ArticlePDF Available

The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological Behavior at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK

DOI:10.1007/s10816-018-9376-0
Authors:
Paula García-Medrano at Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social
Paula García-Medrano
Andreu Ollé at IPHES Catalan Institute for Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution
Andreu Ollé
Nick M Ashton at British Museum
Nick M Ashton
Mark Roberts at UCL
Mark Roberts
  • UCL
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract and Figures

The morphological variability of large cutting tools (LCT) during the Middle Pleistocene has been traditionally associated with two main variables: raw material constraints and reduction intensity. Boxgrove — c.500 ka — is one of the most informative sites at which to analyze shaping strategies and handaxe morphological variability in the European Middle Pleistocene, because of the large number of finished handaxes, and the presence of complete operational chains. We focused on the entire handaxe and rough-out sample from Boxgrove-Q1/B with the aim of assessing the role of raw material characteristics — size, form, and homogeneity of nodules — in the shaping process, and to ascertain if they represent real constraints in the production of handaxes. Additionally, given the large number of handaxes and the intensity of the thinning work at Boxgrove, we also aimed to determine if reduction intensity affected the final shape to the degree that some authors have previously postulated. The methodology combines traditional technological descriptions, metrical analysis, and experimental reproduction of shaping processes together with geometric morphometry and PCA. The conclusions we draw are that the Q1/B handaxe knapping strategies were flexible and adapted to the characteristics of the blanks. These characteristics affected the reduction strategy but there is no clear relationship between initial nodule or blank morphology and final handaxe shape. Throughout the experiments, we explored the capacity to solve problems arising from reduction accidents, which led to re-configuring the knapping strategy to achieve the predetermined “mental template.” Furthermore, no substantial morphological differences related to reduction intensity were noticed with the Q1/B handaxes. Systematic re-sharpening as the cause of shape variation seems highly unlikely, perhaps related to the short use-life of the Boxgrove-Q1/B handaxes. Preferred forms constitute part of a broader pattern emerging for specific handaxe types at different times during the British Acheulean. The patterns have tentatively been interpreted as the result of changing environments and the movement of hominin populations.
Figures - available from: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Content uploaded by Paula García-Medrano
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Paula García-Medrano on Sep 10, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New
Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological Behavior
at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK
Paula García-Medrano
1
&Andreu Ollé
2,3
&
Nick Ashton
1
&Mark B. Roberts
4
#Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract The morphological variability of large cutting tools (LCT) during the Middle
Pleistocene has been traditionally associated with two main variables: raw material
constraints and reduction intensity. Boxgrove —c.500 ka —is one of the most informa-
tive sites at which to analyze shaping strategies and handaxe morphological variability in
the European Middle Pleistocene, because of the large number of finished handaxes, and
the presence of complete operational chains. We focused on the entire handaxe and rough-
out sample from Boxgrove-Q1/B with the aim of assessing the role of raw material
characteristics —size, form, and homogeneity of nodules —in the shaping process,
and to ascertain if they represent real constraints in the production of handaxes. Addition-
ally, given the large number of handaxes and the intensity of the thinning work at
Boxgrove, we also aimed to determine if reduction intensity affected the final shape to
the degree that some authors have previously postulated. The methodology combines
traditional technological descriptions, metrical analysis, and experimental reproduction of
shaping processes together with geometric morphometry and PCA. The conclusions we
draw are that the Q1/B handaxe knapping strategies were flexible and adapted to the
characteristics of the blanks. These characteristics affected the reduction strategy but there
is no clear relationship between initial nodule or blank morphology and final handaxe
J Archaeol Method Theory
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-018-9376-0
*Paula García-Medrano
pgarciamedrano@gmail.com
1
Department of Britain, Europe & Prehistory, British Museum, Franks House, 56 Orsman Road,
London N1 5QJ, UK
2
Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona educacional 4, Campus
Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
3
Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Fac. Lletres, Av. Catalunya, 35,
43002 Tarragona, Spain
4
Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
  • A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
  • Learn more
Preview content only
Content available from Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.

