APPRENTICE FLINTKNAPPING: RELATING MATERIAL CULTURE AND SOCIAL PRACTICE IN THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC

• Published in: Children and Material Culture pp. 71 - 89
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge
• Subjects: Social Practice Theory; Sofaer Derevenski; Preparation Flakes; Social Reproduction; Lithic Technology; Skilled Knappers; LPP; Behavioural Scenario; Novice Knapper; Core Reduction; Hard Hammer Percussion; Crested Blade; Basic Technical Principles; Fish Glues; Participation Framework; Blade Production; Expert Knapper; Core Abandonment; Chipped Stone Technologies; Knapping Event; Apprentice Learning; Striking Platform; Good Quality Raw Material; Knapping Activity; UPPER PALAEOLITHIC
• DOI: 10.4324/9780203991862-14

When the topic of children in the Upper Palaeolithic is discussed, it is often in terms of
the most spectacular kinds of evidence, such as the elaborate (and highly atypical) Sungir
burials (Bader 1978), or the preservation of a child’s footprint in the clay floor of a painted
cave (Garcia and Courtaud 1990). These kinds of evidence are extremely rare and their
very scarcity serves to reinforce the view that knowledge about children in prehistory is
inaccessible (Lillehammer 1989; Sofaer Derevenski 1994a; Moore and Scott 1997).
However, this is not an accurate picture of either our present or prospective knowledge of
the activities of children in late glacial prehistory. As I hope this discussion will make
clear, lithic technology has a unique potential, among all the technologies employed by
Upper Palaeolithic peoples, for aiding us in our efforts both to identify children and to
investigate their world.