A global 3D usewear characterisation of primate and hominin percussive technology

Abstract

Percussive technology has, in recent years, become an important avenue of research for understanding the wider tool use behaviours of early Homo beyond the production of sharp cutting flakes and tools. Recent discoveries of the earliest lithic technology suggest that percussive behaviour was probably an important component of the subsistence strategies of Pliocene hominins and possibly beyond. Recent research has sought to better understand the range of percussive behaviours potentially undertaken by ESA hominins by describing damage patterns produced on tool-using non-human primate percussive tools. These studies have led to developments in analytical methods which allow the fine-grained quantification of use wear damage on percussive tools. To date, however, these studies have been applied to a small number of behaviours, primarily nut cracking. To explore the variability of use wear pattern across primate percussive stone tools it is important to apply these methods in a holistic manner to a wide range of percussive behaviours and tools. Here we present the first comprehensive cross species study and comparison of percussive damage on hammerstones for all known tool using non-human primates and a range of Early Stone Age (ESA) percussive artefacts. By using a hybrid visual and 3D quantification of use wear patterns on the active surfaces of percussive stone tools we are able to present a detailed characterisation of the various damage patterns caused through different uses. Our results show that percussive damage characterisation is significantly affected by the objects on which the tool was used. The results allow for the identification of species and behaviour specific percussive use wear patterns which may be able to help interpret archaeological percussive technology. This study has also elucidated a complex interplay between the raw material type, percussive target and action motion for which future research must focus in order to understand these variables.