Two Sides to Every Story: Bout Coupé Handaxes Revisited

Abstract

Bout coupé handaxes are widely considered to be a cultural and typological marker for the Middle Palaeolithic in Britain, and are traditionally dated to around the end of the Last Interglacial or the beginning of the Devensian glaciation. Much debate has surrounded the typological validity of this form, but relatively little attention has been paid to the stratigraphical integrity of the sample. This paper takes a fresh look at the bout coupé problem using a select sample of better provenanced pieces and employs the most current chronological frameworks. We conclude that there is a temporally restricted bout coupé phenomenon in the British Isles, but contrary to previous claims these handaxes cannot be regarded as an unequivocal marker for the Mousterian and nor do they belong to the early Upper Pleistocene. Rather the bout coupé phenomenon marks the recolonization of Britain by Neanderthal populations during OIS 3 (59-41 ka). This further suggests a bipartite division of the British Middle Palaeolithic, each period having a quasi-distinctive lithic signature.

Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

“…Another fauna-artefact correlation is found with the Pin Hole MAZ and bout coupé handaxes (White and Jacobi, 2002), both of which mark the MIS 3 Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Britain. From the distribution of this distinctive handaxe type it is clear that Neanderthals were active across all of southern Britain, probably in small numbers judging by the number of find spots and small assemblages left in caves.…”

Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

“…Another fauna-artefact correlation is found with the Pin Hole MAZ and bout coupé handaxes (White and Jacobi, 2002), both of which mark the MIS 3 Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Britain. From the distribution of this distinctive handaxe type it is clear that Neanderthals were active across all of southern Britain, probably in small numbers judging by the number of find spots and small assemblages left in caves.…”

The Early Middle Palaeolithic in Britain: archaeology, settlement history and human behaviour

“…Where heterogeneous raw material sources allow pertinent observations to be made, Levallois products are frequently made on non-local raw materials, again suggesting a mobile and curated technology (Geneste, 1985). Similarly, where found, Middle Palaeolithic handaxes appear to have served the equivalent role of transformable and transported tool supports (Roebroeks et al, 1988;Turq, 2000;Soressi and Hays, 2003;White and Jacobi, 2002). Patterning evident within the British dataset shows a range of technological practices in relation to particular places in the landscape (Table 2).…”

The position and context of Middle Palaeolithic industries from the Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, UK

“…The few handaxes that do seem to be associated with Levallois assemblages are of a different character from those in Lower Palaeolithic assemblages and those that occur in the later Middle Palaeolithic (White and Jacobi, 2002). Several of the large Levallois flakes from Baker's Hole have been worked bifacially and could be interpreted as handaxes.…”

Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

“…Another fauna-artefact correlation is found with the Pin Hole MAZ and bout coupé handaxes (White and Jacobi, 2002), both of which mark the MIS 3 Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Britain. From the distribution of this distinctive handaxe type it is clear that Neanderthals were active across all of southern Britain, probably in small numbers judging by the number of find spots and small assemblages left in caves.…”

The Early Middle Palaeolithic in Britain: archaeology, settlement history and human behaviour

“…Where heterogeneous raw material sources allow pertinent observations to be made, Levallois products are frequently made on non-local raw materials, again suggesting a mobile and curated technology (Geneste, 1985). Similarly, where found, Middle Palaeolithic handaxes appear to have served the equivalent role of transformable and transported tool supports (Roebroeks et al, 1988;Turq, 2000;Soressi and Hays, 2003;White and Jacobi, 2002). Patterning evident within the British dataset shows a range of technological practices in relation to particular places in the landscape (Table 2).…”

The position and context of Middle Palaeolithic industries from the Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, UK

“…The few handaxes that do seem to be associated with Levallois assemblages are of a different character from those in Lower Palaeolithic assemblages and those that occur in the later Middle Palaeolithic (White and Jacobi, 2002). Several of the large Levallois flakes from Baker's Hole have been worked bifacially and could be interpreted as handaxes.…”

Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

“…Another fauna-artefact correlation is found with the Pin Hole MAZ and bout coupé handaxes (White and Jacobi, 2002), both of which mark the MIS 3 Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Britain. From the distribution of this distinctive handaxe type it is clear that Neanderthals were active across all of southern Britain, probably in small numbers judging by the number of find spots and small assemblages left in caves.…”

The Early Middle Palaeolithic in Britain: archaeology, settlement history and human behaviour

“…Where heterogeneous raw material sources allow pertinent observations to be made, Levallois products are frequently made on non-local raw materials, again suggesting a mobile and curated technology (Geneste, 1985). Similarly, where found, Middle Palaeolithic handaxes appear to have served the equivalent role of transformable and transported tool supports (Roebroeks et al, 1988;Turq, 2000;Soressi and Hays, 2003;White and Jacobi, 2002). Patterning evident within the British dataset shows a range of technological practices in relation to particular places in the landscape (Table 2).…”

The position and context of Middle Palaeolithic industries from the Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, UK

“…The few handaxes that do seem to be associated with Levallois assemblages are of a different character from those in Lower Palaeolithic assemblages and those that occur in the later Middle Palaeolithic (White and Jacobi, 2002). Several of the large Levallois flakes from Baker's Hole have been worked bifacially and could be interpreted as handaxes.…”