An Experimental Test of the Conservation of Raw Material in Flintknapping Skill Acquisition

Bibliographic Data

ID5227529
AuthorsJeffrey R Ferguson (Denver Museum of Nature and Science, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume28
Issue2
Pages113-131
Publication date2003-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLithic Technology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0197-7261 • E-ISSN: 2051-6185
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01977261.2003.11721007
OpenAlexW2317002371
LanguageEN
Citations received34
References cited10

Many lithic assemblages from around the world reveal little Variation that can be attributed to significant differences in skill among their makers. One possibility far the lack of skill variability could have resulted from a method of novice flintknapper instruction that embedded the learning process in the normal production of chipped stone tools. If skilled knappers allowed less-skilled individuals to participate in only the reduction stages they could successfully execute, then this learning process may be nearly invisible in the archaeological record. An embedded learning strategy could be extremely conservative of valuable raw material. This project experimentally compares an embedded learning strategy to a teaching method utilized by most modern knapping instructors far the pressure-flaking of small arrowpoints. The results not only show the successful learning and raw material conservation of the embedded strategy, but also suggest that young children may have been specifically excluded from knapping activities when raw material was highly valued

Archaeology · Economics · Knapping · Process (computing · Production (economics · Raw material · Test (biology · Variation (astronomy · Computer Science · History · Language and cultural evolution · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology · Geology · Paleontology

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