Supplementary resources (2)

Fig. 6 (The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological Behavior at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK)
Data
April 2018
Paula García-Medrano · Andreu Ollé · Nick M Ashton · Mark Roberts
Fig. 8 (The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological Behavior at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK)
Data
April 2018
Paula García-Medrano · Andreu Ollé · Nick M Ashton · Mark Roberts
... Many researchers agree that the Later Acheulian handaxes do reflect complex knapping routines that distinguish them from earlier forms. For example, the extent of procedures involved in thinning Later Acheulian handaxes has been used as a proxy for assessing the skill of ancient knappers (Callahan, 1979;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Shimelmitz et al., 2017;Shipton, 2018;Shipton et al., 2013;Stout et al., 2014). Successfully detaching invasive flakes that penetrate the midline of handaxes requires careful control over the preparation of platforms, altering external platform and bevel angles, raising the plane of bifacial intersection and the accuracy and force of percussive strikes (Callahan, 1979;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Pargeter et al., 2020Pargeter et al., , 2019Shipton, 2018;Shipton et al., 2013). ...
... For example, the extent of procedures involved in thinning Later Acheulian handaxes has been used as a proxy for assessing the skill of ancient knappers (Callahan, 1979;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Shimelmitz et al., 2017;Shipton, 2018;Shipton et al., 2013;Stout et al., 2014). Successfully detaching invasive flakes that penetrate the midline of handaxes requires careful control over the preparation of platforms, altering external platform and bevel angles, raising the plane of bifacial intersection and the accuracy and force of percussive strikes (Callahan, 1979;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Pargeter et al., 2020Pargeter et al., , 2019Shipton, 2018;Shipton et al., 2013). This is one of the most technically challenging aspects of Large Cutting Tool (LCT) production and is thought to reflect a level of mastery in handaxe-making. ...
... It is therefore possible that the frequency of knapping mishaps is simply a factor of raw material properties. However, recent experimental studies have suggested that raw materials have little to no impact on the final forms of handaxes (Eren et al., 2014;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Sharon, 2008). It is hypothesized the skill of Acheulian knappers is able to adapt to and overcome raw material properties to achieve specific forms, although this issue is discussed in more detail below. ...
Modelling production mishaps in later Acheulian handaxes from the Area 1 excavation at Amanzi Springs (Eastern Cape, South Africa) and their effects on reduction and morphology
Article
Experimental research examining Later Acheulian handaxes often equates their production with expert knapping skill. Yet knapping mishaps, including step and hinge fractures, mismanaging cross-sectional proportions and transverse breaks are common throughout manufacturing stages and may represent an important source of morphological variability. Recent investigations of handaxes from the ~400 ka Area 1 locality at Amanzi Springs have suggested that the large and asymmetric proportions of these tools may relate the abundance of step and hinge fractures and excessive thick edges that impeded reduction. This study uses both geometric and traditional morphometric techniques to explore the effects of knapping mishaps on the reduction and morphology of Amanzi Springs handaxes. Results suggest that interpretations of Acheulian technological skill can benefit from examining the occurrence of production errors, which may account for some of the morphological differences in handaxes observed on both diachronic and geographic scales.
... To this end, 18 lithic workshops were carried out by three individuals with different degrees of experience in knapping handaxe tools. Due to its complexity, the manufacture of this tool requires complex skills that involve a high degree of cognitive development (García-Medrano et al., 2019;McPherron, 2000;Stout, 2002;Stout et al., 2000;Stout & Chaminade, 2007). The adaptability and effectiveness of this tool over the course of time, its existence throughout Africa and Eurasia, and its use by several different hominin species (García-Medrano et al., 2019;McPherron, 2000;Moncel et al., 2018) make this a good candidate with which to draw conclusions relevant to Palaeolithic studies. ...
... Due to its complexity, the manufacture of this tool requires complex skills that involve a high degree of cognitive development (García-Medrano et al., 2019;McPherron, 2000;Stout, 2002;Stout et al., 2000;Stout & Chaminade, 2007). The adaptability and effectiveness of this tool over the course of time, its existence throughout Africa and Eurasia, and its use by several different hominin species (García-Medrano et al., 2019;McPherron, 2000;Moncel et al., 2018) make this a good candidate with which to draw conclusions relevant to Palaeolithic studies. ...
