Biface Technology

We present new evidence for precursors of early Acheulean technology from the Kokiselei Site Complex (KS) in West Turkana,
Kenya, at the Kokiselei 6 (KS6) site. KS6 provides a rare opportunity to investigate processes of technological change during the
emergence of early Acheulean technology because it just slightly predates the earliest known Acheulean site of Kokiselei 4 (KS4),
situated in the same complex. Thus, the KS complex preserves both late Oldowan and early Acheulean lithic technology in a welldefined chronostratigraphic framework. The development of ‘shaping’ (e.g., biface production) in lithic technology, associated
with the emergence of the early Acheulean, is often used as evidence for increased and/or novel cognitive abilities that contrast
prior hominins’ flaking capacities [1]. Recent research from eastern Africa reveals a story of gradual change over time during the
emergence of the earliest Acheulean technology which included a variety of different flaking and shaping strategies [2].
Here, we directly examine the emergence of early Acheulean technology at KS6 and present results that significantly contribute
to our understanding of Early Pleistocene processes of technological change. KS preserves the oldest known Acheulean lithic assemblage, KS4 (1.76 Ma), as well as several other archaeological localities from the Oldowan [3]. The KS6 site was discovered in 2005
and excavated in multiple seasons between 2005-2007 by members of the West Turkana Archaeological Project (directed by S. Harmand). KS6 is well-understood in the local chronostratigraphic framework to be slightly older than KS4 ( 1.8 Ma). The excavation
at KS6 yielded two distinct layers of finds that included thousands of lithic artefacts and faunal remains that were piece-plotted.
This rich and well-preserved new site presents an opportunity to chronologically investigate processes of technological change during the development of shaping strategies with the earliest biface production within a single site complex. H. Duke completed a
technological analysis of all artefacts (n = 3,865) in the KS6 lithic assemblage that displayed clear knapping traces and that focused
on understanding variability in knapping strategies. The results of this analysis show a strong emphasis on bifacial flaking strategies
that used smaller raw materials in comparison to those published for KS4 and for the Oldowan site, KS5 [4]. The appearance of
biface production is minimal, and extensive shaping is not present in the KS6 assemblage. However, the technological processes
behind the production of these bifaces is similar to strategies demonstrated in biface production at KS4 [5]. We argue that biface
shaping emerged gradually out of variability in bifacial flaking strategies during the earliest emergence of the Acheulean at KS. These
conclusions call into question theories of hominin cognitive evolution that suggest Acheulean technology required new, and more
complex, cognitive abilities. Instead, our results suggest that the cognitive abilities necessary for biface shaping were likely already
present in bifacial flaking strategies that had deep roots.

References:
[1] Stout, D. 2011. Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1050–1059.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0369 [2] Gallotti, R., & Mussi, M. 2018. The Emergence of the Acheulean in East Africa: Historical Perspectives and Current Issues. In R. Gallotti & M. Mussi (Eds.),
The Emergence of the Acheulean in East Africa and Beyond: Contributions in Honor of Jean Chavaillon (pp. 1–12). Gewerbestrasse: Springer International Publishing. [3] Lepre, C.J., Roche, H., Kent,
D.V., Harmand, S., Quinn, R.L., Brugal, J.P., Texier, P.-J., Lenoble, A. and Feibel, C.S. 2011. An earlier origin for the Acheulian. Nature, 477(7362), 82–85. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10372 [4] Texier,
P.-J., Roche, H., & Harmand, S. 2006. Kokiselei 5, Formation de Nachukui, West Turkana (Kenya): un témoignage de la variabilité ou l’évolution des comportements techniques au Pléistocène Ancien?
Actes Du XIVème Congrès UISPP, Université de Liège, Bellgique, 2-8 Septembre 2001. Section 15. Préhistorie En Afrique. Sesions Générales et Posters, (1522), 11–22. [5] Chevrier, B. 2012. Les
assemblages à pièces bifaciales au Pléistocène inférieur et moyen ancien en Afrique de l’Est et au Proche Th Orient: Nouvelle approche du phénomène bifacial appliquée aux problématiques de migrations,
de diffusion et d’évolution locale. Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense.

