Lithic Analysis Seminar

This course is intended to provide an in-depth introduction to contemporary methods in lithic analysis, with a special application to the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the readings, as well as my lectures will be in English, and therefore a good passive knowledge of English is required, but you will have the option to complete your written assignments and oral presentation in German. The readings and discussion will revolve around five themes that concern lithic artifacts in general, namely Morphology, Function, Style, Technology, and Taphonomy. Each week will consist of a half-hour lecture on the topic of the day, and the rest will be spent on discussing the readings. At the beginning of the course, I will hand out three ‘assemblages’ knapped by me, and on the next to last meeting, each of the student groups will be required to hand in a report for their assemblage. In the last class, I will reveal how the assemblages were made, and what the groups were able to discover about them. The final mark will be 40% dependent on class participation and 60% dependent on the final report. The final report should demonstrate that you thought about the stones, and that you tried to apply some of the theoretical and methodological insights obtained from the readings and lectures throughout the course to the material. I will be looking for clear and strong scientific reasoning more than getting the ‘right’ answers.Like most archaeological work, this is a cooperative project, so you are encouraged to talk to each other and to me about your assemblages.