The Role of Artifact Functional Analysis in Understanding Variation in the Archaeological Record: Assessments from Studies on Tool Design and Use

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Variability: A Reassessment of Its Meaning, Afforded Range, and the Relation to Process" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Understanding artifact variability observed in archaeological assemblages may untangle key dynamics marking the evolution of major human behavioral traits. Variability likely reflects technological changes allowing early hominins to respond to dynamic Pleistocene environments and evolving sociocultural processes. Techno-typological studies are crucial for characterizing when and where changes in production, design, and artifact maintenance occurred. Although such variability is perceived over time in different regions, reconstructing the nature of technological innovations remains limited, obscuring the character of the underlying behavioral demands, neglecting triggering processes, and distorting our understanding of major evolutionary steps. Artifact functional analysis may fill this gap by investigating traces of use and correlating these to variability within tool production and design. Controlled experimental replication allows to build comparative reference-frames and to evaluate questions on raw material, tool design, and performance. This approach is fundamental for assessing assemblage functional variability and facilitates identification of new classification features. It provides crucial evidence to infer on functional and economic aspects of artifacts, subsistence behavior, and processes of cultural trait transmission. We will outline recent developments in the discipline, including aspects of research design and data acquisition, while discussing case studies tackling questions related to artifact variability in the Pleistocene record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Variability: A Reassessment of Its Meaning, Afforded Range, and the Relation to Process   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35963.0