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A matter of choice: social implications of raw material availability
cannot be excluded from social organisation, division of labour or exchange
networks. I see each acquisition event as a choice within a technological tra
dition. This would require knowledge about the technological process, about
the subsequent steps of lithic production and even how to cope with possible
social tensions when essential information is learned and communicated.
Certain production stages demand a high degree of individual skill, which
can be attained only through practice. Although raw material quality can be
estimated by experience, it can never be fully anticipated. The possibility of
practising is thus governed by natural availability. Apel has shown that spe
cialised manufacturers live in the vicinity of raw material sources. Far from
the source there are reasons to expect only a few persons working with rare
materials. Thus, we can expect more people taking part in lithic production
where the sources were available to everyone (Apel 2001:28, 100).
With the processual archaeology many methods were launched in order
to deal with ancient societies. For instance, lithic analysis has made consid
erable progress since the introduction of the chaîne opératoire concept in the
when both tools and debris were related to social and economic conditions.
Technology was divided into collective ideas in opposition to individual
practice and experience. At the end of the century, more problem orient
ed studies were triggered by microwear analysis and practical experiments.
Later on, cognitive aspects were gradually brought into the concept of chaîne
opératoire
new perspectives are by no means unproblematic. Without an oral tradition,
limited information. Besides, our interpretations are more or less biased by
current paradigms and personal experience. Additional information chan
nels are needed.
The initial stage of chaîne opératoire is characterised by either direct or in
direct procurement strategies (Eriksen 2000:80). The former can be seen
as direct contact with the natural source, including quarrying and eventual
quality tests. The latter strategy has more to do with exchange or secondary
use of the material.
To address the question why certain raw materials have been chosen, a
number of factors can be mentioned. These are partly functional or deter
ministic explanations, involving the practical and economic aspects of stone
procurement strategies. According to this view, certain raw materials are
seen as suitable for performing certain tasks. Functional interpretations have
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