Monthly Archives: December 2010

Lenderscheid: The Middle Paleolithic Debitage

The abundance of quartzite on the crests of low hills south of Kassel in the “Niederhessische Senke”, one of the main transit routes from South to North, has attracted people at different times to use this raw material for the … Continue reading

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Drills from the Mesolithic of Demark

It is highly questionable if the typological names of prehistoric stone tools are reliable in terms of understanding their function. For example a “scraper” can also be a cutting tool or a core.  In the case of drills and borers, … Continue reading

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Neolithic figurine from Tell Halaf (partially restored)

Tell Halaf is the type site of the Halaf culture (6500 to 5500 BC), a late Neolithic culture spreading over northern Mesopotamia and Syria. Tell Halaf is located near the city of  Ra’s al-’Ayn in the Khabur-valley  (Nahr al Khabur), close to … Continue reading

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“Helgoland flint” Arrow

“Roter Feuerstein” (“red flint”) or “Helgoland flint” is occasionally found at the shores of the small archipelago of Helgoland in the North Sea. Helgoland consist of the two small islands of Helgoland and Düne. Red flint is exclusively found at Düne. The … Continue reading

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The Aterian: a Technocomplex created by H. Sapiens

Once thought to be an equivalent of the European Upper Paleolithic, the Aterian of the Maghreb, Libya and Egypt is now securely dated to OIS 5, 4 and 3 with the latest dates between 40 k.a. BP by TL, C-14,and ESR. The … Continue reading

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Chatelperronian Points from the Pas-Estret site

Chatelperronian Points from the Pas-Estret site (Beune) near Les Eyzies excavated during a couple of days by Dr. Ampoullanges in 1911. Many questions about the Chatelperronian, a technocomplex which is found stratigraphically above the Mousterian and below the Protoaurignacian and … Continue reading

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The late Neolithic in Eastern Europe

Large sickles and Dagger-like thin artifacts, often made of delicate black flint and made with an advanced pressure flaking technique, are the characteristic for the late Neolithic/early Bonze Age in the East European Plain. This specimens come from the Crimea (near … Continue reading

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Jankovichian Leafpoint

The Jankovichian (“Trans Danubian Szelettien”) is known from old excavations at 10 sites in the Pilis and Gerecse mountains south of the bend  in the Danube and West of Budapest. This leafpoint is from the Hillebrand excavations at the Jankovich Cave (Hillebrand … Continue reading

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Lower Paleolithic in the Poitou-Charentes

The first human occupation of Southwestern Paris Basin and the Poitou are poorly documented. Although many isolated finds of bifaces in the ancient alluvium of various river terraces indicate a human presence in this region from the OIS8/9, no excavated … Continue reading

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Quina scraper from Abri de Merveilles (Vallon des Roches at Sergeac)

 The Vallon des Roches (also called Vallon de Castelmerle) in Sergeac is a side valley of the Vézère, located just 9 km south of Montignac-Lasceaux on the left bank of the Vézère. The “Vallon” seems to have been a favorite … Continue reading

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