Levallois technique

Defining Levallois

There is disagreement when it comes to defining Levallois technology.^[9] Archeologists question which attributes and dimensions are specifically associated with Levallois, and argue that there are other techniques with similar cosmetic and functional aspects. Due to these disagreements, there is now a more precise set of criteria that outlines Levallois technology from a geometric standpoint. These criteria are:

1. Exploitation of the volume of raw material is organized in terms of two intersecting planes, or flaking surfaces;
2. The two surfaces are hierarchically related, one constituting the striking platform and the other the primary reduction surface;
3. The primary reduction surface is shaped such that the morphology of the product is pre-determined, which is fundamentally a function of the lateral and distal convexities of the surface;
4. The fracture plane for removing primary products is sub-parallel to the plane of intersection of the two surfaces; and
5. The striking platform size and shape is adjusted to allow removal of flakes parallel to this plane, usually through retouch or faceting.^[9]

Africa

• Kenya: Large Levallois flakes struck from boulder cores have been found at the Kapthurin Formation site in western Kenya, near Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo. The earliest examples come from the Leaky Handaxe Area and the Factory Site. Both examples feature large flakes, approximately 10–20 cm in diameter, and have been reliably dated to 400 thousand years ago.^[1][10]
• Morocco: At Jebel Irhoud, a former barite mine located 100 km west of Marrakesh, Levallois tools have been found. Dated as approximately 315,000 years old^[11] in 2017, the finds were highly significant to the understanding of both the development of this technique and early humans. John McNabb, archaeologist at the University of Southampton said of this: "The tools the people at Jebel Irhoud were making were based on a knapping technique called Levallois, a sophisticated way of shaping stone tools. The date of 315,000 years ago adds to a growing realisation that Levallois originates a lot earlier than we thought. Is Jebel Irhoud telling us that this new technology is linked to the emergence of the hominin line that will lead to modern humans? Does the new find imply there was more than one hominin lineage in Africa at this time? It really stirs the pot."^[12]
• Egypt: Within the banks of the Nile River, excavations have located Levalloisean implements within the 30-, 15-, and 10-foot terraces. Within the 30-foot terrace, the implements were originally thought to be early Mousterian, but were later reclassified. The 15- and 10-foot terraces again were classified first as Egyptian Mousterian, but later as developed Levalloisean.^[13]

Asia

• Syria/Israel: Excavated within a stratigraphic column containing tools from this culture.^[13]
• India: the open-air stratified prehistoric site of Attirampakkam, India, has shown that processes signifying the end of the Acheulian culture and the emergence of a Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred at 385 ± 64 thousand years ago. (ka)^[14]
• Iran: Levallois products have been discovered in Middle Paleolithic sites of the Zagros region including Bisitun cave, Warwasi, Darai, Kunji, Do-Ashkaft. There are a number of Middle Paleolithic sites in Central Iran that yielded Levallois flakes and blades including Mirak, Niasar, and Parvadeh.^[15][16][17]
• Afghanistan: Implements located in the Haibak valley.^[13]
• North-east Asia: The extension of the Levallois method to this part of the world now seems undoubtable with recent evidence at Shuidonggou (Northern China) in Mongolia and Altai-Siberia, dating from the Late Pleistocene.^[18]
• Hong Kong: Wong Tei Tung in Sai Kung located in the east New Territories.^[19]
• Pakistan: The Soanian techno-complex from the Soan Valley located in northern Pakistan, has been identified as a Mode-3 Levallois complex.^[20]
• China: Evidence of Levallois technology from the lithic assemblage of the Guanyindong Cave site in southwest China, dated to approximately 170,000–80,000 years ago, is presented by Hu et al. (2018).^[21] The first discovered blade site in China was in Shuidonggou in 1923 by Vincent and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. When they excavated the location, twelve localities were founded and had an age range of roughly 40,000–10,000 BP. Out of the twelve localities, SDG1 proved to be most important with the discovery of numerous unique, elongated blanks and Levallois-like cores found.^[22]

Southern Caucasus

• Armenia: Nor Geghi: one archaeological site.^[23] The artifacts, found preserved in soil under a later lava flow and dated at 325,000–335,000 years old, were a mix of two distinct stone tool technology traditions: bifacial tools and Levallois tools. Daniel Adler suggests that the coexistence of bifacial and Levallois tools at the site provides the first clear evidence that local populations developed Levallois technology out of existing bifacial technology, and that the artifacts found at Nor Geghi reflect the technological flexibility and variability of a single population. He further concludes that this challenges the view that technological change resulted from population change, and suggests instead that Levallois technology developed independently from existing technology within different human populations who shared a common technological ancestry.^[24]