A comparative 3D geometric morphometric analysis of Victoria West cores: implications for the origins of Levallois technology

Abstract

The ‘Victoria West’ is a Lower Paleolithic industry from South Africa, which includes prepared cores and has previously been noted to bear strong morphological resemblances with later Middle Paleolithic prepared core technologies (i.e. Levallois cores). Indeed, from the earliest commentaries on the Victoria West, it has frequently been thought of as a ‘large Levallois’ variant. The hypothesis that VW cores are accurately characterised as ‘large Levallois’ is tested here using a comparative 3D geometric morphometric (GM) methodology. GM methods are powerful statistical tools for shape analysis that offer many advantages over traditional means of shape quantification and comparison. The use of landmarks to capture shape variation allows for the preservation of the full geometry, as well as enabling the more precise description of shape versus size. Moreover, biological studies have shown that the use of landmarks allows for a flexible approach to comparing specific aspects of overall morphology. Here, we employ GM to analyse differences in core surface morphology in a range of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts, including Victoria West examples (total n = 639 artefacts). In comparison with cores from non-handaxe Mode 1, Acheulean handaxes, and Levallois cores, the Victoria West share shape affinities with both Acheulean handaxes and Levallois cores. However, when compared directly with a group of large Middle Palaeolithic Levallois cores from Baker's Hole (UK), the Victoria West were found to more closely resemble handaxes, while the Baker's Hole set are simply isometrically-scaled Levallois cores. These analyses show that, despite broad technological and qualitative morphological similarities with Levallois cores, Victoria West cores are morphologically more similar to Lower Palaeolithic artefact forms, such as handaxes, and are in some respects distinct from Middle Palaeolithic Levallois cores. In line with other recent analyses, our results support suggestions that the Victoria West technique is an extension of longstanding Acheulean traditions for the preparation of biface blanks, but with its own distinct characteristics.