Theoretical issues in the interpretation of microartifacts

✍ Scribed by Robert C. Dunnell; Julie K. Stein

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 758 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0883-6353
• DOI: 10.1002/gea.3340040103

✦ Synopsis

Archaeology is increasingly partitioned into specialities. While this practice is not universally deleterious, frequently it limits the impact of novel concepts to small segments of the discipline. Such is the case with the idea of microartifacts, now treated by only a handful of specialists. After linking the definition of microartifact to techniques of sampling and identification, the unique and valuable information of small artifacts is obvious. Microartifacts, by virtue of their unique transport and deposition properties, compliment the information contained in macroartifacts. Thus, they should be a routine concern in all archaeological research. This implies a stronger integration of geoarchaeology and archaeology.