In thearchaeology of theStone Age, anindustry ortechnocomplex[1] is atypological classification ofstone tools.
An industry consists of a number of lithicassemblages, typically including a range of different types of tools, that are grouped together on the basis of shared technological ormorphological characteristics.[2] For example, theAcheulean industry includeshand-axes,cleavers,scrapers and other tools with different forms, but which were all manufactured by the symmetricalreduction of abifacialcore producing large flakes.[3] Industries are usually named after atype site where these characteristics were first observed (e.g. theMousterian industry is named after the site ofLe Moustier). By contrast,Neolithic axeheads from theLangdale axe industry were recognised as a type well before the centre atGreat Langdale was identified by finds ofdebitage and other remains of the production, and confirmed bypetrography (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 thanarchaeological cultures. Cultures are usually defined from a range of different artefact types and are thought to be related to a distinctcultural 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,[1] 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[4] or even the replacement of one human species by another.[5] However, findings fromancient DNA studies describe several changes and periods of stasis in European populations that are not strongly reflected in the current cultural taxonomic frameworks.[6] Therefore, artefacts from a single industry may come from a number of different cultures.
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