ABSTRACT

The technological dichotomy between Discoid and Levallois methods, which accompanies the Mousterian assemblages for most of the Middle Paleolithic, is a debated topic because of the implications for Neanderthals’ behavioral complexity. We here propose and discuss the possible reasons supporting the Levallois-Discoid shift, considering part of the late Mousterian sequence of Grotta di Fumane. Among these, we include the strategies of resource exploitation and territorial mobility, and the productivity and effectiveness rates between the two methods. Though both highlighting differences, these cannot justify a sharp change in production strategies. Looking specifically at the technological objectives, we compared a category of common products: the backed artefacts. This category includes similar tools, but morpho-functional differences suggest different degrees of efficiency. The comparison helped to better define the Discoid and Levallois technologies in their functional and potential objectives, whose variations may have influenced the alternating pattern in the technological choices here recorded.

摘要

Discoid 和 Levallois 方法之间的技术二分法在旧石器时代中期的大部分时间伴随着 Mousterian 组合，是一个有争议的话题，因为它对尼安德特人的行为复杂性有影响。我们在这里提出并讨论了支持 Levallois-Discoid 位移的可能原因，考虑到 Grotta di Fumane 的晚期 Mousterian 序列的一部分。其中，我们包括资源开发和领土流动的策略，以及两种方法之间的生产率和有效率。尽管两者都强调了差异，但这些都不能证明生产策略的急剧变化是合理的。我们特别着眼于技术目标，比较了一类常见产品：支持的人工制品。此类别包括类似的工具，但形态功能差异表明效率不同。这种比较有助于更好地定义 Discoid 和 Levallois 技术的功能和潜在目标，它们的变化可能影响了此处记录的技术选择的交替模式。