttempt t o s how h ow t he a nalytical p rocedures s uggested h ere m ay b e a pplied t o a rchaeological d ata, a nd w ith w hat i mplications a nd i nsights p rocesses

a t

a rchaeological

w ork.

I t

i s

r espective

r egarding p robable s ite f ormation t hrough

t he

e xamination

s ites f rom t he p erspective o utlined h ere,

i n c onjunction w ith d etailed, t he

h oped

i mportance

s ite-specific g eological s tudies, o f

b ehavioral

a nd

n atural

a ffecting t he c omposition a nd a rrangement o f s ite m aterials b etter r ecognized a nd a ppreciated.

1 20

o f

c arries o ut t hat

f orces

i n

w ill

b e

KOOBI FORA SITES A selection of sites from early Pleistocene deposits at Koobi Fora was chosen for this analysis. These sites, dating from approximately 1.9 to 1 .3 million years ago, represent some of the Along earliest well-documented sites in the archaeological record. with Olduvai Gorge, Koobi Fora has yielded an extensive record of prehistoric behavior patterns from the start of the Pleistocene. These sites have been excavated from stratified sedimentary deposits represention a variety of alluvial depositional environments, including generalized floodplain deposits, channel bank or levee deposits, major drainage channels and smaller channel deposits. The , sedimentary events responsible for the deposits must certainly have in some ways affected the residues originally left behind by human . activities. I shall briefly examine them for evidence they carry as to the site formation processes responsible for them. In the following discussion I will summarize the sites briefly with regard to their overall assemblage composition, some aspects of their technological analysis, and their sedimentary context. In each of these summaries, I will attempt to comment on the evidence these sites possess for the respective input of behavioral and natural processes into their make-up, both in composition and spatial distribution. In carrying out this analysis, I will be drawing upon and referring to other research that has been carried 'out on specific aspects of these sites, particularly: a) Overall analysis of the earlier sites (at the top of the Lower Member) and many of the later (Upper Member) sites excavated from the Koobi Fora Formation (for a summary, see Isaac and Harris, 1978); b) Comprehensive analysis of the (Harris, 1978);

Upper

Member

(Karari)

sites

c) In-depth analysis by a team of investigators of one of the better-preserved floodplain sites from the Upper Member,· that considered evidence concerning site geology, assemblage composition, ipatial distributions, faunal remains, stone tool technology, and possible fluvial disturbance (Bunn et. al., 1980); d) Thorough technological analysis of a set of Koobi Fora sites from diverse times and sedimentary contexts (Toth, 1982, 1985a, 1985b); e) Analysis of faunal remains from a number of Koobi Fora sites, including investigation for traces upon bones· induced by carnivores and by hominids upon the animal remains found at archaeological sites (Bunn, 1982); f) Detailed geological and sedimentological analysis of a ·set of sites from the Upper Member (Kaufulu, 1983).

121

T he K oobi F ora s ite s ample:

S ize d istribution o f d ebitage

A s a s tarting p oint f or t he p roceeding a nalysis a nd d iscussion, i t i s u seful t o v iew t he s ize d istribution o f t he a ssemblages e xcavated f rom e ach o f t hese s ites. ( In t he f ollowing a nalyses, I w ill

b e

T oth's

d ealing

w ith d ebitage c omponents a s d etermined b y N icholas

t echnological f nalysis o f t he a ssemblages

( 1982,

1 985b),

w ith

t he e xception o f F xJj 1 6 f or w hich t he c haracter o f t he a ssemblage c omposition h as b een d erived f rom H arris ( 1978)). I n t he c umulative d istribution o f l ava d ebitage f rom e ach o f t he s ites 7 .2),

( Figures 7 .1

and

t he s ite a ssemblages a re r eadily c ompared t o e ach o ther a nd

t he c urve d erived f rom f laking s ites

a re

n amed a ccording t o

f or t his p art o f A frica a long

e xperiments.

( Here

t he

t o

i ndividual

t he f our-letter S ASES g rid d esignation w ith

t he

n umber

a ssigned

t o

s ites

s equentially a s d iscovered w ithin t hat g rid s quare). I n F igures 7 .1 and 7 .2 i t i s e vident t hat s ome s ites e xhibit a s ize d istribution o f d ebitage t hat m atches f airly w ell t hat o f a p ristine k napping a rea, w hile o thers d iverge t o v arying d egrees f rom t his e xperimental d istribution. A s t he d ebitage s ize d istribution b ecomes l arger, t he c umulative c urve r ises m ore s lowly a nd t hus s hifts

3 ,

t o

t he r ight o n t he g raph.

I n t hese d iagrams,

s ites

F xJj

1 ,

1 0,

a nd 5 0 a pproximate t he e xperimentally-derived d istribution f airly w ell, w hile F xJj 1 8GL, 1 6, a nd 3 d iverge t o v arying d egrees. O f c ourse, s uch s hifts t o t he r ight ( toward l arger d ebitage) c an r esult f rom m assive i mportation o f c ores a nd f lakes w ith l ittle

o n-site

c ore

r eduction.

( a r apidly-rising c urve) f laking

s ite,

a rea o f

f luvial

C onversely,

l arge n umber o s s mall d ebitage

c an i ndicate r edeposition o f d ebris

f rom

a

a s a round a n earby d ownstream o bstacle o r i n a d istal d eposition.

T hus,

i s

i s

n ecessary

t o

c ombine

i nformation d erived f rom s uch a s ize d istribution a nalysis w ith w hat c an b e l earned a bout t he t echnological a nd s edimentological h istory o f

t he

s ite.

I n

t he f ollowing s ite-by-site a nalysis,

I w ill d eal

f irst w ith t he t hree e arlier ( Lower M ember) s ites i n t he s et, t hen w ith U pper M ember s ites i n c hannel c ontexts o r c losely a ssociated w ith c hannels, d eposit,

a nd

f inally w ith a s ite f rom a f ine-grained f loodplain

a lso f rom t he U pper M ember.

L OWER M EMBER S ITES FxJj At p .

2 3)

1 ( "KBS")

t his s ite a n a ssemblage o f 1 24 s tone a rtifacts a long

( waterbuck,

w ith

g azelle,

f ragmentary p orcupine,

b one

f rom

a

( Toth,

1 982:

v ariety o f a nimals

p ig a nd h ippopotamus)

w ere e xcavated.

T he s ite w as c ontained w ithin t he K BS T uff h orizon a t t he u pper p art o f t he K oobi F ora F ormation. T his s ite, a long w ith F xJj 3 r ind 1 0, r epresents o ne o f t he e arliest a rchaeological o ccurrences a t K oobi F ora ( approximately 1 .9 m illion y ears o ld) H arris, b etween c hannel.

1 978). t wo I t

T he a rtifact s catter w as t uffaceous

s ituated

o n

y et f ound ( Isaac a nd

a n

i nterface

b eds f illing a s wale i n a d elta d istributary

r ested u pon a d eposit o f s andy t uff w ithin

a nd w as c overed o ver w ith a f iner-grained

1 22

t uffaceous

t he

s ilt.

c hannel

KOOB I F ORA S ITES : D eb i tage s i ze 1 00 -

8 0—

2 0—

F igure

7 .1.

Koobi

F ora

s ites:

c umulative

s ize

d istribution

o f

d ebitage. G raphed h ere a re t he s ize d istributions o f d ebitage p opulations f rom a s et o f s ites a t K oobi F ora d ating t o b etween 1 .9 a nd 1 .3 million y ears a go ( sizes i n cm i ntervals) . ( Site n umbers a re t hose a ssigned w ithing t he S ASES g rid s ystem; a ll s ites a re i n S ASES s quare F xJj, h ence f ull s ite d esignations a re F xJj 1 , F xJj o n) . T he d ebitage s ize d istributions a re c ompared h ere t o

3 , a nd s o t he c urve

d erived f rom f laking e xperiments d iscussed i n C hapter 3 ( designated h ere a s " EXP"). N ote t hat s ome s ites f ollow f airly c losely t he e xperimentally-derived s ize d istribution, w hile o thers d iverge f rom i t

t o

varying

d egrees

( primarily

s pectrum).

1 23

t owards

t he

l arger

e nd

o f

t he

KOOB I FORA S ITES : D eb i tage s i ze ( grouped ) 1 00 —

80

• • • ••• • M

2 0 -

1

01

F igure

7 .2.

1 -2

Koobi

d ebitage w ithin

F ora

2 -4

s ites:

s ize g roupings

c umulative

u sed

1 24

4 -8

i n t he

8 16

s ize

> 16

d istribution

s ite e xperiments.

o f

As the artifacts and bones were scattered over an area over 10 meters in diameter, this site represents a rather low-density occurrence. The size distribution of the debitage is well in line with that derived from flaking experiments. Despite this, however, there is no established instance of conjoining between flakes, and only one case (E. Kroll, pers. comm) of a fractured (split) flake. Such fractures do occur during flake detachment, but they also can be brought about anytime afterwards through any of a number of natural processes. In addition, there are very few cortical flakes within the assemblage (Toth, 1982, 1985b). The bone at the site was not well-preserved and, in fact, the major identifiable elements are teeth. Nevertheless, at least 14 mammmalian taxa are represented, wide-ranging in both size and major taxonomic groups (Bunn, 1981 :75-76). No marks identified as hominid induced butchery traces have been identified. Bunn suggests (p. 76) that the predominance of teeth may be a result of selective preservation of more durable parts of the skeleton. It would seem that the possibility of the deposit developing as a lag concentrate within the silting-up channel cannot be ignored. Toth (1982) has argued that the small size of the cores and debitage is most probably a consequence of decreased stream competence in this lower region of the stream profile with its That is, primarily small clasts made it this far decreased slope. down the alluvial valley, and thus the stone c1asts immediately available (within a few kilometers) as raw material for stone artifacts was of a rather small size (a few centimeters in maximum dimension). He has argued, in addition, that the paucity of materials at the sites this far down the stream profile (i.e., the Lower Member sites) as well as the relatively low incidence of identifiable sites per se within the region, may also be due in part to the scarcity of the raw material in the vicinity (1982). Thus, raw materials may have been at a premium, forcing or encouraging transport of stone from place to place, as is suggested by the very low proportion of primary, cortical flakes within the all the Koobi Fora assemblage, but particularly at the Lower Member sites. The assemblage contains a good proportion of debitage (Figures 7.1 a nd 7. 2), particularly small debitage, which would indicate that some artifact manufacture had occurred in the site vicinity. Since so little of the material can reconstruct a flaking sequence, however, some alternative ·site formation possibilities must be considered: either considerable transport away from the site (of flakes ·and cores) had occurred, or the site may represent an activity residue that has been disturbed, possibly by stream flow since it does rest within a small channel bed. Considering the small size of the materials here, the possibility exists that this material has been transported downstream from its source area, i.e., the site 'represents the downstream, or.more distal, portion of a redistributed assemblage. Overall, the site evidence here remains rather ambiguous and indeterminate: It could represent a fluvial redistribution of materials downstream from the place of their cultural deposit, or an activity locale where some knapping has occurred which was later heavily scavenged of much of its stone material by the departing hominids or any later occupants or passers-by. The fact that it is

125

s ituated

w ithin

a

c hannel,

e ven

i f

c overed

w ith

f iner-grained

d eposits c haracteristic o f l ow-energy o r w aning f low c onditions, n ecessitates c onsidering t he p ossibility o f f luvial i nfluence i n t he s ite's

h istory.

T he

l ow-energy

c onditions

i ndicated

f rom

t he

s ediments c ould r epresent o nly t he v ery f inal s tages o f a f luvial i nterlude w hich a chieved g reater v elocities t han i ndicated b y t he s ediments. FxJj 3 ( "HAS"

o r " Hippo a nd Artifact S ite")

Another L ower M ember o ccurrence w ithin t he K BS t uff ( and t hus d ated t o a pproximately 1 .9 m illion y ears a go), t he e xcavated p ortion o f t he s ite c onstitutes a d eposit o f 19 s tone a rtifacts a nd 6 f ragments a nd 2 f oot b ones f rom a h ippopotamus, f ragmentary b one f rom a t l east 1 0 o ther a nimals ( Bunn, l arge

p roportion

o f

t races

o ut

o f

u pon t he m odern l and s urface.

