An iconic Native American stone tool technology discovered in Arabia


Date:
August 5, 2020
Source:
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Summary:
A new article examines fluted projectile points from southern
Arabia, detailing production methods and technical aspects
that indicate differences in function from the technology
of the Americas, despite similarities in form. Findings
from experimentation and comparative analysis suggest that
highly-skilled, convergent technologies can have varying
anthropological implications.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study led by archaeologists from the CNRS, the Inrap, the Ohio State University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, reports on fluted points from the archaeological sites of Manayzah in
Yemen and Ad-Dahariz in Oman. Fluted stone tools are a distinctive, technologically advanced form of projectile points, including spearheads
and arrowheads.

Fluting is a specific technique that involves the extraction of an
elongated flake along the length of a projectile point, leaving a
distinctive groove or depression at the base of the spearhead or
arrowhead.


========================================================================== Fluting is a distinct technological tradition invented by early human
cultures that spread across the Americas. Fluted point technology is
very well known in North America, evidenced by finds across the continent dating from 13,000 to 10,000 years ago. As lead author Dr. Re'my Crassard
of the CNRS notes, "Until the early 2000s, these fluted points were
unknown elsewhere on the planet. When the first isolated examples of
these objects were recognized in Yemen, and more recently in Oman,
we recognized that there could be huge implications." The sites of
Manayzah and Ad-Dahariz yielded dozens of fluted points. The Arabian
examples date to the Neolithic period, about 8,000 to 7,000 years ago,
at least two thousand years later than the American examples. As Professor Petraglia of the Max Planck explains, "Given their age and the fact that
the fluted points from America and Arabia are separated by thousands of kilometers, there is no possible cultural connection between them. This is
then a clear and excellent example of cultural convergence, or independent invention in human history." The new PLOS ONE article carefully examines
the fluted points found in south Arabia. Detailed technological analysis, backed up by stone tool experiments and replication by an expert modern flintknapper, illustrate the similarities between the American and
Arabian fluting procedures.

In addition to the similarities, the authors of the new study also
investigated the contrasts between the technologies of the two
regions. Technological differences were apparent in the nature and
location of the flute. The authors emphasize that the 'fluting method'
was likely a mental conceptualization of stone tool manufacture, more than
just a technical way to produce a projectile and hafting zone. Whereas the apparent function of fluting in the Americas is to facilitate hafting,
or attaching the point to a shaft, most of the Arabian fluted points do
not have hafting as a functional final aim. The fluting concept and the
method itself are the same in both American and Arabia, yet the final
aim of fluting appears to be different.

Arabian and American fluted point technologies were highly specialized
stone tool production methods. The PLOS ONE study of Arabian fluting
technology demonstrates that similar innovations and inventions were
developed under different circumstances and that such highly-skilled
and convergent production methods can have different anthropological implications. As discussed in the article, Professor McCorriston argues
that "fluting in Arabia was used as a display of skill, rather than
serving a purely functional purpose such as hafting, as is more widely
accepted in the Americas." In Arabian prehistory, southern Arabia
experienced developments of local origin, with multiple examples
of inventions and innovations not culturally transmitted by outside
traditions. The fluting method is then a hallmark of this indigenous development in the south Arabian Neolithic.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Max_Planck_Institute_for_the_Science_of_Human_History.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Re'my Crassard, Vincent Charpentier, Joy McCorriston, Je're'mie
Vosges,
Sofiane Bouzid, Michael D. Petraglia. Fluted-point
technology in Neolithic Arabia: An independent invention
far from the Americas. PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (8): e0236314 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0236314 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200805160938.htm

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