Lecture 10 Stone tools and Homo erectus Mechanics of stone tool manufacture Earliest technique- hard hammer percussion Best stone for flaking (knapping) Need to predict removal Conchoidal fracture Fine-grained with no cleavage planes Flint/chert, Basalt, Quartz/quartzite, Limestone, Obsidian How you make a stone tool Find an angle of less than 90§ Take hammerstone in dominant hand & aim for a glancing blow Snap wrist in a throwing motion Often best place for next removal is at or next to flake scar Characteristics of the Olduwan Oldest at 2.5 MYA- Gona, Ethiopia Youngest sites ~800 KYA; Similar industries after then called by different names Generally reserved for sites in Africa; similar industries elsewhere again given other names Core tools- Choppers River cobble with one or more flakes removed near each other Can be unifacial (removed from one side) or bifacial (two sides) Used to be though of as tools in their own right, now considered to be just cores for flake tools Flake tools Sharp-edged flakes removed from a core Very useful for cutting, especially meat Sometimes shows microscopic usewear characteristic of meat cutting Hammerstones Hand-sized durable stone, like granite or quartzite Often shows pitted area where blows have been struck Quartzite ones become “polyhedral” then rounded- mistaken for bola stones Homo erectus; the hominid on the move Discovery Eugene Dubois Dutch army physician, Dutch colony of Indonesia, Island of Java In 1891 found fossils along Solo River, near village of Trinil Skullcap- long and low, w/ thick bones and huge browridges Femur- very modern looking but strongly built Initial reaction; ape skull & human femur But- cranial capacity of 1000 cc too large for ape & femur stained same color Dubois named it Pithecanthropus erectus (Java Man) Next finds in China in 1920's Cave site of Zhoukoudian (Dragon Bone Hill) Named Homo pekingensis (Peking Man) Soon it was recognized that Peking and Java specimens same species- Homo erectus Excavation continued through 30's, Original fossils lost during W.W.II, but excellent casts saved Later finds in Java, China, Europe, and Africa Dates Earliest known from Lake Turkana, at 1.8 MYA- Richard Leakey Specimens from Sangiran, Java at least 1.65 MYA Earliest European, from archaeological evidence not fossils, around 1 MYA Original Trinil about 1 MYA, Zhoukoudian 700 TYA Latest 600-500 TYA in Africa and Europe, maybe as late as 200 TYA in Asia Physical Attributes Increased brain size Avg. of 1000 cc, Range 700-1250 cc Increase over time as well; older at smaller end of range, younger at larger Skull Shape Long and low vault w/ receding forehead & large browridges Thick vault bones & pentagonal rear view All in all, built to withstand large stresses Projecting nose- to better moisten air, indicates dryer climate and/or more work Larger body size and modern proportions China specimens indicate rather short and broad; avg. 5 ft, but w/ modern sexual dimorphism But new find at Turkana in late 80's gives new perspective- Turkana Boy Find is almost complete skeleton of H. erectus found by Richard Leakey's team Specimen is 1.6 MYA, and is of a 12 year old boy from tooth eruption Kicker is, he was already 5 1/2 ft tall, and since bones not fused, still growing; likely to have been 6 ft as adult Body essentially modern in form, just more robust- thicker bones Also shows heat adaptation; tall and thin- Allen's and Bergman's rules Probably hairless savanna dweller Behavioral Attributes More types of climates, geographic areas- adaptive radiation First hominid to move out of Africa to Asia and Europe First to move into temperate climates and full savanna Probably due to both larger body and to larger brain Delayed maturation Turkana Boy still growing at 12 yrs Pelvis size shows babies born at same maturity as modern- brain 25% adult size; chimps born at 40%, same for australopithecines Means longer period of learning and dependency More social interaction, more cultural transmission; possibly male provisioning and language New stone tool industry- the Acheulian Characterized by large bifaces Worked all the way around to a pre-determined shape Two types; handaxes and cleavers Intermediate stage called Developed Olduwan; start to see choppers w/ ends shaped like handaxes and unfinished butts True Acheulian begins about 1.4 MYA in Africa Spreads to India and W. Europe but not Asia or E. Europe Even in Europe and Africa, Olduwan type Industries still found later at some sites Olduwan & Acheulian together make up Lower Paleolithic (or Old Stone Age as it's often called in Africa) Shows improvement over time- more symmetrical, better stone, more intensive flaking Shapes are important- bifaces found at any particular site practically carbon copies of each other; some sort of cultural transmission Often found in hundreds at sites that were along streams or lakes Lasts past H. erectus into Archaic H. Sapiens times- ~ 200 TYA Home Bases Fxjj50 Kenya- gently covered campsite conjoining bones, stones many different species brought to central place Hunting Firm facts are Larger body and brain make hunting more likely Possibly special tools for butchery (handaxes) Modern hunter-gathers will scavange as well Question then becomes what proportion hunting vs scavanging Earliest weapons are 400-500 TYA Wooden thrusting spears from Germany and England Waterlogged sites preserved wood Likely used much earlier as well Thrusting spear very dangerous weapon to use; may help explain heavy bones Possibly used pursuit hunting; wound an animal from ambush & then chase it until it tires; humans good marathon runners