Techno-morphological aspects of microlithic projectile implements: Examples from the levantine Geometric Kebaran and the east European Epigravettian

Abstract

Throughout human history, the use of stone tools underwent a number of essential changes, one of which is the transition to microlithic tools. These appeared in Africa, Europe, and Southwestern Asia during the fi nal Pleistocene. By the Last Glacial Maximum, ca 20 ka BP, tool assemblages from prehistoric sites in these regions include a signifi cant microlithic component. The observed variability in morphological, metric and technological attributes of microliths has long been employed in establishing chronological sequences and distinguishing between prehistoric cultural entities. In the Southern Levant, microlithic production began during the Upper Paleolithic about 30,000 BP. Straight, pointed bladelets and twisted Dufuor bladelets with inverse or alternate fi ne or semi-abrupt retouch are characteristic of the Ahmarian and the Aurignacian, respectively. The transition from the Upper Paleolithic to the Epipaleolithic took place ca 20 ka BP and involved certain important changes in lithic technology which included signifi cant increases in the proportion of microliths and the frequency of abrupt retouch. The techno-morphological characteristics of microliths form the foundation for the cultural divisions of this period (Bar-Yosef, 1970, 1998; Goring-Morris, 1998). Backed bladelets characterize the Kebaran (ca 20 – 14.5 BP); the