Notched Tool Reuse and Raw Material Availability in French Middle Paleolithic Sites

Abstract

Based on the analysis of assemblages from the French sites of Pech de l'Azé I, La Quina, and Combe-Capelle has, a model of stone-tool resharpening is proposed for Middle Paleolithic notched tools. This model is based on the observation that tools with a larger number of notches have greater mean blank lengths irrespective of their typological designation. This pattern is then used to help investigate the relationship between raw material availability and tool reuse. Our results indicate that the number of notches found on a tool is a function of both the size of the tool blank and the availability of raw material.