Paper short abstract:

This paper uses a chaîne opératoire approach to Neanderthal hearths in order to understand them as material culture. It is suggested that exploration of non-lithic forms of material culture of this period may help to change still-dominant views of Neanderthal technology as static and homogeneous

Paper long abstract:

The largely unavoidable lithocentrism of Middle Palaeolithic archaeology is perhaps partly responsible for the unwillingness on the part of Palaeolithic archaeologists to engage data with theory, an issue which is compounded by the problems resulting from the extreme time depth of the period. However, a way to surmount this problem might be to move the focus to other forms of material culture. In this paper, the possibility of considering the hearth as material culture is raised: hearths are almost ubiquitous features of Neanderthal sites, yet they remain largely undefined, both functionally and theoretically. In an effort to alter this bias, an explicitly social approach to Neanderthal pyrotechnology is made, through use of the chaîne opératoire framework. This approach allows consideration of the production and use of these objects, enabling understanding of what the hearth meant to Neanderthals. In other words, by exploring what the hearth does, it is possible to understand what it is. By compiling and comparing chaînes opératoires of hearth use at multiple Neanderthal sites, it becomes apparent that during the Middle Palaeolithic, material culture meanings were not always fixed and unchanging, as is often suggested for this period, but rather dynamic and active, unique to every context. Through examination of the hearth as material culture across the Neanderthal world, it becomes evident that Neanderthal pyrotechnology must be understood as skilful and based on an in-depth engagement with the material possibilities offered by different landscapes and environments.