The Acheulean massive scrapers of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov—a product of the biface chaîne opératoire

Abstract

The presence of large scrapers has been reported from Acheulean sites worldwide but they are rarely described in detail. At Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY), a similar group of artifacts, named here “massive scrapers,” was identified as a significant component of the lithic assemblage. In this paper, we define and describe this Acheulean tool type and discuss its size, morphology, and technology. We demonstrate that at GBY these tools were shaped on flakes that were side-products of the reduction sequence to produce bifaces (handaxes and cleavers). We hypothesize that these blanks were rejected as potential bifaces during the knapping sequence but considered suitable for the retouching of massive scrapers, and were set aside for future work. We support our view with data from archaeological finds younger than those of GBY, as well as with evidence from controlled experimental knapping and ethnoarchaeological observations. We then discuss the contribution of this elaborate knapping strategy to our understanding of Lower Paleolithic hominin behavior, particularly in the domains of multifaceted planning and foresight.