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2016-10-09 14:18:57   •   ID: 1522

Blades before MIS3 in West Europe

Figure 1
These are early (Middle Paleolithic) blades from N- France, made by a laminar non-Levallois technology including cresting as can be observed on the first blade in Figure 1.

Remarkably the Blades are poorly standardised, one hallmark of their Middle Palaeolithic character.

Since the earliest classifications and sub-divisions of the Palaeolithic (Lubbock 1865; de Mortillet 1867; Breuil 1912), prismatic (volumetric laminar) blade technology has been seen as a recent and sophisticated technological strategy.

Originally seen as a hallmark of “modern behavior” , laminar technology has now been refuted as a technological strategy solely used by anatomically and behaviorally modern Homo sapiens. It is now evidenced that archaic Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal populations in Western Asia, and Europe used laminar technology since MIS7 as well.

There are two production sequences of Middle Paleolithic -blade making: Volumetric blade production and Levallois blade production. 

Distinguishing between Levalloisian and laminar blades is crucial. There are, however, many proxies for distinguishing between these systems.

These include:

  • The observation of a crested/semi-crested blade (lame à crête) is diagnostic for a non Levallois strategy;


  • The degree of standardization between end-products (laminar products are often more standardized than Levalloisian products);


  • Laminar products are often narrower and longer with a lack of convergence on the parallel edges (with the exception of retouched laminar productions into elongated points);


  • A trapezoidal or triangular cross-section is more apparent in laminar systems of blade production;


  • The butt of a laminar product is often narrower than its maximum width;


  • The appearance of a “chapeau de gendarme”, or éclats débordant, is characteristic of some Levallois products,but may rarely also be found in laminar operational sequences .


One of the oldest sites with laminar production is Crayford probably dating to MIS 7, with 510 blades known so far.

At this site, unipolar convergent and bipolar recurrent parallel cores and blades were found. However, many opportunistic flakes were also present within this lithic assemblage. In the United Kingdom, similar lithic blade assemblages are often referred to as “Crayford-type blade dominated assemblages”.

Another important characteristic of these “Crayford-type” lithic assemblages is that they never contain Levallois products.

The “Crayford-type” toolkit is dominated by denticulated and notched pieces. However, some side-scrapers may be present. Finally, it is important to keep in mind that the “Crayfordian” (e.g. at Bakers Hole) is a different type of technology than the so-called “Clactonian”.

Blade rich ensembles before OIS 5 are not restricted to the UK:  La Petite Rouge Cambre at the Pas-deCalais, France is another Saalian s.l. site.

The “Lower Gravel” is characterized by some big laminar non-Levallois parallel cores. The morphology of the initial elongated flint nodules still characterised the morphology of the resulting cores.

The “Upper Gravel” is characterized by the presence of a Levallois blade assemblage. Within the fine sediments on top of the terrace (Couche 5), which were affected by periglacial phenomena, another non-Levallois blade assemblage has been found. Within the toolkits, many notched and denticulated pieces were present. 

Markkleeberg, Germany  is an Saalian s.l. site, which is mainly characterized by Levallois blade reduction. However, Levallois flake cores and side-scrapers, transverse scrapers and some bifaces were also present.  

Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, is another example of non-Levallois blade production (n=133), which can probably be dated to the Early or Middle Saalian s.l. (MIS 8 or 7). The non-Levallois elongated cores, which were carefully prepared, were struck off from two opposed striking platforms. Only 39 blades were present. The active faces of the prismatic cores, from which the recurrent blade removals were struck off were usually semi-rotating. 

Rheindahlen B1/B2,, Monchengladbach, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany  is arguably the most important open-air reference site in the West of present-day Germany. However, the chronostratigraphic position of the site has been debated.

Now, the loess-soil sequence of Rheindahlen has been safely attributed to the Middle Saalian s.l., the "blade horizon" is most probably of MIS 7 age. The lithic assemblage of Rheindahlen is characterized by the presence of many Levallois and non-Levallois blades. Several crested blades were also found. Multiple Refittings demonstrate an widely undisturbed on site production.

During OIS 5 in Northern Europe, there is abundant evidence of a fully developed blade industry in France and adjacent parts of Germany (Wallertheim D, Saint-Germain-des-Vaux, Tönchesberg 2B, Riencourt-lès-Bapaume, Seclin – D7). Here either Levallois and / or prismaticitc core techniques are present. Blades could be the predominant production on the site or could be “embedded" in different technological systems.

At Verrières and Vinneuf we find blades within a Micoquian / KMG-milieu.

At Riencourt-lès-Bapaume  the laminar volumetric production is embedded in a non-laminar Levallois-Mousterian.

Overall laminar Middle Palaeolithic strategies occurred widely independly of raw material supply, duration of stay, site function and mobility patters of Middle Paleolithic groups in  N/W-Europe.

Figure 2
Maybe the most important trigger for producing blades was the wish of creating a standardized product, that could used in composite tools.

Italian and Iberian Peninsula: Interestingly Middle Paleolithic Blade production on the Italian Peninsula did not appear before MIS4/3. Such ensembles are present both in N-Italy and the deep South.

In N-Italy, Fumane has become a reference site for the Middle Paleolithic, "transitional Industries" and the (Proto)-Aurignacian. Fumane, A4-A6 (MIS3) ist characterized by a Centripetal Levallois as well as blade volumetric concept.

The main objective of lithic production on a southern site, among others, Poggio, strata 9-10 was mainly focused on unipolar Levallois debitage, mainly used for blade production.

Figure 2 gives you an impression, how Italian Mousterian artifacts from convergent blades look like. These blanks were usually further retouched.

Figure 2 shows broad convergent Levallois Blades, very similar to those of the Early Middle Paleolithic of the Levant between 250-120 k.a. (Formerly: "Tabun D-Ensembles") and was found at the Gargano in South Italy.

Till now I am not aware of a Middle Paleolithic Upper Pleistocene blade system on the Iberian Peninsula - but this view is certainly biased.

Provenance: Collection Bigot (FR) and Baronetti (IT)



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