( cut-marks)

w ith A

1 982:79).

a s ingle h ippopotamus s keleton a long w ith s ome

s tone a rtifacts w as f ound e roded s cattered

t ooth

a long

t he

s ediments

B unn c ould

e ither o n t he h ippopotamus

h ere,

a nd

f ind n o b utchery

r emains o r

o n

a ny

o f

t he o ther b ones; h owever, b one p reservation w as n ot g ood. A h igh p roportion o f t he b one w as n on-identifiable, a nd 6 3% o f t he i dentifiable m aterial w as m ade u p o f w hole o r f ragmentary t eeth ( p. 7 9). p lus s craps o f s ome o ther s pecies. D ue t o t he s patial c oincidence o f t he s tone a rtifacts a nd t he b one i n t he s ame a rea, t his s ite h as o ften b een i nterpreted a s a h ippo b utchery

s ite

( e.g.

I saac a nd H arris, 1 978: 7 9). L ike F xJj 1 , t his s ite i s a l ow-density o ccurrence o f r ather s mall a rtifacts s ituated w ithin a n a rea n ot m ore t han 1 0 m eters i n d iameter.

S ome o f t he a rtifacts w ere

u ncovered i n p roximity t o t he u nbroken h ippo b ones; m ost o thers w ere r ecovered a f ew m eters a way u pon a s edimentary f eature i nterpreted a s a

c hannel

b ar

1 978 :96-97). f ragments s urvive

t o

o r B unn

b ank

( Isaac

a ttributes

a nd t he

t aphonomic p rocesses

t hat

t han a ny o ther s keletal p art

d estructive d epositional e nvironment" L ike

F xJj

1 ,

c onjoining

a rtifacts

f ragmented

f lakes)

d ebitage,

t he

H arris,

a ssemblage

t here i s o ne

v ery

f ew

8 0;

I saac,

m ade

t eeth

m ore

t eeth

l ikely

t o

" in a r elatively u nfavorable a nd ( p. a t

( reconstructions a nd

1 978:

p redominance o f t eeth a nd

7 9). t his s ite e xhibits a re

c ortical

p rimarily f lakes.

c onvincing h ammerstone a nd o ne

f ew r eal f its

o f

A side f rom t he a rtifact

t hat

i s i ndisputably a c ore ( Toth, 1 982). T he s ize d istribution i s v ery c lose t o t he e xperimentally-derived o ne. H owever, s ince r elatively l ittle

o f

t he

m aterial c onjoins t o r econstruct a f laking s equence,

t here i s n ot d efinitive e vidence t hat a rtifact m anufacture o ccurred a t t hat p lace. I f t he d ebitage i n t he v icinity of t he h ippo b ones h ad

b een p roduced b y t he e xpedient m anufacture o f a rtifacts i n

o rder

t o b utcher a h ippo c arcass, g ood a rtifact r etrieval m ust h ave o ccurred a fterwards, e ffectively r emoving t he l arger, m ore u seful d ebitage.

L ike

t he

s ituation

a t

F xJj

1 ,

e ither s ome e ffort a nd

e nergy w as p ut i nto s tone t ransport a nd, p articularly, e xport f rom t he s ite, o r t hese m aterials m ay h ave b een s ubjected t o f luvial w innowing o r r edeposition.

1 26

Since the artifacts are concentrated mostly within and on the bank of a deltaic channel, there would appear to exist strong possibility of some fluvial involvement in site patterns. In fact, the separation of artifact occurrence into two locations, the elevated channel bar or bank and the deposit in a low point or pool within the channel itself, but with few in the intervening area, could well indicate fluvial erosion and even redeposition of the artifact assemblage: the lower ones could be a lag concentrate within the channel scour that became buried and escaped significant erosion afterwards, and the more elevated ones could have been culturally or fluvially deposited upon a bar structure where they were exposed for some time before burial and hence were heavily weathered. The intervening area with few artifactual or faunal remains may have been fluvially eroded and stripped of any such materials. Artifacts surrounding a large, obstructing particle, such as a hippo carcass or even carcass parts, must be viewed with some caution: a large obstacle can induce significant deposition of materials in its vicinity, especially of larger bed-load materials (with relatively higher deposition velocity than the finer sedimentary load). A clear case of this was observed in Experimental Sites 26 and 27, where large-scale deposition of a small portion of these two sites occurred several meters downstream from their original locations surrounding an overlying tree trunk. Great quantities of small debitage (though only a small proportion of what had originally been at the sites) were deposited about this tree. At FxJj 3, then, it would again seem indeterminate whether the assemblage materials (stone and bone) are at the place of their manufacture and possibly also their use, which would be more supportive of a directly activity-related "association" between the materials, or whether the site has been fluvially disturbed or even redeposited, throwing into question (though not refuting) the possibility of a functional association between the materials. The presence of parts of such a diverse array of animals (10 in addition to the hippopotamus) could well be produced naturally by redeposition within the channel of materials fluvially transported from upstream. However, partially due to the relative scarcity of artifactual ·material at the site, the meaning of the site seems somewhat inconclusive. This site is the final .one considered here from the earlier set of Lower Member sites (approximately 1 .9 million years old). Altogether 311 artifacts were excavated at this site, with little evidence of�bone preserved. The artifacts were found scattered throughout a series of tuffaceous sands and sandy tuff, with a development of some concentration in one horizon (Isaac and Harris, 1978). The overall context has been interpreted as the floodplain of a large channel or channel complex leading into a delta. Although the depositional context has been interpreted as overbank deposits from the nearby channel complex, this deposit is not characterized by fine-grained suspension deposits but rather by sandy sediments that must have been transported as bed-load. The coarseness of the sediment would indicate that the location sometimes received more than gentle flow velocities, and it would seem possible that the

127

deposit could represent a bar or bank that was periodically inundated by high water flow from the channel system. The size distribution of the debitage at the site, however, simulates rather we11 the experimental one (Figures 7 • 1- and 7. 2). Like the other Lower Member sites, however, once again there is little evidence of conjoining pieces. And again, the possibility of considerable transport of artifacts by hominids to and from the site, versus disturbance by sedimentary agencies, must be considered. Particularly in view of the sandy character of the surrounding sediments, the possibility that this is a somewhat disturbed, redistributed, assemblage must seriously be entertained. The fact that much of the material is somewhat vertically diffuse could even indicate that the deposit had been built up by a fluvial tapping of a source area of materials nearby that was redistributed in successive floods, or by surges within the same flood event, into a succession of deposits on a nearby bar or topographic high on the bank. UPPER MEMBER SITES ("KARARI' SITES) The assemblage recovered from four excavation trenches at this site consists of 173 stone artifacts and 117 unmodified stream cobbles. The artifacts were nearly all very large cores and flakes: only a few pieces of debitage were between 2-4 cm in maximum dimension, and there were none found smaller than 2 cm long. The , site was excavated from the base of a channel fill, actually in the thalweg (lowest area of channel scour) of a channel (Harris, 1978; Kaufulu, 1983) that may have been more than 50 meters wide. The artifacts were situated within a sand sheet deposited by the shallow, migrating channel (Kaufulu, 1983: 172). The palaeocurrent direction, as identified by the excavator, J. W. K. Harris (1978) and by Kaufulu · (1983) was toward the west, actually just south of west. As excavated, the artifacts were found spread out along this small channel feature, which had been filled in with a fining·-u pward body of sand, but confined within 10 cm of vertical dispersion (Harris, 1978). They were situated within lenses of silty fine sands and also scattered within overlying gravel lenses (Kaufulu, 1983). Both Harris (1978:110-111, 466-467) and Kaufulu (1983:172) have argued for the probable •�derived" nature of the site context, and Harris has also noted a slightly abraded condition of some of the artifacts. From the size distribution of the assemblage, it does appear to be extremely well sorted (Figures 7.1 and 7.2). There is a relatively low number and proportion of flakes within the assemblage, and those present are stro�gly skewed toward large sizes. The low proportion of bone would also be in line with high-energy- sorting, even if such material had been present in the original cultural deposit. The original site location could well have been either within the channel itself (e.g., as a raw material source, as it carried large basalt clasts), along the channel banks, or even on some portion of its floodplain cut by channel migration. The 128

d istance

t hat a rtifacts m ay h ave m oved i s n ot c ertain,

e vidence a t h and,

b ut,

f rom

t he

i t m ay n ot h ave b een t oo f ar.

T here i s n o d ramatically e vident g eological r eason o r c ause f or t his d eposit t o h ave f ormed h ere: t his i s n ot a n atural g ravel b ar c oncentrate s uch a s n ormally r eceives l arge b ed l oad c lasts w hich f low i n f rom upstream a nd t hen m igrate o n f urther d ownstream. H owever, t he p articles t hemselves, a s c lasts o f a berrantly l arge s ize w ithin t he c hannel, w ould m ost c ertainly h ave i nteracted t o i mpede t ransport a nd p erhaps e nhance d eposition o f o ne a nother. T he m ore a braded artifacts m ay h ave s uffered a

m ore

d istant

t he c hannel a nd s o e xposed t he

f low.

T hat

t he

m ay

a rtifacts

i ndicate t hat

m eters h as o ccurred,

o r w hile r esting u nburied w ithin

t o p ounding b y

s maller

r emain

i ncluding n ot o nly c ores b ut a lso s izes,

t his a lteration i n t ransport f rom

u pstream l ocation,

p articles

f airly

d ebitage

i n

a

t ransport o f o nly s ome

w ithin

c lose

s patially,

r ange

o f

l arger

t ens o r h undreds o f

p erhaps m ore i f a rtifactual m aterials

h ad

b een

p articularly d ense w ithin t he v icinity. A n

e xperimental

r esult w ith s ome s imilarity o f e ffect w ould b e

E xperimental S ite 2 1, i n w hich e xtremely h eavy s cour u pon w hat h ad b een l ow-lying c hannel b ank o r b ar, r educed t he o riginal s ite t o a l ag r esidue c onsisting a lmost e ntirely o f c ores a nd l arge f lakes ( although o nly a s mall f raction o f t he o riginal c omponents); s ome o f t hese,

s omewhat

s maller

i n

s ize,

h ad

b een

r edeposited

d ownstream f rom t he s ite o rigin. A t F xJj 1 6, d ifferentiation i n a ssemblage c omposition d irection.

A

t rend

s urface

a nalysis o f t he a rtifact d istribution

w ithin t he m ain e xcavation t rench s ome

d ifferences

i n

t he

s omewhat

t here i s e vident s ome i n t he d ownstream

( Trench

s patial

B ;

F igure

d istribution

o f

7 .3),

r eveals

d ifferent s ize

m aterials ( see F igure 7 .4, a a nd b ): C ores ( predominantly v ery l arge a t t his s ite) a nd v ery l arge f lakes ( 8-16 c m m ax. d imension) w ere l ocated i n g reater d ensities i n m ore u pstream p arts o f t he d eposit ( toward t he l eft s ite)

t han

i n t hese

w as

f igures,

s maller

o r o n

d ebitage,

t he

e astern

s ide

o f

t he

w hich s hows d ensity p eaks i n t he

d ownstream d irection ( i.e., t oward t he r ight, o r t o t he w est). T his d ifference i n a ssemblage d istribution i s a lso e vident i n a c omparison o f t he s ize/type d istribution i n t he u pstream p ortion o f t he s ite v s. t hat i n t he m ore d ownstream h alf ( Figure 7 .5). T his

p attern

o f

s patial

d istribution

b y

s ize

m ay i ndicate

l ocalized s orting a nd r edistribution o f t hese m aterials a fter t hey w ere i ncorporated w ithin t heir p resent d eposit. A ll t he e vidence a t t his s ite,

t hen,

d istribution, c ontext,

f rom o verall a ssemblage c omposition,

p referred o rientations,

i nternal

s patial

d ebitage

s ize

g eneral g eological s edimentary

d istributions,

a nd

a rtifact

a brasion,

b espeak t he s trong r ole t hat f luvial f orces h ave h ad u pon t he o riginal d eposit o r d eposits o f c ultural m aterials. B ehaviors o ther t han

a rtifact

m anufacture,

p erhaps

i n

s ome

s ort

o f

q uarrying

o peration a t a r aw m aterial s ource w ithin a c hannel s ystem, a re n ot w ell-documented h ere. S ince t he s ite i s i n s uch a d isturbed c ontext, e ven

t he

q uestion

o f

a rtifact

t ransport

w ell-resolved h ere.

