New advances in French prehistory

The study of technology is long-standing in France, with its roots in the Enlightenment. Since then, French technological studies have exhibited divergent characteristics: a search for universal principles and a deep interest in the material and physical details of technology, the role of the crafts...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAntiquity Vol. 73; no. 279; pp. 167 - 175
Main Author Audouze, F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.03.1999
J. Bellows
Subjects
Antiquities
Archaeology
chaîne opératoire
France
French language
lithic technology
methods
Palaeolithic
Prehistoric era
Prehistory
Special section
theory
France
Palaeolithic
lithic technology
France
methods
theory
chaîne opératoire
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Summary:The study of technology is long-standing in France, with its roots in the Enlightenment. Since then, French technological studies have exhibited divergent characteristics: a search for universal principles and a deep interest in the material and physical details of technology, the role of the craftsman and his skill. Technology is considered a mediator between Nature and Culture, material and social. The 1950s were marked by a renewal of this debate mainly through the work of two social anthopologists (Leroi-Gourhan and Haudricourt), a historian (Gilles) and a philosopher of technology (Simondon). All looked for general principles in order to explain the evolution of technology and its place in society. Apart from Haudricourt, who emphasized social relations, all stressed the autonomy of the technical realm and its quasi-biological development.
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PII:S0003598X00087986
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ISSN:0003-598X
1745-1744
DOI:10.1017/S0003598X00087986