100th century BCE
Africa
The Levallois method was a highly organized technique for preparing a stone core so that a deliberately predetermined flake could be struck from it. In Africa it appeared in geographically distant regions, including the Vaal River valley, Morocco, the western Sahara, and the Kapthurin site complex in Kenya. It was used in some Acheulian contexts to produce large blanks for hand-axes and cleavers and later became more widespread, though never universal, during the Middle Stone Age.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Levallois method organized the preparation of a core around the production of a single regular flake whose shape had been consciously predetermined. Depending on the design, the resulting flake could be circular, oval, triangular, or rectangular. The technique therefore required more extensive planning than the simple striking of opportunistic edges from a block of stone.
African examples are reported from regions separated by thousands of kilometres. The method is known as the Victoria West technique in the Vaal River valley, while occurrences are also identified in Morocco, parts of the western Sahara, and the Kapthurin site complex in Kenya. It was not prominent in most East African Acheulian assemblages, although a fully developed example was discovered at Kapthurin.
In parts of Africa, Levallois preparation produced flakes large enough to serve as blanks for hand-axes and cleavers. The label “proto-Levallois” was sometimes applied because African cores and flakes were larger and probably older than familiar European examples, but the extract considers the prefix unnecessary. In Morocco, the sequence described by Biberson involved decreasing core, flake, and biface size, with the industry eventually acquiring a Middle Palaeolithic or Mousterian aspect.
The method is interpreted as one possible response to the problem of breaking up large raw-material lumps, especially football-sized boulders and large cobbles. Other regions used simpler preparation to strike large side-struck flakes from blocks and boulders, a procedure sometimes called the Tachenghit technique. The extract leaves open whether Levallois developed independently in several regions, diffused between them, or reflected a technical concept known more widely than its conspicuous applications suggest.
100th century BCE
Africa
The Levallois method was a highly organized technique for preparing a stone core so that a deliberately predetermined flake could be struck from it. In Africa it appeared in geographically distant regions, including the Vaal River valley, Morocco, the western Sahara, and the Kapthurin site complex in Kenya. It was used in some Acheulian contexts to produce large blanks for hand-axes and cleavers and later became more widespread, though never universal, during the Middle Stone Age.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Levallois method organized the preparation of a core around the production of a single regular flake whose shape had been consciously predetermined. Depending on the design, the resulting flake could be circular, oval, triangular, or rectangular. The technique therefore required more extensive planning than the simple striking of opportunistic edges from a block of stone.
African examples are reported from regions separated by thousands of kilometres. The method is known as the Victoria West technique in the Vaal River valley, while occurrences are also identified in Morocco, parts of the western Sahara, and the Kapthurin site complex in Kenya. It was not prominent in most East African Acheulian assemblages, although a fully developed example was discovered at Kapthurin.
In parts of Africa, Levallois preparation produced flakes large enough to serve as blanks for hand-axes and cleavers. The label “proto-Levallois” was sometimes applied because African cores and flakes were larger and probably older than familiar European examples, but the extract considers the prefix unnecessary. In Morocco, the sequence described by Biberson involved decreasing core, flake, and biface size, with the industry eventually acquiring a Middle Palaeolithic or Mousterian aspect.
The method is interpreted as one possible response to the problem of breaking up large raw-material lumps, especially football-sized boulders and large cobbles. Other regions used simpler preparation to strike large side-struck flakes from blocks and boulders, a procedure sometimes called the Tachenghit technique. The extract leaves open whether Levallois developed independently in several regions, diffused between them, or reflected a technical concept known more widely than its conspicuous applications suggest.