Mousterian Lithic Technology: An Ecological Perspective

by Steven L. Kuhn

Overview

Human beings depend more on technology than any other animal--the use of tools and weapons is vital to the survival of our species. What processes of biocultural evolution led to this unique dependence? Steven Kuhn turns to the Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) and to artifacts associated with Neanderthals, the most recent human predecessors. His study examines the ecological, economic, and strategic factors that shaped the behavior of Mousterian tool makers, revealing how these hominids brought technological knowledge to bear on the basic problems of survival.

Kuhn's main database consists of assemblages of stone artifacts from four caves and a series of open-air localities situated on the western coast of the Italian peninsula. Variations in the ways stone tools were produced, maintained, and discarded demonstrate how Mousterian hominids coped with the problems of keeping mobile groups supplied with the artifacts and raw materials they used on a daily basis. Changes through time in lithic technology were closely tied to shifting strategies for hunting and collecting food. Some of the most provocative findings of this study stem from observations about the behavioral flexibility of Mousterian populations and the role of planning in foraging and technology.

Originally published in 1995.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400864034
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/14/2014
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #301
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Ch. 1 Neandertals and the Mousterian 3

Ch. 2 Technology, Foraging, and Land Use: A Strategic Approach 18

Ch. 3 Archaeology and Environment in West-Central Italy: Background to Research 38

Ch. 4 Core Reduction Technology 81

Ch. 5 Lithic Raw Material Economy 124

Ch. 6 Implications and Conclusions 157

References Cited 185

Index 205

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This book is significant partly because it relies on little-known and original Middle Paleolithic assemblages, but mostly because it addresses a very important, yet unexplored, aspect of prehistoric tool production. Steven Kuhn develops a model and methodology that undoubtedly constitute an important breakthrough and that may well yield interesting results in other geographical or chronological domains."—Catherine Perlès

Editorial Reviews

"Steven Kuhn demonstrates that models and data of hunter-gatherer behavior are necessarily linked.... I looked forward to the opportunity to read this book and I was not disappointed. It largely extends and elaborates, rather than duplicates, Kuhn's previous writings on these subjects and data. Kuhn demonstrates great skill at moving back and forth between data and theory and also between the literature of both New World hunter-gatherer studies and Old World Paleolithic research. It is these combinations that make Mousterian Lithic Technology succeed."

Journal of Anthropological Research

"This book is significant partly because it relies on little-known and original Middle Paleolithic assemblages, but mostly because it addresses a very important, yet unexplored, aspect of prehistoric tool production. Steven Kuhn develops a model and methodology that undoubtedly constitute an important breakthrough and that may well yield interesting results in other geographical or chronological domains."—Catherine Perlès

From the Publisher