Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone - IRIT
Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone - IRIT
Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone - IRIT
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Fig. 35 — Thermal damage : natural pits mimicking removal negatives, siliceous rock, Qatar desert<br />
(Photo J.-L. Princelle).<br />
Underst<strong>and</strong>ing a lithie assemblag e<br />
The intrinsic informative value <strong>of</strong> an archaeological site, the quality <strong>of</strong> excavation <strong>and</strong><br />
recording methods, the amount <strong>of</strong> lithic material <strong>and</strong> the type <strong>of</strong> site (short-term location,<br />
seasonal or permanent campsite, workshop, etc.), will all have a bearing on possible interpretations.<br />
However, the mastery <strong>of</strong> technological interpretation, due to the development <strong>of</strong> new<br />
analytical methods <strong>and</strong> techniques, has considerably enriched the study <strong>of</strong> prehistoric societies.<br />
Innovative research strategies give substance to hypotheses long considered as purely speculative<br />
: conjoining <strong>and</strong> refitting, experimentation <strong>and</strong> microwear analysis have witnessed major<br />
breakthroughs over the last ten years. The study <strong>of</strong> the cognitive <strong>and</strong> psychomotor aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
technical behaviour is a recent development, but its potential for research into the technical skills<br />
<strong>of</strong> extinct societies has already been demonstrated. These methods, which have now become<br />
fields <strong>of</strong> specialization, are briefly presented hereafter.<br />
1. Conjoins an d refit s (figs . 3 6 <strong>and</strong> 40 )<br />
Beginning nearly a century ago, conjoining - rather than refitting - has been common<br />
practice among prehistorians, generally in order to confirm the contemporaneity <strong>of</strong> a stratigraphic<br />
sequence, or simply out <strong>of</strong> curiosity 83<br />
.<br />
At Pincevent 84<br />
, the systematic refitting <strong>of</strong> finds, by which the underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> the<br />
occupation units was furthered, has shown the wealth <strong>of</strong> information that such a method can<br />
provide. At present, it contributes more to palaeoethnic knowledge than to research into knapping<br />
83 The Big Puzzle, 1980; Cahen, 1987.<br />
84 Leroi-Gourhan, Brezillon, 1972.<br />
94