The variability of (Palaeo-)lithics: some facts, some ideas - Oliva - 2012

The strongest bond between raw materials, technology and typology can be observed in the Lower Palaeolithic. This is certainly a paradox because we would expect exactly the opposite - the gradual development of technology should go hand in hand with the refinement of raw material selection. Leaving aside trivial phenomena, such as rough choppers in the Pavlovian mammoth bone heaps, the differences in raw materials between formal tools can always be explained in other ways than simply ergonomics. Sometimes it is the case that a particularly sightly raw material is typical only of a single phase of a culture, namely of that which puts the major emphasis on the formal aspect of tools. The extent to which local materials are extracted, treated and distributed is a function not only of their quality and abundance, but also of a whole series of purely cultural factors, whatever their meaning may be.

Keywords

Raw materials - Chipped industry - Palaeolithic - Bohunician - Sickle segments - Bronze Age

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