Perceiving tools: Visual attention during Lower Paleolithic stone tool exploration
Conference Paper
  • Sep 2021
Humans evolved specializations to integrate tools into their cultural, perceptive and cognitive systems. Tools extend cognitive functions beyond the brain and directly improve the range of our cognitive skills. A characteristic of human beings is their hand-eye coordination, associated with a specialized visuospatial system. In fact, parietal lobes, larger and more complex in modern humans, are involved in the management of the relationships between brain, body and environment. Tools activate brain motor regions even during passive viewing. When a tool is touched, it is integrated into the body scheme, expanding the peripersonal space. Recently, different disciplines have adopted an embodied cognition perspective arguing that physical tools should be considered as a functional part of the cognitive network. Vision is the dominant source of sensory information in primates, channelling action and body-environment relationships. We applied eye-tracking technology to investigate visual perception during human interaction with Lower Paleolithic stone tools. We quantified visual attention during a free exploration of stone tools in peripersonal space and during tool physical manipulation. Our results suggest that choppers are usually more explored at the upper region and cortex, while handaxes receive more attention at the base and edges. We can consider whether choppers, displaying a simpler morphology, may require less attention associated with the grasping strategy, while handaxes, with a more complex profile and more grasping and use possibilities, may need a finer exploration of its base. That differences during visual exploration are the same whether or not the tools are physically manipulated, suggesting haptic exploration simply serves visual perception, without influencing the visual exploration scheme. The analysis of visual behaviour associated with these affordances can supply information on the early steps of this brain-body-tool interaction, evidencing common factors as well as type-specific perceptual differences
... In each instance, much technological information can be derived from the position, number and size of these scars, such as reduction sequences, reduction intensity and knapping strategy. For instance, analysis of scar abundance on 3D scans has previously been used to calculate reduction intensity [120][121][122][123][124], while scar directionality has been used to infer reduction strategies of cores [125,126]. Surface area has also proven particularly useful in improving our ability to calculate the reduction intensity of cores [120,127,128], core-tools [122,124,129,130], and flake-tools [86,87,92,131]. ...
Artifact3-D: New software for accurate, objective and efficient 3D analysis and documentation of archaeological artifacts
Article
Full-text available
The study of artifacts is fundamental to archaeological research. The features of individual artifacts are recorded, analyzed, and compared within and between contextual assemblages. Here we present and make available for academic-use Artifact3-D, a new software package comprised of a suite of analysis and documentation procedures for archaeological artifacts. We introduce it here, alongside real archaeological case studies to demonstrate its utility. Artifact3-D equips its users with a range of computational functions for accurate measurements , including orthogonal distances, surface area, volume, CoM, edge angles, asymmetry, and scar attributes. Metrics and figures for each of these measurements are easily exported for the purposes of further analysis and illustration. We test these functions on a range of real archaeological case studies pertaining to tool functionality, technological organization, manufacturing traditions, knapping techniques, and knapper skill. Here we focus on lithic arti-facts, but the Artifact3-D software can be used on any artifact type to address the needs of modern archaeology. Computational methods are increasingly becoming entwined in the excavation, documentation, analysis, database creation, and publication of archaeological research. Artifact3-D offers functions to address every stage of this workflow. It equips the user with the requisite toolkit for archaeological research that is accurate, objective, repeat-able and efficient. This program will help archaeological research deal with the abundant material found during excavations and will open new horizons in research trajectories.
... This method was at the heart of the Marie-Curie funded Western European Acheulean Project (WEAP), which developed a unified technological analysis of handaxes in combination with 3D morphometrics (see below). These methods have been used in the current work drawing on analyses undertaken by Shipton and White (2020) in combination with those from the British sites studied for WEAP (García-Medrano et al., 2019;García-Medrano et al., 2020, submitted). ...
