At pre-ceramic archaeological sites, projectile points are the primary diagnostic tool used by archaeologists. This reliance is even more pronounced along the eastern slopes of Alberta and boreal forest environments of Canada. The acidity of the soils, cryoturbation, and other transformative factors almost always destroy all but the most durable cultural material. In order to obtain the best understanding of precontact lifeways under these conditions we need to recognize and appreciate the diagnostic qualities of all lithic artifacts, not just projectile points. The main goal of my thesis will be to look at one such artifact type. In Alberta, predominantly along the eastern slopes, there have been a number of new and unique artifact types recovered from the cultural resource management studies that have been carried out for several forestry companies, oil and gas operations, and coal industries. The one of particular interest for this thesis will be the Embarras Bipoint (Meyer et al. 2002, Meyer 2003; Roe 2005a, 2005b). <p> I intend to look at the geographical and temporal distribution of Embarras Bipoints. At present, Embarras Bipoints have been assigned to the Early Middle Period (7,500 to 5,000 B.P.). I will compile a data set of other large stone tools to compare to Embarras Bipoints. The theoretical approach will be chaîne opératoire which will be supplemented by the experimental replication of Embarras Bipoints. Ultimately, this technological study of Embarras Bipoints will demonstrate that when found in isolation, in the absence of diagnostic projectile points, or in any un-dateable context have the diagnostic qualities to further our understanding of the Early Middle Period along the Eastern Slopes of Alberta.

At pre-ceramic archaeological sites, projectile points are the primary diagnostic tool used by archaeologists. This reliance is even more pronounced along the eastern slopes of Alberta and boreal forest environments of Canada. The acidity of the soils, cryoturbation, and other transformative factors almost always destroy all but the most durable cultural material. In order to obtain the best understanding of precontact lifeways under these conditions we need to recognize and appreciate the diagnostic qualities of all lithic artifacts, not just projectile points. The main goal of my thesis will be to look at one such artifact type. In Alberta, predominantly along the eastern slopes, there have been a number of new and unique artifact types recovered from the cultural resource management studies that have been carried out for several forestry companies, oil and gas operations, and coal industries. The one of particular interest for this thesis will be the Embarras Bipoint (Meyer et al. 2002, Meyer 2003; Roe 2005a, 2005b). <p> I intend to look at the geographical and temporal distribution of Embarras Bipoints. At present, Embarras Bipoints have been assigned to the Early Middle Period (7,500 to 5,000 B.P.). I will compile a data set of other large stone tools to compare to Embarras Bipoints. The theoretical approach will be chaîne opératoire which will be supplemented by the experimental replication of Embarras Bipoints. Ultimately, this technological study of Embarras Bipoints will demonstrate that when found in isolation, in the absence of diagnostic projectile points, or in any un-dateable context have the diagnostic qualities to further our understanding of the Early Middle Period along the Eastern Slopes of Alberta.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é o estudo da tecnologia de produção artefatual lítica lascada e suas cadeias operatórias em sítios líticos a céu aberto localizados no nordeste do Estado de São Paulo. Inicialmente foi levantada a bibliografia amadora e especializada dentro da área de estudo, dedicando atenção às tecnologias líticas produtivas e procurando nelas tópicos como preferências locacionais dos sítios líticos e os tipos de matérias-primas e seus suportes; em outras palavras, as economias de matéria-prima levadas a cabo pelos artesãos. Todo o aporte teórico-metodológico do conceito de cadeia operatória foi empregado, inclusive buscando-se o gestual dos artesãos - análise diacrítica, tentando reconstruir por meio do processo operatório e seu gestual o projeto mental do artesão, que se encontra sob uma matriz técnica, a tradição cultural. Por fim apresentamos os resultados das análises alcançados, sintetizando as cadeias operatórias praticadas e ilustrando os artefatos líticos por meio de croquis. Embora tenham sido estudados diretamente os artefatos líticos, com atenção a seus atributos técnicos, é fato que representam mais do que um contexto particular, e propiciam, mesmo que indiretamente, a possibilidade de que todo um sistema de sítios venha a ser pensado. / The main objective of this research is the study of the production technology of chipped stone artifacts and their operational sequence on lithic archaeological sites located in Northeastern São Paulo State. A bibliographic research was made based, firstly, on the amateur and specialized archaeological literature related to this specific subject, paying attention to the lithic production technology and looking for different topics such as locational preferences of the archaeological sites and the types of raw materials and their supports, in other words, the raw materials economy chose by the artisans. All methodological and theoretical operational sequence (\"chaîne opératoire\") was used, including the search for the artisans\' gestures - a diacritical analysis, intending to reconstruct through the operational processes and the gesture sequence the artisans\' mental project, related to a technical matrix - their technical tradition. Finally, the analytical results are presented, summarizing the operational sequences and illustrating lithic artifacts with drawings. Although lithic artifacts had been studied directly, focusing attention on its technical attributes, it is known that they represent more than a particular context, they may provide, even indirectly, interpretations about a whole system of sites.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é o estudo da tecnologia de produção artefatual lítica lascada e suas cadeias operatórias em sítios líticos a céu aberto localizados no nordeste do Estado de São Paulo. Inicialmente foi levantada a bibliografia amadora e especializada dentro da área de estudo, dedicando atenção às tecnologias líticas produtivas e procurando nelas tópicos como preferências locacionais dos sítios líticos e os tipos de matérias-primas e seus suportes; em outras palavras, as economias de matéria-prima levadas a cabo pelos artesãos. Todo o aporte teórico-metodológico do conceito de cadeia operatória foi empregado, inclusive buscando-se o gestual dos artesãos - análise diacrítica, tentando reconstruir por meio do processo operatório e seu gestual o projeto mental do artesão, que se encontra sob uma matriz técnica, a tradição cultural. Por fim apresentamos os resultados das análises alcançados, sintetizando as cadeias operatórias praticadas e ilustrando os artefatos líticos por meio de croquis. Embora tenham sido estudados diretamente os artefatos líticos, com atenção a seus atributos técnicos, é fato que representam mais do que um contexto particular, e propiciam, mesmo que indiretamente, a possibilidade de que todo um sistema de sítios venha a ser pensado. / The main objective of this research is the study of the production technology of chipped stone artifacts and their operational sequence on lithic archaeological sites located in Northeastern São Paulo State. A bibliographic research was made based, firstly, on the amateur and specialized archaeological literature related to this specific subject, paying attention to the lithic production technology and looking for different topics such as locational preferences of the archaeological sites and the types of raw materials and their supports, in other words, the raw materials economy chose by the artisans. All methodological and theoretical operational sequence (\"chaîne opératoire\") was used, including the search for the artisans\' gestures - a diacritical analysis, intending to reconstruct through the operational processes and the gesture sequence the artisans\' mental project, related to a technical matrix - their technical tradition. Finally, the analytical results are presented, summarizing the operational sequences and illustrating lithic artifacts with drawings. Although lithic artifacts had been studied directly, focusing attention on its technical attributes, it is known that they represent more than a particular context, they may provide, even indirectly, interpretations about a whole system of sites.