Un biface à dos partiel en silex du Muschelkalk, associé à quelques objets en silex et quartzite, a été mis au jour lors de prospections pédestres sur la commune de Bettviller-Hoelling en Moselle. Cet article propose d'attribuer tech-no-culturellement l'artefact, à l'aide de plusieurs grandes synthèses récentes et à partir de comparaisons régionales. Ainsi, ce biface semble trouver sa place dans le « Moustérien avec des outils bifaciaux » ou MBT (Mousterian with Bifacial Tools). Zusammenfassung: Zusammen mit einigen Gegenständen aus Feuerstein und Quarzit wurde im Zuge einer Prospektion auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Bettviller-Hoelling im Departement Moselle (Lothringen) ein Faustkeil aus Muschelkalkfeuerstein mit partiellem Rücken gefunden. Die Autoren nehmen eine technisch-kulturelle Zuordnung des Artefakts auf Basis mehrerer aktueller Synthesen sowie durch regionale Vergleiche vor und ordnen den Faustkeil den bifaziellen Werkzeugen, dem " Mousterian with Bifacial Tools " (MBT) zu.

The production of bifacial flint daggers started in the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in particular parts
of Europe. Few production centres during that time were located in Poland and Ukraine (in the area between
the regions of Volhynia and Lesser Poland). In this paper, we present the brief history of research, production
technology, typology and function of flint daggers from these areas. To that end, we analyzed bifacial forms from
the collections of three Polish museums. The study focuses on describing the research history of flint daggers in
these regions. We also present the classification of bifacial forms from Western Ukraine and Poland. However,
due to the focus of this research we excluded the forms originating from the Scandinavian and Northern Pontic
dagger traditions. The technology studies section shows the methods of platform preparation and the techniques
used during the flake removal process. We then studied selected finished daggers to assess how they were repaired
and reshaped. Finally, we present microscopic analyses that were used to interpret the function of selected
artefacts, which allow us to demonstrate how daggers were possibly hafted and used.

Since the beginning of 21st century, a new stage began in investigations of the Central Asian Palaeolithic. The main concern is to re-study the key regional sites, applying modern excavation techniques and up-to-date laboratory methods (including chronometric dating) in order to clarify the rationale and chronology of the local cultural sequences. This research allowed some crucial corrections about the chronological and cultural interpretations of the lithic industries in western Central Asia. This paper presents the first results obtained during our reexcavation of Sel'Ungur cave – usually assumed to be one of the earliest Paleolithic sites in Central Asia, described in the late 1980s as belonging to the early Acheulian technocomplex. Sel'Ungur cave is among the most important pre-Upper Palaeolithic site for our understanding of the Pleistocene inhabitants of Central Asia, as did not only yield rich lithic collections found stratified context but also numerous fossil faunal and even some hominin remains. Restarted at 2014, the new excavations at the site have provided enough evidence to refuse an Acheulian interpretation of site's assemblages. Based on detailed technological and typological analyses of the new lithic collection we argue that Sel'Ungurian complex fits better into the early stage of the regional Middle Paleolithic cultural variability. The previously available U-series date of around 126 ka (albeit without a reliable stratigraphic and spatial context), the new TL date 112 ± 19 ka establishing the lower limit, paleontological analyses of newly obtained material as well as the re-examination of the available information on macro-and microfaunal remains excavated in the earlier excavations, as well as the re-study of the anthropological finds support this assessment.

A unique Pottery Neolithic context corresponding to the Wadi Rabah culture was found at the multi-layered site of Ein Zippori, Israel. Given the significant amount of flakes, cortical flakes, thinning flakes, and bifacial tool rejects, it was classified as a refuse pit in which bifacial knapping waste from a nearby workshop was disposed. In this paper we present the assemblage of Locus 8071, focusing on the by-products of bifacial tool manufacture and maintenance as well as bifacial tool rejects. We reconstruct the bifacial knapping and maintenance procedures and suggest that Locus 8071 was a disposal area for by-products from a knapping workshop of bifacial tools—an aspect of spatial organization related to possible specialized lithic production at Ein Zippori during the Neolithic period.

