The impacts of lateral obliqueness and edge angle on Levallois point morphology

Authors

  • Amal Al Kassem University of Cologne
  • Huw S. Groucutt University of Malta
  • Jürgen Richter University of Cologne
  • Michel Brenet Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.9279

Keywords:

Middle Palaeolithic; Levant; Levallois point; morphology; technology; standardisation; lateral obliqueness; Yabroud; Syria

Abstract

The study of Levallois points is important as it combines themes relating to Levallois technology in general (such as cognitive evolution, standardisation, and cultural transmission) with discussions on the specific function of stone tools (for example, the notion of points as spear tips). Many Levantine Middle Palaeolithic assemblages feature a strong focus on Levallois point production. Traditionally, this phenomenon has been studied from a typological perspective, while more recent technological approaches have added layers of understanding, such as the recognition of the frequently recurrent Levallois character of point production in the area. Likewise, use-wear and residue analyses have led to changing perceptions of the function of Levallois points. Here we explore how two quantifiable aspects of Levallois points - cross-section angles and lateral angles - relate to the morphology of Levallois points. By combining experimental knapping with an analysis of Levallois points from Yabroud I, Syria, we show that the obliqueness of lateral preparatory removals has a significant impact on the morphology of Levallois points, particularly in terms of the feature of a Concorde-shaped profile. Likewise, we show that the lateral edge angle influences the length of the points produced. Not only does this study improve of our understanding of Levallois points, but it highlights the importance of angles in studying lithic technology. We emphasize that this study aims to investigate the impact of oblique preparatory removals on the morphology of Levallois points generally, through an initial case study of one assemblage, allowing future multivariate analysis of multiple assemblages to test our hypotheses.

Author Biographies

  • Amal Al Kassem, University of Cologne

    Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology
    University of Cologne
    Cologne
    Germany

  • Huw S. Groucutt, University of Malta

    Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology
    University of Cologne
    Cologne
    Germany

    Department of Classics and Archaeology
    University of Malta
    Msida
    Malta

  • Jürgen Richter, University of Cologne

    Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology
    University of Cologne
    Cologne
    Germany

  • Michel Brenet, Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives

    Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives
    Paris, Ile-de-France
    France

References

Al Kassem, A. 2021, Variability of core reduction strategies of the late Middle Palaeolithic of assemblages 6 and 4 of Yabroud I (Syria): An analytical and comparative study. Ph.D. thesis at the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, the University of Cologne, Germany, 327 p. URL: http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/53414

Blinkhorn, J., Zanolli, C., Compton, T., Groucutt, H.S., Scerri, E.M.L., Crété, L., Stringer, C., Petraglia, M.D., & Blockley, S. 2021, Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals. Scientific Reports, 11: 2869. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82257-6

Boëda, E. 1982, Etude éxperimentale de la technologie des pointes Levallois. Studia Praehistorica Belgica Leuven, 2: 23-56. (in French) (“Experimental study of Levallois point technology”)

Boëda, E. 1995, Levallois: A volumetric construction, methods, a technique. In: The definition and interpretation of Levallois technology (Dibble, H. L., & Bar-Yosef, O., Eds.), Prehistory Press, Madison (Wis.): p. 41-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.1360020302

Boëda, E., Bourguignon, L., & Griggo, C. 1998, Activités de subsistance au Paléolithique moyen: couche VI3 b’ du gisement d’Umm El Tlel (Syrie). In: Économie préhistorique: les stratégies de subsistance au Paléo-lithique. XVIIIe Rencontres Internationales d'Archéologie et d'Histoire d'Antibes. Editions Association pour la Promotion et la Diffusion des Connaissances Archéologiques (Brugal, J.P., Meignen, L., Patou-Mathis, M., Eds.), Antibes: p. 243-258. (in French) (“Subsistence Activities in the Middle Palaeolithic: Layer VI3 b’ of the Umm El Tlel Site (Syria)”)

