Lithics 27

The Early Neolithic pitchstone, flint and quartz artefacts from Auchategan in Argyll are re-examined, compared and discussed. The comparison between the three raw material groups shows that, although contemporary, they were all reduced according to different operational schemas, probably reflecting a combination of functional and symbolic reasoning. The three raw material groups also represent different procurement strategies, with the pitchstone having been imported from the Isle of Arran, and the flint from Northern Ireland, whereas the quartz is thought to be local. It is suggested that the currently available pitchstone assemblages, and their distribution, are an indication of the territorial structure and exchange network of the period.

The paper explores the possibility that the apparently static and highly conformable adaptation reflected by the standardised nature of biface forms during the Acheulean period may have represented a pre-linguistic phase in which humans became adept at engaging with, reacting to and manipulating an early semiotic environment. The authors present evidence which suggests that, in addition to symmetry, there may have been an underlying preference for the manufacture of bifaces with proportions conforming to the `Golden Section'. The possibility is explored that bifacial tool form and structured archaeological signatures might have combined to produce a self-organising effect on early land-use behaviour. It is argued that these behaviours formed through simple feedback mechanisms which led to the ordered transformation of artefact scatters over time, and it is suggested that the apparent homogeneity of Acheulean technology might therefore signal a cognitive phase in which material culture played a semiotic role prior to the development of language.

Report on a field excursion by the Lithic Studies Society to Durrington Walls, Wiltshire.