A Stone in the Hand Is Worth How Many in the Bush? Applying the Marginal Value Theorem to Understand Optimal Toolstone Transportation, Processing, and Discard Decisions

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Obtaining and transporting material for manufacturing flaked stone tools comes at a cost. Numerous studies evaluate how processing may reduce transport costs, often using theory from optimal foraging theory such as central place foraging and field processing models. However, to date these studies do not adequately address the continued reuse of toolstone through space and time, or the repeated use of toolstone by multiple individuals. To remedy this, we offer a novel application of the marginal value theorem to explain changes in lithic acquisition and conveyance in terms of changing environmental context. Specifically, this study examines the impact of distance from a primary lithic source on access to secondary sources of lithic material, including previously discarded tools and cores, and quantifies these spatial patterns in terms of optimal processing before discard. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various modeling approaches, and develop and test predictions from the marginal value theorem through an artifact inventory and analysis of archaeological sites in the lower Dolores River canyon lands in southeastern Utah. This novel theoretical framework offers some general insights that are capable of explaining variation in the distribution of lithic artifacts across diverse archaeological contexts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33512