Hunter-gatherer specialised subsistence strategies in Greece during the Upper Palaeolithic from the perspective of lithic technology

Abstract

Human occupation of Europe during the late Upper Palaeolithic was facilitated by the adoption of a range of subsistence strategies, honed depending on the extent to which each region was affected by the severity of the last glaciation. One of the ways in which Upper Palaeolithic populations chose to cope with deteriorating conditions and ecological hardship was to intensify their subsistence strategies. This involved the exploitation of new resources and novel locations including inhospitable regions which although visited during earlier periods, were apparently not systematically exploited. This is generally referred to as specialisation, and is considered an important part of both the Upper Palaeolithic as well as modern human behaviour.

The question that this research sets out to investigate is whether these changes in subsistence behaviour were accompanied by similar shifts in technology. In the past, this question has been addressed by focusing on single artefact types. Contrary to this, this research takes a holistic approach to the question of technological specialisation, by considering all aspects of lithic technology, from raw material collection to artefact manufacture. The study is based on three broadly contemporary Upper Palaeolithic sites in Greece, Klithi rockshelter, and Franchthi and Kastritsa caves. By comparing lithic characteristics identified at each of the three sites against a series of theoretical expectations, conclusions are drawn as to the presence of specialised technology, and the validity of the specialised versus generalised site dichotomy in Greece.

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