Technological variability during the Early Middle Palaeolithic in Western Europe. Reduction systems and predetermined products at the Bau de l'Aubesier and Payre (South-East France).

Leonardo Carmignani,Lucy Wilson,Marie-Hélène Moncel,Paul Fernandes,Michael D Petraglia

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178550

Abstract

The study of the lithic assemblages of two French sites, the Bau de l’Aubesier and Payre, contributes new knowledge of the earliest Neanderthal techno-cultural variability. In this paper we present the results of a detailed technological analysis of Early Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblages of MIS 8 and 7 age from the two sites, which are located on opposite sides of the Rhône Valley in the south-east of France. The MIS 9–7 period is considered in Europe to be a time of new behaviours, especially concerning lithic strategies. The shift from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Early Middle Palaeolithic is “classically” defined by an increase in the number of core technologies, including standardized ones, which are stabilized in the full Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 5–3), associated with the decline of the “Acheulean” biface. Applying a common technological approach to the analysis of the two assemblages highlights their technological variability with respect to reduction systems and end products. Differences between Payre and the Bau de l’Aubesier concerning raw material procurement and faunal exploitation only partially explain this multifaceted technological variability, which in our opinion also reflects the existence of distinct technological strategies within the same restricted geographic area, which are related to distinct traditions, site uses, and/or as yet unknown parameters.

Highlights

The MIS 9 to 7 time-span in Europe, roughly 350,000 to 200,000 B.P., is considered to have recorded a behavioural change commonly described as the shift from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic or again as the threshold from Mode 2, including bifaces, to Mode 3, linked to the development of different core technologies [1]
Technological behaviours recognized at Payre and the Bau de l’Aubesier shared features typical of the broader early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) such as, on the one hand, the presence of handaxes, and on the other the use of Levallois and laminar core technologies
Differences between the sites appear in the reduction systems employed, types of end-products and tool kits

Summary

Introduction

The MIS 9 to 7 time-span in Europe, roughly 350,000 to 200,000 B.P., is considered to have recorded a behavioural change commonly described as the shift from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic or again as the threshold from Mode 2, including bifaces, to Mode 3, linked to the development of different core technologies [1]. Attribution of an assemblage to the Upper Acheulean (UA) or to the early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) is often based on the proportion of bifaces and/or pebble tools alongside flake standardized production. This distinction does not take into consideration the mosaic of changes found over time between MIS 9 and 6 at various sites. It is difficult to find a clear chronological and behavioural boundary between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic which could be used to name the assemblages of this age Over this large chronological timespan, we find new technological features, and other changes regarding subsistence strategies, such as the wooden throwing spears discovered at Schoningen, Germany [2] and recently re-dated to the MIS 9, that provide evidence of specialized hunting [3]

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Conclusion