Curation at his 50th, reinterpreted- a suggested novel technological quantification.

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring the Intersection of Ethnography and Technology: Understanding the Evolution of Human Technologies through Ethnographic Research" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Curation, a key concept in lithic analysis rooted in ethnography, was introduced by Binford to illustrate the adaptive strategies of hunter-gatherers and how provisional conditions influence their behavioral choices. Initially perceived as an inherent strategy in resource exploitation, the concept of curation has undergone extensive discourse over the past 50 years, particularly regarding its applicability, epistemology, and theoretical contributions. Curation has been partially integrated into the technological organization perspective, emphasizing decision-making, including all stages from “the selection and integration of strategies for making, using, transporting, and discarding tools and the material needed for their manufacture and maintenance” (Nelson 1991:57).

This paper examines the operational sequence of retouching and resharpening through two case studies of Middle Paleolithic obsidian lithic assemblages from Armenia. Our analysis focuses on the technological aspects of retouching and resharpening byproducts, particularly flakes smaller than 20 mm. By implementing a new classificatory scheme and leveraging precise obsidian sourcing, we achieve two primary objectives: reconstructing the decision-making processes in raw material provisioning and quantifying the degree of curation, including the extracted utility per raw material and distance. This novel approach to technological quantification offers a fresh perspective on curation, reviving the concept after 50 years of discourse.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Exploring the Intersection of Ethnography and Technology: Understanding the Evolution of Human Technologies through Ethnographic Research   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52716