Lithics and personhood in the Lateglacial of north west Europe
This thesis examines aspects of human personhood as expressed through lithic artefacts in north west Europe during the Lateglacial. The research sites are Hengistbury Head in Britain, Rekem in Belgium and a cluster of sites in the Neuwied Basin, in Central Rhineland. The case studies cover the period of the Lateglacial Interstadial complex, about 15,500 -13,000 cal years BP. The work aims at exploring the social practice of creating hunter-gatherer personhood in given social, temporal, spatial and material contexts. The discussion centres on the social and embodied nature of lithic technology as a means of negotiating the human person. In doing so, this study situates the discourse of the reciprocal and mutually constructing relationship between humans and objects at the core level of the individual. Placed within social archaeological theory, the research adopts an outlook of social practice as an active manner of involvement. Relational entanglements between humans and things can accumulate or enchain the physical and metaphorical resources of the world, consequently leading to stasis or transformation. Therefore this thesis demonstrates that continuity and change in the archaeological record are associated
Kofidou, Fotini
CC Archaeology
Lithics and personhood in the Lateglacial of north west Europe. This thesis examines aspects of human personhood as expressed through lithic artefacts in north west Europe during the Lateglacial. The research sites are Hengistbury Head in Britain, Rekem in Belgium and a cluster of sites in the Neuwied Basin, in Central Rhineland. The case studies cover the period of the Lateglacial Interstadial complex, about 15,500 -13,000 cal years BP. The work aims at exploring the social practice of creating hunter-gatherer personhood in given social, temporal, spatial and material contexts. The discussion centres on the social and embodied nature of lithic technology as a means of negotiating the human person. In doing so, this study situates the discourse of the reciprocal and mutually constructing relationship between humans and objects at the core level of the individual. Placed within social archaeological theory, the research adopts an outlook of social practice as an active manner of involvement. Relational entanglements between humans and things can accumulate or enchain the physical and metaphorical resources of the world, consequently leading to stasis or transformation. Therefore this thesis demonstrates that continuity and change in the archaeological record are associated
lithics personhood north_west europe examines aspect human personhood express lithic_artefact north_west europe site head britain belgium cluster site basin central rhineland case_study cover_period complex cal year work aim_explore social_practice create hunter_gatherer personhood give social temporal_spatial material context discussion_centre social embodied nature lithic_technology mean negotiate human_person study situates discourse reciprocal mutually construct relationship human object core level individual within social archaeological_theory adopts outlook social_practice active manner involvement relational entanglement human thing accumulate physical metaphorical resource world consequently lead stasis transformation therefore demonstrate continuity_change archaeological_record associate