Methods for determining differential behaviors in stone tool production and application to the Oldowan of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Koobi Fora, Kenya

OF THE DISSERTATION Methods for Determining Differential Behaviors in Stone Tool Production and Application to the Oldowan of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Koobi Fora, Kenya by JOSEPH S. RETI Dissertation Director: Dr. J.W.K. Harris Traditional lithic artifact analyses have provided information regarding hominin ranging behaviors, raw material preferences, and the potential for functionality. However, there is currently no standard method for determining how hominins produced lithic artifacts. This dissertation research provides the first quantitative measure of flake production techniques and applies these measures to the Oldowan of Koobi Fora, Kenya and Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Four Oldowan production behaviors are identified and are used to define what has been called the “least effort approach” to flake production in the Oldowan. Behaviorally informative measurements are taken on whole flakes and size standardized using their geometric mean. In order to attribute each archaeological flake to a production behavior, large experimental assemblages are created using native raw materials from Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge (n = 3,651 flakes and 443 cores). Each experimentally produced flake has empirically known production behaviors associated with it. A multivariate classification algorithm is constructed to determine a classification tree of best fit for the experimental flakes such that each flake is assigned a particular production behavior. Archaeological flakes are assessed via this classification