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Lithic Technology, Paleolithic

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

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Introduction

Paleolithic stone tool technology extends over a period of close to 2.5 Ma and provides a unique dataset for the study of early hominin behavior. While it is safe to assume that technologies involving organic materials played a critical role in the adaptation and society of early humans, these materials rarely survive so archaeologists are forced to pull as much information as is possible from the study of lithic assemblages.

Historical Background

Archaeologists working in Eurasia tend to structure the Paleolithic into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic, while Africanists use the terminology of Early, Middle, and Late Stone Age. There are a multitude of regional level subdivisions of these periods. Transitional industries – such as the Chatelperronian, which is found at the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Western Europe, or the Fauresmith, which is associated with the transition from the Early to Middle Stone Age in Southern Africa – are often the focus of...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michael Chazan

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  1. Michael Chazan
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Correspondence to Michael Chazan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Chazan, M. (2014). Lithic Technology, Paleolithic. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_651

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_651

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2

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