ADVANCES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODS: DEVELOPMENTS AND APPLICATIONS TO THE SOUTHERN DESERTS

CORTEGOSO VALERIA; DITCHFIELD, KANE

Tunuyán

Workshop; 4 th Southern Deserts Conference 2014; 2014

Laboratorio de Paleoecología Humana (CONICET-UNCuyo)

In order to reconstruct the complex interaction between past climates, geomorphic processes and cultural systems, archaeology requires specific methodologies which are capable of reconstructing both the cultural and natural processes that condition what is observable in archaeological contexts today. This session aims to provide a perspective on some the methods currently being developed and applied to the Southern Deserts to elucidate these dynamic desert interactions. Due to their preservative qualities, lithic remains are particularly critical components of the desert archaeological record and several contributions in this session capitalise on this fact. A range of methodologies are showcased, including studies on site and assemblage formation processes as well as different approaches to geochemical analysis which are especially useful to characterising lithic material and exploring their potential for archaeological studies.A major contribution to this session comes in the form of methods which explore the effects of non-behavioural variables in stone artefact assemblage formation. All of these studies carry a cautionary but important message where not all the observable variability in stone artefact assemblages is directly attributable to human behavioural processes.