ABSTRACT
Studies of Late Pleistocene hunter–gatherers on different continents have attempted to compare their archaeological records in the hope of revealing global temporal and spatial variability (Soffer 1987; Gamble & Soffer 1990; Veth et al. 2005; Smith & Hesse 2005). However, incomplete or uneven chronological and palaeoecological frameworks have limited the ability of most studies to compare archaeologies in commensurate ways. In one major attempt to do this, Gamble and Soffer (1990: 15) used the Last Glacial Maximum as a point of comparison but identified serious limitations in the data because of the different research agendas and the use of conflicting spatial and chronological scales. They argued that any observed variability could be the product of incompatible data sets rather than significant differences in human behaviours (1990: 15) and suggested that if global comparisons are to be successful in illuminating aspects of human behavioural variability, it is crucial that standardisation of both temporal and spatial scales be in place for cross-cultural studies (1990: 8). This approach has been successful in the natural sciences, particularly in studies of past global climates (e.g. Gasse et al. 1997; Shulmeister et al. 2006).
