Kathleen Sterling,
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Binghampton SUNY

5th October 2020
11:40am -12:55pm

NB. THIS PUBLIC LECTURE IS SCHEDULED AS PART OF OUR INTRODUCTORY COURSE 'THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN SOCIETY' (ANTHV1007), TAUGHT BY PROF. CAMILLA STURM

Abstract: 
Stone tools are the most abundant materials in the archaeological record, but their analysis has primarily focused on “economic” concerns based on modern assumptions about efficiency of procurement, production, and use. This ignores the social dimensions of making and using materials, including how knowledge is shared within a community, a key aspect of all human cultures. Starting from the assumption that lithic tool-making is a social activity, it is possible to develop approaches that reveal difference is expertise and access, creating a richer understanding of so-called “cavemen.”