The Geological Occurence of Lithic Material and Stone Tool Production Strategies

TitleThe Geological Occurence of Lithic Material and Stone Tool Production Strategies
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1994
AuthorsAndrefsky, W.
JournalGeoarchaeology
Volume9
Pagination375-391
AbstractThis study shows how the occurrence of lithic raw-materials articulate with huntergatherer technological organization. Three archaeological data sets representing 109different sites and one ethnographic data set from Australia are examined to show thatlithic raw-material size, shape, quality, and availability play a major role in huntergatherer decisions to make various kinds of stone tools. These characteristics of lithicmaterial occurrence are used to help explain why expedient technologies such as bipolartool production are sometimes used, and why formalized technologies such as bifacialproduction may be selected as a tool production strategy. Stone tool morphological variabilityand technological variability are shown to be directly related to the geologicaloccurrence of stone tool raw materials.