ANTH 1131 Lecture Notes - Levallois Technique, Mousterian, Upper Paleolithic
Document Summary
Two stones: one is the hammer stone, and the other is the stone that is struck. Is shaped through percussion (hitting); little retouching (finer shaping of the stones) is involved. A tool made from the reduced stone is called a core tool. One made from a piece that is struck off is called a flake tool. To make the flake tool sharper, just strike another flake off. Pressure flaking is involved, in which the stone tool-to-be is shaped with gentle pressure or rubbing by wood and bone implements, instead of simply being struck with the hammer stone. More control making this tool for the tool maker. The core is more prized over the flakes. The core is carefully prepared into a kind of tortoiseshell shape, and then a well-struck blow pops the flakes tool out. The flakes are the most important here. Arignacian tradition of the upper paleolithic, and is typically associated with the cro-magnon version of anatomically modern humans.
