Synopses & Reviews
As the study of Palaeolithic technologies moves towards a more analytical approach, it is necessary to determine a consistent procedural framework. The contributions to this timely and comprehensive volume do just that. This volume incorporates a broad chronological and geographical range of Palaeolithic material from the Lower to Upper Palaeolithic. The focus of this volume is to provide an analysis of Palaeolithic technologies from a quantitative, empirical perspective. As new techniques, particularly quantitative methods, for analyzing Palaeolithic technologies gain popularity, this work provides case studies particularly showcasing these new techniques. Employing diverse case studies, and utilizing multivariate approaches, morphometrics, model-based approaches, phylogenetics, cultural transmission studies, and experimentation, this volume provides insights from international contributors at the forefront of recent methodological advances.
Synopsis
This volume brings together an international group of leading researchers to discuss past, present and future research on the Paleolithic transitions. The result is a seminal book from both an anthropological as well as a theoretical viewpoint.
Synopsis
Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions
Edited by:
Marta Camps, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Parth R. Chauhan, CRAFT Stone Age Institute, Indiana University, Gosport, IN, USA
This
Synopsis
Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions Edited by: Marta Camps, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Parth R. Chauhan, CRAFT Stone Age Institute, Indiana University, Gosport, IN, USA This
About the Author
Stephen Lycett is Lecturer in Human Evolution at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. He gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge (2006) and his MSc from University College London (2003). His research traverses the boundaries of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology and Biological Anthropology. He has published on a broad range of research questions including cultural evolution in hominins and nonhuman primates, morphometrics, lithic analysis, hominin dispersals, hominid phylogenetics and species identification in the fossil record. He is particularly interested in cultural transmission theory and how this approach can help shed light on the evolution of material culture. Parth R. Chauhan is an Indian-American Research Associate with the Stone Age Institute (Indiana, USA). He obtained his PhD from the University of Sheffield (UK) in 2005 and his MA from Deccan College Postgraduate Research Institute (Pune, India) in 1998. His research interests include Old World prehistory, Palaeolithic archaeology, hominin dispersals, Asian paleoanthropology, vertebrate paleontology and taphonomy and lithic technology. He is currently carrying out research on early human technological and environmental adaptations during the Quaternary of India and Yemen.
Table of Contents
Contributors Acknowledgements Preface Foreword Introduction PART I: METHODOLOGICAL & THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES Lycett, Stephen: Quantifying transitions: morphometric approaches to Palaeolithic variability and technological change Blackwell, Bonnie: ESR dating at hominid and archaeological sites during the Plio-Pleistocene Bar-Yosef, Ofer: Revolutions and Transitions in Prehistory Soffer, Olga: The Politics of Rubicons And The Imagined Pasts Straus, Lawrence: Has the notion of "transitions" in Paleolithic prehistory outlived its usefulness? Gowlett, John: The long gradient of human evolution in relation to transitions in archaeology: proxy evidence, biological classification and unintended effects Clark, Geoff: Accidents of History Haynes, Gary: Between the Transitions Chauhan, Parth R.: Assessing Palaeolithic Transitions in the Indian Subcontinent: Implications and Limitations Korisettar, Ravi: Geologic and Geomorphic Perspectives on Hominin Dispersal into South Asia: an inquiry into the dispersal routes and patterns of settlement Discussion PART II: CHANGES WITHIN THE LOWER PALEOLITHIC Rogers, Mike et al.: From Nothing to Something: The Earliest Archaeological Record Semaw, Sileshi: Early Acheulian at Gona: insights on the Oldowan-Acheulian technological transition Harris, Jack W.K.: A reevaluation of the Oldowan to Acheulian transition against the background of the evolutionary changes seen in the emergence of Homo ergaster/early Homo erectus Braun, David: Technological Change in the Early Stone