Acheulean Diversity in Britain (MIS 15-MIS11): From the Standardization to the Regionalization of Technology
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
The appearance of the Acheulean and the production of new bifacial tools marked a revolution in human behavior. The use of longer and complex operative chains, with centripetal and recurrent knapping, adapted to different raw materials, created long useful edges, converging in a functional distal end. How and why these handaxes vary has been the subject of intense debates. Britain provides a clearly defined region at the edge of the hominin occupied world for discussing variation in Acheulean assemblages. The environmental changes from MIS 15 to MIS 11 are significant in understanding population change, with probable breaks in evidence during MIS 14 and MIS 12, followed by several sites during the long stable climate of MIS11c. In this latter period, different Acheulean technological expressions appear to coexist in Britain. This paper draws together different studies, combining technology and geometric morphometrics to analyze handaxes from six British sites: Brandon Fields, Boxgrove (Q1B), High Lodge, Hitchin, Swanscombe (UMG), and Elveden. Compared to the earlier Acheulean of MIS 15, the assemblages of MIS 13 show increased standardization and the use of soft hammer percussion for thinning mid-sections and butts of tools, or sharpening tips through tranchet removals. Although there is regional population discontinuity through MIS12 there is no evidence of a marked change in technology after this glacial period. Rather, there is a development towards more intense shaping with the same underlying techniques, but with flexibility in imposed handaxe form. From MIS11 there appear to be distinctive localized traditions of manufacture, which suggest that a recognition of place and territories had developed by this time. These are expressed over medium time-scales of several thousand years and have significance for how we view cultural expression and transmission.
... Width and thickness were also measured at fixed fractions of the total length (25%, 50%, and 75%). These variables were also combined into ratios such as elongation (L/W), refinement (W/Th), tip-based (W25/W75), width-to-length (W/L) and thickness-to-length (Th/L) (Beyene et al., 2013;Bordes, 1961;García-Medrano et al., 2019;Grosman et al., 2008;Roe, 1968). As a general size index, tool module was computed averaging ML, width and thickness. ...
Visual Attention and Cognitive Archaeology: An Eye-Tracking Study of Palaeolithic Stone Tools
Article
  • Dec 2021
The study of lithic technology can provide information on human cultural evolution. This article aims to analyse visual behaviour associated with the exploration of ancient stone artefacts and how this relates to perceptual mechanisms in humans. In Experiment 1, we used eye tracking to record patterns of eye fixations while participants viewed images of stone tools, including examples of worked pebbles and handaxes. The results showed that the focus of gaze was directed more towards the upper regions of worked pebbles and on the basal areas for handaxes. Knapped surfaces also attracted more fixation than natural cortex for both tool types. Fixation distribution was different to that predicted by models that calculate visual salience. Experiment 2 was an online study using a mouse-click attention tracking technique and included images of unworked pebbles and ‘mixed’ images combining the handaxe's outline with the pebble's unworked texture. The pattern of clicks corresponded to that revealed using eye tracking and there were differences between tools and other images. Overall, the findings suggest that visual exploration is directed towards functional aspects of tools. Studies of visual attention and exploration can supply useful information to inform understanding of human cognitive evolution and tool use.
... Our sample comprises 11 research participants with no prior stone tool making experience learning to make Paleolithic stone "handaxes" 3 comparable to those made by Homo heidelbergensis ca. 500,000 years ago 9,10 . Pargeter et al. (2019Pargeter et al. ( , 2020 have published details of training and learning outcomes elsewhere. ...
Emergence of perceptuomotor relationships during paleolithic stone toolmaking learning: intersections of observation and practice
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2021
Stone toolmaking is a human motor skill which provides the earliest archeological evidence motor skill and social learning. Intentionally shaping a stone into a functional tool relies on the interaction of action observation and practice to support motor skill acquisition. The emergence of adaptive and efficient visuomotor processes during motor learning of such a novel motor skill requiring complex semantic understanding, like stone toolmaking, is not understood. Through the examination of eye movements and motor skill, the current study sought to evaluate the changes and relationship in perceptuomotor processes during motor learning and performance over 90 h of training. Participants’ gaze and motor performance were assessed before, during and following training. Gaze patterns reveal a transition from initially high gaze variability during initial observation to lower gaze variability after training. Perceptual changes were strongly associated with motor performance improvements suggesting a coupling of perceptual and motor processes during motor learning. In order to evaluate changes and relationships in perceptual process during motor learning and motor performance over training, Bayani et al examine eye movements and motor skill in a paleolithic stone toolmaking task. They demonstrate the importance of understanding the emergence and evolution of perceptual-motor coupling not only in complex motor skill learning.
... Human occupation at Boxgrove has been dated to late MIS 13 and is associated with intertidal silts deposited on the edge of a semi-enclosed marine embayment located approximately 20 km east of the estuary of the River Solent (Bates et al., 2010;Pope et al., 2020;Roberts & Parfitt, 1999;Roberts & Pope, 2018). Lithic technology was focused on the production of refined ovate handaxes, frequently with tranchet-sharpened tips, which sometimes produced straight, cleaver-like tips (Roberts & Parfitt, 1999;García-Medrano et al. 2019). ...
