Regional behaviour among late Neanderthal groups in Western Europe: A comparative assessment of late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tool variability

Ruebens, Karen

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.009

Cited by 97 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Discoidal, Levallois and Quina are the most common methods, in all variations, used by Neandertal groups. The absence of bifacial technology which characterizes some late Middle Paleolithic assemblages in France and Northern Europe (Ruebens, 2013) is noteworthy. The Quina method is almost absent from central.…”

Section: Iberian Peninsula Late Middle Paleolithicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic

Garaizar

Eixea

Bonilla

2015

Quaternary International

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a b s t r a c tThe notion of recycling and it relationship with ramified productions and small tool production in Late Middle Paleolithic from the Iberian Peninsula are investigated. Results from Amalda, Axlor, Peña Miel, and Quebrada show that the production of small tools is one of the principal objectives of lithic provisioning in these sites. Whereas in Axlor and Amalda, this is achieved through the ramification of production, due to the remoteness of flint sources, in Quebrada, where raw material sources are closer, small flakes are obtained at the end of Levallois production. The implications for Neandertal society organization of this small tool production is discussed, and its evolution is observed from a diachronic perspective.

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Section: Iberian Peninsula Late Middle Paleolithicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic

Garaizar

Eixea

Bonilla

2015

Quaternary International

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“…Handaxes are found in Africa, Asia, and Europe and are associated with H. erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, and late Middle Paleolithic classic Neanderthals (Hodgson 2015;Li et al 2014;Lycett and Gowlett 2008;Ruebens 2013;Shipton 2013). In terms of morphology (an oval bifacial shape), hand-axes show extraordinary stability over time, even if variation in symmetry is reported (Cole 2015).…”

Section: Teaching Late Acheulean Hand-axe Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These are dated to about 850,000 years ago, are associated with H. erectus (Beyene et al 2013), and are knapped in a way that indicates the use of platform preparation. However, no technological study of the hand-axes described by Ruebens (2013) and Beyene et al (2013) has yet been performed. If our analysis is correct, teaching by communicating concepts, via words or gestures, was practiced in periods that predate Homo sapiens.…”

Section: Teaching Late Acheulean Hand-axe Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

Gärdenfors¹,

Högberg²

2017

Current Anthropology

135

110

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Teaching is present in all human societies, while within other species it is very limited. Something happened during the evolution of Homo sapiens that also made us Homo docens-the teaching animal. Based on discussions of animal and hominin learning, we analyze the evolution of intentional teaching by a series of levels that require increasing capacities of mind reading and communication on the part of the teacher and the learner. The levels of teaching are (1) intentional evaluative feedback, (2) drawing attention, (3) demonstrating, (4) communicating concepts, and (5) explaining relations between concepts. We suggest that level after level has been added during the evolution of teaching. We demonstrate how different technologies depend on increasing sophistication in the levels of cognition and communication required for teaching them. As regards the archaeological evidence for the different levels, we argue that stable transmission of the Oldowan technology requires at least teaching by demonstration and that learning the late Acheulean hand-axe technology requires at least communicating concepts. We conclude that H. docens preceded H. sapiens.

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“…In Europe handaxes were made by H. heidelbergensis (Manzi, 2016;Profico et al, 2016), although the chronology of the Heidelbergs in Europe may be subject to change given recent palaeogenetic advances (Meyer et al, 2016;Meyer et al, 2014). H. neanderthalensis is also a European handaxe maker (Ruebens, 2014;Ruebens et al, 2013), but new cultural labels are applied to the Late Pleistocene Neanderthal handaxes (e.g. Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition rather than Acheulean).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From side to side: Symmetry in handaxes in the British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic

McNabb

Cole

Hoggard

2018

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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The Acheulean is defined by its iconic tool type, the handaxe, and a suite of other large cutting tools (LCTs). These tools retain information on technical and procedural practices concerned with the manufacture of these butchery tools and carcass processing knives. The Acheulean straddles the period in which more ancient hominin species (H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis) give way to archaic H. sapiens (sensu lato) amongst whom the ancestor of modern humans may be found. The roots of modern behaviour may be present in these handaxe making hominin species, and the handaxes themselves, through proxy data such as bilateral symmetry, may chart hominin cognitive evolution as researchers such as T. Wynn and F. Coolidge (2016), amongst others, have argued. But the search for the earliest consistent application of symmetry, and its persistence thereafter has been hampered by the lack of large datasets, spanning the temporal extent of the Acheulean, and analysed through a single consistent methodology.Our paper has two aims. The first, and in the absence of a large comparative data set of earlier Acheulean handaxes, is to assess the degree to which symmetry is consistently applied to the making of handaxes in the later Acheulean (=<0.5 mya), a time when bilateral planform symmetry should already be an integral component in handaxe making. The dataset we select is the British Acheulean from MIS 13 -MIS 3/4. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time handaxe symmetry has been assessed on a large body of British Acheulean handaxes. Our second aim is to present a relatively simple and low tech methodology for the analysis of handaxes

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Regional behaviour among late Neanderthal groups in Western Europe: A comparative assessment of late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tool variability

Cited by 97 publications

References 69 publications

Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic

Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

From side to side: Symmetry in handaxes in the British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic

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