Savoir-faire in prehistory and digital humanities: promoting carved stone technology

The technology has been accepted as an effective analytical tool of lithic collections. The method is accessible to all scholars of the prehistoric provided theoretical instruction, which should be accompanied by practice. The Prehistoric Ethnology team (Arscan, UMR 7041) and the Prehistory and Technology team (UMR 7055) have been the principle artisans of the establishment of the analytical tools, of the interpretative concepts, as well as the experimental stone carving. The goal of our proposed project is to consolidate an already established partnership between two mixed research units (UMRs) around theoretical and practical instruction about the prehistoric stone carving in the framework of instruction shared by the University of Paris 1 and Paris Nanterre. The latter aims to establish an innovative teaching module for perfecting the technological reading and initiation, at the experimental carving completing the training of LMDs (Licence-Master-Doctorate) in prehistory. It is planted in a perspective shared by the university schools of research as well as the LMD 4. Parallel to this module and in partnership with the USR 3225 and MAN, we wish to produce a well-thought-out and bilingual (French-English) audiovisual tool, a freely accessible pedagogical document for universities. This documentation, which will consist of films and slideshows that will also be put online in the “Grand Sites” collection of the MCC as well as on partner institutions’ web pages, notably the Technotèque’s. This willingness ensure a broad audience. This willingness to teach and to promote experimental archeology responds to a veritable issue of safeguarding an endangered scientific know-how.

Project managers

Pierre ALLARD , Préhistoire et technologie, UMR 7055

Pierre BODU , Responsable de l’équipe Ethnologie Préhistorique , Archéologies et sciences de l’antiquité (ArScAn)

Internal cluster partners

• Technology and Ethnology of Prehistoric Worlds - UMR TEMPS 8068
• Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn) - UMR 7041
• Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Mondes - USR 3225
• Musée d'Archéologie nationale - Domaine de St-Germain-en-Laye

Associated partners

Unité Départementale de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (UDAP) de Seine et Marne, Ministère de la Culture

Musée départemental de Préhistoire d'Île-de-France, Nemours
http://www.musee-prehistoire-idf.fr/

De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie. Spécialiste des industries lithiques du Paléolithique supérieur (PACEA - UMR 5199)
http://www.pacea.u-bordeaux1.fr/

Duration

Keywords

lithic technology, savoir-faire, experimental archeology, international teaching, federation of stone carver