Design and development of a sensorized hammerstone for accurate force measurement in stone knapping experiments.

ABSTRACT: The process of making stone tools, specifically knapping, is a hominin behaviour that typically involves using the upper limb to manipulate a stone hammer and apply concentrated percussive force to another stone, causing fracture and detachment of stone chips with sharp edges. To understand the emergence and subsequent evolution of tool-related behaviours in hominins, the connections between the mechanics of stone knapping, including the delivery of percussive forces, and biomechanics and hominin anatomy, especially in the upper limb, are required. However, there is an absence of direct experimental means to measure the actual forces generated and applied to produce flakes during knapping. Our study introduces a novel solution to this problem in the form of an ergonomic hand-held synthetic

SUBMITTER: Barroso-Medina C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11407656 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature