Refitting stone artifacts: Patagonian hunter-gatherers lithic production

BELLELLI, CRISTINA; CARBALLIDO CALATAYUD, MARIANA

Lithic Techonology. From Raw Material Procurement to Tool Production

Università degli Studi di Ferrara. Dipartamento di Scienze Geologiche e Paleontologiche

Lugar: Forlí; Año: 1998; p. 115 - 121

Traditionally, refitting methods have been used as an analytical framework in order to focus attention on three aspects of archaeological research: a) natural and cultural formation processes b) the spatial organization of dwelling places, and c) production processes. We concentrate on this last point and in particular we try to explore the possibilities that the refitting technique offers us for understanding some aspects of the sequence of operations that the lithic tool assemblage underwent. In this paper we will present the results achieved through refitting in relation to the recognition of the manufacturing processes for laminar tools in the early moments of occupation of Campo Moncada 2 (Chubut River valley, Northern Central Argentine Patagonia – between 5080 BP and 3350 BP). We will also approach evidence for understanding some causes of fracture, discard and reuse of broken or abandoned fragments through lateral cycling and/or reactivation. Through refitting techniques, we attempt to control the results of typological and experimental studies that demonstrate the technological and morphological similarity of the lithic assemblages.