Flakes, Feelings, and Finesse: Experiential Studies of Skill Acquisition in Novice Knappers

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Published: Jan 22, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48738/2025.iss1%20In%20Progress.1087
Keywords:
Novice Knapping, Palaeolithic, Experimental archaeology, Cognition, Pedagogy, India

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Kumar Akhilesh
Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai, India
Prachi Joshi
Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai, India
Sutonuka Bhattacharya
2. Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Yeshaswini Rajagopalan
The Archaeology Department, Durham University, The Palatine Centre, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3LE.
Shalaish Baisla
4. Department of Quaternary and Prehistory, University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain 35, 43002
Ankita Dey
600 G.T.Road Siristala, Serampore, Hooghly, West Bengal, India.
Surendra Ghaskadbi
6. Developmental Biology Group, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
Balasubramanian Karthick
7. Biodiversity and Paleobiology Group, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
Mrudula Mane
Centre for Heritage Conservation, Research and Development Foundation, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Akash Pandey
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India
Srinath Perur
52 Serpentine Road, KPW, Bengaluru 560020, Karnataka, India
Chandni Roy
11. Anita Tower, Block -C, 4th Floor, Flat No. - E4, 52/4 Ramkrishnagarh Road, Kolkata- 700079, West Bengal, India
Alok Sharma
Amity Institute of Anthropology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Ammel Sharon
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, West Bengal
Chintan Thakar
Mahadev Ji Ki Ghati, Chavni Gate, Imli Bazar, Nathdwara, Rajsamand, Rajasthan
Swati Verma
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India
Akanksha S. Kashikar
Department of Statistics, Savitribai Phule, Pune University, Pune, 411007, Maharashtra, India
Shanti Pappu
a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:37:"Sharma Centre for Heritage Education ";}

Abstract

Here, we present preliminary results from research investigating the influence of different pedagogical methods on skill acquisition amongst novice knappers, with implications for interpreting the Paleolithic and devising pedagogical methods in classrooms. We addressed questions related to knowledge acquisition amongst novice knappers in issues such as raw material selection and technological strategies comprising bipolar knapping, flaking cobbles, and handaxe façonnage. Experiments were set in a highly social and experiential framework and focused on investigating skill acquisition based on observation, mimicry, and direct or indirect intervention of an expert knapper. Variables included self-assessed emotional states of novice knappers before and after each experiment and analysis of selected attributes of the lithics (n=1835 artifacts in 10 experiments). We generated indices for variables related to skill acquisition that are significant for interpreting individual tools, assemblages, and evolutionary trends. Results suggest variability in skill acquisition in different technological processes through time and the effects of differing teaching methods. Large databases of lithic assemblages generated from novice knapping would facilitate global comparative studies investigating learning processes in lithic knapping, thereby enhancing an understanding of the archeological record.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 2025 No. 1 In Progress (2025): PaleoAnthropology
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Kumar Akhilesh, Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai, India

Director, Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, No.4, School Street, Sholinganallore, Chennai
600119, Tamil Nadu, India

Kumar Akhilesh is a prehistorian with expertise in lithic knapping, directing projects at the
prehistoric sites of Attirampakkam, Sendrayanpalayam and southern Tamil Nadu, resulting
in publications including those in Science (2011) and Nature (2018). He is developing the
interactive public outreach archaeology programs at the SCHE. His PhD was on the Late
Palaeolithic in Jharkhand, India.

Prachi Joshi, Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai, India

Prachi Joshi is currently a Homi Bhabha Fellow, Sharma Centre for Heritage Education. She
is a prehistorian with an interest in the Lower Palaeolithic, in applications of 3D geometric
morphometrics in lithic analysis and has research experience at Palaeolithic sites in
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (Sendrayanpalayam).

Sutonuka Bhattacharya, 2. Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel

Sutonuka Bhattacharya is a PhD. student at the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, and a research affiliate at the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education India.
Currently researching on the role of grinding stones in understanding issues related to
subsistence, seasonality, and sedentism for the Southern Indian Neolithic. She is interested in
ethnoarchaeological and experimental studies especially pertaining to lithics.

Yeshaswini Rajagopalan, The Archaeology Department, Durham University, The Palatine Centre, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3LE.

