Multiple approaches to the study of bifacial technologies

Bifacial chipped stones have been used by archaeologists to document the evolution of human technology and cognition during the Pleistocene and as index fossils for a myriad of cultures in both the Old World and the New. Bifaces provide some of the most convincing dimensions of stylistic variability observable in stone tool assemblages. With an international cast of contributors, from St. Petersburg to South Carolina, this volume shows how bifacial technology changed through time and according to different environments, complementing the evolution of human cognition and physical abilities. It also addresses how the different technological and social systems of past hunter-gatherers are reflected in bifacial technology, from the earliest African bifaces to North American Woodland projectile points. Contributors: Miguel Almeida, Dryas Arqueologia, Lda. • Nick Ashton, British Museum • Thierry Aubry, Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa • Douglas B. Bamforth, University of Colorado • J. Desmond Clark, University of California • Vladimir Doronichev and Lubov Golovanova, Laboratory of Prehistory • Maureen A. Hays, College of Charleston • Jack Hofman, University of Kansas • Janusz K. Kozlowski, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski • Shannon P. McPherron, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro • Dimitris Metaxas, Rutgers University • Maria Joao Neves, Dryas Arqueologia, Lda. • Michael Noll, Smithsonian Institution • April Nowell, University of Victoria • Marcel Otte, Université de Liège • Jinah Park, KAIST Computer Science • Kyoungju Park, University of Pennsylvania • Michael D. Petraglia, University of Cambridge • Derek A. Roe, Oxford University • Kathy Schick, Indiana University • Michael Shott, University of Northern Iowa • Bertrand Walter, Musée de la Poterne • Mark White, University of Durha