The Technological Condition of Human Evolution: Lithic Studies as Basic Science

The recent elaboration and rapid expansion of aDNA, paleoproteomics, and related fields have propelled a profound “biomolecular turn” in archaeology and fundamentally changed the topology of archaeological knowledge production. Such a transformation of the archaeological research landscape is not without consequence for long-standing research practices in the field, such as lithic analysis. This special issue derives from the session Old Stones, New Eyes? organized by the authors at the UISPP World Congress in Paris in 2018, which aimed to explore the future of lithic studies. An underlying theme of our session was the felt need to respond to the increasing marginalization of lithic research in terms of its capacity to (1) contribute to the grand narratives of early human evolution and (2) better articulate the role and significance of lithic studies in interdisciplinary human origins research. In this editorial, we briefly outline some of the questions and challenges raised by the biomolecular turn and advocate for a more self-conscious and reflexive stance among lithic experts. We argue that lithic studies fulfill all necessary requirements to act as a basic science for human origins research and that its role and status depends less on technological advances, such as, e.g., improved computing facilities, novel analytical software, or automated shape capture technologies, than on continuous work on the conceptual and methodological foundations of inquiry. We finally draw attention to the unique capability of lithic studies to shed light on the human technological condition and illustrate this potential by introducing and briefly discussing the papers included in this issue.

Distinguishing Discoid and Centripetal Levallois methods through machine learning

In this paper, we apply Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to study the differences between Discoid and Centripetal Levallois methods. For this purpose, we have used experimentally knapped flint flakes, measuring several parameters that have been analyzed by seven ML algorithms. From these analyses, it has been possible to demonstrate the existence of statistically significant differences between Discoid products and Centripetal Levallois products, thus contributing with new data and a new method to this traditional debate. The new approach enabled differentiating the blanks created by both knapping methods with an accuracy >80% using only ten typometric variables. The most relevant variables were maximum length, width to the 25%, 50% and 75% of the flake length, external and internal platform angles, maximum width and number of dorsal scars. This study also demonstrates the advantages of the application of multivariate ML methods to lithic studies.

Introduction: Beyond the reduction sequence and new insights in lithic technology

The proceedings of the B23 Session held during the XVII UISPP/IUPPS conference (1-7 September 2014, Burgos, Spain) are published in this issue of the Journal of Lithic Studies. The title of the session, "Beyond the reduction sequence: new insights in lithic technology", aimed to increase awareness about current methods in studies on stone assemblages.

Book review: Turquoise, Water, Sky: Meaning and Beauty in Southwest Native Arts

Turquoise, Water, Sky: Meaning and Beauty in Southwest Native Arts presents an accessible discussion of the importance and utilization of turquoise by Southwestern cultures throughout the past 1500 years, albeit heavily focused on the modern era. Primarily meant for a lay audience, this short volume is divided into six chapters and interspersed by approximately 160 images and illustrations. While beautiful, these images greatly limit the amount of text in the book. Turquoise, Water, Sky begins with a discussion of the prehistoric use of the material and its meaning in both past and contemporary contexts. However, the majority of the volume presents an evolution of contemporary form of both Puebloan and Navajo stonework. This portion will likely be the most appealing aspect of the book for the intended general audience, but it has limited utility for archaeologists and others interested in lithic studies.

Three years of the Journal of Lithic Studies

The methods of analysing lithic artefacts from archaeological contexts have had an outstanding development in the last decades. Along with methodological achievements, new conceptual frameworks help to interpret the prehistoric record, all getting us closer to understanding the realities of the human past. Thus, the appearance of several journals focused on disseminating the investigation of stone tools was needed and became a reality for some decades. Three years ago, the Journal of Lithic Studies came to join those publications focused on lithics research. It was established from the beginning as an open access journal, with a clear interest in making information available worldwide.

Twelve Month Download and View Report (Vol 1, Nr. 2)

The following report summarises the number of views and downloads of each of the articles in Volume 1, Number 2 of the Journal of Lithic Studies until twelve months after publication of this issue.

Six Month Download and View Report (Vol 1, Nr. 2)

The following report summarises the number of views and downloads of each of the articles in Volume 1, Number 2 of the Journal of Lithic Studies for the first six months after publication of this issue.