134:
17:
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The samples included fossil traces and fragments of plant materials—wood or roots—that in one instance is replaced by calcite which in turn is being replaced by silica. This evidence suggests that the material is not metamorphic quartzite but more likely is sedimentary silcrete that is being formed
129:
techniques. It is widely believed by stone tool experts that the technology to treat silcrete by burying under a hot fire was known 25,000 years ago in Europe. Heating changes the stone structure making it more easily flaked. This process may have been the first use of so-called pyrotechnology by
156:
researchers have determined that two types of silcrete tools were developed between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago and used the heat treatment technique. There is evidence to suggest the technique may have been known as early as 164,000 years ago.
117:
In
Australia, silcrete was widely used by Aboriginal people for stone tool manufacture, and as such, it was a tradeable commodity, and silcrete tools can be found in areas that have no silcrete groundmass at all, similar to the European use of
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Delta. Evidence was found that raw silcrete blanks and blocks were transported prior to heat treating during the MSA. The geochemical signatures of the fragments can be used to identify where many of the individual pieces were quarried.
160:
The peoples of the
African Middle Stone Age (MSA) showed a preference for silcrete tools, sourcing the material from up to 200 km to use in place of more accessible quartz and quartzite. MSA quarries have recently been found in
506:
Nash, D.; Coulson, S.; Staurset, S.; Ullyott, J.S.; Babutsi, M.; Hopkinson, L.; Smith, M. (2013). "Provenancing of silcrete raw materials indicates long-distance transport to
Tsodilo Hills, Botswana, during the Middle Stone Age".
219:
from the Late
Pleistocene of Uruguay, approximately 54% of the studied points were made of silcrete, far more than any other rock type, with silcrete tools being transferred hundreds of kilometres from their original outcrop.
552:"Mobility and raw material procurement by Fishtail people in Uruguay: Evaluation of silcrete long distance transport between campsites and outcrops during the late Pleistocene (ca. 12,900–12,250 cal BP)"
237:
Ullyott, J.; Nash, D.; Whiteman, C.; Mortimore, R. (2004). "Distribution, Peterology, and Mode of
Development of Silcretes (Sarsens and Puddingstones) on the Eastern South Downs, UK".
316:
362:
Brown KS, Marean CW, Herries AI, Jacobs Z, Tribolo C, Braun D, Roberts DL, Meyer MC, Bernatchez J (2009). "Fire as an engineering tool of early modern humans".
345:
317:
Robert J. Hoard, Kansas
Historical Society, John R. Bozell, Nebraska State Historical Society, Gina S. Powell, Kansas Historical Society (2017).
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of the United States, polished silcrete cobbles are locally common on the surface and in river gravels east of the outcrops of the
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79:
Silcrete is common in the arid regions of
Australia and Africa often forming the resistant cap rock on features such as the
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and were used as chipped tool stone as early as the Early
Ceramic (ca. 400–1100 CE) Keith phase of the
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91:. Silcrete can be found at a lesser extent throughout the world especially England (e.g.
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of the United States, silcrete cobbles and boulders up to 16 kilograms (35 lb) of
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The
Distribution and Origin of Silcrete in the Ogallala Formation, Garza County, Texas
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Tools made out of silcrete which has not been heat treated are difficult to make with
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and resistant material, and though different in origin and nature, appears similar to
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425:"Cooked Results: Modern Toolmaker Uses Fire to Solve 72,000-Year-Old Mystery"
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72:. As a duricrust, there is potential for preservation of root structures as
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THE KRAUS 1 SITE, 14EL313 A Keith Phase
Component in West Central Kansas
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formed when surface soil, sand, and gravel are cemented by dissolved
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monuments in southern England are also built with sarsen stones.
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475:"Technological innovation may have driven first human migration"
323:. Cultural Resources Division, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka
16:
97:
53:
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449:"Early modern humans use fire to engineer tools from stone"
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27:) in the Waddens Cove Formation (formed during the
56:. The formation of silcrete is similar to that of
550:Suárez, Rafael; Barceló, Flavia (February 2024).
333:in an ancient paleosol in the Ogallala formation.
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278:
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344:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
177:in southern England used this stone for the
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556:Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
455:, Arizona State University, 13 August 2009
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204:age are found on uplands bordering the
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239:Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
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423:Borrell, Brendan (13 August 2009),
60:, formed by calcium carbonate, and
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14:
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543:
473:Jones, Cheryl (30 October 2008),
45:(resists crumbling or powdering)
64:, formed by iron oxide. It is a
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147:(71,000 BCE) (scale bar = 5cm)
1:
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138:Bifacial silcrete point from
576:10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104338
529:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.01.010
181:and sarsen circle uprights.
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7:
10:
617:
509:Journal of Human Evolution
94:Hertfordshire puddingstone
384:10.1126/science.1175028
487:10.1038/news.2008.1196
283:McCoy, Zaneta (2011).
149:
101:), and France. In the
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294:Texas Tech University
136:
19:
568:2024JArSR..53j4338S
521:2013JHumE..64..280N
429:Scientific American
376:2009Sci...325..859B
251:2004ESPL...29.1509U
152:In South Africa at
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107:Ogallala Formation
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601:Sedimentary rocks
245:(12): 1509–1539.
31:), Sydney Basin,
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370:(5942): 859–62.
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259:10.1002/esp.1136
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210:Woodland culture
206:Ogallala outcrop
173:The builders of
144:Middle Stone Age
142:, South Africa,
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217:Fishtail points
215:In a survey of
185:and many other
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89:South Australia
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515:(4): 280–288.
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154:Pinnacle Point
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130:early mankind.
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127:flintknapping
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29:Pennsylvanian
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490:, retrieved
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325:. Retrieved
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297:. Retrieved
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242:
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194:Great Plains
191:
172:
159:
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140:Blombos Cave
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103:Great Plains
98:sarsen stone
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85:Stuart Range
80:
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38:
37:
20:
393:11422/11102
299:January 24,
33:Nova Scotia
23:(siliceous
590:Categories
562:: 104338.
327:2021-01-24
224:References
202:Quaternary
187:megalithic
179:Heel Stone
175:Stonehenge
81:breakaways
62:ferricrete
340:cite book
267:128835601
113:Human use
70:quartzite
50:duricrust
43:indurated
537:23453438
453:Phys.org
410:43916405
402:19679810
167:Okavango
163:Botswana
58:calcrete
39:Silcrete
25:paleosol
21:Silcrete
564:Bibcode
517:Bibcode
492:4 April
459:4 April
434:4 April
372:Bibcode
364:Science
292:(MSc).
247:Bibcode
200:/early-
198:Neogene
192:In the
183:Avebury
83:of the
535:
479:Nature
408:
400:
265:
54:silica
41:is an
406:S2CID
290:(PDF)
263:S2CID
120:flint
596:Soil
533:PMID
494:2013
461:2013
436:2013
398:PMID
346:link
301:2021
96:and
66:hard
47:soil
572:doi
525:doi
483:doi
388:hdl
380:doi
368:325
255:doi
87:of
592::
570:.
560:53
558:.
554:.
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513:64
511:.
481:,
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451:,
427:,
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354:^
342:}}
338:{{
330:.
309:^
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243:29
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.