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Long blade technology in the Old World
Methodological principles of method and
We follow the basic distinction introduced by J. Tixier between method and
technique (Tixier, 1967). The method, as an intentional process more or less
systematized, refers to the organization in space and time of the removals
(reduction process).
The technique refers to the execution modalities of these removals, includ
ing three parameters:
the mode of force (Newcomer 1975), i.e. direct percussion, indirect
percussion, pressure;
the nature and morphology of the tools (stones, billets, punches,
pressure sticks armed with wood, antler, or copper);
the gesture and body position, the holding of the piece, etc.
Several techniques can thus be used within one single method of knapping,
Such a distinction between method and technique is basically relevant,
because the methods on the one hand and the techniques on the other must
be deduced from the archaeological material through very different proce
dures.
The method from an archaeological production must be recognized pri
marily through a technological reading – inspection – of the whole of the
collection, piece by piece, with special attention to the direction and or
ganization of the negatives it bears on the dorsal surface, which provide
information about the preceding sequence of the knapping. The synthesis of
Tixier), helps to reconstruct the method of knapping which can be expressed
with diacritic schemes (Inizan et al. 1999). Only when a knapping method is
precisely understood can it be reproduced employing the genuine techniques
and raw material, with the aim of providing quantitative references (rate of
products and waste, time, etc).
experimental reference base, as complete as possible, including at least the
Indeed, merely the observation of the archaeological material does not allow
for a direct recognition of techniques. The diagnostic should be established
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