MAKING IT WORK: INTEGRATING EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN APPROACHES
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-10-05

While ‘technological’ perspectives from Europe and North America are often portrayed as fundamentally at odds methodologically and conceptually, the reality is that they often address different elements of prehistoric lifeways. This, and the fact that the manner of deriving research questions often proceeds along distinct pathways on both sides of the Atlantic, often creates the appearance of irreconcilable differences. In practice, however, this nominal gap can productively be bridged to yield a more holistic view of life
in the past while helping develop better strategies for lithic analysis. This paper draws on my experience of over 15 years of conducting collaborative research in Italy, first as a student later as a project director, at three sites to underscore how this process can unfold and be integrated into an effective workflow to which Italian and Canadian students can be profitably be exposed. Drawing on examples from the Upper Paleolithic sequence of Caverna delle Arene Candide and the Middle Paleolithic sequence of Riparo Bombrini, this analysis highlights some of the particular but resolvable theoretical challenges faced in integrating approaches rooted in different regional research traditions and underscores the empirical ‘added value’ that results from these efforts, especially in the medium and long-terms, once the strategies have been field tested. In particular, we highlight how combining chaîne opératoire and techno-economic approaches to ones focused on lithic technological organization and mobility strategies helps shows the dynamism of past socio-ecological systems and better explain some patterns of stasis and change at different moments of the Paleolithic record of Liguria.

Author(s): Riel-Salvatore, Julien (Université de Montréal)