As the study of Palaeolithic technologies moves towards a more analytical approach, it is necessary to determine a consistent procedural framework. The contributions to this timely and comprehensive volume do just that. This volume incorporates a broad chronological and geographical range of Palaeolithic material from the Lower to Upper Palaeolithic. The focus of this volume is to provide an analysis of Palaeolithic technologies from a quantitative, empirical perspective.

As new techniques, particularly quantitative methods, for analyzing Palaeolithic technologies gain popularity, this work provides case studies showcasing these new techniques.

Employing diverse case studies, and utilizing multivariate approaches, morphometrics, model-based approaches, phylogenetics, cultural transmission studies, and experimentation, this volume provides insights from international contributors at the forefront of recent methodological advances.

Autorentext

Stephen Lycett is Lecturer in Human Evolution at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. He gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge (2006) and his MSc from University College London (2003). His research traverses the boundaries of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology and Biological Anthropology. He has published on a broad range of research questions including cultural evolution in hominins and nonhuman primates, morphometrics, lithic analysis, hominin dispersals, hominid phylogenetics and species identification in the fossil record. He is particularly interested in cultural transmission theory and how this approach can help shed light on the evolution of material culture.

Parth R. Chauhan is an Indian-American Research Associate with the Stone Age Institute (Indiana, USA). He obtained his PhD from the University of Sheffield (UK) in 2005 and his MA from Deccan College Postgraduate Research Institute (Pune, India) in 1998. His research interests include Old World prehistory, Palaeolithic archaeology, hominin dispersals, Asian paleoanthropology, vertebrate paleontology and taphonomy and lithic technology. He is currently carrying out research on early human technological and environmental adaptations during the Quaternary of India and Yemen. .

Inhalt

Analytical Approaches to Palaeolithic Technologies: An Introduction.- A Geometric Morphometric Assessment of Plan Shape in Bone and Stone Acheulean Bifaces from the Middle Pleistocene Site of Castel di Guido, Latium, Italy.- Regional Diversity Within the Core Technology of the Howiesons Poort Techno-Complex.- Questioning the Link Between Stone Tool Standardization and Behavioral Modernity.- The Quantitative Analysis of Mobility: Ecological Techniques and Archaeological Extensions.- Metrical Variability Between South Asian Handaxe Assemblages: Preliminary Observations.- Quantifying Variation in Landscape-Scale Behaviors: The Oldowan from Koobi Fora.- The Mathematics of Chaînes Opératoires.- Cultural Transmission, Genetic Models and Palaeolithic Variability: Integrative Analytical Approaches.- Comparing Stone Tool Resharpening Trajectories with the Aid of Elliptical Fourier Analysis.- An Assessment of the Impact of Resharpening on Paleoindian Projectile Point Blade Shape Using Geometric Morphometric Techniques.- Stone-Tool Demography: Reduction Distributions in North American Paleoindian Tools.- The Future of Lithic Analysis in Palaeolithic Archaeology: A View from the Old World.- The Future of Paleolithic Studies: A View from the New World.