Tag Archives: Acheulean

Trihedrals in the Acheulian of Africa and Europe

  This is an African trihedral quartzite pick hand-axe (16 cm long) exhibiting wind gloss and desert varnish, found in 1976 in the Grand Erg Oriental in Algeria by a Friend who has already passed away. In Africa Acheulian stone … Continue reading

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Black Basalt Handaxe

Our prehistoric ancestors were constantly looking for stone. As soon as ancient hominids started to use stone tools on a regular basis, some 2.6 million years ago and most probably even earlier than that, the search for their stone became … Continue reading

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Victor Commont and the French Prehistory in the early 20th century

These are some pages from Commonts publication about the geology and the Paleolithic around Amiens published in 1909. Gabriel De Mortillet’s classification of the Paleolithic has been revised and modified by himself many times, but it still forms the basis … Continue reading

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Saint-Même-les-Carrières 300000 years ago….

This is a classic Acheulian Handaxe from  Saint-Même, found 1973 (18 cm long). The territory of Saint-Même-les-Carrières is situated about ten kilometers south east of Cognac in Western France,near the banks of the Charente and was already introduced during an … Continue reading

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Sophistication

Middle English sophisticaten, to adulterate, from Medieval Latin sophisticre, sophistict-, from Latin sophisticus, sophistic, from Greek sophistikos, from sophists, sophist; see sophist.]. Being expert or having knowledge of some technical subject; “understanding volumetric concepts in flint knapping requires considerable sophistication”. The simple … Continue reading

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Handaxe from the Leine Valley

 This is a  handaxe (10×7,5×2,3 cm) from the gravels at Hannover / Döhren found in the 1930ies. During the beginning of OIS8 at about 300 k.a. BP, hand axe bearing industries appear in Central Europe which contain numerous Levallois forms … Continue reading

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Acheulean near Châteauneuf-sur-Loire

There are many old handaxe findings in the Loiret (Névoy, Ouzouer-sur-Loire, Bray-en-Val, Saint-Aignan-des-Gués, Saint-Martin-d’Abbat, Germigny-des-Prés, Mardié, Chécy…). Although the Acheulian in the Loire valley around Orleans is well developed and has many affinities to the Acheulian of the Indre and … Continue reading

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Paleolithic Core or Pebble-Tool from Kassel

This Quartzite tool was part of a surface scatter of artifacts (5x5m) on a field together with crude (non-Levallois) large flakes and some simple side-scrapers near Kassel. What is interesting is the fact, that the raw material was imported from a … Continue reading

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Quartzite in Prehistory

These are two Quartzite leaf points from Maroc (timeframe: MSA or Neolithic). Quartzite is a metamorphic rock composed primarily of quartz and may include significant amounts of other minerals. The parent rock for quartzite is quartz-rich sandstone. As sandstone becomes … Continue reading

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Acheulean in Northern France: Handaxe from the Yonne Valley

Researches during the last 20 years on both fluvial and loess sequences of the main river valleys in Northern France (Somme, Seine and Yonne) are based on an interdisciplinary approach combining stratigraphy, sedimentology, bioclimatic studies and advanced dating methods (U/Th, … Continue reading

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