Lower and Early Middle Palaeolithic of Southern Britain: the Evidence from the River Test
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2021
Fluvial terrace sequences of Pleistocene rivers provide a chronological framework for examining broad patterns of change in the Palaeolithic record. Collections of artefacts recovered from individual terraces represent a time-averaged sample of the range of lithic technology discarded in a river valley over thousands of years. These can be compared and contrasted with other terraces to identify the timing of the appearance of key technological innovations and chronological variation in lithic technology. In Britain, the punctuated nature of human presence during the Pleistocene means that archaeological variation across a river terrace sequence is likely to relate in part to successive phases of occupation by human groups derived from populations in mainland Europe. This paper presents an analysis of the Lower and early Middle Palaeolithic record of the River Test, Hampshire, which was a tributary river of the former River Solent. The timing of the first appearance of handaxes and Levallois technology is established, and chronological patterning in handaxe typology and technology is identified. The Test record is placed in its regional context, and its implications for understanding the human occupation history of northwest Europe during the Middle Pleistocene are discussed.
Lower and Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblages from Southern peninsular india : a geometric morphometric and classical approach to large cutting tools
Thesis
  • Jun 2021
The Indian sub-continent, midway between Africa and South-east Asia, offers great potential to contribute to the ongoing debates of hominin dispersals and techno-cultural transitions. The Malaprabha Valley sites, in south-western Peninsular India, provides a regional perspective on the transitional processes between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. Three assemblages, from local Late Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic were chosen as the key collections and then compared to two of their south-eastern counterparts. These assemblages, excavated or collected from surface, are housed in various museums in India, France and UK. The aim of this PhD was to trace the technological and typological changes of the Large cutting tools (LCTs: handaxes and cleavers) at the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic. A second objective was to discern raw material and blank effects on the shape variabilities of the LCTs. Combining the classical techno-typological analysis and Geometric Morphometric approach (2D and 3D) allow us to get accurate, reversible holistic results. LCTs in Malaprabha Valley always include more handaxes than cleavers. They are constantly made from local quartzite on various types of blanks with gradual increasing use of the flakes. Their shape variability is mostly located on their periphery and is not influenced by the blank types. Whatever variability occurred it seemed to result from varying relative width and thickness. This study highlights that the technological and morphological traits of the LCTs reflect a regional continuity with gradual changes from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic, rather than an abrupt external introduction of new technical behaviors. Irrespective of the diverse blank types, the hominin tool makers in this part of Peninsular India were able to achieve similar tool forms, through adaptive shaping strategies, reflecting a mental template that continued through generations apart from the technical progress identifiable in other products.
Innovations in Acheulean biface production at la Noira (France) during Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
The archaeological sequence of la Noira (Centre region, France) yielded two phases of occupation: ca 700 ka (stratum a) and ca 450 ka (stratum c). No site between these two dates has yet been discovered in the area, and this chronological period has thus been interpreted as a gap in settlement from MIS 16 to MIS 12, two crucial phases of occupation in Western Europe. The record before the long glacial event MIS 12 has been traditionally associated with the onset of the Acheulean in Europe. From MIS 12, the record represents the earliest evidence of innovations, a clear shift in human evolution. Here, we compare these two levels (strata a and c), tracking the technological innovations during this time and combining technological analysis with geometric morphometrics with the use of 3D models comparison of the large cutting tools (LCTs). Stratum a yielded an Early Acheulean, one of the few evidences in Europe presents tools with mainly short shaping sequences on local millstone slabs, with special attention to tips, but with clear management of tool volume. Stratum c, dated to the MIS 11, differs in that both local millstone and flints from distant sources show longer shaping sequences, the use of soft hammers for several series of removals on tools, combined with final regularizing retouch on entire edges. The morphometric approach shows a morphological transition from oval to teardrop shapes for the thinnest tools. Our data suggest a clear technological filiation between strata a and c and in la Noira populations from MIS 16 and MIS 12, as suggested for innovations of core technologies and land-use patterns, and raise question on local human behavioural evolution over the Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe.
