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Notched Tool Reuse and Raw Material Availability in French Middle Paleolithic Sites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Simon Holdaway
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia 3083
Shannon McPherron
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI 96817–0916
Barbara Roth
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331–6403

Abstract

Based on the analysis of assemblages from the French sites of Pech de l'Azé I, La Quina, and Combe-Capelle has, a model of stone-tool resharpening is proposed for Middle Paleolithic notched tools. This model is based on the observation that tools with a larger number of notches have greater mean blank lengths irrespective of their typological designation. This pattern is then used to help investigate the relationship between raw material availability and tool reuse. Our results indicate that the number of notches found on a tool is a function of both the size of the tool blank and the availability of raw material.

Resumen

Resumen

En base al análisis de conjuntos arqueológicas de los sitios franceses Pech de l'Azé I, La Quina, y Combe-Capelle bas, se propone un modelo de reuso de artefactos líticos para herramientas de muesca del Paleolítico Medio. Este modelo se basa en la observación de que herramientas con un número mayor de muescas poseen un tamaño promedio mayor de preformas independientemente de su designación tipológica. Este patrón se utiliza para investigar la relación entre la ocurrencia de materia prima y el reuso de herramientas. Nuestros resultados indican que el número de muescas en una herramienta es una función tanto del tamaño de la preforma como del acceso a materia prima.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1996

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