The Analysis of Palaeolithic Stone Tool Assemblages

Learning Outcomes

Cognitive Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate skills in assessment and evaluation (why is this such and such, and not something else)
• Go into an archaeological work environment and interpret lithics from any period in a sensible and constructive manner. (Although this is about Palaeolithic stone tools, the principles are universal. You will have sufficient basic principles to adapt your knowledge confidently to any later prehistoric stone tool assemblage.)
• Independently analyse and make judgements about objects (through interpreting individual artefacts and characterising assemblages)
• Demonstrate skills in synthesising large bodies of data

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• How to interpret a lithic assemblage within a research environment
• How archaeologists retrieve information from stone tools and interpret past human behaviour from this data

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop your own methods of interrogating lithic data
• Handle stone tools as archaeological objects
• Create ‘proformas’ or electronic recording sheets for stone tools
• Demonstrate pattern recognition as an important part of recognising trends in data and attributing significance
• Use other people’s methods
• Handle subject specific tools, e.g. callipers, type lists, relevant electronic media

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Use SPSS
• Use graphical methods for understanding information
• Use simple statistical methods for exploring data
• Undertake word processing and report writing
• Think independently and making judgments
• Recognise patterns in data

Typically the syllabus will cover:

• Introduction to course, aims and objectives. Introduction to SPSS. Subject specific research skills
• Flakes and flake tools
• Cores and core technology
• Handaxes
• Lavallios
• Blades and blade tools
• Overview and Pob Ogof analysis

Teaching and learning methods

2 hours instruction per week. Teaching will take the form of a 2 hr lecture (teaching will cover 11 weeks of direct instruction, with final 1 week for feedback and Q&A session on any concerns students have re assignment 4.

Teaching will be part practical part lecture based. Use of experimental and real archaeological pieces is involved.

Resources & Reading list

Journal Articles

Dibble. H & Debenath, A.. Handbook of Palaeolithic Typology. The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic, 1.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal