Abstract
In this paper we examine the effects of heavy-duty earth moving machinery on the formation of
lithic debitáge at open-air Stone Age/Paleolithic sites. Industrial development activity on
archaeologically sensitive landscapes is an increasingly common occurrence in many parts of the
world. Few studies have considered what the long term consequences of these activities might be
on stone tool scatters, particularly how such activities might contribute to the production of
pseudo artifacts. Here we present the results of a ‘technological study’ of lithic debitáge created
through actualistic machine activity at a solar facility construction site, in a sensitive Stone Age
cultural landscape in South Africa. Many debitáge categories superficially indistinguishable from
knapping waste were produced during the experiment as well as perfectly formed dorsally ridged
flakes reminiscent of un-retouched bladelets found in many parts of the world. We also present
some criteria that could assist cultural resource management practitioners and archaeologists
working on a landscape scale to discriminate between machine-induced debitáge and
anthropogenic debitáge.