Valuable Flints ─ Research Strategies for the Study of Early Prehistoric Remains from the Pleistocene Soils of the Northern Netherlands

In his 2010 doctoral dissertation at Groningen University, Smit investigates whether it is necessary to research surface scatters within the framework of archaeological heritage management. There are thousands of scatters, mostly of flint artifacts and sometimes pottery fragments from the Stone Age, in the Dutch provinces of Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe, he says, and most archaeologists believe that studying them is too expensive for the little information they provide. He delves into what kinds of information are present in surface scatters and which types of research or approaches are likely to retrieve it. His topics include the research of early prehistoric sites in Dutch archaeology, from flint scatters to meaningful categories, regional or site-oriented research, and the use wear of past landscapes. He has not indexed his work. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)