Publication
More than surface finds: nubian levallois core metric variability and site distribution across Africa and Southwest Asia
| dc.contributor.author | Samawi, Osama | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hallinan, Emily | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-10-25T09:18:14Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-10-25T09:18:14Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-09-11 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Nubian Levallois cores are currently one of the most debated artefact types in Palaeolithic archaeology. Previous work has focused mainly on the definition and technological characteristics of these cores, with discussion of their distribution framed only in qualitative terms. Here, we present the first quantitative spatial analysis of sites with Nubian Levallois cores across the five global regions where they occur. Using modelled Pleistocene conditions for various bioclimatic and topographic variables, we compare the environmental context of 84 sites featuring Nubian cores with 81 contemporaneous sites where they are absent. Metric analysis of cores from 14 new and previously published sites offers further insights into technological and behavioural patterns at an inter-regional scale. Our results show that Nubian cores during MIS 5 are present in areas characterised by aridity, complex topography, and high biomass, whereas for MIS 3, only temperature was a significant predictor. Metric results reveal distinct patterns in both space and time, finding the largest and most standardised cores in Southern Arabia during MIS 5, with the smallest cores in MIS 3 Eastern and Southern Africa. We propose that environmental factors were a more significant driver behind the adoption of the Nubian Levallois method than previously acknowledged. Our results provide essential environmental context for future model-testing of Late Pleistocene demography and cultural connectivity during this critical phase of human evolution. | eng |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.1007/s41982-024-00192-0 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 2520-8217 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/26147 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.peerreviewed | yes | |
| dc.publisher | Springer | |
| dc.relation | NuBIAN: Nubian technology, Behavioural Innovation and Adaptation. New perspectives on Middle Stone Age technological variability and population dynamics | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology | |
| dc.rights.uri | N/A | |
| dc.subject | Nubian Levallois | |
| dc.subject | Middle Palaeolithic | |
| dc.subject | Middle Stone Age | |
| dc.subject | Spatial analysis | |
| dc.subject | Lithic technology | |
| dc.title | More than surface finds: nubian levallois core metric variability and site distribution across Africa and Southwest Asia | eng |
| dc.type | journal article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oaire.awardTitle | NuBIAN: Nubian technology, Behavioural Innovation and Adaptation. New perspectives on Middle Stone Age technological variability and population dynamics | |
| oaire.awardURI | info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/CEEC IND4ed/2021.00041.CEECIND%2FCP1672%2FCT0007/PT | |
| oaire.citation.issue | 1 | |
| oaire.citation.startPage | 26 | |
| oaire.citation.title | Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology | |
| oaire.citation.volume | 7 | |
| oaire.fundingStream | CEEC IND4ed | |
| oaire.version | http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 | |
| person.familyName | Hallinan | |
| person.givenName | Emily | |
| person.identifier.ciencia-id | 3114-DA5B-8F09 | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-0698-8238 | |
| person.identifier.scopus-author-id | 57195642319 | |
| project.funder.identifier | http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871 | |
| project.funder.name | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication | 9e197ae6-fcda-44e1-b3bb-1989df05be89 | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | 9e197ae6-fcda-44e1-b3bb-1989df05be89 | |
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