Neanderthals in the Outermost West: Technological adaptation in the Late Middle Palaeolithic (re)-colonization of Britain, Marine Isotope Stage 4/3

作者：Sykes, Rebecca M. Wragg

来源：Quaternary International, 2017, 433: 4-32.

DOI：10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.087

• Neanderthals
• Middle Palaeolithic
• Techno-economy
• Raw materials
• MIS-3

Despite its long research history and particular palaeogeographic context, the British Late Middle Palaeolithic (LMP) of Marine Isotope Stage 4 and 3 has not been fully integrated in broader discussions of Neanderthal behavioural adaptations. This is due not only to the lack of a comprehensive account of the archaeological record, but also to perceptions that the numerically small character of the record itself, and its position at the margins of the Neanderthal world, are unpromising research contexts. This paper addresses the first problem by reporting results from a study of the British LMP lithic assemblages most securely assigned to late MIS-4 and MIS-3, using a technologically-focused approach designed to derive the maximum information from the available material. The results suggest a coherent and broadly uniform techno-economic system characterised by clear raw material selectivity and high levels of mobility. Bifaces and scrapers are common and show strong evidence for curation, transportation and maintenance. Discoid, centripetal and alternate core reduction methods occur alongside more informal approaches, with virtually no evidence for Levallois.
This new data equally demonstrates the relevance of the British LMP to current questions about the diversity of later Neanderthal techno-economic organisation. Additionally, as this record is the only clearly defined example of a Middle Palaeolithic colonisation in Europe, this study provides an opportunity to examine associated behavioural adaptations within the mammoth steppe ecosystem of MIS-3.

• 出版日期2017-3-17