Tools in action: instrumentalisation and instrumentation in the techno-functional analysis of late lithic assemblages from the Central Coast of Peru

Balarezo A.P.; Babot P.; Sotelo L.C. · Revista del Museo de Antropologia (2020) · DOI: 10.31048/1852.4826.v13.n1.23955

Resumen

This paper analyzes the methodological viability of the application of concepts from French ergonomics in the techno-functional analysis of nine lithic assemblages of the Maranga Archaeological Complex (Central Coast of Peru), assigned to late periods (ca. 1.800-400 BP). From an approach that considers that tools exist only in action, the instrumentalization and instrumentation categories are applied in order to evaluate their relevance for the integration of the spheres of production and functioning. In this way, a methodological program was designed to integrate different specialized techniques (petrography, X-ray diffraction, taphonomy, technology and plant micro-remains) in order to identify the operational patterns of recurrent production and use in each lithic assemblage. The results obtained from each technique are evaluated according to the degree of theoretical-methodological coherence they express, and their relevance for the synchronic and diachronic study of instrumental variability in the Central Coast of Peru.