Lithic miniaturization was one of our Pleistocene ancestors' more pervasive stone tool
production strategies and it marks a key difference between human and non‐human tool …

Microliths–small, retouched, often-backed stone tools–are often interpreted to be the product
of composite tools, including projectile weapons, and efficient hunting strategies by modern …

This paper presents a list of macroscopic characteristics for recognizing pieces resulting
from bipolar knapping. I performed specific experiments in fine-grained flint and in quartz. I …

New excavations at the Middle Stone Age (MSA) open-air site of Hoedjiespunt 1 (HDP1) on
the west coast of South Africa advance our understanding of the evolution of coastal …

Quartz artefacts are common components of flaked stone assemblages worldwide.
However, flaked quartz can appear similar to quartz fractured by natural and other (non …

Rhino Cave, located at the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, is one of the three main
Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Botswana. Initial investigations during the mid-1990s left …

Lithic miniaturization refers to the systematic production and use of small tools made from
small cores. Archaeologists typically associate the production of miniature toolkits with small …

We present experimental data examining the energetics and identification of axial bipolar
reduction in contexts of lithic miniaturization on milky quartz. These experiments answer two …

Recognized by archaeologists for over a century, and practiced by hominins in nearly every
archaeological context in which flaked stone is used, bipolar technology involves the …

The Howiesons Poort Industry is known for its precocious production of backed stone tools,
engraved ostrich eggshell containers and diverse bone tools. We discovered another …