Lithic Raw Material Procurement and Provisioning (1.1.0)

Quantitative models of lithic technology tend to focus on hunter-gatherers as subjects of study. This model adopts and modifies some concepts from the literature on the organization of technology among hunter-gatherers to groups that have permanently occupied villages. The model is designed to evaluate the effects of individual mobility, core reduction technology, availability of lithic raw material, and forecasting of raw material shortages on the amount of work individuals are able to perform both at permanent settlements, and during movement across the landscape to and from those settlements. The model features a settlement occupied by agents, which are split into two groups: foragers and camp dwellers. Foragers move between raw material sources and the settlement, performing work and transporting raw material. Camp dwellers occupy the settlement and perform work. Each unit of work performed exhausts some amount (which varies by core reduction efficiency) of raw material. The model allows for evaluation of the conditions in which different technological, or mobility decisions are more likely to be made.

Release Notes

This version of the model is the latest as of March 2015, in this version monitoring of the space travelled by agents is tracked, and provisioning sub-models were modified to ensure some agents did not attempt to perform two units of work per tick.

Associated Publications