Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
under embargo until 2025-08-31
2025-08-31T00:00:00Z
This thesis discusses the first study of stone tools in the Darién region of eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia by examining the collection of objects from the sites of San Antonio and Santa...Show moreThis thesis discusses the first study of stone tools in the Darién region of eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia by examining the collection of objects from the sites of San Antonio and Santa Maria la Antigua del Darién. No prior archaeological analysis of lithic material has been conducted in the region while the study of the stone tools has been pushed by a limited number of scholars and investigations in adjacent Panama. As such, the clean canvas of the Darién region allows for a renegotiation of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological approaches to lithic investigations in the region. To renegotiate the approach to the study of lithic material, the thesis introduces several case studies illustrating the state of affairs in Panama as well as the entire lack of work of this kind conducted in northwestern Colombia. Through these case studies the key aspects of typological-driven approaches in Panama are identified and inform the formulation of a methodological approach to renegotiating the conceptualisation of the material category from the perspective of Darién. In subjecting the materials from San Antonio and Santa Maria to the same typological analytical approaches, key issues are identified while additionally forming the first discussion of lithics from the Darién. By renegotiating the key issues of lithic analysis in Panama, the aspects of nonlithic material for similar tool tasks as well as the extensive presence of expedient, multiuse and redesigned are identified as core aspects in creating a new conceptualisation and methodological framework for studying stone tools. As such, the thesis proposes the concept of strategic expedience as a hypothesis for the discussion of lithic in Darién and adjacent areas as well as proposing a task and assemblage-based approach to the study of tools that goes beyond the confines of typology and incorporates the site or regional level as the key unit of analysing tool task rather than focusing on form. In this, the thesis identifies the ‘clean canvas’ of the Darién as a unique opportunity to push archaeological discourse through broader hypothecation and refocus on the creation of archaeological narratives rather than hunting for intrinsic Truths in the archaeological record.Show less
