Symposium abstract:
Since the "Big Puzzle" and other conferences in the late eighties, there
have been no international symposia or conferences devoted to the subject
of lithic refitting. Nevertheless, the methodology of conjoining lithic
artifacts remains widely used. This is in part a result of the valuable
taphonomic information and the rich interpretative potential in terms of
human behavior, both technologically and spatially, that refits provide.
Unfortunately
the methodology and more importantly its interpretation have become somewhat
"standard procedure" during the last decade. In this light it seems healthy
that those engaged in refitting programs come together to share their insights,
warn new converts to caveats, and keep long time proponents on their methodological
and theoretical toes.
Drawing from new
projects and ongoing refitting programs this symposium hopes to bring together
those working on the refitting of stone artifacts in its many dimensions.
The aim is to advance both the methodological and theoretical aspects of
many puzzling hours into a coherent set of ideas and suggestions that reflect
the current stage of this part of our methodological toolkit. Further it
is our explicit aim to bring together researchers working on refitting
outside the "Old World" and Stone Age periods.
Organizers contact information:
Utsav A. Schurmans
Department of Anthropology Arizona State University
PO Box 872402
Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
United States of America
Phone +1 480 965-6213
Fax +1 480 965-7671
E-mail: utsav@asu.edu
Dr. Marc De Bie
Instituut voor het Archeologisch Patrimonium co Labo voor Prehistorie
Redingenstraat 16
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium
Tel +32 (0)16 326416
Fax + 32 (0)16 326400
E-mail: Marc.DeBie@geo.kuleuven.ac.be