One Person’s Waste Is an Archaeologist’s Treasure: Using Techno-Typological Analysis of Debitage for Epipaleolithic Assemblages

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Debitage Analysis: Case Studies, Successes, and Cautionary Tales" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Stone tools have long been used by archaeologists as markers of cultural affiliation in prehistoric cultures. The Epipaleolithic (EP) of Southwest Asia (approx. 23,000–11,500 yrs BP) is no different; here microlith types are regularly used as signifiers of geographically and chronologically bounded cultural groups, social groups, or ethnic identity. However, the overreliance on retouched tools, especially microliths, neglects the largest component of most assemblages, the debitage. Without a detailed analysis of debitage types, and their modes of production, the technological processes by which these assemblages are made are lost. Analyses that focus equally on the products and byproducts produced in stone tool production provides valuable insight into systems of knowledge transfer, community learning, and local traditions of manufacturing technology. Therefore, the primary goals of our techno-typological approach, based on replicative research, is to improve inter- and intra-analyst identifications, as well as consider the full range lithic artifacts in the assessment of a site’s assemblage. To demonstrate the potential interpretive benefits of this approach, we apply this techno-typology to understanding EP stone tools and their debris from the Early and Middle EP site of Kharaneh IV, Jordan.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Debitage Analysis: Case Studies, Successes, and Cautionary Tales   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37726.0