1 29

b y

h ominids

i s

n ot

Z

+

1 » . 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3

e

0 * •

Ä

0 I V q9D o

-u _ 0

21

D

01 1 7— 0 42 0 8 c • " 5 0 O

e x c a v t i o n

0

din 00

%

ce 3• . .c ii i

0 0

0

• . • •d t • q › i 20 c o 0a t 0

0

o 0 Del l '

0b

4 •

4

.

0

0

8

00,

° 6, o 0

I'

0 o &

. -C ".

• 0

•

0

me . 0

0

0

0 0

0o

0 4 ,

0 0

•

4 )

c i r

•« e 0 0 0c o 8 4

c o

0,

0e

I 0

c p

0

0

0

• 0

S o

0

A r t i f a c t

-

o

0

0

0 ii , < 0 •

e a c c f6 0

A N

. 0

1 31

7 . 4 b . T r e n d d e n s i t e s o f

0

1 32

0 • H 4 ) • H ( C • H 0 a C I D

0 0 1-

e 0

c o

C )

0 4i • 1 C . ) z • ) C : ) O 4 4

A

c o

C . )

e t

4 1 • . t m 44-H)

, ü , z u

e r c 4 / 1 4

D o w n s t r e a m

4 1

I -

4 0 2 i

4 )

c n , . 0

c a

b i D

^

D e b i t a g e s i z e

" c c U •

V

1

C o )

O c a . 4 i4 )4 ) • H

c n C L )

$ . 4

C . )

4 )

C U 3 1 4 _ 4 ( 1 )

C l . )

0 r • G O . 4 jI

) 4 4 • H " c 7

4 -1 0

1 4 4

( x i

C D

42 C . )

I : ,

• H C L )

e c uE4 c a 4 J 0 WO c . ) 4 -1

c n 0

a . )

• r = c 1

• H C I )

o r 4

4 . )

4 )

• r i

W

0

E1 5 "a r e• 4 ) C U

C I )

4 )

4 )

D e b i t a g e s i z e

0 0

V

c n

T

NO 11 2 i0d0Nd

A R T I F A C T

A S E M B L A G E

1

30V19 1 0 4 13SSW

4 1 C l i

g

0 c j

• H

•• 4 -) 4 . i

40 / 1

c t • H

W $ ) 0 E

c r )

• H

c t 0 , C 9- 1 U X W • H X W " C : 1 •• H L f ) 0 : 3

c z i n . )

•e 4 . ) zc n • H

^

E

'H

1 33

4 ) ( 1 . r t 1 4 -) 'H C U

=

4 4 C . )

4 )

4 -) -H

G . )

C 1 3 Q . )

C 0 • -• 4 ) " c 1

E c n

This site is a fairly high density occurrence (1356 s tone artifacts and 74 unmodified cobbles and small boulders) excavated from a channel context. It has been interpreted by H.arris as a residue of activities that had been carried out a channel bar leaving these artifacts on the surface of the bar and within shallow runnels cut into it (Harris, 1978: p. 126). Harris has strongly considered the possibility that this represents a "factory site", or location of raw material procurement and intensive rtifact manufacture, with only minimal subsequent disturbance or rearrangement of materials, as he detected no distinct preferred orientation of dip to the artifacts and few artifacts with signs of abrasion (1978:460-461). Kaufulu has interpreted the sediments as sheet sands deposited by shallow migrating channels, with the artifacts being contained in a horizon of gravelly sandstone that shows very high-energy flow in its large-scale trough and planar cross-stratification (1983: 209-210). Kaufulu has concluded that the artifact-bearing deposit has been concentrated by currents as bars or lags (p. 297). In light of the geological evidence and the archaeological evidence here, it is clear that there has been a strong fluvial influence upon the site. Since the site rests within a natural channel lag, but still contains a good deal of flaking debitage, the activities indicated have probably occurred within the general site vicinity, either within the channel itself or on part of the bank or floodplain upstream. Their location upon the gravel bar could indicate either that they had been abandoned there originally and were less heavily scoured and dispersed from there, since they were elevated above the channel scour and protected from erosion by the large artifactual and natural particles in this deposit. Technologically the site has a very wide range of materials, including some flaking debitage and small scrapers among its core (Toth, 1982). forms Redeposition of such a varied range of materials, with good yet not extreme sorting of the artifactual particles would indicate that the source area was not extremely far away. Large-scale transportation of the artifacts within the fluvial ·system would be expected to be evident either in abrasion or rolling, and particularly in a more confined size range of materials as a r�sult of progressive downstream sorting. I would not rule out, however, relocation of these materials some tens or meters or even more from their original cultural deposit. Among the experimental sites, a possible analog for the depositional circumstances that might have existed here would be Experimental Site 24, in which a large proport1on of the cores and some of the debitage originally left in a channel scour were redeposited together within a gravel bar· over twenty meters downstream. Like FxJj 16, the behavioral formation processes responsible for this site are not well delineated, although the core "reduction-transport-reduction" chain does seem to be indicated here. This site is not as heavily sorted as FxJj 16, however, and. still retains some flaking debris as well as some small scrapers among its cores, and the activities that have produced this deposit have probably occurred within the general site vicinity. 134

This site contains a very unusual assemblage, all in basalt, dominated by extremely large cores with very few, mostly large-size, flakes present. No conglomeratic source for the cores is evident within the immediate vicinity of the site; however, a palaeochannel carrying clasts of similarly large size has recently been discovered somewhat more than a kilometer away (Frank Brown, pers. comm.). Since much of the region has since been heavily incised, it is not certain whether this would indicate hominid transport of these very large and heavy clasts over some distance, or whether the source conglomerates have merely been eroded away. In any case, no natural clasts larger than a small pebble were found in the sedimentary deposit in which the site was located. The artifacts were excavated from sediments interpreted as the bottom scour of a tributary channel which fed into a larger channel just to the north of the site (Kaufulu, 1983:212-216). Upon excavating this site, positive evidence was observed of the strong sedimentary disturbance of the site. Artifacts (primarily large boulder cores) were found across a gently sloping surface containing intennittent, thin lenses of coarse sand and fine gravel, particularly in the vicinity of the cores. The artifacts were encased in a very fine-grained sandstone (p. 216). (Many artifacts were encased in a web of concretions that may represent calcified plant root casts). Artifacts were predominantly rather spherical or discoidal rather than elongate (blade or roller-shaped), so long-axis orientation was discernible in only a few instances. However, there was distinct clustering of artifacts at the site, in that these very large cores tended to occur in groups of two, three, or more, often nearly touching one another. Within these clusters, cores were sunk slightly within scour pockets and tended to show inclination toward one another, forming loosely packed clusters. There was very little small size debitage, and what there was occurred immediately around or even underneath the large cores, indicating that these larger clasts provided them a shield from the erosive fluvial forces at work, and probably even set off flow t�rbulence that helped draw these artifacts into their protective shadow. Often small natural pebbles were also located around or under the cores, while they were extremely rare within the encasing sandstone as a whole. The closest experimental analog that might be compared to the sedimentary circumstances at this site might be Experimental Site 21, as suggested previously also for some of the features at FxJj 16. The scour marks evident at site 33, as well as· the dramatic sorting, indicate a very strong fluvial interlude in the site's history. The debitage present could indica�e that some flaking might have occurred at the site, but on the other hand materials could have been imported ready-made. In a site in such a disturbed context, there is .no way of distinguishing between these two modes of site formation. In any case, we are only seeing those flakes that escaped winnowing and fluvial transport away from the site.

135

The large core size at this site and at FxJj 16 is anomalous within the Koobi Fora sites and deserves some special comment: Were hominids transporting such large cores over any great distance? The fact that all large clasts at the site are definitely artifactual indicates at least some transport of these materials. from their natural source, if only to a nearby channel bank or floodplain. After this shuttle of material, some flaking may have ensued at the relocation spot. The cultural deposit may have been exposed for some period, particularly in upstream region of the fluvial system in which the site was located (and which would probably be relatively Sheetwash and surface drainage could have infrequently inundated). acted on the site for some time before it was finally buried (as also argued by Kaufulu, 1983). The behaviors responsible for the site may have occured on the bed of the channel (i.e., either cores were imported and dropped there, or flaking/core-forming activities occurred there), or the channel may very well have cut back and through a floodplain deposit which contained the artifacts, with the channel then acquiring the large items as a bedload lag. This is an early Acheulean archaeological occurrence at Koobi Fora, dominated by large, thick unifacial picks among the core and tool forms. It was discovered at the base of a poorly-sorted sandstone deposit, massively bedded to crudely cross-stratified (Kaufulu, 1983: 226). This has been interpreted as part of a widespread sedimentary body deposited by a shifting shallow channel or set of channels (pp. 230-231 ), or it may represent colluvial sheet flow scour and fill conditions. Some of the artifacts were found resting on the lower unit of sandy claystone, covered over with sands, while others were completely encased within the overlying sand unit. Kaufulu found that the direction of the palaeocurrent could not be determined from the massive beds, but that slope indicated a westward flow direction (p. 236). He also noted obstacle scour-marks, or semi-circular depressions around artifacts, as well as a SE-NW preferred orientation among the artifacts, both of which would indicate fluvial washing of the site, either as an in-situ reworking of the site or lower-energy modification after high-energy transport had occurred°""Tp. 236). In the rose diagrams I have compiled (Figure 7.6) of artifact orientations at this site, there are evident strong mutually perpendicular orientations, with an interesting differentiation between that of cores and larger debitage on the one hand (at least 8 cm long) and that of smaller debitage (less than 8 cm long). The smaller artifacts are predominatly oriented NW-SE; many of the cores and large flakes likewise orient in this direction but also exhibit a secondarily strong orientation perpendicular to this. In view of the flume and experimental site evidence discussed earlier, such a pattern would indicate a �low vector in a northwest or southeast direction, probably to the northwest in view of the slope of the surface. That is, smaller particles would have been forced into a more parallel-to-flow orientation (northwest), while more larger ones would have maintained transverse orientations although some had shifted into the parallel condition. The fact that a strong parallel-to-flow state was induced in "smaller particles" of such

136

F xJ j 6 3 : S TONE ART IFACT OR IENTAT IONS

43

* ALL

‘

n =55

2 8 cm

( ) 0 0 4 4• ▪

C 1• Z C , u ) O . i 2 N . 4 C 2 ) ) 1 4 1 > r 1 0 G . ) O 0 • 4 4 3 C O

> 4 > 4 a ) ( 1 )

A

a )

C

c U , +

( 1 0

.•. f

n i

rH

c i )

a ), c e •p 0 ( ; ) ▪ 1 4 1 1 a ) C O

4 1

• 0

C ) c ri a ) 4 1

>

• , . ,

.0

•

▪ E4

. "4 e l ) . 1 7 ‚ 4 )

0

4 . ) ••. 1

0

E • i 0 r • 1

c n . 4 4 • H a ) Z , z •r •1 " 0 • C O ▪a ) 0 > C•-• • , 1 O a ) C c a W 4j C O

a 4 )1 , > ,

4 ) C O

C : ) . C U ' 1 4 0

44 O

U $ • 1

o F r o m t h e i rc

C ,

•• 1

1

b l i C O •H

G . )

'1 4 • C O 0

0

1 -4 ,4

4 4

4 -

11

• 2 a l

M

U )

1 :

• 4 J •O

4 1 •H U )

. 1 i

O

) 1

C O

4 4 ) 0

' .

