Acheulean Large Flake Technology in Campo De Calatrava (Ciudad Real, Spain)

Abstract

Acheulean assemblages with a preferential use of large flakes for biface blanks are common in Africa as well as in other areas such as the Levant and India. At Campo de Calatrava (central Spain), Middle Pleistocene sites from river terrace contexts also contain bifaces made on large flakes. To gain a detailed technological knowledge of these large tools, two open-air sites (Albalá and El Sotillo) are described and compared: Albalá represents an example of a cobble-based technology; at El Sotillo, the focus is on the production of large flakes, similar to those documented in Africa, the Levant, and India.