Lithics and Archaeology

Abstract

Stone artifacts were instrumental in the recognition of human antiquity. The main phases of the Paleolithic were defined based on characteristic stone tools. Lithic artifacts have since continued to play an essential role in methodological advances and research trends. During the 1950s, Bordes developed typological and technological methods for studying assemblages of artifacts, leading to continuing debate concerning the ethnic significance of stone tools. Leroi-Gourhan proposed a paleoethnological approach, which included spatial analysis and the concept of chaîne opératoire. During the 1960s, the American processual approach stressed the importance of understanding the dynamic processes by which artifacts were created. In contrast to the American deductive approach, French archaeologists, led by Tixier, developed inductive methods of ‘technological reading’ within the framework of the chaîne opératoire. Semenov introduced new methods for determining stone tool functions. Current approaches emphasize the organization of lithic technology within the wider technological and socio-economic contexts of prehistoric groups. In France, this began with the development of ‘economic’ approaches during the 1970s. In America, the ‘technological organization’ approach, largely based on ethnographic analogy, has dominated since the 1980s. Both emphasize factors such as raw materials, mobility, and the diffusion of specialized objects. Recent cognitive approaches address questions concerning the evolution of psychomotor capacities and technical specialization.