Browsing by Author "Caruana, Matthew V."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Analyzing percussive technology from the Earlier Stone Age archaeological record
(2015-04) Caruana, Matthew V.
Percussive technology plays an integral in role lithic tool production and thus has had a significant impact on the evolution of the archaeological record. The characteristic damage patterns that result from percussive activities preserve a record of hominin behaviour, although there remains no comprehensive method for analyzing them. In fact, percussive tools have been largely overlooked in archaeological research, which has obscured their behavioural insights. Recent interests in the commonalities of percussive tool use within the Primate Order have suggested that investigating the evolutionary continuity of these tools may provide a window into the origins of lithic technology. This research presents a framework of analytical techniques for the study of hammerstones from the Earlier Stone Age record. As stone-knapping activities remain the focus of archaeological research, understanding how the use of hammerstones has changed throughout time is a critical concern. A ‘focal lens’ approach is developed to facilitate inter-assemblage comparisons that can be used to construct an evolutionary perspective on the use of these tools. Implications for raw materials, selection behaviours and comparative research are developed to test the potential for future directions in the study of percussive technology.
New modern and Pleistocene fossil micromammal assemblages from Swartkrans, South Africa: Paleobiodiversity, taphonomic, and environmental context
(Elsevier, 2024-03) Steininger, Christine; Clarke, Ronald J.; Caruana, Matthew V.; Kuman, Kathleen; Pickering, Travis Rayne; Linchamps, Pierre; Stoetzel, Emmanuelle; Amberny, Laurie
The oldest deposit at the hominin-bearing cave of Swartkrans, South Africa, is the Lower Bank of Member 1, dated to ca. 2.2 million years ago. Excavations of this unit have produced a diverse and extensive mammalian fossil record, including Paranthropus robustus and early Homo fossils, along with numerous Oldowan stone tools. The present study focuses on the taxonomic analysis of the micromammalian fossil assemblage obtained from recent excavations of the Lower Bank, conducted between 2005 and 2010, as part of the Swartkrans Paleoanthropological Research Project. The taxonomic composition of this assemblage is dominated by Mystromys, a rodent indicative of grassland environments. Taphonomic analysis indicates an accumulation of prey by Tyto alba (Barn owl) or a related species. Environments inferred from this evidence reflect an open landscape primarily covered by grassland vegetation, but they also feature components of wooded areas, rocky outcrops, and the proximity of a river. The Swartkrans fossil assemblage is compared with Cooper's D (dated to ca. 1.4 Ma) and a modern coprocoenosis of Bubo africanus (spotted eagle-owl) collected within the Swartkrans cave for taxonomic, taphonomic, and paleoecological perspectives. Contrasting fossil and modern micromammalian data provide a better understanding of accumulation processes and facilitate a diachronic reconstruction of changes in climate and landscape evolution. Issues regarding paleoenvironmental reconstruction methodologies based on micromammals are also discussed.