C

I — I

W •

. I s

• 1 1

, • •• 0 •• i

" I g

> 4 1 )

C I) •• 1 f a . 4 . )

W , 1

4 . ) •0 • 4

C l )

• 4 •

1 0

•• 1

1 4

E i

. 4 . 1 • r 1

2

C D j C ' d " C, > t i 4 r $ 4 • e O $ 4 4 ) . -t 4-, 0

•• •, 1 CD

L r l .• .,

4 , > 4

4

0 „, " "

. _ ,

4 1

C

.0

CO

•

N.

4 )

4 . ) C

, . / .

W

__ •1 •v i

4 -1

"I

$ . d 0

•Q • E ) a o

• o

4 1 . 4 :1

J . . 4

4 i 0 5 0 • • , , • , I • • 1 ' ) 4 4 . ! E . 1 . )• , + 0. 1 4 C O u C O m a )

• • 4

• rf . C ) ,

4 . )

c y j e r l c i • ( 1 : a . —4 c z 7 4 ) C I ) X . H

t

C

c n 0

« l j f e

4 i c o

C

c o ,Z 4

4 1

. •

Z

• H

.-4 C 1 4 c o 0

1$ a . 4 c e

C l )

U ) , . . , ' I

W

4

( )

a ) ( 1 )

p attern w ould i ndicate t hat f low v elocities p roducing t hese w ere n ot A

p atterns

t hat g reat. t rend

s urface

a nalysis

o f

t he

s ite d istribution p atterns

( again u sing a g rid-generalization m ethod, s howing c ontour i ntervals f or d ensity w ithin f our a djacent m eter s quares), r eveals n o p rominent s patial a ,

t rends i ndicative o f d ownstream r edistribution

b a nd c ).

( Of c ourse,

t he p ath o f a p rojected

( Figure 7 .11,

r edistribution,

v iew o f g eological e vidence a nd a rtifact o rientation p atterns, u nfortunately,

b e

a cross

t he s hort a xis o f t he s ite

i s n ot m uch s pace i n w hich t o d iscern N evertheless, t here i s g enerally

( E-W),

a ny d ownstream a v ery g reat

i n

w ould,

s o

t here

p atterning). s ymmetry o f

d istribution p atterns a mong t he d iverse a ssemblage c omponents ( cores a nd d ifferent d ebitage s ize c lasses). S ome o f t he s catters b etween c onjoining p ieces a nd, p articularly, r efitting f ragments, m ight i ndicate s ome r edistribution o f s ome o f t hese v ery s mall f ragments

i n

l ine w ith t he f low d irection h ypothesized h ere ( i.e., s lightly n orth o f w est) ( Figure 7 .12). I nterestingly, t he s outhern s ector o f t he s ite d oes n ot

r eveal

t his p attern,

a nd a s i t i s e levated b y s ome t ens

o f c entimeters a bove t he c entral s ite a reas, t his m ay i ndicate t hat t his s ector e ndured l ess i nundation a nd e rosion, h owever g entle, t han t he l ower a reas i n t he c entral a nd n orthern p ortions o f t he s ite. v iew o f t he t otal s et o f e vidence p resented h ere,

t hen,

I n

t his s ite h as

p robably s uffered s ome r earrangement o r e ven m inor l osses o f m aterial d ue t o f luvial f orces, b ut o f i nsufficient m agnitude t o d estroy s ome o f t he b ehaviorally-induced p atterns w ithin t he s ite m aterials. S ite F ormation P rocesses a t F xJj r emain

1 ,

t he K oobi F ora S ites:

A S ummary

3 , and 1 0, t he t hree L ower M ember s ites c onsidered h ere,

s omewhat

a mbiguous

a s

t o t he p recise m eanings o f t heir s ite

p atterns, a nd m ay c ontinue t o r emain s o. D espite t heir f airly h igh p roportions o f s mall d ebitage, t hey e xhibit r elatively f ew c onjoins, a nd

t hey a re i n s edimentary c ontexts w ithin c hannels o r i n s andy b eds

i n p roximity t o c hannels. A lthough t he s ediments d eposited u pon t hem a re f airly f ine ( sands a nd s ilts), t here i s n ot a g reat d eal o f c oarse

s ediment

t hus t he

l oad

l oad

i n t his

c alibre

r egion o f t he p alaeostream p rofile,

c ould

e asily

u nderestimate

t he

a nd

t ransport

e nergies a t t he s ite. F urthermore, t hey c ontain a t echnological m ix o f m aterials: F ew c ores, f ew f lakes t hat c onjoin t o t he c ores ( except

f or o ne p ossible i nstance a t F xJj 3 ,

w hich i s n ot a c lear-cut

f lake d etachment b ut m ay r epresent a n i ncipient b roke a way f rom t he c ore ( Toth, p ers. c omm.),

f racture t hat l ater f ew t echnological

c onjoins a mong f lakes ( rather, p rimarily r econstructed f lakes), f lakes t hat d o n ot " match" t he c ores p resent ( i.e., t here a re f ewer f lakes

t han n ecessary t o p roduce

t he c ores,

a nd

t he f lake

p resent d o n ot c orrespond t o t hose t hat w ould h ave r eduction o f t he c ores) ( Toth, 1 982). T oth

h as

d iscussed

r egarding a rtifact s ome

t hese

p atterns

t ransport o f m aterials

c ore r eduction h as o ccurred

a nd t o a nd

t heir f rom

r esulted

t he h igh p roportion a nd s ize d istribution o f d ebitage h ere.

1 47

t ypes f rom

i mplications t he s ite.

i n t he v icinity s eems a pparent

t wo m ajor a lternative i nterpretations p resent

a nd f ar

t hemselves

A t

t hen:

T hat f rom l east

S u r f a c e A n a l y s i

0

L L

5m e t r s

E x c a v a t i o n

. c

0

Z

1 48

o f c o r e s .

T r e n d s u r f a c e

a r t i f a c t s

•

1 49

T r e n d s u r f a c e a n l y s i s o f a r t i f a c t s a t

1.•

9 4 .

1 50

t n

W

a )

w o . - 4 . )

4 l

c d I I 4 4

u

4. j

c o

c n

-0

c u

4 ) C I ) •, ) c n

>

W 4

• c s c i )

"1 0 1 4 J c d W " C l

c u

• H

0

0 •i n

0

W

. , i

a j

t d : 1

' " C i • r 1 > 1 . 4 1 1

0

c d

c n

•r -1 W , • C c d c ) C . ) . L . 4

t i p

0

•, I " Ci

a )

C U 0 l i • , 4

C

• , 1 , C

W

$ 4 4 . )

( 1 )

w c u c u >

„ a

1

. i . )

c n

3

c d

Q . 1. 1

c rj

4 U

‘)

,c

4 . ) 4 1

0

0

1 + 4

9 2 1

› . . , . i . ) r 4 c i

° U

c n

4

2

"d a

c e c o

c u . w c )

C O

0

c —

O

G )

4 3

4 )

o w Q )

C 0

W

0

( 1 ) , • C

C 1 ) $ 1

c u

C U

0

C O •I Q ) ,1 4 . ) P . c t r . 1

( t i

5

4 . )

• •

4 . )

c e

C

. 4 2

4 j 1

4 q . )

0

L r l

4 . ) C •, 1 c d •H S 4 ? 1 b p ‘ i 0 4 . 4

C •1 . — ( 1

0

4 a 4 1

4

1 4

1 . 4 , 4

5 u )

. r . 1 C n

, 1

C I

c u

w

c o

C

C O

gl•

u

c n c i

4 1 5 o $ . 4 ( I ) c o c l ) > c . n a c o C w 9-4 .0

4 1

, a ) o _

( 1 )

( 1 )

. 0

a ) 7 : i . , . , 4. )

4 . ) . , I •, 1

3

c u o ) 4 o a ( a • r )

a • H • H

t o

N 1

c o u

4 . )

G )

. • c o c d

o )

.2

Q ) x

4 )

c d 0

c n

X 4 4

• H

c e •, ) 4 j

" . .

c u

„ a

0 ) . +

•, i , = 4 1

a ) >

, )

t o

4 4

0 )*4

Ucl. w

.

a

c u

-1 c i ) 4 -3 ) . 4 a y Q ) m 0

0 u

r . . .

C U

U

4 .4

0 i . I c r ) J . ) } . 4

( 1

0 A "I

M

C

c r ) , M C d

? * .

4 1 4 e ( : ) 0 0 •, 4 ‘ I

C . ) c d 4 4 X s • •'

>

1: 1

e 4 ( . 1 . 4

d . ) 4 j

u a

1

c d

› ,

• r I , I 4 ) C O C e Z > 4 c d c . )

a 0

0

$ . 4 4 4

C

0 0.1

c a

• › , 4 . ) c u c n

0 . )

p , >

c d ( Z . a ) c n

. . 1 . ) ' . ) U ) C ) C a ) C C 3 1 ) .H C r1 1 4 . ) .

V )

a . )

u. ,

, . --,

0 7 : 1

C U „ a 4 )

r e 1 : 3 C

e l " 0 % $ -1 0 C O ) 4

P " . c t s a ) i z 4 o • c ) , . i . J

4 • r j c u 04 _ J a ) > I b p a ))o0 4 ) 1 Qc o . r , > , 1 c a $ _ , , c V) c d •1 r . t , . . . . , a . 5 4 i u ) r • x 2 a ). 4

1 51

4 J

a )

T hese

s ites

c ould

h ave

b een

s ignificantly

s cavenged

o f

m aterials, c ores a nd l arger f lakes a like, b y o ne o r m ore s ets o f s ite o ccupants, a nd t his c ould s everely h inder c onjoining a nd h eighten t he t echnological i ncoherency o f t he s ite d espite o n-site k napping a ctivities. b ) o r,

T he o ccurrences

m ore

l ikely,

o riginal l ocation a nd m ore

l ikely

r epresent m aterials e ither w innowed i n

f luvially

t han

t ransported

r edeposited. a n

s ome

A d ownstream r edeposit

u pstream

l ag

s ince

p lace

d istance f rom t heir

t he

w ould

s ites

a re

s mall

d ebitage-dominated a nd t here a re v ery h igh p roportions o f f lake V I w ithin t he f lake p opulation ( Toth, 1 982). A nother

p ossible

e xplanation

t hat

i mportation o f a ll o f t he m aterials p resent T his w ould p robably p resuppose t he u se d eliberate t ransport o f t he m aterials, t hat u seful w ithout h afting, t he o ther t wo. U nfortunately, s ites,

a nd

c lear.

A t F xJj 3 ,

e merge

t ype

i s

t he

f rom a nother l ocation. o f c ontainers f or t he

m uch o f

w hich

w ould

n ot

b e

a nd i s c onsidered m uch l ess l ikely t han

t he a ssemblage s ample i s

q uite

s mall

a t

t hese

t he m ore l ikely c hoice b etween t hese a lternatives i s n ot

i ts p roximity: s mall

m ight

b e

a h ippo c arcass c ould h ave i nitiated d eposition i n

s imilar c oncentrations

d ebitage

w ashed

d own

f rom

o f

a rtifacts,

d ominated

a rtifact d eposits u pstream,

b y w ere

w itnessed i n E xperimental S ites 26 /27 a round a l ow-lying i ree t runk o ver t he c hannel w hich h ad o bstructed s tream f low. I n a ny c ase, t he a rchaeological d eposits e xcavated

f rom t hese s ites w ould p robably n ot

b e f ar f rom t heir s ource o f o rigin, a s p rogressive s orting w ould t o s eparate s uch a berrant p articles ( and w ith s uch a w ide r ange),

t end s ize

p articularly c ontained w ithin a s edimentary m atrix o f a m uch

s maller s ize.

