Lithic Technology
Middle Paleolithic core technology
The Neanderthals are associated with the archaeological period known as the Middle Paleolithic (MP), which most scholars place between 300,000–35,000 ya (Monnier 2006, Richter 2011). The two main defining characteristics of the stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic are a decrease in the frequency of large bifacial cutting tools (handaxes and cleavers) and the appearance of prepared-core technology, such as Levallois (Figure 1). Microwear and residue studies have suggested that MP tools were used for a wide variety of tasks, including butchery, plant processing, and woodworking (Beyries 1988, Anderson-Gerfaud 1990, Hardy 2004, Hardy et al. 2001, Plisson & Beyries 1998). As the methodologies for these types of analyses improves, we will gain a better understanding of MP tool use.