In order to answer its research questions, PREKARN works through specific objectives linked in a bottom-up orientation. Within these specific objectives, the beneficiary has performed several tasks.
1) The beneficiary designed and carried out a novel knapper experimental lithic programme. This experimental programme took place in two steps: First, a pilot experiment was conducted that aimed to employ and test the methodology that she designed. Second, she developed the formal experimental programme in which experimental archaeology was used to understand the stone tools produced by current-day knappers at each skill level.
2) The beneficiary designed a new methodological approach combining technical characters of the knapping sequence, a diacritical approach, morpho-technical analysis, new characters and lithic refit analysis. These new characters allowed us to define and identify the features characteristics of a novice knapper. She applied statistical analyses and cognitive-processual archaeology to identify the different patterns reflecting knapper knowledge at the individual level.
3) The beneficiary employed a high archaeological-resolution methodology, RMU analysis, including refit analysis, which allowed us to identify the single technical event of one knapper and identify the flakes produced by a single Palaeolithic knapper.
4) The beneficiary applied the new methodology to analyse archaeological flakes produced by individual knapping episodes (one knapper). These patterns allowed us to identify the skill level of individual prehistoric knappers.
5) The beneficiary investigated past knapper knowledge through experimental studies and archaeological stone tool data. She applied archaeological statistical computing to distinguish differences in knapper knowledge. First, she obtained patterns at the population level through the experimental assemblage. Second, she obtained the variability and difference at the individual level within each population level. Third, she compared the individual experimental patterns with the archaeological data and identified the skill level of the single prehistoric knapper.
An important component of the PREKARN project was the research development training held at the UCL (UK) and in archaeological computing in statistics (R and TPS tools) held at the Museum National d’Historie Naturelle.