1 .3

A mong t he U pper M ember s ites ( ranging f rom a pproximately 1 .5 t o m illion y ears o ld) F xJj 1 6, 1 8GL, 3 3, a nd 6 3 g ive s trong b ut

v ariable i ndication o f s ome a lteration a nd m odification b y s edimentary p rocesses. F xJj 1 8GL a ppears s edimentologically t o b e a c hannel

l ag d eposit,

b ut o ne i n w hich

t he a rtifactual m aterials

h ave

o nly b een m oderately s orted, a s i t s till r etains a v ariety o f l arge a nd s mall c ores/core t ools a s w ell a s s ome d ebitage, i ncluding s ome s maller

w aste

f lakes.

S ites

a pparently m ore h eavily w innowed a nd

h ighly s orted a re F xJj 1 6 s eems t o b e a r esidual d eposit o f a rtifactual m aterials w ithin a c hannel l ag a nd i s v ery h eavily s orted.

S imilarly,

d eplete

o f

c ores.

T here i s

w innowed

F xJj 3 3 is e xtremely w ell s orted,

d ebitage

s ites

e xcept

s ome t hat

t hat

i ndication t he

f ound a t

o riginal

e ach

a t

F xJj

1 6

s ome

o f

t hese

d ownstream,

t he c ores

s ize-dependent

F xJj

6 3

f lakes

a s

( the

A cheulean

s ite)

e xhibits

A lthough m ost o f t he m aterials,

w ell,

m ay

h ave

c umulative d istribution c urve

b een

i mported

( Figures

1 52

7 .1

a t

t rend

d istribution i s e vident t hat m ay b e d ue t o f luvial w ithout l arge-scale t ransport a nd r edeposition.

d istribution.

b e

n early

t he l arge

t wo

s ite s ource m ay n ot

s ince t his d ebitage h as b een c aught u p a bout a nd

i n f act

u nder o r a round

h eavily f ar a way, F xJj

3 3,

i n a rtifact

r edistribution

a m ore m oderate s ize c ore

t o a nd

t ools a nd

t he 7 .2)

l arger

l ocation, i s

s hows

t he a

s ignificant s hift o n-site

a rtifact

t oward t he s maller e nd, m anufacture

h as

s ufficient t o i ndicate s ome

o ccurred.

S ome s uccess i n v ery

c asual c onjoining s tudies a t t he s ite t ends t o c orroborate t his. H owever, t he s ite s hows s ome d epletion o f t he v ery s mall d ebitage a s w ell a s p referential r eworking o f t he s ite.

o rientation

p atterns

A mong t he s et o f s ites c onsidered h ere,

t hat

i ndicate

F xJj 5 0,

f luvial

s ituated w ithin

f ine-grained f loodplain d eposits, a ppears t o p resent t he c omplete and l east-modified b ehavioral r ecord. T he d ebitage d istribution,

c onjoining

e vidence,

f lake s catter p atterns,

o verall s patial p attern o f m aterials a t t he s ite a re w ith

a

m inimal

a mount o f d isturbance a nd

a ll

m ost s ize

a nd

t he

c onsistent

s ite r eworking b y n atural

p rocesses a fter t heir c ultural d eposition, i ndicating t hat t he m aximum e nergy o f t he f luvial f orces t hat a ffected t he s ite w ere n ot t hat g reat. A c onsistent f eature a t a ll

t he

s ites

i s

t he

p redominace

o f

l ater s tages o f c ore r eduction a s i s e vident i n t he h igh i ncidence o f n on-cortical f lakes ( Toth, 1 982: p . 7 7). E ven a t F xJj 5 0, w hich T oth f ound c ontains t he h ighest i ncidence a mong a ny o f t hese s ites o f t he e arlier s tages o f f laking,

t here i s v ery

s trong

e vidence

a mong

r econstructed c ores o f t he i mportation t o t he e xcavated s ite l ocation o f c ores t hat a re p re-worked. A dditionally, t here i s e xport o f c ores t hat

h ave

b een

r educed

a t

t he s ite

( again,

a t

l east a way f rom t he

s ite l ocation a s r etrieved i n e xcavation a nd s urface s urvey). T hese e xported m aterials c ould t hen h ave c ontributed p re-worked c ores t o a rtifact d eposits a t o ther l ocations o n t he l andscape. E ven a t r eworked

t hose s ites w hich

b y

f luvial

a ppear

f orces,

t o

t here

h ave

i s

b een

s ignificantly

p redominance

o f

f lakes

r epresenting l ater s tages o f f laking, w hich c ould n ot a lways e xplained a s d ue t o f luvial r edistribution a nd s eparation

b e o f

a ssemblage c omponents:

o f

t here

i s

a n

e xtremely

h igh

i ncidence

c ompletely n on-cortical f lakes a t t he c hannel l ag s ites, w hich s hould b e s everely d epleted w ithin a w innowed, r esidual d eposit ( due t o t heir s maller m ean s ize a mong 2 18).

H owever,

r edeposition,

e .g.

d eposits F xJj

t he

w hich

1 ,

f lake

t ypes)

c ould

3 , a nd 1 0, c ould

f luvially e nriched w ith s maller,

( Toth,

r epresent

1 982:

d istal

c onceivably

p .

a reas o f h ave

b een

n on-cortical f lakes.

C ONCLUSION K oobi F ora S ites S ome

o f

t he

K oobi

F ora

s ites,

t hen,

s how d efinite s igns o f

h aving b een r ather h eavily d isturbed, a nd c ontain r educed, t hough n ot n egligible, a mounts o f b ehavioral S ome o ther o ccurrences w ith l ow a rtifact d ensities,

n ecessarily i nformation.

e xhibiting

p oor

c onjoining b ut m uch s mall d ebitage, a nd s ituated i n f airly f ine-grained s ediments w ithin c hannel c ontexts, p resent a mbiguous e vidence

a s

t o

t heir

f ormative

h istory:

t he

b ehavioral a nd n atural f orces i s m ore d ifficult s ites

y ield

i nferences

t he

r ichest

s ource

f rom t he a rchaeological

b een c onsidered h ere,

b ut

t o

r elative i nput o f d ecipher.

O ther

o f e vidence f or m aking b ehavioral r ecord.

O nly

o ne

o f

t hese

t his g roup w ould a lso p robably i nclude

1 53

h as

been considered here, but this group would also probably include another complex of sites at FxJj 20, which have yielded similar sorts of material in a fine-grained floodplain environment. Other potential site applications Since large proportions of Palaeolithic sites, in fact, the vast majority of Lower Palaeolithic sites, are contained within water-lain sediments, there is enormous potential for their materials to have been affected by sedimentary agencies, which may severely affect both assemblage composition and the spatial distribution of materials, two site aspects that are commonly regarded as worthwhile to study, describe, compare and interpret. Early sites not only within but also outside of Africa, for instance in Pleistocene channel deposits in England, the rest of Europe, and Asia, are, of course, commonly recognized as being in disturbed or derived sedimentary contexts. However, the extent and nature of the disturbance may have a major effect on the nature of the assemblage itself, for instance, on whether it is dominated by large or small tools, whether it still retains flaking debitage, whether rearrangement of materials has been relatively minor or large-scale, whether the site constitutes considerable mixing of diverse deposits or is a more localized lag deposit of a discrete residue, etc. Such would be viable and valuable questions to ask during excavation or analysis of such sites, and could perhaps prevent casting typological or "cultural" designations upon features that could be the result of sedimentary processes as well as behavioral ones. Throughout this study, major changes have been noted during the process of sedimentation in both the composition and the spatial distribution of site materials. It is important to view excavated archaeological materials and their distribution patterns with tlls in mind, and comparatively weigh possible input of natural and behavioral processes into the products at hand. With sedimentary disturbance in mind, site patterns can be examined for intrasite _patterns of fluvial redistribution. Also the rossi�ility of the excavation truncating a lin1ited portion of such a redistributi6n can be seriously considered, e.g. a residual lag at the source of the site, reposition around some obstacle, or a distal deposit produced during waning flow. In order to carry out precise comparisons with the experimental results outlined here, it is, of course, desirable to have complete provenfence information (horizontal and vertical) for site materials, · as well as data on artifact orientation, dip, microsedimentary context, etc. In addition, very thorough recovery procedµres are demanded, with reasonably fine mesh screening of all excavated sediment and, hopefully, wet-sieving of at least sample squares within the site (including �ome high artifact density areas). With control over such factors, a high resolution examination of the nature of the assemblage, of intrasite spatial patterns, and of artifact disposition is possible.

154

E ven

w ithout

d istribution

s uch

p atterns,

p recise

h owever,

i nformation

r egarding

s ite

s ome i nteresting p atterns c an e merge

f rom p reviously e xcavated o ccurrences a nd t heir a nalyses. O ne i ntriguing c ase i n p oint i s a s patial a nalysis t hat h as b een c arried o ut o f s ome L ower P leistocene s ites a t O lduvai G orge ( Ohel, 1 977). I n t his a nalysis, O hel d iscerned t wo s eparate s orts o f d istributions, a t s eparate s ites o r e ven w ithin t he s ame s ite: a ) d ensity

M ore e longate o f m aterials,

m aterials,

a rtifact c oncentrations, w ith r elatively l ow r ather s parse i n d ebitage a nd s maller

a nd c ontaining r elatively l arge-size b ones.

b ) M ore c ircular d eposits o f a rtifacts, w ith r elatively d enser c oncentrations o f s tone a rtifacts, p articularly s mall d ebitage, a nd a p redominance o f s mall b ones r emains. W hile

t he

e mphasis

a nd

o f

b one

t he

f ragments

a nalysis i s

l ight o f t heir b ehavioral i mplications

( with

a mong

t he

f aunal

t o i nterpret t hese i n s peculation

t hat

t he

c ircular c oncentrations m ight b e f ood c onsumption a reas o ccupied b y a g roup w hile e ating, a nd t he e longate c oncentrations m ight r epresent a reas w here p rocessing a nd p reparation o f f ood c arried o ut), t he p atterns w ould i n e very r espect b e m odification

a nd

o bserved e xpected

f or

w as

r edistribution o f m aterials w ithin o ne o f t he m ore

c ircular areas. T hat i s, f luvial m odification a nd a n i nitial c ultural d eposit w ould 1 )

c onsumption

w ithin t he e longate f eatures t o r esult f rom f luvial

" stretch

o ut"

t he

s ite

a nd

r edistribution

e longate

o f

i t i n a d ownstream

d irection, 2 )

t end

t o r emove s maller a nd m ore

d ebitage a nd s mall b ones a nd 3 )

w ork

t o

b one

d ecisively

t ransportable m aterial

f ragments),

r educe

( small

a nd a s a r esult

t he

d ensity

o f

m aterial

c oncentrations. M ore

t horough a nalysis o f i ntrasite d istribution p atterns w ould

b e n ecessary t o c orroborate a f luvial m odification h ypothesis f or s uch s patial p atterns. I f s uch p atterns a re d ocumented w ithin t he s ame s ite,

e xamination o f t he

t opographic s etting c ould

b e

r elevant

a s w ell, p articularly i f t he m ore e longate c oncentrations o ccurred s lightly l ower e levations o r c loser t o a c hannel s ource. T he

m ajor

e mphasis

d epositional s etting, c ontext

f or

L ower

e xperiments w ere a spects

o f

d eposits. s lowly

a lso

t hese

a s

h ere t hese

h as

P alaeolithic c onducted

r esults

b een

r epresent

u pon a

s ites. i n

l ake

s ites

H owever, m argin

a rtifactual

s urely c ontents

h ere,

a lluvial

s edimentary o f

t he

s ituations,

s ome

a nd

a lso h ave b earing o n s ome a rchaeological

D eposition b y q uiet w aters w as o bserved b ut

i n

p revalent

i n

w ith

o ther

r elatively t han

s ome

t o p roceed

l ittle m inor,

r ather

d isruption

o f

w ithin-site

r earrangements a nd s lightly e nhanced c lustering ( although b one w eathered v ery b adly a t o ne l ake m argin s ite w hich w as b eing b uried v ery s lowly).

