Presentation Information
[SS13-03]Statistical and simulation approaches to spatiotemporal variability in lithic technology of Paleolithic Asia
*Kohei Tamura1 (1. Tohoku Univeristy (Japan))
Keywords:
cultural evolution,archaeology,paleolithic
Macroscopic analyses, such as cross-cultural comparisons, have been used to investigate fundamental questions in human history and provide a framework for integrating data from various disciplines. As an example of such macroscopic analysis, this talk will present our study (Nishiaki et al., 2021) on the spatiotemporal variability of lithic technologies, or “technological modes” (Shea, 2013), in Paleolithic Asia.
The “Cultural History of PaleoAsia” project developed the PaleoAsia Database (Nishiaki & Kondo, 2023), which contains information on the presence or absence of 24 technological modes in 895 lithic assemblages dating from 130 to 20 ka, along with other archaeological data. We analyzed this database to quantify spatiotemporal variations in technological modes. Our findings suggest, for example, that the frequencies of blade/bladelet production increased in eastern and northern Asia, potentially indicating the dispersal of modern humans. In contrast, Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites in South and Southeast Asia appear to share relatively similar technological modes.
Our analyses have several limitations, including issues related to the coding scheme, the treatment of missing values, and sampling biases. To address these challenges, the “Mathematical Prehistory of Homo Sapiens” project aims to employ simulation studies that integrate paleoclimate and ethnographic data, as well as models of data acquisition processes, including archaeological excavations. This talk will also briefly demonstrate ongoing findings and future research directions.
References
Nishiaki, Y., Tamura, K., Suzuki, M., Nakamura, M., Kato, S., Nakagawa, K., ... & Kobayashi, Y. (2021). Spatiotemporal variability in lithic technology of Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic Asia: a new dataset and its statistical analyses. Quaternary International, 596, 144-154.
Nishiaki, Y., & Kondo, Y. (Eds.). (2023). Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites in the Eastern hemisphere: a database (PaleoAsiaDB). Springer Nature.
Shea, J. J. (2013). Lithic modes A–I: a new framework for describing global-scale variation in stone tool technology illustrated with evidence from the East Mediterranean Levant. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 20, 151-186.
The “Cultural History of PaleoAsia” project developed the PaleoAsia Database (Nishiaki & Kondo, 2023), which contains information on the presence or absence of 24 technological modes in 895 lithic assemblages dating from 130 to 20 ka, along with other archaeological data. We analyzed this database to quantify spatiotemporal variations in technological modes. Our findings suggest, for example, that the frequencies of blade/bladelet production increased in eastern and northern Asia, potentially indicating the dispersal of modern humans. In contrast, Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites in South and Southeast Asia appear to share relatively similar technological modes.
Our analyses have several limitations, including issues related to the coding scheme, the treatment of missing values, and sampling biases. To address these challenges, the “Mathematical Prehistory of Homo Sapiens” project aims to employ simulation studies that integrate paleoclimate and ethnographic data, as well as models of data acquisition processes, including archaeological excavations. This talk will also briefly demonstrate ongoing findings and future research directions.
References
Nishiaki, Y., Tamura, K., Suzuki, M., Nakamura, M., Kato, S., Nakagawa, K., ... & Kobayashi, Y. (2021). Spatiotemporal variability in lithic technology of Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic Asia: a new dataset and its statistical analyses. Quaternary International, 596, 144-154.
Nishiaki, Y., & Kondo, Y. (Eds.). (2023). Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites in the Eastern hemisphere: a database (PaleoAsiaDB). Springer Nature.
Shea, J. J. (2013). Lithic modes A–I: a new framework for describing global-scale variation in stone tool technology illustrated with evidence from the East Mediterranean Levant. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 20, 151-186.