You know me, Jacques: always one to ask questions.
First, I note in Morlan et al. (1990) that Homo sapiens were probably the agency that utilized the bone flaking tech. Do you know if Morlan et al. purposely left the distinction between Archaic and Modern Hss undefined?
As far as I can recall, this Archaic/Modern Hss distinction you refer to was never discussed or taken into consideration. Because of the lack of resolution of the earliest dates (at or around 40,000), it was just assumed that the earliest Northern Yukon dates fell pretty close to the MP-UP transition ages that were coming to light from farther west in Southern Siberia.
And now, it’s my turn to ask a question. What do you exactly mean by Archaic/Modern Hss?
The microblade and burin technologies found in the Bluefish Caves seem to point to Hss. Were these artifacts recovered from the same strata as the bone dated to ca. 25,000 B.P.?
Given the complex stratigraphy of the Bluefish Cave II deposit, it’s very difficult to attribute precise ages to specific stone artifacts. But for a microblade core found in a clear mid-Holocene context, all the other stone tools (microblade cores, burins, microblades, etc.) were found in stratigraphic contexts that allow me to suggest that they could well predate 12,000 years ago, and this by many millennia. Whether or not they can be associated with the traces of a 25,000 B.P. of a human presence, I can’t tell at this time. And to answer the first part of your question, yes, it’s likely that all the cultural material found at Bluefish (stone tools as well as culturally modified bones) can be attributed to an H.s.s. presence.
Second, do you happen to have images of the proboscidean bone dated to 42,000 +1200/-1400, from CRH 15? This is a remarkably early date for Hss in the northern latitudes.
Respectfully,
Charlie
I have a picture of it somewhere, but I can assure you that it’ll take me a while to retrieve it and fix it up!
In the meantime, the picture of the “bone flake” we talked about earlier, i.e. the one shown in the Mammoth Trumpet, has now been uploaded to the Palanth FTP site. You can download it by clicking
HERE.
Best regards,
Jacques
Thanks for your response, Jacques.
You asked what I mean by "Archaic sapiens". I’m talking about any intermediary between Erectus and Hss. This definition includes Neanderthals and Heidelbergensis.
Thanks a million for the excellent image. Mammoth bone appears to flake just like stone: clear arrises; step fractures; hinge fractures; etc…I’m assuming the view you provided is dorsal. It appears several flakes (two step and one hinge termination, at least) were removed from the core prior to detachment of this flake. Is there any kind of bulb or percussion waves on the ventral surface? I’m assuming this is the specimen dated to ca. 29,000 B.P.? What are the earliest reported dates for microblade technology in Siberia/ Asia? Thanks for tracking down the other specimen!!
Excuse my normal rash of questions, but I'm one to "suck the marrow of knowledge" from my elders, if they'll allow it. ;)
Respectfully,
Charlie
