The Lower Palaeolithic Industry from Azé Cave (Saône et Loire) France: a case study of an assemblage without any handaxes

Abstract

The Azé Cave (Sâone-et-Loire, France) has yielded, among other archaeological and palaeontological remains, a Lower Palaeolithic industry within a layer dated through faunal remains to 400–350 kya. This industry is made up of local rocks, mostly poor quality flint, and also chert and crystalline rocks.Only flint was definitely knapped; chert was only broken into pieces before being used. The process of knapping is opportunistic and the cores, seldom exhausted, usually bear two opposite reduction faces. The flakes often reveal patches of residual cortex. They are moderately thick and the striking platform angle varies within a wide range of values. Some of them seem to be the result of a tearing-off motion. All the flint pieces have been heavily retouched; half of them have been simply utilised, others are proper tools, mostly scrapers, usually with steep retouch. Fragments of chert, sometimes obtained by tearing-off (from the cave walls?) have been often retouched but with less intensity than the flint. A good number of more or less trimmed cobbles are also part of this collection. However, handaxes are completely missing.The lithic industry of Azé 1–1 lacks standardisation for the core reduction process as well as for trimming or retouching. It fits well in the Lower Palaeolithic industry but the absence of handaxes is noteworthy. This industry offers one more contribution to the diversity of this cultural period.