Lewenstein, Suzanne M. — Stone Tool Use at Cerros

Austin, Texas, University of Texas, Austin, 1987. First Edition. Hardcover. Size: 8vo 8" - 9" tall. Fine-looking, structurally sound hardcover, little discernible wear, bright interior, unmarked. Bright and shiny dust jacket, illustrated, little worn. Bound simply in gray linen cloth over boards, sharp and distinct gilt lettering to spine. From the publisher's blurb, "For centuries, scholars have pondered and speculated over the uses of the chipped stone implements uncovered at archaeological sites. Recently a number of researchers have attempted to determine prehistoric tool function through experimentation and through observation of the few remaining human groups who still retain this knowledge. Learning how stone tools were made and used in the past can tell us a great deal about ancient economic systems, exchange networks, and the social and political structure of prehistoric societies. Suzanne M. Lewenstein used the artifacts from Cerros, an important Late Preclassic (200 B.C.- A.D. 200) Mayan site in northern Belize, to study stone tool function. Through a comprehensive program of experimentation with stone tool replicas, she was able not only to infer the tasks performed by individual tool specimens but also to recognize a wide variety of past activities for which stone tools were used. Unlike previous works which focused on hunter-gatherer groups, STONE TOOL USE AT CERROS is the first comprehensive experimental study of tool use in an agricultural society."" The author earned her Ph.D. in anthropology in 1984 from Arizona State University. Many, many score black-and-white illustrations and photographs, charts and tables. Volume contains scholarly apparatus in the form of, e.g., notes, index, and bibliography. viii [2], 3-228 pp.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. . . . Fine/Near Fine,