British Lower Palaeolithic: Stones in Contention

Description

Taking as its central theme the issue of whether early Hominins organized themselves into societies as we understand them, John McNabb looks at how modern researchers recognize such archaeological cultures. He examines the existence of a stone tool culture called the Clactonian to introduce the multidisciplinary nature of the subject. In analyzing the various kinds of data archaeologists would use to investigate the existence of a Palaeolithic culture, this book represents the latest research in archaeology, population dispersals, geology, climatology, human palaeontoloty, evolutionary psychology, environmental and biological disciplines and dating techniques, along with many other research methods.

John McNabb is the Director of the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins at the University of Southampton; his research interests are focused on the construction of social relations, as seen through material culture, in pre-modern humans. He is a Fellow of the British Academy's 'From Lucy to Language: The Social Brain' project and is a member of the National Ice Age Network.

"This book is a very rich volume and is actually two or even three books within a single book--one presenting general background, data and interpretations about the Lower Paleolithic; one discussing the specific issue of the significance of the 'Clactonian;' and, one illustrating the evolution of scholarly ideas about the Clactonian in their historical context over more than 100 years. ! Each goal is perfectly achieved thanks to meticulous reporting and discussion of data." -- Marie Soressi, PalaeoAnthropology