Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology are in taxonomic crisis. This crisis is largely a consequence of the demands of Open Science and the availability of large datasets as well as modern quantitative methods to analyse them effectively. We report on the motivation and some preliminary results of the first ERC-funded CLIOARCH workshop on this topic and discuss the urgency of revisioning the current landscape of cultural taxonomic units in earliest human history. Our report closes with a brief plea for a renewed dialogue between archaeologists and philosophers of science.