T he

r esults o f t he s ite e xperiment c arried o ut o n a h igh e nergy

b each c ould h ave s ome i mplications f or a rchaeological d eposits i n s uch c onditions, s ites

i n

r aised

A bderahman)

b each

d eposits

i n

N orth

a nd a t T erra A mata i n F rance.

t he f ormation o f s uch a s i n A cheulean A frica

A t

( e.g.

S idi

t his e xperimental s ite,

t he h igh e nergy w aves t apped a s ource d eposit o f a rtifactual m aterials o n t he b each, d rew s ome o f t hem o ffshore w here s ome o f t hem w ere r edistributed b y l ongshore c urrents f inally b uried b y a l ake r egression. ( or t ides)

a nd w here t hey a ll w ere I f s uccessive t ransgressions

l eft s ome o f t hese b uried m aterials

i ntact a nd

d rew

m ore

a rtifacts d own f rom a n o nshore s ource, a v ertical s uccession o f a rtifact-bearing d eposits c ould b uild u p o ver t ime. S uch a p rocess c ould

t ap

o ne

o r

m ore

d eposits

o f c ultural m aterial o nshore a nd

i ncorporate t hem w ithin s uccessive l ayers o f s horeline d eposits, w hich c ould d iffer s edimentologically a ccording t o p revailing d epositional c onditions.

T he f act

t hat

c onjoining

a rtifacts

h ave

b een f ound a t T erra A mata t hat s pan a v ertical s tratigraphic s equence t hat i ncludes d iverse t ypes o f r ecognized b each d eposits ( dune s ands, a

p ebble

b each,

( 1982:280-282), t he

a nd

s andy s horeline d eposits)

a s i ndicated b y V illa

m ight i ndicate t hat s uch a p rocess h as c ontributed

t o

f ormation o f t his a rchaeological d eposit.

F uture a pplications o f t he p erspectives a nd a nalytical t echniques p roposed i n t his s tudy w ill i nclude c onsideration o f s ome o ther e arly s ites f or w hich a nalysis i s n ot y et c omplete. i nclude c onsideration o f t he A cheulean p reliminary

a nalysis

i ndicates

s ite

t hat

A mbrona,

q uite

p rocesses m ay h ave b een o peration i n d ifferent t he s ite, ( Peninj).

a nd

a t

e arly

A cheulean

S tone t ransport b ehaviors a nd

t he

L ower

t hat b y

P leistocene

w here

f ormation

l evels o r h orizons

s ites a t L ake N atron,

a t

T anzania

s ite f ormation c ontextual

s ites a t K oobi F ora,

t wo m illion y ears a go,

S pain,

d ifferent

C onsidering b oth a ssemblage t echnology a nd a t

T hese w ill

h ominids w ere

s tone a rtifact t ransport. S imilar t ransport, e specially t he i mportation

t hen,

f requently

p atterns o f s tone

e vidence

i t i s e vident e ngaged

r egarding m aterials

i n

s tone f rom

s omewhat d istant l ocations ( sometimes m ore t han 1 0 k ilometers a way) t o t he s ite, h ave a lready b een w ell d ocumented f or s ites w ithin t he s ame

t ime

a nd P otts A t

r ange

b y H ay ( 1976),

t he

K oobi

d istinct,

l ocalized

d istance

a way

t he L ower

d iscussed

f urther b y L eakey ( 1971)

A t

v irtually a t i t

F ora s ites, s ources, s ites

s ome

i t s ites

t he s ource.

i s

m oved a round,

i t

w here r aw m aterials d o n ot h ave s uch i s

n ot

p ossible

t o

f rom a s ite o f a r aw m aterial s ource,

M ember

k ilometers. h and,

a nd

( 198 1).

e vident a t

w as

p robably

( e.g.

H owever, t hat

F xJj

n o

d ocument e xcept t hat

c loser

1 8GL),

t han

t he

a

t he f or f ew

s ite m ay b e

f rom a nalysis o f t he m aterials

a t

a g ood d eal o f s tone m aterial w as b eing

l east o n o ccasion,

a nd i nvolving b oth u nmodified a nd

m odified f orms. F rom t ime t o t ime, a nd f rom p lace t o p lace, s ome o n t hese m aterials c ame t o e nd u p i n f airly c oncentrated n odes w here, w hether d ue o utflow

t o d eliberate

o f m aterials w as

d iscard, s topped

s tockpiling,

o r

w hatever,

o r s ufficiently r educed 1 56

t he

t o p reserve

w hat c an b e r ecognized i mplications

a s

a n

a rchaeological

s ite.

S ome

f urther

o f t he d evelopment o f t hese c oncentrations o f a rtifacts

w ill b e d iscussed s tudy.

f urther i n t he

f ollowing,

15 7

f inal

c hapter

o f

t his

C HAPTER 8 :

C ONCLUSION

" I h ave y et

t o s ee a ny p roblem,

h owever c omplicated, w hich, w hen y ou l ooked a t i t i n t he r ight w ay, d id n ot b ecome s till m ore c omplicated." ( Poul A nderson)

I NTRODUCTION I h ave c oncentrated s o f ar u pon t he i nput o f s ome p revalent n atural p rocesses a t w ork i n s ite f ormation a nd a spects o f t heir i nterplay w ith s ome s pecific b ehaviors t hat c ontribute t o a rchaeological s ite

f ormation.

I n t he f inal s ection o f t his c hapter,

I w ill c onsider i n g reater d etail s ome o f t he b ehavioral i mplications o f a rcheological m aterials i n a l arger s ense. I n p articular, I w ill d iscuss

h ow p rehistoric a ctivities m ay c ontribute

o f w hat w e c all a n a rchaeological s ite,

t o t he d evelopment

a nd w hich h as a pparently o nly

b een a c haracteristic b y-product o f o ur w ay o f l ife o nly f or t he p ast t wo m illion y ears o r s o o f o ur e volutionary d evelopment. B ut f irst, I w ill b riefly s ummarize h ere t he g eneral f ormation r esearch t hat h as b een p resented h ere.

f indings o f t he s ite

S UMMARY O F T HE S ITE F ORMATION S TUDY T he e mphasis o f t he

r esearch

c arried

o ut

h ere

h as

e xamine d irectly, p rimarily t hrough e xperimentation, p rominent s ite f ormation p rocesses c an a ct a nd i nteract i n p atterns o f m aterial a t a rchaeological s ites. a t

i n

b een

t o

h ow s ome p roducing

T hose p rocesses l ooked

s ome d etail h ave b een s tone a rtifact m anufacturing a ctivities

( cultural p rocesses) a nd s ite s edimentation, p articularly b y f luvial a gencies ( natural p rocesses). S ome o f t he m ajor r esults o f t his p rogram o f r esearch a re 1 )

t he

E xperimentation

d ebitage

( flakes

a nd

r eveals

l arge

q uantities h as

t he

s ize

p roduced

r egular a nd a s v aluable

i n

o f s tone k napping a t a

o ccurred,

d istribution

s ite

A t a s ite w here a r esidues e xcavated

l ocale.

s uch

a s

e nhanced

E xtremely

s imply a s b y-products o f s ignificant

a mount

o f

w ith r easonably e fficient

r ecovery p rocedures s hould e xhibit a v ery l arge p roportion d ebitage, o ccurred.

o f

m anufacturing s tone

p redictable. D ebitage s ize e vidence, i n c onjunction w ith

o f m aterial a re g enerated

c ore r eduction a t a s ite. k napping

t hat

f ragments)

a rtifacts i s e xtremely d istribution c an s erve c onjoining s tudies,

f ollowing:

o f

s mall

i f n o s ignificant d isturbance o r a rtifact d eterioration h as I f a g ood d eal o f r etouch o r f ashioning o f s mall a rtifacts f lake

t ools h as o ccurred,

e ven f urther.

] 58

t his s mall d ebitage f raction c an

2 ) K napping r esidues w ill a lso d istribution

h ave

a

c haracteristic

a s g enerated b y m anufacturing a ctivities a nd,

u nmodified b y s ubsequent n atural p rocesses m odification,

t ransport

b y h ominids,

( e.g.

e tc.).

s patial a gain,

t rampling,

i f

f luvial

A f actor t hat p roduces

s ome m inor d ifferentiation i n s uch s patial p atterns, i s t he k napper's s tance, e .g. w hether f laking i s d one w hile s tanding, i n a s quatting o r

k neeling

f rom

p osition,

e xcavated

o r s itting d own.

s amples,

I f,

a mong c onjoining f lakes

s ignificant

d eviations

f rom

e xperimentally-derived s patial p atterns a re o bserved, t he p ossibility o f m odification o f s ite r esidues b y h uman o r n on-human a gencies m ust b e c onsidered. o nes

c an

S patial p atterns

h elp

s ite r esidues,

c orroborate

t hat c onform

w ell

t o

e xperimental

t he l ack o f s ignificant m odification o f

a t l east i n t hose a reas o f t he

s ite.

P atterns

t hat

d eviate c an y ield e vidence o f i ntrasite t ransport b y s ite o ccupants, o r o f p ost-depositional t ransformation. 3 )

T he

i mportant

i ntrasite

i ndicator

i nhabitants, p rocesses. c an b e a

s patial

n ot

b ut a lso o f

o nly

d istribution

o f

m aterials

i s

a n

o f d ifferential u se o f s pace b y s ite

s ubsequent

s ite

m odification

b y

n atural

I n s uch a nalysis, t he d istribution o f a rtifacts b y s ize v ery s ensitive i ndicator o f d isturbance b y f luvial

p rocesses.

W ithin

t he

s ize

r ange r eadily r etrieved b y r easonably

t horough e xcavation p rocedures, d ebitage c an b e e normously v ulnerable t o e rosion a nd f luvial t ransport, a nd t heir f inal s ize d istribution c an

h elp

i dentify

t he

m odification

o f

d istribution

p atterns b y

f luvial s edimentary p rocesses. E xperimental e vidence i ndicates

t hat s uch f luvial

r edistribution

d oes n ot n ormally p roduce d istinct s eparation o f a ssemblage c omponents, b ut r ather b rings a bout m ore s ubtle p atterns o f s patial v ariation a mong a ssemblage c omponents o f d ifferent s izes a nd

s hapes.

T he p ossibility o f a n e xcavation c ross-cutting o nly a s egment o f s uch r edistributions o f m aterial s hould b e s eriously c onsidered d uring b oth e xcavation a nd a nalysis a nd

t hroughout

t he p rocess o f e xcavation

a s w ell. D ecision-making d uring e xcavation m ay b e i nfluenced n oting s uch p atterns i n t he f ield, a nd t renches c ould b e e xtended o rder t o e xplore a p redicted

p attern o f r edistribution.

d ebitage c an d ominate s ome d istal r egions o f a rtifact t his m ust b e t echnological a nd a ccepting

a n

s mall

r edistribution,

c onsidered d uring a ssemblage a nalysis; t horough c onjoining a nalyses w ould b e n ecessary b efore

i nterpretation o f t he s ite a s a k napping a rea,

l arge q uantities

e ven i f

o f s mall d ebitage w ere p resent.

4 ) S ite d isturbance i s n ot a n D isturbance c an b e b etter c onceived o f a nd, c ontinuum.

