Industry (archaeology)

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(Redirected from
Archaeological industry
)
Not to be confused with industrial archaeology, the archaeology of (modern) industrial sites.
Video of the extraction of a stone tool from a silex rock.
handaxes from Kent
. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron, and ovate.

In the

stone tools
.

An industry consists of a number of lithic

Mousterian industry is named after the site of Le Moustier). By contrast, Neolithic axeheads from the Langdale axe industry were recognised as a type well before the centre at Great Langdale was identified by finds of debitage and other remains of the production, and confirmed by petrography
(geological analysis). The stone was quarried and rough axe heads were produced there, to be more finely worked and polished elsewhere.

As a taxonomic classification of artefacts, industries rank higher than archaeological cultures. Cultures are usually defined from a range of different artefact types and are thought to be related to a distinct cultural tradition. By contrast, industries are defined by basic elements of lithic production which may have been used by many unrelated human groups over tens or even hundred thousands of years,[1] and over very wide geographical ranges. Sites producing tools from the Acheulean industry stretch from France to China, as well as Africa. Consequently, shifts between lithic industries are thought to reflect major milestones in human evolution, such as changes in cognitive ability[4] or even the replacement of one human species by another.[5] However, findings from ancient DNA studies describe several changes and periods of stasis in European populations that are not strongly reflected in the current cultural taxonomic frameworks.[6] Therefore, artefacts from a single industry may come from a number of different cultures.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0231046305
    .
  2. ISBN 9784431545118
    .
  3. ^ Semaw, S; Rogers, M; Stout, D (2009). "Oldowan–Acheulian transition: Is there a Developed Oldowan artifact tradition?". In Camps, M; Chauhan, P (eds.). Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions. New York, NY: Springer. pp. 173–192.
  4. PMID 26800014
    .
  5. S2CID 4406106
    .
  6. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.49
    .

See also


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