Basketry of South America

The meaning of the word basketry includes the skill of making baskets, the making techniques, and the group of finished objects. These objects were made from raw vegetable materials, sometimes without previous preparation process. Baskets are often made with the hands. Basketry fulfilled several needs, including plateaux, spheres, and roofs. However, there are only a few remains of these because they were made from perishable materials.Fil: Perez, Cecilia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Campeny, Sara Maria Luisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Estudios Sociales. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Estudios Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Lessa Costa, Rodrigo. Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco; Brasi

Movement Pattern Variability in Stone Knapping: Implications for the Development of Percussive Traditions

The earliest direct evidence for tool-use by our ancestors are 2.6 million year old stone tools from Africa. These earliest artifacts show that, already, early hominins had developed the required advanced movement skills and cognitive capacities to manufacture stone tools. Currently, it is not well understood, however, which specific movement skills are required for successful stone knapping and accordingly it is unknown how these skills emerged during early hominin evolution. In particular, it is not clear which striking movements are indicative of skilled performance, how striking movement patterns vary with task and environmental constraints, and how movement patterns are passed on within social groups. The present study addresses these questions by investigating striking movement patterns and striking variability in 18 modern stone knappers (nine experienced and nine novices). The results suggest that no single movement pattern characterizes successful stone knapping. Participants showed large inter-individual movement variability of the elementary knapping action irrespective of knapping experience and knapping performance. Changes in task- and environmental constraints led knappers to adapt their elementary striking actions using a combination of individual and common strategies. Investigation of striking pattern similarities within social groups showed only partial overlap of striking patterns across related individuals. The results therefore suggest that striking movement patterns in modern stone knappers are largely specific to the individual and movement variability is not indicative of knapping performance. The implications of these results for the development of percussive traditions are discussed