The function and role of bifaces in the Late Middle Paleolithic of southwestern France: Examples from the Charente and Dordogne to the Basque Country

摘要

While Late Middle Palaeolithic industries are characterized by a well-documented diversity of stone tool types and blank production methods, the latter of which can at times be exclusively represented in certain assemblages, the bifacial tool component sometimes portrays clear similarities in use and manufacture method. Beyond sharing both comparable volumetric structures and arrangement of active and or prehensile areas, the recurrence in several assemblages of specific groups of bifacial tools used mostly for butchery is particularly striking.