Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone - IRIT

Terminology
The problem of a uniform descriptive vocabulary arises from the outset. Any reading of
archaeological material would be pointless if it were not followed by exchange and communication.
Indeed, by acknowledging that words are tools 19
, we realize how much a precise
vocabulary can improve the effectiveness of our analyses. Homage must once again be paid to
A. Leroi-Gourhan : during his seminars on habitation structures (lato sensu) at the Collège de
France, he initiated a process of collective reflection leading to the establisment of "a provisional
vocabulary, in which the major concern was to eschew the pitfall of words and of uncontrolled
identification" 20
. The terminological lexicon presented here deals with the vocabulary of lithic
technology. Many of the terms are conventional, and deliberately taken from terminology in
current use. Even if they are not quite apt, they have become established by usage and are
therefore convenient : stripped of their original meaning, they are already integrated into a
specialized vocabulary (for instance, terms such as burin, microburin, Levallois, etc.).
The wish to untangle confusions, reduce synonymies and suppress ambiguities has
guided our choices. We have avoided equivocal technical terms, and have tried to stick to a single
term when describing the same phenomenon.
Lithic illustratio n
The same procedures have been applied to the illustration of lithics. Drawings should not
be considered as a prop for words and definitions, but as a genuine informative technological
writing, and this is what we have attempted (ch. 7). Far from being mere reproductions of stone
artefacts, the drawings and diagrams presented here were conceived at the same time as the text
and can even substitute for it, the symbols used being equivalent to a terminology. If a clear
sentence is better than a vague generic term, an accurate technical drawing can usefully replace
a vague description.
19 "However, I think it is important that researchers recognize that their words are their tools, just as stone artifacts
they study were the tools of people". Boksenbaum, 1977 : 30.
20 "un vocabulaire d'attente, où dominait le parti d'échapper au piège des mots et de l'identification sans contrôle".
Leroi-Gourhan, 1982 : 3.
17