Boëda, E., Geneste, J. M., Griggo, C., Mercier, N., Muhesen, S., Reyss, J. L., Taha, A., & Valladas, H. 1999, A Levallois point embedded in the vertebra of a wild ass (Equus africanus): hafting, projectiles and Mousterian hunting weapons. Antiquity, 73: 394-402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00088335

Boëda, E., Geneste, & J. M., Meignen, L. 1990, Identification de chaînes opératoires lithiques du Paléolithique ancien et moyen. Paléorient, 2: 43-80. (in French) (“Identification of chaînes opératoires of lithics from Lower and Middle Palaeolithic”) DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/pal.1990.988

Bordes, F. 1961, Typologie du Paléolithique ancien et moyen. Cahiers du Quaternaire, 1, , Editions du CNRS, Paris, 238 p. (in French) (“Typology of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic”)

Bordes, F. 1980, Le débitage Levallois et ses variantes. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique française, 77(2): 45-49. (in French) (“Levallois debitage and its variants”) DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/bspf.1980.5242

Chase, Philip G. 1985, “Illustrating Lithic Artifacts: Information for Scientific Illustrators.” Lithic Technology, 14(2): 57‐70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.1985.11754505

Crassard, R., & Thiébaut, C. 2011, Levallois points production from eastern Yemen and some comparisons from East-Africa, Europe and the Levant. In: The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic in the Middle East and neighboring regions (Tensorer, J. M., Jagher, R., Otte, M., Eds.), ERAUL 126: p. 131-142. URL: https://hal.science/hal-01828525v1

Crew, H. 1975, An evaluation of the relationship be¬tween the Mousterian complexes of the Eastern medi¬terranean: a technology perspective, In: Problems in Prehistory: North Africa and Levant, Dallas (Wendorf, A.E. & Marks, A.E., Eds.), SMU Press: p. 427-437.

Demidenko, Y.E. & Usik,V.I. 1993, The problem of changes in Levallois technique during the technological transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. Paléorient, 19: 5-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.1993.4593

Demidenko, Y.E. & Usik, V.I. 2003, Into the Mind of the Maker: Refitting Study and Technological Reconstructions. In: Neanderthals in the Levant, Behavioral Organization and the Beginnings of Human Modernity (Henry D. O., Ed.). Continuum, London: p. 107-155.

Dibble, H. L. 1997, Platform variability and flake morphology: a comparison of experimental and archaeological data and implications for interpreting prehistoric lithic technological strategies. Lithic technology, 22(2): 150-170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.1997.11754540

Dibble, H.L., Whittaker, J. 1981, New experimental evidence on the relation between percussion flaking flake variation. Journal of Archaeological Science, 6: 283-296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(81)90004-2

Dodonov, A. E., Kandel, A. W., Simakova, A. N., AL Simakova, M., Al Masri, M., Conard. N. J., 2007. Geomorphology, site distribution and Paleolithic settlement dynamics of the Ma’aloula Region, Damascus Province, Syria. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 22(6): 589-606. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.20175

Douze, K., Igreja, M., Rots, V., Cnuts, D., & Porraz, G. 2020, Technology and function of Middle Stone Age points. Insights from a combined approach at Bushman Rock Shelter, South Africa. In: Culture History and Convergent Evolution: Can we Detect Populations in Prehistory (Groucutt, H., Ed.), Cham, Springer: p. 127-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46126-3_7

Farrand, W. R., 1965. Geology, climate and chronology of Yabrud Rock Shelter I. Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes, 15(1): 35-50.

