Denticulate tool
In archaeology, a denticulate tool is a stone tool containing one or more edges that are worked into multiple notched shapes (or teeth), much like the toothed edge of a saw.[1] Such tools have been used as saws, more likely for meat processing than for wood. It is possible, however, that some or all of these notches were used for smoothing wooden shafts or for similar purposes.
These tools are included in the Mousterian tool industry by Neanderthal culture, proceeded by small hand axes and side scrapers.[2]
Uses
Denticulate tools have many different uses which can differ based on the material, size and shape of the tool. The tools can be used for woodworking,[3] processing meat and hides,[3] craft activities [4] and agricultural purposes.[5][6][7]
Distribution
Denticulate tools have a wide distribution and have been found in many places around the world, including Europe, Asia and Africa.
Notable Sites
Denticulate tools have been found at a number of notable archaeological sites around the world, include Pech de l'Aze IV in France,[3][8] the El Collado site in Spain,[4]Jiahu, Shigu and Egou in China [5] and the Tabon Caves in the Philippines.[6]
Pech de l'Azé IV
Pech de l'Azé IV is an archaeological site located in the south of France which was the home to Neanderthals during the Ice Age.[3] Over 20,000 lithic tools were found at the site during the most recent excavations, including 43 denticulate tools,[8] which for the purpose of this excavation were classified as "types which have two or more adjacent notches".[3] Some of the denticulate tools found at this site were made from very thin flakes and had complex notches resembling saws,[8] which were most likely used for woodworking and for the processing of meat and hides.[3]
El Collado
El Collado is a Mesolithic funerary site in Spain where a number of denticulate tools were found.[4] Analysis of these tools indicates that they were used in craft activities that involved working with wood and bone.[4] The denticulate tools found at this site were mainly made from flint.[4]
Jiahu, Shigu and Egou
Jiahu, Shigu and Egou are Peiligang sites in China where denticulate tools have been found.[5] The tools range from 10–20 cm in length and were most likely used for agricultural purposes.[5] Denticulate tools found at these sites vary in shape “from a narrow body with a sharp-angled tip to a wide body with a more obtuse angled tip” [5] and most have worn down teeth, indicating heavy usage.
Tabon Caves
41 denticulate tools were found in the Tabon Caves in the Philippines, which are thought to have been used for ‘plant splitting’.[6] Some of tools found show evidence of intentional retouching while other denticulate tools may have been formed unintentionally.[6]
Egypt
A large proportion of the denticulate tools in the Metropolitain Museum of Art’s collection come from different areas in Egypt.[7] In ancient Egypt flint denticulate tools adhered to wooden handles were used to reap grain from the 5th to 4th millennia BC.[7]
England
Denticulate tools have also been found in England, in the Robin Hood Cave and in Etton, Cambridgeshire [9]
Raw Materials
Denticulate tools are usually made from flint,[10][7][8][4] but can also be made from other materials such as limestone and quartz.[10]
The availability and quality of the raw materials used to create denticulate tools is heavily influenced by the geographic area[10] and analysis of raw materials and where they come from can provide information about the travel and trading habits of the inhabitants of the ancient sites.[10][8]
Researchers at Pech de l'Azé IV identified denticulate tools made from different types of flint, including Coniacian flint, Campanian flint and Bergerac flint.[8] At Pech de l'Azé IV 95% of lithic tools found were made from local raw materials and a small number of tools were made from exotic raw materials such as chalcedony.[8]
Denticulate tools found at the Peiligang sites were made from a number of different raw materials including; tuff, sandstone. silstone, mudstone, slate and silicieous limestone.[5]
Denticulate tools found at the Tabon Caves in the Philippines were made from red jasper, white chert and andesite.[6]
Typology Dilemma
The classification of lithic tools as denticulate tools by typologists can prove difficult, especially when “when too many questionable pieces appeared in an assemblage”.[11] It is sometimes hard for typologists to tell whether lithic artifacts were retouched intentionally or unintentionally, for example as a result of human trampling.[12] The question then becomes:
“should the term denticulates be restricted to tools intentionally retouched or encompass all tools with adjacent notches whatever the origin of the latter is?” [6]
References
- "Mousterian industry". Encyclopædia Britannica
- Picin, Andrea; Peresani, Marco; Vaquero, Manuel (2011). "Application of a new typological approach to classifying denticulate and notched tools: The study of two Mousterian lithic assemblages". Journal of Archaeological Science. 38 (3): 711–722. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.10.025.
- "The Story of Pech de l'Azé IV". www.penn.museum. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- Gibaja, Juan F.; Morell, Berta; Terradas, Xavier (2017). "Approaching subsistence activities in the Mesolithic by means of lithic tools: The case of El Collado site (Oliva, Eastern Iberia)". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 18: 1026–1035. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.11.020. ISSN 2352-409X.
- Fullagar, Richard; Hayes, Elspeth; Chen, Xingcan; Ma, Xiaolin; Liu, Li (June 2021). "A functional study of denticulate sickles and knives, ground stone tools from the early Neolithic Peiligang culture, China". Archaeological Research in Asia. 26: 100265. doi:10.1016/j.ara.2021.100265. ISSN 2352-2267.
- Xhauflair, Hermine; Pawlik, Alfred; Jago-on, Sheldon; Vitales, Timothy; Callado, John Rey; Tandang, Danilo; Palconit, Trishia; Manipon, Dante; Gaillard, Claire; Theodoropoulou, Angeliki; Revel, Nicole (August 2020). "Plant processing experiments and use-wear analysis of Tabon Cave artefacts question the intentional character of denticulates in prehistoric Southeast Asia". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 32: 102334. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102334. ISSN 2352-409X.
- "Denticulate Tool". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- The middle paleolithic site of Pech de l'Azé IV. Harold L. Dibble, Shannon J. P. McPherron, Paul Goldberg, Dennis M. Sandgathe. Cham, Switzerland. 2018. ISBN 978-3-319-57524-7. OCLC 1007823303.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - "Collections Search | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- Picin, Andrea; Peresani, Marco; Vaquero, Manuel (March 2011). "Application of a new typological approach to classifying denticulate and notched tools: the study of two Mousterian lithic assemblages". Journal of Archaeological Science. 38 (3): 711–722. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.10.025. ISSN 0305-4403.
- Arnold, Karen (1991). Experimental Archaeology and the Denticulate Mousterian. Ubiquity Press. OCLC 860043988.
- McBrearty, Sally; Bishop, Laura; Plummer, Thomas; Dewar, Robert; Conard, Nicholas (January 1998). "Tools Underfoot: Human Trampling as an Agent of Lithic Artifact Edge Modification". American Antiquity. 63 (1): 108–129. doi:10.2307/2694779. ISSN 0002-7316.
Further reading
- Bordes, François (1961). "Encoches et denticulés". Typologie du Paléolithique ancien et moyen. Burdeos: Impriméries Delmas. pp. 35–36.