Contrasting approaches to lithic assemblages: a view from no man’s land
Contrasting approaches to lithic assemblages: a view from no man’s land

Summary/Abstract: Abundantly preserved in the prehistoric archaeological record, lithic tools enjoyed a preferential focus aimed at understanding Palaeolithic cultural and adaptive variability. However, approaches to lithic variability are often framed in contrasting theoretical and methodological moulds, with the (predominantly analytic) Anglo-American and (preferentially synthetic) French research traditions viewed as providing paradigmatic examples of mutually incompatible perspectives. By stressing the strong points of each research tradition, and using an Upper Palaeolithic case study in Romania, the paper highlights the potential of a more productive, pragmatic stance, in which each type of approach is seen as contributing with equally instructive, complementary information.

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