Abstract:

Flaked stone artifacts remain a fundamental archaeological analytical category used to interpret and reconstruct ancient lifeways, social and economic interactions and technological adaptations. Recent applications of analytical methodologies, including geometric morphometrics and experimental archaeology, and recent original results indicate that some South American societies did not develop in the same linear way as seen in many North American societies. This is especially the case for some of the earliest known hunter/gatherer assemblages. South American archaeological cultures also serve as a test cases for examining some of the standard understandings of social and technological developments, such as the origin of State societies. These approaches and results have implications for studies in other regions of the world. This session explores some of the latest developments and results of South American flaked stone research.

We would like to propose this as an open symposium in which all contributions are circulated amongst the participants before the WAC conference and then the session consisting of presentations of the abstracts followed by a chaired discussion and Q and A. This would be instead of the normal presentation or reading of all of the papers. This approach has been successfully employed for some sessions at the Society for American Archaeology meetings.

Keywords: flaked stone, technology, morphology