The Folsom lithic technology is found among the hunter-gatherers of the Pleistocene grasslands of west-central North America. The eleven papers in this volume focus on identifying patterning within the lithic assemblages, detecting structure and variation and providing insights into the organisation of the technology.

This volume is an extensive collection of chapters discussing Folsom artifacts and sites, as well as innovative experiments undertaken to understand Folsom technology and lifeways. It is a unique volume in that it examines the variation present in technology and behavior across a wide range of Folsom localities.

Modern humans and their hominid ancestors relied on chipped-stone technology for well over two million years and colonized more than 99 percent of the Earth's habitable landmass in doing so. Yet there currently exist only a handful of informal models derived from ethnographic observation, experiments, engineering, and "common sense" to explain variability in archaeological lithic assemblages. Because the fundamental processes of making, using, and discarding stone tools are, at root, exercises in problem solving, Todd Surovell asks what conditions favor certain technological solutions. Whether asking if a biface should be made thick or thin or if a flake should be saved or discarded, Surovell seeks answers that extend beyond a case-by-case analysis. One avenue for addressing these questions theoretically is formal mathematical modeling. Here Surovell constructs a series of models designed to link environmental variability to human decision making as it pertains to lithic technology. To test the models, Surovell uses data from the analysis of more than 40,000 artifacts from five Rocky Mountain and Northern Plains Folsom and Goshen complex archaeological sites dating to the Younger Dryas stadial (ca. 12,600-11,500 years BP). The primary result is the production of powerful new analytical tools useful to the interpretation of archaeological assemblages. Surovell's goal is to promote modeling and explore the general issues governing technological decisions. In this light, his models can be applied to any context in which stone tools are made and used.

At the end of the last Ice Age in a valley bottom in the Rocky Mountains, a group of bison hunters overwintered. Through the analysis of more than 75,000 pieces of chipped stone, archaeologist Todd A. Surovell is able to provide one of the most detailed looks yet at the lifeways of hunter-gatherers from 12,800 years ago. The best archaeological sites are those that present problems and inspire research, writes Surovell. From the start, the Folsom site called Barger Gulch Locality B was one of those sites; it was a problem-rich environment. Many Folsom sites are sparse scatters of stone and bone, a reflection of a mobile lifestyle that leaves little archaeological materials. The people at Barger Gulch left behind tens of thousands of pieces of chipped stone; they appeared to have spent quite a bit of time there in comparison to other places they inhabited. Summarizing findings from nine seasons of excavations, Surovell explains that the site represents a congregation of mobile hunter-gatherers who spent winter along Barger Gulch, a tributary of the Colorado River. Surovell uses spatial patterns in chipped stone to infer the locations of hearths and house features. He examines the organization of household interiors and discusses differential use of interior and exterior spaces. Data allow inference about the people who lived at the site, including aspects of the identity of flintknappers and household versus group mobility. The site shows evidence of a Paleoindian camp circle, child flintknapping, household production of weaponry, and the fission/fusion dynamics of group composition that is typical of nomadic peoples. Barger Gulch provides key findings on Paleoindian technological variation and spatial and social organization.

Covers manufacturing techniques, lithic types and materials, reduction strategies and techniques, worldwide lithic technology, production variables, meaning of form, and usewear and residue analysis.

This volume is an extensive collection of chapters discussing Folsom artifacts and sites, as well as innovative experiments undertaken to understand Folsom technology and lifeways. Public and private collections of Folsom artifacts were brought together with professional and amateur lithic analysts and knappers in an attempt to determine how the ancient stone tools were made and used. In addition, Folsom Technology and Lifeways summarizes interaction among knappers and analysts, and the attempts to replicate specific artifact types represented. It is a unique volume in that it examines the variation present in technology and behavior across a wide range of Folsom localities.