Theme:
1. Artefacts, Buildings & Ecofacts
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
(Re)-thinking Small. Bladelets and Microlithic Productions before the Onset of the Upper Palaeolithic and Later Stone Age [PaM]
Content:
This session is focused on microlithic productions, exploring possible reasons for this technological choice and highlighting potential differences between UP and pre-UP assemblages. The topics can cover different theoretical and methodological approaches, including use-wear, residue analyses, and chaîne opératoire approach.
Microlithic elements are a common and frequent trait in UP (Upper Palaeolithic) and early LSA (Later Stone Age) industries. However, the production of bladelets and other small tools is well-documented in industries preceding the first UP. They are also known in the MP (Middle Palaeolithic) mainly as the result of the extreme exhaustion of various reduction methods (e.g., Levallois, Discoid, and Laminar systems) or in the MSA (Middle Stone Age) as novel practice. Production of small tools has also been described for the LP (Lower Palaeolithic).
A universal explanation for the innovation or adoption of microlithic technologies does not exist. Microlitization can constitute an excellent solution as armatures for hunting or, in general, for composite tools, but their use as individual tool cannot be excluded. Among the microliths, bladelets occupy a central role. The spread of bladelets is considered, in fact, one of the markers of the emergence of the UP industries. However, their presence is not exclusively associated with the onset of UP and LSA industries. During the MP bladelet production is sparse, often debatable, and it is still unclear whether bladelets – or microblade – were intentionally produced.
Several questions remain unsolved. What is the specific role of microlithic technologies in pre-UP assemblages? What differences, if any, can be highlighted between the UP and pre-UP? Why is bladelet production in MP contexts extremely rare and found only in very small quantities? Can the anecdotal presence of microliths be related to specific functions or activities that occur much less frequently than others – thus, it is archeologically near-invisible?
Keywords:
Microliths, Bladelets, Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, Stone tools, Middle Stone Age
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
PaM
Main organiser:
Leonardo Carmignani (Netherlands) 1
Co-organisers:
Giulia Marciani (Italy) 2,3
Viola Schmid (Austria) 4,5
Affiliations:
1. University of Leiden (Faculty of Archaeology)
2. University of Bologna (Dipartimento di Beni Culturali)
3. University of Siena (Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente)
4. Department Prehistory & WANA Archaeology
5. Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Academy of Sciences
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