Constructing Prehistory: Lithic Analysis in the Levantine Epipalaeolithic

Abstract

This study explores the way in which our picture of the Levantine Epipalaeolithic has been created, investigating the constructs that take us from found objects to coherent narrative about the world. Drawing on the treatment of chipped stone, the fundamental raw material of prehistoric narratives, it examines the use of figurative devices -of metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche -to make the connection between the world and the words we need to describe it. The work of three researchers is explored in a case study of the Middle Epipalaeolithic with the aim of showing how different research goals and methodologies have created characteristics for the period that are so entrenched in discourse as to have become virtually invisible.Yet the definition of distinct cultures with long-lasting traditions, the identification of two separate ethnic trajectories linked to separate environmental zones, and the analysis of climate as the key driver of change all rest on analytical manoeuvres to transform objects into data.

Teoria e arqueologia através de eventos: A escola americana e a escola francesa

“…Nessa condição, essas representações devem ser vistas não só nas suas estratégias textuais (sua construção interna), mas também nas suas relações sociais (sua construção externa) de forma a perceber as imagens que foram construídas e sedimentadas a partir de então (PIRIE, 2004).…”

“…Propondo uma abertura às críticas ao "sagrado e intocável", levando as discussões cientificas a questões centrais como a própria ideia que se tem de passado, a produção objetiva e subjetiva de conhecimento, e a revisão de determinadas ideologias e intencionalidades na prática cientifica (TILLEY 1999;HODDER 2000;PIRIE 2004).…”

Terminology, process and change: reflections on the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia

“…Very often, the structure of our available language lays down the conditions for what can and cannot be said, consequentially influencing the way in which a particular debate will develop. (Thomas 1991, 13) It is widely acknowledged that the terminology that defines the prehistoric sequence in South-west Asia was imported by European archaeologists working in the region (Bar-Yosef 1970;Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris 2011;Boyd 1999, 215-16, 220-22;Clark 1991 and references therein; Rosen 1991, 310-15;Pirie 2004), in particular where labels for archaeological cultures or lithic industries were concerned (e.g. Tixier and Newcomer 1974).…”

Occupying wide open spaces? Late Pleistocene hunter–gatherer activities in the Eastern Levant

“…As a more nuanced culture-chronological framework for the numerous occupational horizons at Kharaneh IV is currently underway, for the present paper we will use the simple and easily comparable terms Early, Middle and Late EP (Olszewski, 2001;Pirie, 2004;Goring-Morris et al, 2009;Maher, 2010;Maher and Richter, 2011;. Traditionally, Early and Middle EP sites are characterized by non-geometric and geometric microliths, respectively; while Late EP sites include a number of industries, with the Natufian being the most well-known (e.g., Bar-Yosef, 1998;GoringMorris et al, 2009;Maher et al, 2012b).…”