In this paper we discuss the universal selection of exceptional materials for tool making in prehistory. The interpretation suggested in the literature for these non-standard materials is usually limited to a general statement, considering possible aesthetic values or a general, mostly unexplained, symbolic meaning. We discuss the implications of viewing these materials as active agents and living vital beings in Palaeolithic archaeology as attested in indigenous hunter-gatherer communities all around the world. We suggest that the use of specific materials in the Palaeolithic was meaningful, and beyond its possible ‘symbolic’ meaning, it reflects deep familiarity and complex relations of early humans with the world surrounding them—humans and other-than-human persons (animals, plants, water and stones)—on which they were dependent. We discuss the perception of tools and the materials from which they are made as reflecting relationships, respectful behaviour and functionality from an ontological point of view. In this spirit, we suggest re-viewing materials as reflecting social, cosmological and ontological world-views of Palaeolithic humans, and looking beyond their economic, functional aspects, as did, perhaps, our ancestors themselves.

中文翻译：

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超越工具和功能：材料的选择和狩猎采集者的本体。旧石器时代考古的民族志证据和启示

在本文中，我们讨论了史前工具制造中特殊材料的普遍选择。文献中对这些非标准材料的解释通常仅限于一般性陈述，考虑到可能的审美价值或一般的、大多无法解释的象征意义。我们讨论了将这些材料视为旧石器时代考古学中的活性剂和活生生的生命体的含义，这一点已在世界各地的土著狩猎采集社区得到证实。我们认为旧石器时代特定材料的使用是有意义的，并且超出其可能的“象征性”意义，它反映了早期人类与周围世界的深刻熟悉和复杂关系——人类和非人类的人（动物、植物、水和石头）——它们赖以生存。我们从本体论的角度讨论对工具和制造它们的材料的看法，以反映关系、尊重的行为和功能。本着这种精神，我们建议重新审视材料，以反映旧石器时代人类的社会、宇宙学和本体论世界观，并超越他们的经济、功能方面，就像我们的祖先自己一样。