Abstract
Assessments of the complexity of lithic technologies coming from different time periods, regions, or hominid species are recurrent features of the literature on Paleolithic archaeology. Yet the notion of lithic complexity is often defined intuitively and qualitatively, which can easily lead to circular arguments and makes difficult the comparison of assemblages across different regions and time periods. Here we propose, in the spirit of Oswalt's techno-units, that the complexity of lithic technology can be quantified by counting the procedural units involved in tool manufacture. We define procedural units as mutually exclusive manufacturing steps that make a distinct contribution to the finished form of a technology. As a proof of concept, we use the procedural-unit approach to measure the complexity of 13 Paleolithic assemblages. While preliminary, these results provide a quantitative benchmark confirming that lithic technological complexity increased throughout the Paleolithic period. The method to measure lithic complexity outlined here will allow us to revisit several claims made about change in technological complexity during human evolution.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Current Anthropology |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | SUPPL8. |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2013 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Archaeology
Cite this
Measuring the complexity of lithic technology. / Perreault, Charles; Jeffrey Brantingham, P.; Kuhn, Steven L; Wurz, Sarah; Gao, Xing.
In: Current Anthropology, Vol. 54, No. SUPPL8., 2013.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Measuring the complexity of lithic technology
AU - Perreault, Charles
AU - Jeffrey Brantingham, P.
AU - Kuhn, Steven L
AU - Wurz, Sarah
AU - Gao, Xing
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Assessments of the complexity of lithic technologies coming from different time periods, regions, or hominid species are recurrent features of the literature on Paleolithic archaeology. Yet the notion of lithic complexity is often defined intuitively and qualitatively, which can easily lead to circular arguments and makes difficult the comparison of assemblages across different regions and time periods. Here we propose, in the spirit of Oswalt's techno-units, that the complexity of lithic technology can be quantified by counting the procedural units involved in tool manufacture. We define procedural units as mutually exclusive manufacturing steps that make a distinct contribution to the finished form of a technology. As a proof of concept, we use the procedural-unit approach to measure the complexity of 13 Paleolithic assemblages. While preliminary, these results provide a quantitative benchmark confirming that lithic technological complexity increased throughout the Paleolithic period. The method to measure lithic complexity outlined here will allow us to revisit several claims made about change in technological complexity during human evolution.
AB - Assessments of the complexity of lithic technologies coming from different time periods, regions, or hominid species are recurrent features of the literature on Paleolithic archaeology. Yet the notion of lithic complexity is often defined intuitively and qualitatively, which can easily lead to circular arguments and makes difficult the comparison of assemblages across different regions and time periods. Here we propose, in the spirit of Oswalt's techno-units, that the complexity of lithic technology can be quantified by counting the procedural units involved in tool manufacture. We define procedural units as mutually exclusive manufacturing steps that make a distinct contribution to the finished form of a technology. As a proof of concept, we use the procedural-unit approach to measure the complexity of 13 Paleolithic assemblages. While preliminary, these results provide a quantitative benchmark confirming that lithic technological complexity increased throughout the Paleolithic period. The method to measure lithic complexity outlined here will allow us to revisit several claims made about change in technological complexity during human evolution.
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U2 - 10.1086/673264
DO - 10.1086/673264
M3 - Article
VL - 54
JO - Current Anthropology
JF - Current Anthropology
SN - 0011-3204
IS - SUPPL8.
ER -