Descrizione del progetto
Nuovi studi sugli utensili in pietra più antichi
Una pietra vulcanica raffreddatasi dal magma veniva comunemente usata dagli uomini preistorici per la costruzione di utensili. Eppure, sappiamo poco riguardo a questi utensili in basalto. Il progetto BaTEx, finanziato dall’UE, troverà la risposta attraverso l’impiego di tecniche macro e microscopiche, oltre alla sperimentazione, per consentire l’analisi funzionale di utensili basaltici. Inoltre, il progetto analizzerà le strategie passate di utilizzo del basalto, il suo significato funzionale e la sua interazione con altre materie prime presso siti archeologici specifici in cui questa pietra risulta importante. I risultati chiariranno gli aspetti tecnologici, i modelli di sostentamento, nonché gli aspetti cognitivi e comportamentali delle associazioni basaltiche.
Obiettivo
Basalt is one of the most common raw materials used for tool manufacture in many prehistoric sites. As a result, it is often the most important-and sometimes the only- source of information about the life and behaviour of early hominins. While studies related to the other aspects (i.e. knapping processes, tool variability) of these assemblages progress, systematic studies on how and what basalt tools were used for remain inexistent. This seriously limits the behavioural, evolutionary and cognitive interpretations of basalt assemblages. BaTEx aims to fill in this existing void by providing the necessary methodological framework using multiple macro- and microscopic techniques and experimentation to permit the functional analysis of basalt tools, and by understanding past exploitation strategies of basalt, its functional significance and its interaction with other raw materials at specific archaeological sites where basalt is important.
To achieve this, the project will focus on: 1) Systematic experimentation for developing a reference collection; 2) Adaptation of standardized use-wear analytical methods to basalt; 3) Blind test to assess the robustness of the experimental corpus; 4) Evaluation of the impact of taphonomic processes on trace preservation; 5) Test the potential of use-wear quantification on basalt using surface morphometry and spatial analysis of rough surfaces; and 6) Use the experimental results in archaeological case-studies by means of a traceological study on a selection of archaeological tools hereby demonstrating the validity and the potential of the method. The expected impact of the project is that it will provide functional data on basalt tools allowing, for the first time, to fully study and interpret human activities at key archaeological sites and to properly address technological issues, subsistence patterns and even behavioural and cognitive aspects of basalt assemblages, which cannot yet be faced in the current stage of research.
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Invito a presentare proposte
(si apre in una nuova finestra) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoMeccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
4000 Liege
Belgio