Gould, R. A., Koster, D. A., & Sontz, A. H. 1971, The lithic assemblage of the western desert aborigines of Australia. American Antiquity, 36(2): 149-169. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/278668

Goval, E., Hérisson, D., Locht, J. L., Coudenneau, A. 2016, Levallois points and triangular flakes during the Middle Palaeolithic in northwestern Europe: Considerations on the status of these pieces in the Neanderthal hunting toolkit in northern France. Quaternary International, 411(A): 216-232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.04.039

Groucutt, H. S. 2014, Middle Palaeolithic point technology, with a focus on the site of Tor Faraj (Jordan, MIS 3). Quaternary International, 350: 205-226. URL: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-E4D3-D

Groucutt, H.S. 2020, Culture and convergence: The curious case of the Nubian Complex. In: Culture History and Convergent Evolution: Can we Detect Populations in Prehistory? (Groucutt, H., Ed.), Springer, Cham: p. 55-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46126-3_4

Guichard, J. & Guichard, G. 1965, The Early and Mid¬dle Palaeolithic of Nubia: a preliminary report. In: Contributions to the Prehistory of Nubia (Wendorf, F., Ed.), Dallas, SMU Press: p. 57-116.

Hauck, T. 2013, The Mousterian sequence of Hummal (Syria). Kölner Studien zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 4 (Rahden/Westf. 2013)

Henry, D. O. 2003, Neanderthals in the Levant: behavioural organization and the beginnings of human modernity. Continuum, London, 320 p.

Heinzelin, J. de. 1966, Revision du site de yabroud. Les Annales Archeologiques Arabes syriennes, 16 : 157-63. (in French) (“Revision of the Yabroud site”)

Hérisson, D., Goval, E., Lefèvre, B., 2015. Éléments de réflexion sur la place et le rôle de la France septentrionale en Europe du Nord-Ouest durant la phase ancienne du Paléolithique moyen. In: Les Plaines Du Nord-Ouest : Carrefour de l’Europe Au Paléolithique Moyen ? Société Préhistorique Française (Depaepe, P., Goval, E., Koehler, E., Locht, J.-L., Eds.), Paris: p. 41-59. (in French) (“Reflections on the place and role of northern France in northwestern Europe during the early Middle Palaeolithic”)

Hovers, E., 2009. The lithic assemblages of Qafzeh Cave. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 320 p.

Inizan, M.-L., Reduron-Ballinger, M., Roche, H., & Tixier, J. 1995, Technologie de la pierre taillée. Cercle de Recherches et d’Etudes Préhistoriques (CREP), Meudon, 199 p. (in French) (“Technology of knapped stone”)

Inizan, M.‐L., Reduron‐Ballinger, M., Roche, H., Tixier, J. 1999, Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone. Préhistoire de la Pierre Taillée Tome 5. Nanterre, CREP, Meudon, 189 p.

Kuhn, S. L. 1990, A geometric index of reduction for unifacial stone tools. Journal of Archaeological Science, 17(5): 583-593. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(90)90038-7

Marks, A.E., & Volkman, P. 1983, Changing core reduction strategies: A technological shift from the Middle to Upper Paleolithic in the Southern Levant. In: The Mousterian Legacy, Human Biocultural Change in the Upper Pleistocene (Trinkaus, E., Ed.). BAR International Series Vol. 164, Oxford: p. 13-33.

Meignen, L. 1995, Levallois lithic production systems in the Middle Paleolithic of the Near East: The case of the unidirectional method. In: The definition and interpretation of Levallois technology (Dibble, H. L., & Bar-Yosef, O., Eds.). Prehistory Press, Madison (Wis.): p. 361-379.

Meignen, L. 2019, The Mousterian Lithic Assemblages from Kebara Cave. In: Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel, Part II. The Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Archaeology (Meignen, L., & Bar-Yosef, O., Eds.), American School of Prehistoric Resesarch Bulletins 51, Peabody Museum: p. 1-147.

