100th century BCE
Haua Fteah, Cyrenaica, Libya
The Pre-Aurignacian of Haua Fteah was an early Middle Palaeolithic blade industry associated with the interglacial interval approximately 125,000–80,000 years ago. It was dominated by blades produced through direct percussion, with some pieces used without retouch and others modified into burins and backed knives. Levallois technology was rare, while a possible bone flute and marine-shell food remains indicate distinctive cultural and subsistence practices.
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The Story
The industry beneath the Levallois–Mousterian at Haua Fteah was markedly different from the overlying assemblage. It belonged within an interglacial sequence and probably dates from between approximately 125,000 and 80,000 years ago. Unlike the later Levallois-dominated tradition, it consisted almost entirely of blades struck by direct percussion.
Many blades were used without further modification, while others were retouched into burins and backed knives. Bifacial hand-axe technique was represented only weakly, and the Levallois method was described as very rare. A bone fragment believed to form part of a flute was associated with the industry, a find presented as distinctive within northern Africa.
The subsistence evidence combines terrestrial animal remains with substantial quantities of seashells. These shells constitute some of the oldest evidence then known for the use of marine resources. The meaning of the industry remains unresolved: its appearance and disappearance might reflect ecological or functional conditions, or possibly movements of populations, but the passage leaves that question open.
100th century BCE
Haua Fteah, Cyrenaica, Libya
The Pre-Aurignacian of Haua Fteah was an early Middle Palaeolithic blade industry associated with the interglacial interval approximately 125,000–80,000 years ago. It was dominated by blades produced through direct percussion, with some pieces used without retouch and others modified into burins and backed knives. Levallois technology was rare, while a possible bone flute and marine-shell food remains indicate distinctive cultural and subsistence practices.
Continue exploring
The Story
The industry beneath the Levallois–Mousterian at Haua Fteah was markedly different from the overlying assemblage. It belonged within an interglacial sequence and probably dates from between approximately 125,000 and 80,000 years ago. Unlike the later Levallois-dominated tradition, it consisted almost entirely of blades struck by direct percussion.
Many blades were used without further modification, while others were retouched into burins and backed knives. Bifacial hand-axe technique was represented only weakly, and the Levallois method was described as very rare. A bone fragment believed to form part of a flute was associated with the industry, a find presented as distinctive within northern Africa.
The subsistence evidence combines terrestrial animal remains with substantial quantities of seashells. These shells constitute some of the oldest evidence then known for the use of marine resources. The meaning of the industry remains unresolved: its appearance and disappearance might reflect ecological or functional conditions, or possibly movements of populations, but the passage leaves that question open.
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