Acheulean variability in Western Europe: The case of Menez-Dregan I (Plouhinec, Finistère, France)
Article
The establishment of the Acheulean in Europe occurred after MIS 17, but it was after the harsh glaciation of MIS 12 and during the long interglacial of MIS 11 that human occupation of Western Europe became more sustained, with an increased number of sites. Menez-Dregan I (Brittany, France) is one of the key sites in Western Europe that dates from this threshold, with an alternating sequence of 16 occupation levels and four marine deposits, from MIS 12 to 8. The large lithic assemblages of more than 154,000 artifacts from knapping (cores, flakes) and shaping (macrotools and shaping flakes) show the varying use of raw materials and activities at the site through the sequence. This work focuses on the study of the handaxes and cleavers using technological and metrical methods with multivariate analysis, in combination with geometric morphometrics, and places these analyses within the context of other technological changes at the site. Collectively, results show the persistent use through the sequence of the same lithic raw materials and technologies, including fire use and the import of glossy sandstone from 20 km away, but with variation in activities at the site. These findings suggest that Menez-Dregan I shows the development of a specific material culture that reflects the local resources and environment. Results further indicate that the site shows the sustained hominin occupation of the area, despite varying climate and environment, with strong traditions of social learning that were maintained through flexibility of site use, deep understanding of the local territory, and the innovation of new technologies, such as the use of fire. Evidence from the site is placed within the wider context of Europe, and contrasted with areas to the north, such as Britain, where hominin occupation was more sporadic and driven by cyclical climate change.
Replicating the handaxe shaping strategies from Boxgrove (Sussex, UK).
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2017
The experimental replication of lithic artefacts, specifically handaxes and cleavers, has contributed to im-prove our knowledge and interpretation of the archaeological record. This work consists of the experimental reproduction of the shaping strategies of large flint cutting tools based on specimens recovered from the Acheulean Boxgrove site (Sussex, UK), using the procedures elucidated from the archaeological record. The raw materials used were flint nodules eroding out of mass movement chalk gravels at the site. The final goal of the experiments was to correctly weigh the variables required to produce the handaxes. These included the dimensions and shape of the original nodule, the type of hammer used and the reduction strategy employed by the knappers. Experimental knapping by a team with varying degrees of experience in handaxe manufac-ture proved invaluable for gaining insight into the Acheulean “chaînes opératoires”.
The Elements of Design Form in Acheulian Bifaces: Modes, Modalities, Rules and Language.” In
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2006
Landscapes of habit and persistent places during MIS 11 in Europe
Chapter
  • Nov 2017
The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body
Book
  • Mar 2006
The vital sense of proportion: transformation, Golden Section, and 1:2 preference in Acheulean bifaces
Article
  • Jan 2011
Bifaces in perspective
Article
  • Jan 1994
Bifaces and raw materials: Flexible flaking in the British Early Paleolithic
Article
  • Jan 2003
The earliest occupation of Europe: the Elbe-Saale region (Germany)
Article
The palaeolithic societies of Europe (second edition)
Book
  • Oct 1999
Palaeolithic societies have been a neglected topic in the discussion of human origins. In this book, which succeeds and replaces The Palaeolithic Settlement of Europe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1986, Clive Gamble challenges the established view that the social life of Europeans over the 500,000 years of the European Palaeolithic must remain a mystery. In the past forty years archaeologists have recovered a wealth of information from sites throughout the continent. Professor Gamble now introduces a new approach to this material. He examines the archaeological evidence from stone tools, hunting and campsites for information on the scale of social interaction, and the forms of social life. Taking a pan-European view of the archaeological evidence, he reconstructs ancient human societies, and introduces new perspectives on the unique social experience of human beings.
Handaxe and non-handaxe assemblages during Marine Isotope Stage 11 in northern Europe: recent investigations at Barnham, Suffolk, UK
Article
Britain has an important geological, environmental and archaeological record for Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11), which makes a major contribution to understanding of the human occupation of northern Europe. New fieldwork at Barnham, Suffolk, UK, has identified through improved geological resolution the change in assemblages from simple core and flake working to those with handaxe technology. The two assemblages are argued to reflect distinct human populations from different source areas in Europe. The paper examines the European record and puts forward a new model of how the complex mosaic of lithic assemblages reflects local, habitual practices during stable environments, but changes in climate and environment led to larger scale shifts in population, resulting in new human groups arriving in Britain.