Experimental archaeology is often understood both as testing hypotheses about processes
shaping the archaeological record and as generating tacit knowledge. Considering lithic
technologies, I examine the relationship between these conceptions. Experimental archaeology
is usefully understood via ‘maker’s knowledge’: archaeological ...
Experimental archaeology is often understood both as testing hypotheses about processes
shaping the archaeological record and as generating tacit knowledge. Considering lithic
technologies, I examine the relationship between these conceptions. Experimental archaeology
is usefully understood via ‘maker’s knowledge’: archaeological experiments generate embodied
know-how enabling archaeological hypotheses to be grasped and challenged, further wellpositioning archaeologists to generate integrated interpretations. Finally, experimental
archaeology involves ‘material speculation’: the constraints and affordances of archaeologists
and their materials shape productive exploration of the capacities of objects and human skill in
ways relevant to archaeological questions.