Lithic Problems

Lithic Analysis Seminar

This course is intended to provide an in-depth introduction to contemporary methods in lithic analysis, with a special application to the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the readings, as well as my lectures will be in English, and therefore a good passive knowledge of English is required, but you will have the option to complete your written assignments and oral presentation in German. The readings...

Children in Archaeological Lithic Analysis

One assumption that persists in the field of archaeology is that it is easier to observe children within historic sites through toys or burials than it is to observe children within a prehistoric setting through lithic production. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current position of children within the prehistoric archaeological literature and to provide case studies of research that...

Smith Creek Lithic Tool Analysis

The formation of lithic assemblages

Research into the processes that form the archaeological record is an important component of archaeological practice because formation processes are a key link between the materials that archaeologists study and prehistoric societies that they seek to understand. Computational modeling is a comparatively new technology with potential to provide new insights into the dynamics of human societies,...

Insights into early lithic technologies from ethnography.

Oldowan lithic assemblages are often portrayed as a product of the need to obtain sharp flakes for cutting into animal carcases. However, ethnographic and experimental research indicates that the optimal way to produce flakes for such butchering purposes is via bipolar reduction of small cryptocrystalline pebbles rather than from larger crystalline cores resembling choppers. Ethnographic observ...