The impact of raw material on Acheulian large flake production

Abstract

Raw material properties and availability have always been considered as having a definitive impact on the morphology, size and production technology of Acheulian large cutting tools. Shape and size of the naturally available raw material blocks have been cited as key factors in determining Acheulian biface blank production technology as well as tool morphological variability. In other words, where large blocks of raw material were available (Africa), large flakes were produced, and where only smaller cobbles and nodules were to be found (Europe), they become the primary type of blank used. In this paper, I explore a large body of data collected from Acheulian sites from India to Morocco and from South Africa to England to test this common premise. Different raw material exploitation patterns as reflected in the bifacial tools in the various assemblages are described and analyzed. The results indicate that in large flake based Acheulian assemblages, raw material constraints did not significantly affect either the blank production process or large cutting tool shape and size variability. The Acheulian large cutting toolmakers used the rock types available in the vicinity of their site in a sophisticated reduction sequence aimed to produce large cutting tools that are surprisingly similar regardless of the original shape, size and type of raw material from which they were produced.