S ince

b y i n

S imulated

s ite

e xperiments

a ll-or-nothing m atter: i deally, a ssessed a long a p laced

i n d iverse n atural

e nvironments e xhibited a r ange o f d egrees o f d isturbance b y s edimentary f orces, p rimarily f luvial o nes. A t i ncreasing l evels o f d isturbance,

t here

t ended

t o b e s ynchronous c hanges i n

a

n umber

o f

s ite a spects: a )

r apid

l oss

o f

d isarticulated

r emains;

1 59

a nd/or

f ragmentary

f aunal

b )

i ncreasing l oss o f s tone a rtifacts

f rom t he s ite v icinity a nd

c ) i n m ost c ases, a " stretching" o f t he r esidual s ite, o ver s everal t ens o f m eters, i n a d ownstream d irection; d )

a s a r esult o f b )

a rtifactual

m aterials,

a nd c ), i .e.,

a

r apid

d ecline

i n

n umber p er u nit o f a rea;

o f t he s ize d istribution w ithin t he s ite

a s

a

s ometimes

d ensity e )

w hole,

o f

a lteration

a s

w ell

a s

d istinct i ntrasite v ariation i n t his a s n oted a bove. 5 )

I n s ome o f t he s ite e xperiments,

a rtifactual m aterial o ccurred p ortion

o f

i nstance,

t he

d istinct r econcentration o f

s ome d istance d ownstream,

m ade u p o f

a

o riginal a ssemblage f rom a s ite u pstream ( or i n o ne

f rom t wo s eparate u pstream o ccurrences).

S uch d eposits m ay

o ccur i n l ocales w here w ater v elocity i s s everely c hecked, a s a round o bstacles t o f low s uch a s v egetation o r e ven p re-existing s ediment b ars. 6 ) S ite b urial b y s ediments w as o bserved i n

m any

i nstances,

t o o ccur

v ery

r apidly

w ith

m ajor d isturbance a nd/or b urial o f a s ite onths o f e xperimental s ite l ayout. T here w ithin j ust a f ew w eeks o r m ariation a s w as d istinct e nvironmental v b uried a t e ffectively E nvironmental

t o w hether a n a ssemblage

o riginal l ocation, o r n ear i ts w ashed a way a nd d ispersed w ith d ifferences

o r w hether t he s tream

w as

i t w as s ystem.

c an p otentially h ave a s trong e ffect u pon

w hether o r n ot a rchaeological r esidues a re b uried

a nd

p reserved

i n

s ignificant c oncentrations ( or r ecognizable a s a " site") a t o r n ear t heir o riginal l ocation ( i.e., t he r elative r ates o f s ite d estruction v ersus p reservation). I n a ddition, t hey c an a lso p rofoundly i nfluence h ow d isturbed a s ite m ight b e i n t he c ourse o f b eing c overed w ith s ediments ( see a g eneralized m odel o f e nvironmental v ariation i n s ite p reservation p resented i n F igure 8 .1). 7 )

F ollowing

e xperimental s ites,

f rom

t he

a s n oted

p atterns a bove,

a lteration o f t he o riginal s patial e xperimental s ites d uring t he c ourse c ourse

a lso

r adically

c hanged

o f

t here

p atterns

p ossible i mpact u pon t he h orizontql

n ecessarily

i n

t he

s evere

d istributions i n m any o f t he o f s edimentation. TAs o f

a ssessed t hrough s ome m easure o f s patial a nd o ther m aterials a t t he s ite). T hus, i ts

r edistribution w as

o f

a ssociation

( usually

p roximity a mong a rtifacts t he s edimentary h istory a nd

d istribution o f m aterials

a t

a s ite m ust b e c onsidered i n c arrying o ut s patial a nalyses a t a s ite a nd t rying t o g lean i nsight i nto b ehavior f rom s patial d istributions o f a ssociation, a s a re s ometimes o f m aterial. E qually, p atterns f actor a nalysis, c an r eflect a ssessed i n s uch p rocedures a s s edimentary p rocesses a s w ell a s b ehavioral o nes: A ssociations c an b e

b oth c reated a nd d estroyed 8 )

b y s edimentary a gencies.

S ite s ituated u pon f ine-grained

d eposits s uch

a s

c lays

a nd

s ilts c an b ecome e ncased i n t heir s edimentary s ubstrate t hrough t he w etting a nd d rying o f t he s ediment d uring r ainy s easons. S ometimes t his

b uried

v ery

s mall a rtifacts

( small d ebitage)

w ithin a y ear o f

t heir d eposit. O nce s ites b ecome l ocked i nto t heir s edimentary b ase i n t his m anner, t hey w ould g ain s ome r esistance t o f uture e rosional e vents t he

( especially s o

s edimentary

f or a ny b uried m aterials,

s ubstrate

i tself 1 60

o f

c ourse),

u nless

w ere u ndergoing e rosion a s w ell.

3

c n—

S O M E P R E S R V A T I O N

M U C H S I T E L O S

B E S T P R E S R V A T I O N

D E P O S I T O N

z

••• • •

_ I t o i m z I i 1 c . )

U ) c o ) ' 0 U ) c 1, j g t t n S t

J 41 C ( )

4 • ( ( . 7 C n

z0w u i 0 0 0 w o i f

1 61

4 . . = i -

gö 0 1 3( . 1 i 5 J W o

J . o , ( . ) w z« U C l .

C C 3 a—

I N C R E A S I N G

4 ▪ m

D E P O S I T O N / E R O S I O N R A T I O

o f s i t e d e s t r u c t i o n

A L O N G S T R E A M P R O F I L E

z O U ) O c r t o

T his w ould p robably b e m ost a pplicable t o f loodplain

d eposits

w hich

w ould e ndure s everal r ains b efore b eing a ttacked b y o verbank f low , f or e xample i n d istal r egions o f a f loodbasin s ome d istance f rom a c hannel. 9 )

S edimentary

a nd

m icrosedimentary c onditions a t a s ite m ust

n aturally b e s eriously c onsidered a rchaeological

p atterns.

i n a nalysis a nd

H owever,

i nterpretation

f ine-grained

d eposits,

o f

w hile

i ndicating r elatively l ow-energy d epositional c ircumstances, d o n ot a utomatically e nsure t hat a s ite h as n ot b een a ffected a ppreciably b y s edimentary

a gencies.

F irst,

t he

f luvial

s ystem

m ay

b e

s ediment-starved" i n t he s ense t hat i t m ay b e c apable o f c arrying a m uch h igher c aliber b ed l oad t han i s l ocally a vailable t o i t ( the c ondition, f or i nstance, i n t he a lluvial s ystem i n t he K oobi F ora r egion

t oday).

I n

a ddition,

e xisting

s edimentary

d eposits

c an

i ndicate o nly t he w aning p hases o f f low a nd d rastically u nderestimate f low v elocities a nd e rosive p ower p rior t o d eposition ( a c ommon f actor i n l evee s ituations i n p articular, a nd p ersonally w itnessed, o f c ourse, b y i nhabitants o f m any r iver v alleys t oday, t he M ississipi o r O hio R ivers. 1 0)

s uch a s

a long

N ot o nly d oes s edimentary a nd m icrosedimentary e vidence a t a

s ite y ield c lues a s t o t he d epositional e nvironment, b ut a nalysis o f m ore s ubtle s urface f eatures o f t he a rtifacts t hemselves m ay i ndicate s ome a spects o f t he s edimentation

p rocess.

c onditions a s p ronounced r olling, c ourse, a re u sually r ecognized a s i nfluence

o f

f luvial

o r

S uch

a brasion, i mportant

r eadily

o bserved

a nd e dge d amage o f w arnings o f s trong

o ther s edimentary p rocesses i n t he s ite's

h istory. M ore s ubtle, l ess a dvanced c ases o f s uch a rtifact m odification t hat c an b e d etected m icroscopically a s v arying s tages o f " ridge f lattening", d etect t he s everity o r

a s s uggested

c arried o ut h ere,

c an

a bout a t a s ite,

b rought

a nd i ts s patial d istribution, d uration

S hackley

( 1 974),

m ay

h elp

e ffect o f s edimentary p rocesses t hat h ave b een o f l ess d uration a t a s ite. O ne i mportant r esult o f t he

e xperimental w ork b e

b y

h owever,

i s t hat p rofound c hanges

s everely a ffecting i ts c omposition

b y s edimentary

e vents

o f

v ery

s hort

a nd w hich c an e ffectively b ury r emnants o f t he s ite w ith n o

o bservable m odification o f a rtifact s urfaces, o bviously " rolled"

i .e.,

w ithout p roducing

o r " abraded" a rtifacts.

1) A nother l ine o f e vidence a s

t o w hat s edimentary f orces

h ave

a ffected a s ite i s t he t hree-dimensional p ositioning o f t he a rtifacts w ithin t heir s ubstrate, i .e., l ook a t t he a rtifacts a s s edimentary p articles a nd e xamine t he f abric o f p referential o rientation o f a rtifacts i nclination o r d ip,

i mbrication

t he d eposit. N ot o nly w ith l ong a xes, b ut a lso

( layering),

c lustering,

p referentially r esting u pon p lanar a rtifact s urfaces, o f

t he

h ydraulic

i nundated a nd w orked

s tabilization

o f

m aterials

u pon b y m oving w ater.

f lume a nd t he s ite e xperiments,

A s w as

a s

w ell

a s

a re a ll a spects

t hat

o ccurs

f ound

i n b oth

w hen t he

d ip a nd o rientation t ogether c an h elp

d etermine n ot o nly t he d irection o f r edistribution o f m aterials), b ut a lso

f low ( and h ence a r ough m easure

o f o f

a ny t he

i ntensity o f t he s edimentary e vent. I mbrication o r c lustering c an b e a s trong i ndication o f f luvial m odification o f a s ite, a lthough t hese a re s ite

g enerally s ufficient b ut n ot n ecessary e vidence o f s uch: a lteration

c an

o ccur

w ithout

1 62

t he

d eveloi ament

J f

S evere b ars

o r

i mbricate

c lusters o f a rtifacts.

A m ore s ubtle s ign o f s ome f luvial

r eworking o f a s ite c an b e a c onsistent p attern o f a rtifacts w ith p iano-convex m orphologies t ending t o r est o n t heir p lanar s ide, a p osition o f s uperior h ydraulic s tability.

B EHAVIORAL P ROCESSES A ND T HE F ORMATION O F A RCHAEOLOGICAL R ESIDUES I NTRODUCTION T he f inal i ntent a nd p urpose o f a rchaeological i nvestigation u nderstood

h ere

t o b e

t he d iscernment,

d escription,

t he e lucidation a nd e ven e xplanation o f h uman t he

p ast a nd

a nd,

b ehavior

t heir c ourse o f d evelopment o ver t ime.

p atterns

t hat c an b e i ntroduced c an

a ffect

a ddition,

t he t he

i .e.,

p otential

r esidues e ffect

t o a v ital i dentifying

r ecognizing t he b ackground n oise

i nto s ite p atterns b y n atural

m aterial

i n

A l arge p art o f

t he s tudy t hat h as b een p resented h ere h as b een d evoted e lement i n s uccessfully i solating a nd b ehaviorally-induced p atterns,

i s

h opefully,

o f

o n

p rocesses

p rehistoric

s ite

t hat

b ehaviors.

p atterns

o f

s ome

I n v ery

e lementary b ehaviors o r a ctivities t hat a re k nown t o h ave o ccurred i n p rehistoric t imes h ave b een c onsidered h ere, p articularly c oncerning c haracteristics o f t he a ctual

s tone

a rtifact

c oncentrates

o n

t he

l andscape. A n

a ttempt

h as b een m ade h ere t o s trive t oward

o f a n o utlook a nd o f a nalytical p rocedures a nd h elp

t he d evelopment

t echniques,

t hat

w ill

s ort o ut t he e ffects o f d iverse a gencies o n s ite p atterns.

i nteraction s eriously

o f n atural c onsidered

a gencies w hen

w ith h uman t rying t o

T he

b ehaviors m ust b e e xtract b ehavioral

i nterpretations f rom a rchaeological e vidence. E ven p rior t o o ne m illion y ears a go, b ehaviors i ndicated b y a rchaeological e vidence w ere n ot a ltogether s imple. R ather, t hey i nvolved c omplicated o verlays o f m anufacturing a ctivities, t ool u se, a nd p lanning, i nvolved d educed. r egarded

c uration a nd

t ransport o f m aterials a nd

t ools,

e vidently f oresight a nd a lso

d iscard b ehaviors t hat a re n ot r eadily u nderstood S ome p ortions o f s tone a rtifact a ssemblages m ay s urely a s " de

f acto"

r efuse

( Schiffer,

1 972),

o r m aterial a bandoned

r ather t han d eliberately d iscarded ( e.g., t he s mall w aste a nd s hatter t hat r esults f rom s tone t ool m anufacture). B eyond o bvious

e vidence,

i t

i s

n ot

o r b e

f lake s uch

a lways c lear w hat s orts o f b ehaviors

a nd/or p urposes w ere b ehind t he d evelopment o f f airly c oncentrated d eposits o f s tone a rtifacts, p articularly i n t he e arly r ecord: W ere

t hey n o l onger u seful

c ompletion o f a t ask) a nd b ehind, a bandoned u pon

( due

t o t heir d eterioration o r t o t he

t hus d isposed o f? Or w ere t hey s imply l eft l eaving t he s ite a rea? W ere s ome o f t hem

l ost? Or w ere t hey d eliberately p ut i nto " storage" ( Potts 1 982), f orming a b ank o f u sable m aterial, p erhaps i n a r egion w here s uch " currency" w as

r are?

