Technology studies have always been the most important focus of archaeology,
as a science which analyzes human past through the study of material culture.
To say that something is technological in archaeology, means to put the
concept of technology in the centre of theoretical studies, and to study not
only the form of the object, but also the entire sequence of technological
factors, from raw material choice, mode of use, up to the reasons for
abandonment. The concept of technology in anthropology and archaeology is
based on the original meaning of the word ????? in ancient Greek, meaning the
skill, i. e., to study how something is being done. Such a concept of
technology as a skill or mode of doing something was for the first time
outlined by the French anthropologist Marcel Mauss, whose starting point was
that every technological statement was at the same time social or cultural
statement and that technological choices have social foundations. Pierre
Lemonnier further developed the anthropology of technology, focusing on the
question of technological choices, as well as numerous other anthropologists.
In archaeology, the most important contribution to the study of technology
was the work of Andr? Leroi-Gourhan, who created the concept of cha?ne
op?ratoire, as an analytical tool for studying the mode of creating, using
and discarding an artefact, starting with raw material acquisition, mode of
manufacture, final form, use (including caching, breaking and repairing) up
to the final discarding. It is not only about reconstructing the algorithmic
sequence of operations in creating one object, but it is a complex analysis
of operational chain within one society which includes the analysis of
technological choices. The analyses of technologies today include a variety
of different approaches, most of them with emphasis on the cultural and
social aspects of technology. The analysis of bone industry in the Early and
Middle Neolithic in central Balkans (Starcevo culture), which included not
only final objects, but also manufacture debris and semi-finished products,
revealed a well developed industry, with a high level of technological
knowledge on the properties of raw materials, skillful manufacture, well
organized production, as well as possibility of a certain degree of
specialization on the micro and macro level (within one settlement and within
a group of settlements). Both raw material choices and manufacturing
techniques, as well as the final forms, demonstrated a high standardization
level. Also certain symbolic value was attributed to some raw materials, and
there is a possibility that skill itself was valued. Further analyses of
multiple technologies will help in reconstructing the organization of
production, social and economic aspects in Neolithic societies, as well as
the role of technology in everyday and ritual life.
Animals as Raw Material in Beringia: Insights from the Site of Swan Point CZ4B, Alaska