III.4. Analysis of the waste material from Shaft I/4
Th e classifi cation of the material from the Ożarów workshops
comprises artefacts obtained from the specifi c context of a mine.
Individual criteria used in the study are an internal structure and,
as a whole, they form a technological image. Th at is, individual
elements, such as types of fl akes, should not be treated as fossil
directeur – distinctive forms characteristic of the production
process of Early Bronze Age sickles. Th eir place in the process
is determined by the proportions between the individual
categories and data obtained through other methods (refi tting,
use-wear analysis, etc.). Th e features of individual products
under consideration have their specifi c context – they were
produced and deposited in the course of one knapping episode.
Th e unquestionable similarity of some classes of wastes to other,
chronologically diff erent production cycles (e.g., squared axes or
Prądnik knives) does not make the material classifi cation method
proposed here directly transferable to another fi eld of research. For
every single, confi ned place where fl intknapping was carried out,
a slightly diff erent list of morphological features should probably
be constructed, although, of course, in many cases, the knappers
used similar solutions to achieve slightly diff erent results. In the case
of Ożarów, the aim is to describe a specifi c excavated assemblage –
numerous and presenting a clear statistical image. Th e introduced
classes of artefacts have no value for either cultural (which is
known) or technological attribution. Th e aim was to describe how
bifacial knives were formed from Ożarów fl int of diff erent varieties
and what knapping stages and strategies were employed.
Classifi cation of the material from Ożarów workshops:
1. Natural fragments (including small nodules and natural
chunks).
Th ese include eoliths found in historical material as well as
protrusions detached from larger concretions and tabular fl ints
– when it could not be assumed that they had been removed
intentionally. Th e material was counted in the fi eld, but was not
collected for further offi ce work, so it is not possible to perform
secondary quantitative and weight analysis.
2. Flat fl akes (early reduction).
Th ere were 1,321 fl at fl akes obtained in the course of
initial reduction, totalling 50.2 kg, recorded in Shaft I/4. Th is
category consists of two groups, which have been merged due
to their size (pls. 1, 2).
Th e fi rst group includes forms which are fl at in side
view. Th eir proportions can be described as para-blade-like.
A unidirectional fl ake scar pattern consistent with the direction
of fl ake detachment blow (sometimes only one scar) is visible
on the dorsal face. Most oft en, they have a massive bulb and
a fl at, fairly large butt. Th ey are not too numerous. Th eir size and
manner of removal may indicate that they were intentionally
manufactured as blanks for further bifacial reduction.
Th e second group consists of smaller specimens, which have
fl at or natural butts and a massive bulb. Th e angle of fl aking is close
to straight. Th ese fl akes usually reduce a large amount of mass from
the original fl int nodule, which is visible as convexity on their
dorsal face. Th ey have feathered, stepped or hinged termination.
Th eir surface is entirely or partially natural, cortical or cracked.
Specimens of this type most oft en come from the fi rst, i.e. rough,
stage of shaping a preform, when cracked fragments of the nodule
were detached, and the specimen was given its general shape.
3. Flat fl akes (shaping).
Th e assemblage contains 1,273 fl akes of this type, with the
total weight of 6 kg. Th ey have a fl at butt, oft en with a lip, and
a small bulb; they were fl aked at a straight angle (pls. 3). Distal
parts of the specimens are feathered, stepped or hinged. On
their dorsal face, there oft en are unidirectional scars consistent
with the direction of the fl ake detachment blow. Th ese forms
could be removed both from the “back” and from the wider
surfaces of a specimen. In the Ożarów workshops, it was
the basic method of thinning knives, commonly used at the
advanced stages of reduction. It is likely that these fl akes should
be linked with precise thinning of forms with a “back”, at the
more advanced stages of knapping.
4. Curved fl akes (early reduction).
In the material obtained from the shaft , 836 curved fl akes from
the initial reduction stage, totalling 19.2 kg, were recorded. Th ese
specimens are curved in profi le, have a fl at or, less frequently, edge
butt, usually with a lip under the butt edge, and were fl aked at an acute
angle (pls. 4). Th ey are characterized by considerable massiveness
– a thickening – in the medial part. Dorsal faces are covered with up
to two scars, usually consistent with the direction of the detachment
