Archaeology
Studies of Stone Artifacts - Typology and Morphotechnology
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| 3-D model of basalt cleaver from GBY Layer II-6 Level 2. Scanned by Leore Grosman, Computerized Archaeology Laboratory, The Hebrew University. |
The research goals of the GBY project are to obtain better understanding of the modes of behavior of the Acheulian hominins. Extensive data are being retrieved from the rich stone tool assemblages excavated at the site. The lithic assemblage from GBY comprises over 30,000 artifacts larger than 2 cm and hundreds of thousands of micro-artifacts. The still ongoing study of the lithic assemblage over more than twenty years has involved traditional lithic analysis as well as the application of new methods (e.g. 3D scanning) and controlled experimental knapping.
See Center of Excellence - Lithic Analysis
The earliest evidence for controlled fire
The GBY record provides the earliest known evidence for sustained fire-making in Eurasia. In each of the archaeological horizons burned flint micro- and macroartifacts were exposed. We interpret clusters of burned flint artifacts as “phantom hearths”.
See Center of Excellence - The Use of Fire at GBY
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| GBY Layer II-6 Level 2 |
Spatial organization
The spatial designation of discrete areas for different activities reflects formalized conceptualization of a living space. Spatial analyses of a Middle Pleistocene Acheulian archaeological horizon (Layer II-6 Level 1) at GBY indicate that hominins differentiated between their activities (stone knapping, tool use, floral and faunal processing and consumption) across space. The diversity of human activities and the distinctive patterning with which they are organized implies that the hominins of GBY had advanced organizational skills.
See Science Artical
Additional topics of research of the GBY lithic assemblage
- Nut-cracking as reflected by pitted stones
- Mobility of artifacts in and out of the archaeological horizons by human agency
- The expression of the Acheulian culture at GBY - conservatism and variability
GBY lithic experiments – controlled knapping project
- The acquisition of basalt
- The production of large flakes
- Replicating the reduction sequence of handaxes and cleavers
- The use of the soft hammer
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