Morphological taphonomic effects produced by trampling. An experimental assessment on different lithic raw materials

WEITZEL, M.C.; BORRAZZO, K.; PAZZI, F.

Tarragona

Simposio; 13th International Symposium on Knappable Materials; 2021

IPHES

Archaeology showed that people used a great variety of lithic raw materials for making their stone tools in the past. Factors such as availability, quality, accessibility, functional requirements, and social networks, deeply influenced the composition of archaeological lithic assemblages. Also, the physical properties of toolstone (i.e. brittleness, hardness, texture, inclusions, etc.) have an effect on the morphological modifications of artifacts when subjected to different cultural activities or natural processes.In this work we analyze the characteristics of the morphological modifications (fractures, tool pseudomorphs) resulting from trampling on experimental lithic artifacts. The sample studied includes artifacts made on rhyolite, quartzite, obsidian, silicified rocks and lutite obtained from several trampling experiments conducted under similar experimental protocols on soft and hard substrates. We compare the attributes and the occurrence of the different identified morphological traits and assess their variability among the different raw materials considered.