blow, or have only natural, cortical or cracked surfaces. Th ese fl akes
usually have feathered, less oft en stepped or hinged termination.
Sometimes, the partially cracked underside of a specimen is the only
feature that allows it to be classifi ed in this group of fl akes, despite the
occasionally worse readability of scars. Th ese fl akes are interpreted
as detached in the fi rst stage of work to roughly clean and thin the
specimen. Th ey provide information on the weight of the silica mass
that was reduced in the initial stages of knapping.
5. Curved negative fl akes (shaping).
Th ere were 1,523 such fl akes, totalling 23.3 kg, recorded in
the inventory. Th e forms are curved in profi le (pls. 5, 6) and
what diff erentiates them from the previous category is that they
have fl at or negative butts and at least three fl ake scars on the
dorsal face. Th is category is quite broad and includes specimens
of varying shapes and sizes. Th ese fl akes were removed from an
edge set at an acute angle to the surface being knapped. Th ey
have feathered, less oft en stepped or hinged termination.
6. Curved negative fl akes (late phase shaping).
Th ere were 500 curved fl akes, totalling 1.55 kg, recorded
in Shaft I/4. Th ese are mostly thin forms. Th ey oft en have
KOPALNIE KRZEMIENIA 152 NA STANOWISKU „ZA GARNCARZAMI” W OŻAROWIE
a faceted, negative or edge butt with a prominent lip,
characterised by an acute fl aking angle (pls. 7:3, 9). Th ey are
even in shape and usually have feathered terminations. Th e
scars on the dorsal face are unidirectional; cortex or cracked
surfaces are only rarely preserved. Th ey are associated with
the preform fi nishing phase and are characteristic of bifacial
reduction.
7. Curved bidirectional negative fl akes (late phase shaping).
Th ere were 126 fl akes of this type, totalling 0.84 kg,
registered in the assemblage. Th ese forms are analogous to those
mentioned above (butts, fl aking angle, uniformity of ridges and
edges). Th ey diff er from them in the bidirectional scar pattern
on the dorsal face (pls. 7:1–2, 4–8, 10). Th ey are associated with
the preform fi nishing phase and are characteristic of bifacial
reduction.
8. Flakes from sides of nodules.
Th ere were 75 such pieces, totalling 7.2 kg, recorded
in the inventory. Th e specimens included in this group are
characterised by an overpassing in the distal part, which removes
the natural bottom of a nodule (pls. 8: 2, 4, 5).
9. Preparation fl akes.
Th ere were 670 preparation fl akes, totalling 47.4 kg,
recorded in shaft I/4. Th is is a very diverse category, which
includes specimens with a fragment of a knapped – crested –
edge on the dorsal face:
• fl akes that remove ridges lengthwise – these are fl akes or
blade-like fl akes that have residual unilateral or bilateral
crests (pls. 9: 4) on the dorsal face. Th ey are interpreted as
an evidence of removing the back in the second stage before
proceeding to the fi nal bifacial reduction of a specimen;
• fl akes that remove ridges transversely (pls. 9: 1, 2) – these
are the fragments knapped from the back obliquely to the
transverse axis of a specimen. Th is type of knapping results
in the edge of the processed specimen being located at the
extension of the bulb. It is one of practical methods of transitioning
from multifacial back to bifaciality;
• overpassed fl akes – these are fl akes that intentionally or
accidentally remove the opposite edge of a specimen (pls.
11, 12). Th is does not always result in damage to the preform,
and oft en such a fl ake conveniently removes the opposite
back, enabling the third stage of knapping – the transition
to bifaciality – to be carried out;
• bite fl akes – these are fragments of bifacial preforms which,
due to a defective percussion blow or internal cracks, are
removed transversely to the edge, oft en have no fl ake scars,
and the place of detachment from the preform has the character
of a natural or conchoidal fracture, but without a bulb.
Such an eff ect is most oft en unintentional and results from
a knapper’s error (cf. Waldorf 1993).
10. Flake fragments (rough shaping).
Th ere were 6,341 primary fl ake fragments, totalling 68.1
kg, recorded in the studied assemblage. All cracked fragments
that were not classifi ed in other categories, but had scars on the
ventral face, were included here. Another distinctive feature of
these specimens is their massiveness.
11. Flake fragments (shaping proper).
Th ere were 2,664 fragments of fl akes from the proper
reduction phase, totalling 6 kg, recorded in Shaft I/4. Th ese
forms are analogous to those included in the previous category,
except for two features: they are not as massive, and natural
surface is very rarely present on the dorsal face of the fl ake.
12. Blade-like fl akes, blades.
Th e inventory included 200 pieces, with the total weight of
1.5 kg. Th is category consists of specimens twice as long as they
are broad (pls. 8: 1, 3).

