Ngan-Tillard, Dominique; Meijvogel-de Koning, P.M. (Ellen); Langejans, G.H.J. (Geeske); van Keulen, H. (Henk); van der Plicht, J. (Johannes) et. al. (2019): X-ray micro-CT scan Data of First Middle Palaeolitic tar backed tool from the Dutch North Sea. Version 1. 4TU.ResearchData. dataset. https://doi.org/10.4121/uuid:0d7f284a-93ae-4d75-8361-984df49c2a4e

Dataset

• Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
• Archaeology

3D print, Adhesive, Birch bark tar, Flint, Middle Palaeolithic, North Sea, X-ray micro-CT scan

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The age of the tool is approximately 50 000 calBP (years before 1950 AD). The tool was discovered in 2016. It has been analysed and interpreted in 2016-2018. The micro-CT scan was performed in March 2017.

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by Dominique Ngan-Tillard , P.M. (Ellen) Meijvogel-de Koning , G.H.J. (Geeske) Langejans , H. (Henk) van Keulen , J. (Johannes) van der Plicht , K.M. (Kim) Cohen , W. (Willy) van Wingerden , B. (Bertil) van Os , B.I. (Bjørn) Smit , L.W.S.W. (Luc) Amkreutz , L. (Lykke) Johansen , M.J.L.Th. (Marcel) Niekus , P.R.B. (Paul) Kozowyk , A. (Annemieke) Verbaas

The data set contains X-ray micro-CT scan data of a Middle Palaeolithic tar backed tool found in the Dutch North Sea. The tool consists of an undiagnostic flint flake embedded in a thick piece of birch tar dating from the Middle Palaeolithic. It is a significant find because 1) it is the first to be discovered in the Netherlands and the 5th in Europe and 2) both the composite nature of the tool and the presence of tar which resulted from a complex transformative technology illustrates the Neandertal intellectual capacities. This is the first ever tar backed tool which has been securely dated, chemically analysed, subjected to optical microscopy wear analysis, and scanned with a X-ray micro-CT scanner. All analyses are presented and discussed in a multidisciplinary article written by Niekus et al.. The article has been submitted for review shortly after the scan data has been published in the 4TU Centre for Research Data. The micro-CT scan data which reveals the inner structure of the tar, the flint and the morphology of the flint-tar interface is presented as supplementary material to the article. The data set is made of 5 types of files: - Images of the digitally reconstructed tool in dcm format (dicom files). The images can be used to visualize the tool in 3D with public domain open source software ImageJ. They can also be further post-processed. Upon request the raw scan data (before re-construction) can be provided. - The surface meshes of the flint and the tar in obj and ud3 formats. The surfaces can be inspected separately in 3D using public domain open source software Meshlab. They can also be 3D printed. - A video in wmv format allowing to explore the inner and outer structure of the tool. - A pdf describing features displayed in the video. - A pdf containing the meta-data related to the scan and the data processing.

• 2019-02-18 first online, published, posted

4TU.Centre for Research Data

media types: application/dicom, application/octet-stream, application/pdf, application/zip, text/plain, video/x-ms-asf

• https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907828116

• TU Delft

Centre for Anthropological Research, University of Johannesburg, South Africa (aff. Langejans);
Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (aff. van Keulen, van Os);
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Department of Geoscience and Engineering;
Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University;
Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University (aff. Cohen);
Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands (aff. Langejans);
Groningen University (aff. van der Plicht);
National Museum of Antiquities (aff. Amkreutz);
Stichting STONE/ Foundation for Stone Age research in the Netherlands