'The skill-spectrum: quantifiable methods for identifying novices in the Middle Pleistocene archaeological record'.

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My proposal aims to add to the understanding of learning and skill acquisition in Middle Pleistocene hominin groups by attempting to identify learners in the archaeological record. My methodology quantifies the relative skill-level of knappers through analysing their bifaces and generating numerical indices for skills critical in their manufacture, ultimately identifying the spectrum of skill-levels in the archaeological record - novice through expert - to ascertain where novices appear in the landscape and why?My principle question is whether Middle Pleistocene hominins organised their groups, landscapes and resources relative to the teaching and learning of biface manufacture; are there correlations between distance from raw material source, difficulty in attaining said resource and the visibility of less-skilled practitioners (novices) in the archaeological record? Are there observable patterns regarding where novices appear in the landscape? What factors predicate an increased level of novice activity?In addition, I propose to undertake experimental research into the effects time-pressure and material quality have on the ability to produce well-made handaxes to inform more accurate determinations of expert/novice. The above questions attempt to identify novice behaviour in the Middle Pleistocene as a way to discuss child participation. Extant hunter-gatherer groups consist of around 40% children (Stapert 2007), indicating the contribution children may have made to the archaeological record. Furthermore, research into the cognitive and physical demands of Mode II manufacture, ethnoarchaeological documentation of skill learning dynamics, as well as my own experimental work (Grove and Dunbar, 2015; Högberg et al., 2015; Hutchence, 2013; Shipton and Nielsen, in press; Stout et al., 2014, 2015), shows mastery of Mode II technology requires transmission of key concepts from expert to novice and subsequent sustained practice on behalf of said novice. It is accepted that biface manufacture was a learnt process; by identifying learners, I hope to elucidate the conditions which constrained novice learning, thereby generating a more detailed glimpse into the lives of our Middle Pleistocene forebears.Critical for addressing the above is a method for quantifying skill. Experimental research (Machin 2009; Stout et al., 2014) shows key attributes of an efficient, well-made handaxe to be thinness relative to length and width (refinement) and non-sinuous cutting edges. My undergraduate experiment with novice and expert level knappers suggested thinning and edge management towards the latter stage of biface manufacture were the most difficult to master; further supported by my MPhil thesis finding, which tested the statistical significance of criteria thought indicative of skill in biface manufacture (refinement, edge sinuosity and symmetry), that a knapper's ability to thin a biface effectively and produce a non-sinuous cutting edge correlate in a more statistically significant manner than with biface symmetry. Both refinement ratios (thickness/breadth and thickness/length) and edge sinuosity are calculated to produce indices used to understand quantifiably the relative skill-level of one handaxe over another. By amassing a large data-set from Mode II assemblages across Eurasia, I can discern the relative visibility of novices and investigate what predicated their appearance: distance from and/or abundance of raw material, seasonality, activity type? Additionally, insights from my timescale experiment, mentioned above, will inform determinations of novice and expert level skill indices. This project attempts to provide a framework for the quantifiable identification of novices in the Middle Pleistocene, visibly mapping their presence in the landscape to understand whether learning biface manufacture was ubiquitous or constrained by certain factors.