ANTH 240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Experimental Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology
Document Summary
Progress in technology is a matter of perspective. How can we tell if a tool was efficient or not unless we"re using it. Chaine operatoire: sequence of steps or tasks involved in production: have a lot of evidence of how stone tools were made. Flakes, discarded cores, partially made tools, the finished product. Cognitive element picturing the tool you want to make. Obsidian was a favourite material out of that particular stone: very sharp, but also malleable, only found in certain areas carried long distances, used for trade. Look for evidence of: raw material collection, primary manufacture, finishing and touchups, use, discard, **potentially different locations for different stages. Communities of practice: how do technological developments impact the people, ideas transfer between cultures (marriages, trade, etc. ) Juvenile pots: tiny, rough pots likely made by children: pot size/skill increases as children get older/more practiced.