Abstract
Handedness is inextricably linked to brain lateralization and language in humans, and identifying handedness in the paleo-archaeological record is important for understanding hominid cognitive evolution. This study reports on experiments for identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage using three previously established methods: Toth (1985), Rugg and Mullane (2001), and Bargalló and Mosquera (2013). A blind study was conducted on lithic debitage (n = 631) from Acheulean handaxes (n = 10) created by right- and left-handed subjects. Blinded handedness predictions for flakes were compared to their true handedness in order to assess each method’s reliability. In order to test replicability, multiple observers classified a sample of flakes and inter-observer greement was assessed. None of the methods were better than chance in predictive accuracy, and there were significant issues with interobserver agreement. This study suggests that identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage is extremely difficult, but also that some existing methodological issues may have simple solutions; suggestions for future research on this topic are provided.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 171-188 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Lithic Technology |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2015 |
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Keywords
- Experimental archaeology
- Hominid cognitive evolution
- Hominid handedness
- Lithic analysis
- Right shift
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- Archaeology
- Anthropology
Cite this
Determining hominid handedness in Lithic Debitage : A review of current methodologies. / Ruck, Lana; Broadfield, Douglas C; Brown, Clifford T.
In: Lithic Technology, Vol. 40, No. 3, 01.08.2015, p. 171-188.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Determining hominid handedness in Lithic Debitage
T2 - A review of current methodologies
AU - Ruck, Lana
AU - Broadfield, Douglas C
AU - Brown, Clifford T.
PY - 2015/8/1
Y1 - 2015/8/1
N2 - Handedness is inextricably linked to brain lateralization and language in humans, and identifying handedness in the paleo-archaeological record is important for understanding hominid cognitive evolution. This study reports on experiments for identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage using three previously established methods: Toth (1985), Rugg and Mullane (2001), and Bargalló and Mosquera (2013). A blind study was conducted on lithic debitage (n = 631) from Acheulean handaxes (n = 10) created by right- and left-handed subjects. Blinded handedness predictions for flakes were compared to their true handedness in order to assess each method’s reliability. In order to test replicability, multiple observers classified a sample of flakes and inter-observer greement was assessed. None of the methods were better than chance in predictive accuracy, and there were significant issues with interobserver agreement. This study suggests that identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage is extremely difficult, but also that some existing methodological issues may have simple solutions; suggestions for future research on this topic are provided.
AB - Handedness is inextricably linked to brain lateralization and language in humans, and identifying handedness in the paleo-archaeological record is important for understanding hominid cognitive evolution. This study reports on experiments for identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage using three previously established methods: Toth (1985), Rugg and Mullane (2001), and Bargalló and Mosquera (2013). A blind study was conducted on lithic debitage (n = 631) from Acheulean handaxes (n = 10) created by right- and left-handed subjects. Blinded handedness predictions for flakes were compared to their true handedness in order to assess each method’s reliability. In order to test replicability, multiple observers classified a sample of flakes and inter-observer greement was assessed. None of the methods were better than chance in predictive accuracy, and there were significant issues with interobserver agreement. This study suggests that identifying knapper handedness in lithic debitage is extremely difficult, but also that some existing methodological issues may have simple solutions; suggestions for future research on this topic are provided.
KW - Experimental archaeology
KW - Hominid cognitive evolution
KW - Hominid handedness
KW - Lithic analysis
KW - Right shift
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84937032294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1179/2051618515Y.0000000009
DO - 10.1179/2051618515Y.0000000009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84937032294
VL - 40
SP - 171
EP - 188
JO - Lithic Technology
JF - Lithic Technology
SN - 0197-7261
IS - 3
ER -