The Lower-Middle Paleolithic transition(s) – Between Southern and northern France a look from the Bifacial technologies perspective

Summary

The division of the Paleolithic era into the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic is an arbitrary research construct that confounds chronological, behavioral and evolutionary aspects. The Lower/Middle Paleolithic transition has received lesser attention. This transition is depicted as a worldwide change from biface production to flake production through Levallois flaking systems, similar to the way it has been perceived in the initial stages of research. Yet, some European Middle Paleolithic assemblages biface production prevailed. Some key questions that remain unsolved are: What is the geographical variation of this global change(s)? Did changes occur as a result of autochthonous developments or by a diffusion wave (s)? What changed technologically and typologically beyond those guide fossils?

In this paper, I explore the variations in bifaces production, maintenance, and transport across the landscape in Western Europe. Those technological variants will be presented in relation to their geographical patterning (Northern and southern France) as well as their chronological changes during MIS 9-7. Those modes of bifacial production will be integrated together with the general techno-typological makeup. The observed patterns do not exhibit a linear progression, but rather reflect segmented local histories. These bear important implications on the way this global transition(s) should be perceived.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage