Session: #1024

Regular session

The aim of the session is to understand the adaptations and traditions of prehistoric groups from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age by qualifying and quantifying behavioural changes through material studies. The study of the complete chaîne opératoire of an artefact, from raw material procurement to production, use and discard brings significant information that contribute to the understanding of the relationships within and outside the community.
The geo-chronological frame of the session is intentionally broad to tackle short and long-term lifestyle changes by studying the biographies of the tools used daily in prehistory, whether the changes are economical, sociological, environmental, and/or a matter of survival. The methodological frame of the session encompasses raw material procurement strategies, production, use-wear, technological and typological studies that question the knowledge transfer and adaptability of the past populations. The session welcomes papers based on both archaeological and ethnographic records that address the activities which are considered to develop a social connection within the community, such as subsistence or craftsmanship with broader discussion on their influence and development of social skills. The goal is to address the reasoning behind certain processes, such as the unconventional role of flint tools and changing relationships towards animal remains in funerary rites of hunter-gatherer communities of NE Europe, or, for example, how hunting was appraised in Chalcolithic of Central Anatolia when it became nonessential for survival.

Material studies, Behavioural changes, Prehistoric activities, Adaptations, Knowledge transfer

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Anđa Petrović (Serbia) ¹

Alice Vinet (France) ^2,3
Pauline Debels (France) ⁴
Aija Macane (Finland) ^5,6