The application of quartzite petrogenesis in Palaeolithic research: Methodological basis, ongoing narratives, future directions

Archaeologically-oriented petrography has changed the way of conceiving economic and social practices during the Palaeolithic. Research on quartzite, the second most widely used lithic resource, has experienced a notable increase thanks to the formal definition of the material, methodological improvements, and case studies that are shedding light on the economy and social interactions during the Palaeolithic. This paper briefly presents the progress made during the last years by our research team, particularly in quartzite petrology, together with some thoughts about its future evolution. These advances are based on the petrography of the material and particularly on the application of petrogenesis (a research field in geology that deals with the origin and transformation of rocks) to establish reliable and universal types that are useful for understanding quartzite from a geoarchaeological perspective. Furthermore, we present preliminary results derived from the application of scanning electron microscopy in quartzite petrogenesis. Finally, we propose some perspectives and methodological advances to continue untangling the prehistoric knowledge enclosed in quartzite artefacts.