Yeshaswini Rajagopalan is an archaeologist, with a post-graduate degree from the Deccan
College and a post-graduate diploma in epigraphy from the Department of Archaeology,
Government of Tamil Nadu. She has a keen interest in prehistory and palaeopathology.

Shalaish Baisla, 4. Department of Quaternary and Prehistory, University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain 35, 43002

Shalaish Baisla is Doctoral candidate in the Department of quaternary and prehistory of
University of Rovira i Virgili (URV) researching the prehistory of the region in the Aravallis,
around Delhi NCR, with an interest in rock art, lithic studies and conservation.

Ankita Dey, 600 G.T.Road Siristala, Serampore, Hooghly, West Bengal, India.

Ankita Dey, is an archaeologist and anthropologist; with a post-graduate and M.Phil in
Anthropology from the Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, and has a
keen interest in exploring the prehistory of Jhargram district, West Bengal.

Surendra Ghaskadbi, 6. Developmental Biology Group, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India

Surendra Ghaskadbi, is a retired animal developmental biologist from MACS-Agharkar
research Institute. Over the past 40 years he has worked on embryonic development, pattern
formation, morphogenesis and regeneration in animals and on how these processes may
have evolved in the animal kingdom.

Balasubramanian Karthick, 7. Biodiversity and Paleobiology Group, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India

Karthick Balasubramanian is a scientist with Biodiversity & Paleobiology Group of
Agharkar Research Institute. He is interested in the diversity and distribution of diatoms of
Peninsular India. He also uses diatoms as a bioindicator to infer present and past
environmental conditions of rivers and lakes.

Mrudula Mane, Centre for Heritage Conservation, Research and Development Foundation, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Mrudula Mane, is a conservation architect with an interest in archaeology and working on
topics related to the subject, including petroglyphs from sites in western India.

Akash Pandey, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India

Akash Pandey is an archaeologist pursuing a PhD in prehistory working on the prehistory
archaeology of the Kharagpur Hills, South Bihar, India.

Srinath Perur, 52 Serpentine Road, KPW, Bengaluru 560020, Karnataka, India

Srinath Perur, has a Ph.D. in Computer Science, IIT Bombay, and Srinath Perur writes on
various subjects including science, travel and books, and translates from Kannada.

Chandni Roy, 11. Anita Tower, Block -C, 4th Floor, Flat No. - E4, 52/4 Ramkrishnagarh Road, Kolkata- 700079, West Bengal, India

Chandni Roy is an archaeologist and keen to pursue a PhD investigating the prehistory of the Lower Subarnarekha basin, in West Bengal.

Alok Sharma, Amity Institute of Anthropology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Alok Sharma is an archaeologist currently pursuing PhD in Anthropology at Amity
Institute of Anthropology with a focus on the ethnoarchaeology of ceramic traditions at the
Amity University, Noida, India.

Ammel Sharon , Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, West Bengal

Ammel Sharon is with the QAMRA Archival Project, NLSIU, and is a PhD candidate at
the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta

Chintan Thakar, Mahadev Ji Ki Ghati, Chavni Gate, Imli Bazar, Nathdwara, Rajsamand, Rajasthan

Chintan Thaker is a prehistorian and is currently researching the archaeology of the West
Banas Basin with special reference to Sirohi District, Rajasthan. He is interested in GIS
applications in archaeology and lithic studies.

Swati Verma, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India

Swati Verma is an archaeologist pursuing a Ph.D. on The Palaeolithic archaeology of the
Berach Basin and its adjoining Aravalli regions in southeastern Rajasthan.

Akanksha S. Kashikar, Department of Statistics, Savitribai Phule, Pune University, Pune, 411007, Maharashtra, India

Akanksha S. Kashikar is a statistician with interests in Stochastic Processes including Time
Series Analysis, Reliability, and Applied Statistics. She is currently working as Assistant
Professor at Dept of Statistics, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Shanti Pappu, a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:37:"Sharma Centre for Heritage Education ";}

Shanti Pappu is a prehistorian with interests in lithic technology, cognition and pedagogy and
directs projects at sites such as Attirampakkam amongst other sites, results of which include
publications in Science (2011) and Nature (2018). She is a Corresponding Fellow, the British
Academy.