Using spatial context to identify lithic selection behaviors

To differentiate between "tools" and "debris", lithic analysts usually rely on the presence or absence of retouch, traces of use-wear, or extrapolation of the "desired end products" through the reconstruction of the chain operatoire. These methods usually fail to identify the full range of unretouched lithics utilized, especially at the assemblage scale. The spatial context of lithic pieces is often overlooked as an additional tool to identify tool selection. This paper presents the results of a study of seven open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in France, where lithic production and selection can be segregated in space. Two interrelated methods are utilized, one which relies on refitting data and the other which focuses on the differential spatial distribution of lithic artifacts. At these sites, the selected lithics identified using these methods match up well with what archaeologists have long thought to be "desired end products" but many of these sought pieces were also left with the manufacturing debris, indicating that lithics were produced in mass irrespective of immediate demand. The methods presented in this paper can therefore provide answers to many salient questions regarding lithic production and selection and are applicable to any context where lithic production has a strong spatial signature.