A Scan A Day, Keeps the Dust Away: A Digital, Analytical and Experimental Approach to Understand the Lithic Technology of the South Asian Paleolithic

Malavika Chatterjee1* and Akash Srinivas2

Traditional lithic typo-techonological analyses have been foundational in understanding lithic technology. However, as a predominantly manual method of investigation, it is susceptible to issues of subjectivity and evaluation variability, human error and to a certain extent, replicability.  This paper presents an experimental approach that integrates 3D scanning and photogrammetry with Geometric Morphometrics (GMM) to augment, rather than replace, conventional lithic analysis. High-resolution 3D models are analysed through GMM to explore patterns of morphological variability and technological convergence or divergence. Here, we highlight variability in terms of morphological features, identifying subtle shape differences, asymmetry, standardisation, and modularity that established typological categories may obscure. The authors go a step further by moving beyond bifaces that are traditionally favoured in morphometric studies by extending GMM applications to cores and other tool categories. By integrating quantitative morphometrics with established typo-technological data, an attempt is made to understand lithic reduction strategies through tool management, organisation and curation.  Overall, this methodology not only facilitates rapid and standardised documentation of artefacts but also enables precise capture of form and surface topography. Moreover, it assesses the replicability of typological classifications beyond just individual analysis and identifies technological clusters grounded in measurable attributes. This study demonstrates how experimental and digital approaches can bring South Asian lithic research into a more transparent, testable, and analytically rigorous 21st-century framework.