The future of paleolithic studies: A view from the new world

Abstract

Paleolithic studies have a long tradition in European and American archaeology, beginning in serious fashion with the work of John Lubbock in Britain and later with that of William Henry Holmes in the United States. Research questions that have been asked with respect to the Paleolithic period have changed dramatically over the decades, but the interest in stone tools as major sources of information on prehistoric peoples has not. In the New World, the last decade has witnessed a shift in research emphasis back to questions of culture history, but the methods and techniques now being brought to bear on the questions are entirely modern in how they address issues of cultural relatedness. Without an ability to distinguish between cases of technological convergence and cases of homologous similarity, we can never hope to untangle prehistory. The methods and techniques now being used are geared specifically for that purpose. Most important, they yield testable results as opposed to impressions. As a result, we now have unparalleled views into Paleolithic life in the New World. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.