Meignen, L., & Bar-Yosef, O. 1991, Les outillages lithiques Mousterians de Kebara (fouilles 1982 - 1985): Premiers resultats. In: Le squelette moustérien de Kébara 2 (Bar-Yosef, O., & Vandermeersch, B., Eds.), CNRS, Paris: p. 49-75. (in French) (“The Mousterian Lithic Tools of Kebara (1982–1985 Excavations): Preliminary Results”)

Plisson. H., & Beyries. S. 1998, Pointes ou outils triangulaires? Données fonctionnelles dans le Moustérien Levantin. Paléorient, 24(1): 5-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.1998.4666

Režek, Ž., Dibble, H. L., McPherron, S. P., Braun, D. R., & Lin, S. C. 2018, Two million years of flaking stone and the evolutionary efficiency of stone tool technology. Nature ecology & evolution, 2(4): 628-633. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0488-4

Rose J. I., Usik, V.I., Marks, A.E., Hilbert, Y.H., Galletti, C.S., et al. 2011, The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: An African Middle Stone Age Industry in Southern Arabia. PLoS ONE, 6(11): e28239. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028239

Rust, A. 1950, Die Höhlenfunde von Jabrud (Syrien). Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster. Germany, 154 p. (in German) (“Discoveries of Yabroud Shelter (Syria)”)

Scerri, E. M. L. 2013, On the spatial and technological organization of hafting modificaitons in the North African Middle Stone. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40: 4234-4248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.011

Scerri, E. M., Gravina, B., Blinkhorn, J., & Delagnes, A. 2016, Can lithic attribute analyses identify discrete reduction trajectories? A quantitative study using refitted lithic sets. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 23(2): 669-691. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9255-x

Shea, J. J. 1988, Spear point from Middle Palaeolithic of the Levant. Journal of Field Archaeology 15(4): 441-450.

Shea, J. J. 2003, The Middle Paleolithic of the East Mediterranean Levant. Journal of World Prehistory, 17(4): 313-394. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOWO.0000020194.01496.fe

Shea, J. J. 2006, The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evidence from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33: 823-846. URL: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:128697313

Shea, J. J., & Sisk, M. L. 2010, Complex projectile technology and Homo sapiens dispersal into Western Eurasia. Paleoanthropology: 100-122. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4207/PA.2010.ART36

Shimelmitz, R., & Kuhn, S. L. 2018, The toolkit in the core: There is more to Levallois production than Predetermination. Quaternary International, 464: 81-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.08.011

Sisk, M. L. & Shea, J. J. 2009, Experimental Use and Quan¬titative Performance Analysis of Triangular Flakes (Levallois points) used as Arrowheads. Journal of Ar¬chaeological Science, 36: 2049-2047. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.023

Sisk, M. L., & Shea, J. J. 2011, The African origin of complex projectile technology: an analysis using tip cross-sectional area and perimeter. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 1: 968012. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/968012.

Usik, V; Rose, JI; Hilbert, YH; Van Peer, Philip; Marks, AE. 2013. Nubian Complex reduction strategies in Dhofar, southern Oman. Quaternary International, 300: 244-266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.08.2111

Villa, P., & Lenoir, M. 2006, Hunting weapons of the Middle Stone Age and the Middle Palaeolithic: spear points from Sibudu, Rose Cottage and Bouheben, Southern Africa. Humanities, 18: 89e122. URL: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:162120084

Wilkins, J., Schoville, B. J., Brown, K. S., & Chazan, M. 2012, Evidence for early hafted hunting technology. Science, 338: 942e946. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227608

Yerkes, R., Barkai, R., Gopher, A., & Zutovski, K. 2016, The use of fan scrapers: Microwear evidence from Late Pottery Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, Ein Zippori, Israel. Journal of Lithic Studies, 3(1): 185-205. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.v3i1.1447

Zaidner, Y., & Weinstein-Evron, M. 2020, The emergence of the Levallois technology in the Levant: A view from the Early Middle Paleolithic site of Misliya Cave, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution, 144: 102785. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102785

Zaidner, Y. and Weinstein-Evron, M. 2012, Making a point: The Early Middle Palaeolithic tool assemblage of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Before Farming, 4: 1-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/bfarm.2012.4.1

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

15-Mar-2025

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Lithic Studies

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Lithic Studies

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

The impacts of lateral obliqueness and edge angle on Levallois point morphology. (2025). Journal of Lithic Studies, 12(1), 27 p. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.9279