EDITOR'S LAIR

Once again, I'm happy to introduce this summer issue of Lithic Technology and the fine papers included in it. In this issue, we have two experimental studies. First, Shelby Putt, Alexander Woods, and Robert Franciscus present their extensive experiment examining the role of verbal communication in the instruction novice knappers. I have no doubt that this paper will surprise many of our readers in its finding that verbal communication is relatively unimportant in the transmission of knapping skill — at least in the manufacture of bifaces of the sort found during the Acheulean industry. Second, Sarah Chandlee, Colleen Bell, and Timothy Lambert-Law de Lauriston present an experiment on the manufacture of stone pipes. This provides another good example of the kinds of experimental research that are necessary in order to gain better knowledge of craft production processes and organization.

In addition, this issue includes a report by William McGrew, Takuya Matsumoto, Michio Nakamura, Caroline Phillips, and Fiona Stewart describing the use of stone tools by macaques (Macaca fuscata). Once again, I think this paper will catch the attention of many readers and it clearly holds important implications for our understanding of both the technological capabilities of primates and our interpretation of the earliest putative lithic assemblages. Finally, Trudy Doelman, Peter Jia, Robin Torrence, and Vladimir Popov present a thorough examination of the obsidian sources in Northeast Asia and their exploitation by prehistoric peoples. This study vividly demonstrates the complexity of stone transportation within mobile hunter-gatherer societies and points to a range of (perhaps unexpected) social and economic dynamics. This work demonstrates the value of stone sourcing studies in elucidating both patterns of technological organization and social networks of interaction at large spatial scales.

While these papers are quite varied in their topics, they have a few important things in common. Foremost, they all speak to the articulation of actualistic research and archaeological inference. As such, they are all based on a great deal of dedicated hard work. While flashy discoveries tend to dominate popular media accounts of archaeology, it is this kind of disciplined research aimed at building better understandings of prehistory that constitutes the lifeblood of the field of archaeology. The papers included in this issue represent the contributions of a total of 15 authors (not including the book review authors). I believe that this is a record since I have taken over as editor and I am proud to present these papers as manifestations of great collaborative effort and ingenuity. As always, I am grateful for your interest in Lithic Technology and I look forward to reading your papers in the future.