Knapping for the Thrill of It? The Non-Conservation of Raw Materials at Middle Paleolithic Sites
Author(s): Amy Clark
Year: 2018
Summary
Open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in France are characterized by dense piles of lithic material surrounded by low density "empty" areas. Spatial analysis can be used to segregate lithics artifacts based on whether they are located in the high or low density zones. This analysis is supported by the spatial tracking of refitting sets. The results indicate that high density zones likely correspond with knapping locations and low density areas contain lithics selected from the knapped material for use. The dense knapping piles contain many lithic pieces thought of as manufacturing debris, but also many optimal blanks. This suggests that the conservation of raw materials was not a priority for Middle Paleolithic knappers at these sites.
Cite this Record
Knapping for the Thrill of It? The Non-Conservation of Raw Materials at Middle Paleolithic Sites. Amy Clark. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 443891)
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Keywords
General
Hunter-Gatherers/Foragers
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Lithic Analysis
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Paleolithic
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Spatial Analysis
Geographic Keywords
Europe: Western Europe
Spatial Coverage
min long: -13.711; min lat: 35.747 ; max long: 8.965; max lat: 59.086 ;
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 21327