M ost i nterestingly,

d eliberate

t ransport s eems t o

b e a

b ehavior

t hat i s c haracteristically i nterspersed a mong r aw m aterial p rocurement a ctivities, t ool m anufacturing, a nd p ossibly t ool u se, e ven

a t s ome o f t he e arliest a rchaeological s ites

a ctivities t hat d eveloped

( Toth,

t hese p eculiar c oncentrations

1 63

1 982). o f

T he

m aterial

t hat

w e

c all

s ites a re n ot b ehavior p atterns o f s imple e xpediency,

d riven o nly b y i mmediate n eeds i n t ime o r s pace. D ISCARD B EHAVIOR: I t

r emains

d uring

t he

u nclear

L ower

P RIMARY V S. w hether

P alaeolithic

b ehavior t o

c onstructed o f " secondary r efuse" i n o ne

S ECONDARY R EFUSE

t he

p atterns e xtent

( Schiffer,

h ad

1 972),

o r m aterials u sed

l ocation b ut d eliberately d iscarded i n a nother,

i nstance

b y

d eveloped

t hat d eposits w ere p roduced

" housecleaning" a ctivities a mong m odern g roups.

( 1980:494) h as c haracterized

a

d istinction

b etween

f or

M urray

m igratory

a nd

s edentary p eoples i n t hat, w hile s edentary g roups t end t o b uild u p s econdary r efuse d eposits a lmost e xlusively, s ome m igratory o nes n ot o nly t ransport a nd d iscard m aterials i n s econdary d eposits o utside i nhabited c amp b oundaries, b ut a lso d evelop s ome d eposits o f " primary r efuse",

i .e.,

a t t he l ocation o f u se.

( the

c ategories

" primary",

s econdary", a nd " de f acto" r efuse a re c onsidered i n m ore d etail i n S chiffer, 1 972). O f c ourse, a s S ullivan ( 1978) h as o bserved, i t m ay b e

w rong

t o

t ry

t o

p ush a ll a rchaeological m aterials i nto o ne o r

a nother o f t hese p reconceived c ategories, a nd m ay l ead t o d istorted p erceptions o f s ite a ctivities. T his m ay b e p articularly t rue f or t he e arly a rchaeological

r ecordl n evertheless,

p ossibly i nstructive o r i nformative w ithin t his p erspective.

t o

i t w ould

s eem

t o

b e

t ry t o c onsider s ite e vidence

I t w ould s eem r easonable t o a ssume t hat t he e arliest p hases o f p rehistory, w hen t here i s l ittle s olid e vidence o f s tructures o r o f l ong-term s ite

o ccupation,

t hat

m uch

o f

t he

m aterial

f ound

a t

a rchaeological s ites h ad b een d eposited o r d iscarded a t t he l ocation o f u se, i .e., r epresents p rimary r efuse. I t w ould s eem a r easonable r equirement

f or

t he

d evelopment

o f

a

m ore

e laborate

a nd

c ompartmentalized u se o f s pace ( requiring t hat s ome a reas b e k ept c lean" o f s harp t ool w aste, o f r otting o rganics, e tc.) t hat s ome n umber o f i ndividuals w ere c ommitted

t o t he

u se

o f

s ome

d elimited

s pace f or s ome t ime. I t h as b een s uggested t hat t here i s e vidence o f s econdary r efuse d eposits a t s ome e arly s ites, f or i nstance a t D K, F LK

Z inj,

F LK

N orth,

1 971:160-162). n ext

A t

a nd

F C

W est

t hese s ites,

a t

O lduvai

t o o r s urrounding r elatively b arren z ones.

a rtifact

d ensity

a reas

h ave

G orge

s tone a rtifacts t end

b een

s ometimes

( Leakey,

t o c oncentrate

T hese b arren o r b een

r epresent s pace o ccupied b y s tructures o r s helters

l ow

i nterpreted

( e.g.

t o

w indbreaks)

o r c entral " living a reas". S uch p atterns a re c ertainly p rovocative; t he c ircular a rray o f s tone a t D K, i n p articular, m ay b e t he b est e vidence w e h ave f or t his p eriod t hat i s s uggestive o f s ome s ort o f s tructure a t a s ite. H owever, t hey d o n ot s erve a s u nambiguous e vidence,

e ither o f t he u se o f s helters i n t he L ower P leistocene,

o r

m ore t he i ssue h ere, o f t he m ore c omplicated u se o f s pace t hat c haracterizes s econdary d iscard b ehaviors ( i.e., a way f rom t he a rea o f

u se)

i n l ater p eriods o f t ime a nd a mong m ore m odern f orms o f

g enus H omo.

O n

t he b asis o f e vidence c urrently a vailable,

a ppear t o b e s afer t o a ssume t hat a rtifactual m aterials c onstitutes

r efuse

d isposed

a s b y-products o r w aste)

a t

i t

l eft a t s ites

o f a fter u se o r s imply a bandoned

t he s ite.

T his w ould

n ot

t he

w ould

p reclude

( e.g. t he

p ossibility t hat s ome o f t he m aterials m ay h ave b een l eft a s " stores" o f m aterial l eft f or p ossible f uture u se ( to b e d iscussed f urther b elow). 1 64

I MPORT,

E XPORT, A ND D ISCARD B EHAVIORS

I n F igure 8 -2,

Ih ave m odelled s ome o f t he b ehavioral c hains a nd

a nd l oops t hat m ay p otentially h ave b een r esponsible f or a rcheological d eposits, e ven f or t he r elatively s imple p atterns a t s ites i n t he e arly r ecord. T his m odel i s a d irect d escendant o f a n e arlier o ne b y S chiffer ( 1972:159), i n w hich h e i dentified d iscrete b ehaviors w hich c an c ontribute t o s ite f ormation. T hese b ehaviors t ake p lace i n t his m odel i n t he r ealm o f t he " behavioral c ontext" ( Schiffer 's " systemic c ontext"), o r t he c ondition o f a n o bject i nterfacing w ith a b ehavioral s ystem. U pon l eaving t he b ehavioral r ealm, a rtifacts t hen e nter w hat h e t erms t he " archaeological c ontext", o r c onditions o f m aterials w hich h ave b een i nvolved i n s ome w ay i n a c ultural s ystem, a nd a re n ow t he s ubject o f a rchaeological i nvestigation. A s o utlined i n t his m odel, t he b ehavior t hat m ay b e a t w ork i n f orming s ites, e ven v ery e arly a rchaeological o ccurrences, c an p rofitably b e b roken d own i nto s everal d iscrete c omponents, p erhaps r ecognized w ithin t he a rchaeological p roducts.

a nd

I n t he e arly r ecord, a s d ocumented b y P otts ( 1982), T oth ( 1982. 1 985b), a nd w ithin t his s tudy a s w ell, a b ehavior c onsistently dmumented i n t andem w ith t he p rocurement o f r aw m aterials a nd t he f ashioning o f t hese i nto a rtifacts, i s c onsiderable t ransport o f m aterials f rom o ne p lace t o a nother. B oth r aw m aterials a nd m anufacturing p roducts w ere b eing c arried a round i n s ignificant q uantities a nd s ometimes d eposited i n c onspicuous c oncentrations o n t he l andscape. E xactly h ow a nd w hy t hese m aterials a re e nding u p i n " archaeological c ontext" a re, t hen, m ajor q uestions i n a ttempting t o i nterpret t he e arly a rchaeological r ecord. S ome i mportant a spects o f t his q uestion w ould b e: 1 ) Are t hese b eing d eliberately d iscarded a nd d isposed o f a t t he l ocation o f t heir u se ( primary r efuse)? I f s o, w hy? 2 ) Are a ny o f t hem b eing r elocated a fter u se ( e.g. o r c amp-cleaning" a ctivity? 5 )

W hat

p roportion

i n a " house -

o f r ecovered m aterial h ad b een l ost r ather

t han i ntentionally d isposed o f o r a bandoned? ( This a lternative m ay b e m ore a ppropriate, s ay, i n t he m idst o f s ome a ctivity s uch a s b utchering a l arge a nimal, t han a s a s olution t o t he l arge a ccumulations s ites). 4 )

o f

m aterials

W hich m aterials w ere

i n

f airly

s imply

d iscrete

" waste",

m ere

h orizons

a t s ome

b y-products

o f

o ther a ctivities w ith n o r eal o r i ntended u se? 5 )

M ight

s ome

a ccumulations

b e,

a s m odelled b y P otts

( 1982),

d eliberately-constructed s tockpiles o f r aw m aterials a nd t ools o n t he l andscape,

d eveloped t hrough c oncerted i mportation o f m aterials t o

a

l ocation o ver s ome s pan o f t ime ( I w ill r efer t o t his a s " active s torage", e mphasizing t he d eliberate c aching o f m aterials a t s ome l ocation f or a p lanned, i ntended f uture e xploitation).

1 65

. J e t U )

6 Z 6 . 1 . 1

0 a . 0 0

0 0 z

3 Z

z


" R) I 7 C : L . 1 C • , I >

D I D C D • , 4 4 J c d 0 >

W O R K S H O P

4 4 e l ) 0 C

, 4

4 + 0

•• , 1 I d

4 ) z

c l ) o

L u t e

c L )

1 73

C . )

9 1

: « : t ) n C L )

ART IFACT

R ED ISTR IBUT ION ( p lan ) a t

F looded

Wo rkshop

1 0-

, " ' .

CORES

. .

CORE

. • •. . % % . . -_-1 --. . . . . . . . .z e t . . .• . . . ' . ; : - 4. r • --. ., % o i . . . \, . . . .. . .

AND TOOLS

i

. . . . , . . .

' . .

. , . .

0

1 0

V ERY

LARGE

F LAKES ( 8-32 cm) ---

LARGE

1

F LAKES ( 4-8 cm ) -

. •

. . 7

• • • * .

•

0

• •

0

F igure

A -2a .

s eparate

•

M C Y M M

F looded

a ssemblage

M

O W M

Workshop

C Z N

0 M1,4 1 11 1 T R W A M

S ite:

c omponents.

c entered w ithin t he a rea

4

P lot

o f

O riginal

O P M MIE C Y M O N S

s patial

i ndicated b y t he c ircle

1 74

d istribution

workshop a t

t op

a rea h ad l eft.

o f

b een

F LAKES 10 -

AND F RAGMENTS ( 1-2 cm) .•

:V • sr 7 •

.

. .

' s. ' • • • . .

•

•

F LAKES AND

1 0

FRAGMENTS

•

• - - --

(