Stone Tool Use in Late Prehistoric and Historic Contexts in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Author(s): Paul Kardulias

Year: 2015

Summary

In part because of their lack of plasticity (compared to ceramics, for example), lithics exhibited relatively little change over long periods of time. This rigidity of form also conferred great benefits on lithics. With some modification, various stones could make extremely useful implements for cutting, scraping, drilling, incising, and abrading, grinding, or crushing various materials, even when compared to tools provided by new technologies. Indeed, both flaked and ground stone tools persisted even as new materials and technologies were introduced because their relatively low cost and high durability provided substantial value and utility for people. Specifically, this study examines the continuation of lithic technology from the end of the prehistoric period (Bronze Age) into subsequent historical phases (Archaic, Classical, Roman, Byzantine) in the eastern Mediterranean and Near East. In some instances, such as with threshing sledges and the use of millstones to grind grains, the technology persisted well into the 20th century and was a significant part of the domestic and political economy. The concepts that underlie this technological persistence are strategic thinking and economizing behavior on the part of people in cultures past and present.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

Cite this Record

Stone Tool Use in Late Prehistoric and Historic Contexts in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Paul Kardulias. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 396296)

Keywords

Geographic Keywords
Europe

Spatial Coverage

min long: -11.074; min lat: 37.44 ; max long: 50.098; max lat: 70.845 ;