Learning and Stone Tool Production

This study investigates the everyday practices of individuals in the production of stone-tooltechnology in the Magdalenian Midi-Pyrénées, throughvarious theoretical approaches to agency andlearning. It focuses on the sites of Enlčne andLes Eglises, both located in the French Pyrénées,occupied during the Middle (c. 13,900 BP) and Upper(c. 11,850 BP) Magdalenian, respectively. Materialcultures such as stone tools, are made and usedwithin a social milieu encompassing practical needs,cultural preferences, and the social identities ofthe people in the group. Stone tools may beproduced in a very simple manner that can address anypractical needs, but cultural preferences complicatethe techniques and styles of stone tool production. Members of Paleolithic societies had to learn how toproduce tools that satisfied both functional andsocial requirements. While learning how to producestone tools, novices also learned the rules and rolesof flintknappers in their culture throughobservation, imitation, guidance, experimentation,and practice. This study seeks the evidence for thesebehaviors, to create a more nuanced picture ofPaleolithic societies.