Due to the fact that the bulk of evidence from Scottish Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites is in the form of lithic artefacts, lithic raw material studies form an essential part of research into Scotland’s earliest prehistory. Scottish geology offered a wide variety of lithic raw materials, and the study of these raw materials permits the lithic specialist to discuss a number of issues. The most important of these are:
5.5.1. Raw materials identified in Scottish Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic assemblages
5.5.3. Exchange within and between territories;