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.

Here we address several techno-economic and cognitive aspects of biface production and use combined with a consideration of their context. Is the same degree of variability in function and manufacture method equally visible in the retouched tool component? What scales of mobility or technical use-lives do these different bifacial tools portray? Do certain highly elaborate flake tools also reflect equally complex behaviors? How to interpret the presence of carefully manufactured pieces in non-local raw materials alongside others made in local varieties that are hardly reduced but nevertheless equally functional? Finally, which components may have carried a symbolic value or shed light on technical abilities or functional objectives evident in the conception, elaboration, use, and ultimate fate of these bifacial pieces.

Several recently analyzed assemblages with a relatively significant bifacial component from the Charente, Dordogne and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departements show certain similarities or important differences. In characterizing the coexistence of flake production and bifacial-shaping, we attempt to reveal to what extent and in which ways certain bifacial tools stand out. When combined with technological and cognitive considerations, this approach provides new insights on an important behavioral facet of Neanderthal groups who occupied the Aquitaine Basin after the Last Interglacial.

The late Mousterian open-air site of Bout-des-Verges was the subject of large-scale rescue excavations between 2012 and 2103 that yielded evidence for the spatial organisation of particular techno-typological elements amongst the 900 lithics recovered from the site. Three knapping concentrations in the southwest sector of the site produced two-thirds of the overall lithic assemblage, the remaining pieces were found scattered across the excavated area. Our techno-economic analysis of the Bout-des-Verges assemblage revealed clear differences in terms of raw material economy and artefact transport patterns between the dominant discoidal component and the larger, imported bifaces and Levallois flakes. Refitted reduction sequences and our spatial analysis confirm the three lithic concentrations to be contemporaneous and, by extension, to form part of a single Mousterian occupation with multiple technological components. The majority of discoidal products produced on the site were exported for future use, while the imported bifaces and Levallois scrapers with longer use-lives were transported multiple times by Neanderthal groups.

Bifacial objects are iconic lithic artifacts of Middle Paleolithic assemblages. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the production sequences of bifacial objects from Grottes de la Verpillière I and II (VP I and II) in Germolles, Saône-et-Loire, France. This study shows that despite morphological diversity, a general production sequence exists for all of the bifacial artifacts: phases of backing, bottom-side and top-side configuration and cutting-edge regularization. The study also compares the bifacial assemblages from modern excavations in intact sediments (VP II), mixed sedimentological units (VP I and II), the backdirt of old excavations (VP I) and museum collections from prior excavations and surface collections (VP I), which show notable diversity. An attempt is made to resituate assemblages without clear spatial provenience into the framework established by studies of the material from in situ sediments containing bifacial elements from Verpillière II, with reference to the notes of former excavators of Verpilli ere I. Asymmetrically bifacially backed knives from Verpilli ere I derive from the entrance of the rock shelter. Moreover, despite distinctive differences of both sites and their bifacial assemblages, they share similarities with regard to both production sequences and components.

This paper presents the inventory of 23 Lower Paleolithic handaxes surface collected at the Faysaliyya archaeological site in 2017. The purpose of the paper is to inform about a new collection of handaxes found in the highland region of southern Jordan, provide its detailed description, and draw some preliminary conclusions which may be useful for further studies on numerous lithics materials from Faysaliyya. The site is located in southwestern Jordan, in the northern part of the geographical and historical region of Edom, the Edom Highland. It was discovered during rescue surveys in 2016 and has been exacavated since 2017 by a Polish team from the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University within the framework of the HLC Project. The presented handaxes were made of relatively high quality local flints. They all are characterized by a state of preservation typical for lithic artefacts obtained from a desert environment (patina, weathering). Moreover, most of them bear traces of abrasion and damages, which suggests that they could have been brought to Faysaliyya by fluvial transportation. The handaxes have been classified according to F. Bordes’ typology. They mostly include amygdaloids and sub-cordiforms but several coridiforms, discoidals, sub-triangulars, and a single Miqocian ficron have been distinguished as well. Two artefacts have been classified as miscellaneous forms. In a very few cases, traces of reutilization as flake cores, or some kinds of modification/rejuvenation are visible on the handaxes. Due to their finding context, the group of handaxes presented in this paper cannot be considered as a homogenous assemblage and may consist of artefacts of various chronology. Generally, the analysed handaxes reveal features which are typical of the Late Acheulean, but it cannot be excluded that some of them may be dated to the Middle Acheulean (alternatively Large Flake Acheulean). Thus, the presented inventory seems to be similar to others surface collections of handaxes from southwestern Jordan, such as Fjaje, Wadi Faynan or Wadi Qalkha.

Bifacial objects are iconic lithic artifacts of Middle Paleolithic assemblages. This paper presents a
comparative analysis of the production sequences of bifacial objects from Grottes de la Verpilli
ere I and II
(VP I and II) in Germolles, Sa^one-et-Loire, France. This study shows that despite morphological diversity,
a general production sequence exists for all of the bifacial artifacts: phases of backing, bottom-side and
top-side configuration and cutting-edge regularization. The study also compares the bifacial assemblages
from modern excavations in intact sediments (VP II), mixed sedimentological units (VP I and II), the
backdirt of old excavations (VP I) and museum collections from prior excavations and surface collections
(VP I), which show notable diversity. An attempt is made to resituate assemblages without clear spatial
provenience into the framework established by studies of the material from in situ sediments containing
bifacial elements from Verpilli
ere II, with reference to the notes of former excavators of Verpilli
ere I.
Asymmetrically bifacially backed knives from Verpilli
ere I derive from the entrance of the rock shelter.
Moreover, despite distinctive differences of both sites and their bifacial assemblages, they share similarities
with regard to both production sequences and components.

The article focuses on the matter of significance of flint daggers on the area settled by Early Bronze Age societies connected with Únětice Culture Kościan Group. Analytical part is separated into two sections. The first is a case study of a stray find from Bronikowo (com. Śmigiel) and the second