:''Not to be confused with

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial Industrial may also refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engine ...

, the archaeology of (modern) industrial sites.'' In the

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis Analysis is the process of breaking a complexity, complex topic or Substance theory, substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better underst ...

of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history Human history, also known as world history, is the description of humanity's past. It is informed by archaeology ...

, an industry or technocomplex is a typological classification of

stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of sto ...

. An industry consists of a number of lithic assemblages, typically including a range of different types of tools, that are grouped together on the basis of shared technological or morphological characteristics. For example, the Acheulean industry includes hand-axes, cleavers, scrapers and other tools with different forms, but which were all manufactured by the symmetrical reduction of a

bifacial A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history Human history, also known as world history, is the description of humanity's past. It is in ...

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy) In common parlance, the core of the body is broadly considered to be the torso. Functional movements are highly dependent on this part of the body, and lack of core muscular dev ...

producing large flakes. Industries are usually named after a

type site In archaeology, a type site is the archaeological site, site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other Typology (archaeology), typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène (archaeological ...

where these characteristics were first observed (e.g. the Mousterian industry is named after the site of

Le Moustier Le Moustier is an archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human ...

). By contrast,

Neolithic The Neolithic period is the final division of the Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history Human history, also known as world history, is t ...

axeheads from the Langdale axe industry were recognised as a type well before the centre at

Great Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere in Cu ...

was identified by finds of

debitage In archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis Analysis is the process of breaking a complexity, complex topic or Substance theory, substance into smaller parts in order to ga ...

and other remains of the production, and confirmed by

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology Image:LvMS-Lvm.jpg, A volcanic lithic fragment (geology), sand grain seen under the microscope, with plane-polarized light in the upper picture, and cross polarized light in the lower picture. Scale box is 0. ...

(geological analysis). The stone was quarried and rough axe heads were produced there, to be more finely worked and polished elsewhere. As a taxonomic classification of artefacts, industries rank higher than

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring Assemblage (archaeology), assemblage of types of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular ...

s. Cultures are usually defined from a range of different artefact types and are thought to be related to a distinct

cultural tradition

. By contrast, industries are defined by basic elements of lithic production which may have been used by many unrelated human groups over tens or even hundred thousands of years, and over very wide geographical ranges. Sites producing tools from the Acheulean industry stretch from France to China, as well as Africa. Consequently, shifts between lithic industries are thought to reflect major milestones in human evolution, such as changes in cognitive ability or even the replacement of one human species by another. However, findings from ancient DNA studies describe several changes and periods of stasis in European populations that are not strongly reflected in the current cultural taxonomic frameworks. Therefore, artefacts from a single industry may come from a number of different cultures.

References

See also