Percorrer por autor "Douglass, Matthew J."
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- Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South AfricaPublication . Braun, David R.; Faith, John Tyler; Douglass, Matthew J.; Davies, Benjamin; Power, Mitchel J.; Aldeias, Vera; Conard, Nicholas J.; Cutts, Russell; DeSantis, Larisa R. G.; Dupont, Lydie M.; Esteban, Irene; Kandel, Andrew W.; Levin, Naomi E.; Luyt, Julie; Parkington, John; Pickering, Robyn; Quick, Lynne; Sealy, Judith; Stynder, DeanoDespite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remarkably difficult because it requires understanding the multi-generational impacts of changes in behavior. These long-term dynamics require insights into the emergent phenomena that alter selective pressures over longer time periods which are not possible to observe, and are also not intuitive based on observations derived from ethnographic time scales. Generative models show promise for probing these potentially unexpected consequences of human-environment interaction. Changes in the uses of landscapes may have long term implications for the environments that hominins occupied. We explore other potential proxies of behavior and examine how modeling may provide expectations for a variety of phenomena.
- Modern stone tool users from northern Kenya emphasize mass and edge length in the selection of cutting toolsPublication . Reeves, Jonathan S.; Douglass, Matthew J.; Haney, Christine E.; Ndiema, Emmanuel K.; Luncz, Lydia V.The production and use of informal flake cutting tools played an essential role in foraging across human history. While much is known about the production of these tools, the attributes that facilitate their selection and use remain underexplored. This is because there remain few opportunities for the use of such tools in a traditional setting. The Daasanach of East Turkana, Kenya, maintain a tradition of stone tool production and use, affording the opportunity to investigate tool selection in a natural setting. Through interview and video documentation, we observed eight expert toolmakers complete butchery tasks, allowing us to link traditional technological knowledge governing cutting tool selection with measurable lithic attributes. Our findings reveal that factors such as edge angle, mass and grip significantly influence tool selection and cutting efficiency. These insights provide new perspectives on the functional relevance of informal cutting tools that are largely understood through experimentation. The outcomes of this study provide a venue for interpreting lithic variability in ancient contexts from the perspectives of traditional expert tool users. This research underscores the utility of detailed ethnographic studies to complement archaeological findings, enhancing our understanding of early human technological evolution.