BREATHE - The research

deciphering the archaeological signature of desert pavements

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The project is structured around four main objectives

The first aims to characterise Early and Middle Stone Age technologies in the study regions. The second examines morphometric variability across different artefact types. The third focuses on understanding how taphonomic processes affect artefacts and their contexts. The fourth synthesises the findings into a comprehensive model of technological and spatial patterns across the Libyan Sahara and toward the Mediterranean during the Mid to Late Pleistocene.

Together, they provide a complementary view of technology, shape and preservation, with the ultimate aim of interpreting past human activity in the region on a landscape scale.

Technological framework

Study of Early and Middle Stone Age artefacts from surface sites and test excavations in southern Libya. The analysis employs a combined technological and attribute-based approach including assessments of artefact preservation, analysis of raw material sources, reconstruction of reduction strategies, typological classification, and statistical evaluation of key attributes.

Morphometric variability

The research applies Geometric Morphometric (GM) methods to analyse the shapes of stone tools using both archival images and newly acquired data, including photographs and 3D scans of artefacts from the study regions. The aim is to assess shape variability within and between regions, and to test the consistency of different GM approaches. By statistically quantifying shape, the project explores links between tool form, technological attributes, and spatial and chronological patterns.

Taphonomic effects

Taphonomic analyses on selected artefacts from the study areas are being conducted with the goal to understand how natural processes have affected the preservation of stone tools across different environments and contexts, also comparing surface and buried materials. By examining physical and chemical alterations at meso- and micro-scales, the study assesses the impact of arid environmental conditions on the archaeological record across sites and regions.

Geo-spatial modeling

The research integrates its data with archaeological, environmental, and remote sensing sources into a unified geospatial framework covering the study areas. For this, a comprehensive geodatabase is being developed using information from excavation and survey reports, geoarchaeological studies, and public datasets. The resulting analysis is compared with existing research from across North Africa to situate findings in the broader regional context.

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