Nothing set in stone: chaînes opératoires of later stone age sequences from the Luangwa Valley and Muchinga Escarpment, Zambia

This study applies a hybrid analytical approach that combines chaîne opératoire analysis with a reduction sequence typology to investigate the organisation of lithic technologies in the mid to late Holocene record of eastern Zambia. Later Stone Age sequences are analysed from two recently excavated sites, Poacher’s Cave in the Luangwa Valley and Caterpillar Rock in the Muchinga Escarpment overlooking the Luangwa Valley. Both sequences are discontinuous, quartz-based, lack refits and in the case of Caterpillar Rock, only a small area of the site was sampled. Despite these analytical challenges, the analysis reveals underlying similarities in knapping strategies with the production of bladelets and use of expedient flaking common to both sites. A clear difference emerges with the use of prepared and radial flaking strategies only at Caterpillar Rock. Core preparation features at some Holocene sites in the region, and its occurrence in the escarpment adds to the spatial distribution of this distinctive strategy. The hybrid analytical approach aids the recognition of subtle variability within and between sites locally and regionally, but the underlying cognitive assumptions of the chaîne opératoire approach cannot be easily reconciled with the limitations of the archaeological record.