Fieldwork
Fieldwork is fundamental to all archaeological disciplines.
The prehistoric archaeology team itself regularly organizes surveys, soundings and excavations in accordance with contemporary archaeological standards in Switzerland and abroad and is also happy to provide counseling on prehistoric issues and strategies relating to fieldwork and documentation.

Typology & technology

Prehistoric archaeology is largely concerned with the cultural legacies of Stone Age hunter-gatherers and hunters made of imperishable materials that have survived the ages. These are mainly stone tools, usually made of flint, and to a lesser extent tools made of bone or antler. In the history of research, the main focus was on formal criteria (typology) in order to define the different cultures in space and time. Today, research focuses primarily on technological aspects, i.e. the means and processes by which these tools were made. These craft traditions, i.e. the production of the basic forms for further processing into specific tools, form the cultural backbone of the Stone Age wild prey. Formal tools can indicate specific craft activities (e.g. fur or antler processing etc.). Their spectrum depends on the activities carried out at the individual sites and is not (as has long been assumed) determined solely by the cultural context. However, specific tool forms are certainly considered to be cultural models, a part of the classical typology that is still used today. Variations in the production of the basic forms indicate adaptations to local conditions. This raises the question of how much adaptation was possible or how strong were the cultural constraints that took no account of the given situation. This results in a new approach to assessing the prehistoric legacy and understanding prehistoric man as a freely acting being. This repertoire of possibilities for a central need, the production of basic forms, has changed considerably over the course of time, but also exhibits regional specificities. In the process, contradictory as well as (for us) "logical" actions become recognizable and can be represented with the appropriate methods. In addition to the purely technical means, the IPNA also provides an extensive comparative collection for research and teaching, which allows observations to be checked against original finds and the results obtained to be assessed on a larger scale.

Traceology & Experimental Archaeology

Our laboratory for production and use trace analysis is a research unit in the field of prehistory that focuses on functional studies of macro- and microscopic traces on objects made of stone, wood and bone/antler in combination with systematic experiments. Research is mainly focused on prehistory, but is increasingly expanding into other pre-modern periods. The Traceo-Lab also houses a large reference collection for traces of production and use. The reference collection passes tools made of flint, but also includes objects and tools made of animal bones, antlers and wood.

3D Lab

Documentation is the be-all and end-all of academic work. With the state-of-the-art Heavy Duty Quattro 3D Scanner from Evatronix, Prehistory is equipped for high-precision documentation of objects in the laboratory and in the field.