Examining the Levallois Reduction Strategy From a Design Theory Point of View

T Levallois reduction strategy has long been considered a hallmark of the Middle Paleolithic of Western Eurasia (Bordes 1953) and the Middle Stone Age of Africa (Goodwin 1929). However, both the definition of the technique and its possible significance remain controversial paleoanthropological issues (see papers in Dibble and Bar-Yosef 1995). Sandgathe’s volume, based on his doctoral thesis, represents a recent contribution to the ongoing Levallois discussion. This study attempts to elucidate the potential advantages of employing the Levallois reduction strategy, which contributed to its widespread geographic distribution and temporal endurance. Constructed around design theory, the study develops a generalized model of Middle Paleolithic lifeways and attempts to identify those factors that would have most significantly constrained the design of lithic technologies. These constraints take on two forms— functional constraints on the flaking products (blanks and tools) and those imposed on the reduction sequence. Five morphological aspects of blanks are hypothesized to more or less dictate performance—flake size, length of cutting edge, angle of cutting edge, ventral curvature, and overall robusticity. Raw material economy and technological knowledge are proposed as the primary constraints influencing the choice of reduction strategy. Based on these constraints, several hypotheses are developed that are argued to potentially explain the advantages of employing a Levallois reduction strategy and the circumstances under which these operate. These hypotheses are tested through the analysis of blank selection patterns for tool-making at three French Middle Paleolithic sites in the Southwest (Pech de L’Azé IV, le Moustier, and Combe Capelle Bas) and one in the Southeast (Jiboui). The analysis begins by comparing the attributes thought to control performance in the morphologies of used vs. unused flakes. Sandgathe concludes that selection, in fact, does appear to have been based on all of the hypothesized attributes except ventral curvature. In addition, the selection of specific attributes varied depending on the conditions of the site. The analysis then considers how blanks produced by various reduction strategies from each of the assemblages might satisfy the selection criteria that appear to have been in place. The four classes of blanks considered include central Levallois flakes, peripheral Levallois flakes, éclats débordants, and amorphous flakes. By comparing the characteristics of the technological products to the characteristics of those blanks chosen for use, Sandgathe concludes that Levallois products, as well as the products of similar reduction approaches, possess functionally advantageous morphologies. The most significant attributes appear to be greater average size, a high number of usable edges per flake, and decreased robusticity. A more general conclusion of the study is that Levallois technologies would offer important advantages under conditions of restricted access to raw material. The basic questions explored in this study are rooted in evolutionary ecology in that they seek to investigate the ways in which the adoption of the Levallois technique can be considered an adaptive strategy pursued by Middle Paleolithic humans. In this sense, the research employs highlevel theory that is closely aligned with an Americanist approach to lithic technology. Likewise, one of the great strengths of the work that Sandgathe presents in this book and elsewhere (Sandgathe 2004) is that it approaches Middle Paleolithic core reduction strategies from the perspective of the overall organization of technology (sensu Nelson 1991). Specifically, this is achieved by expanding the focus of investigation beyond classic Levallois products (sensu Bordes 1961) to include the significance of products such as éclats débordants. In fact, this book may represent the most thorough investigation of the functionality of éclats débordants yet published. Most of the problems from which this study suffers, however, relate to the precision with which types of flaking products (i.e., blanks) are defined and the degree to which they can be assigned accurately to specific reduction strategies—issues that have been the focus of considerable archaeological debate (e.g., Boëda 1994: 262-265; Dibble 1989; Marks and Volkman 1983). Because blanks are the study’s primary unit of analysis, these obstacles could present significant challenges to the conclusions. Two of the four blank types considered by Sandgathe are particularly problematical and deserve some discussion. These are “éclats débordants” and “peripheral Levallois flakes.” Throughout the book, Sandgathe maintains that éclats débordants are widely recognized as a product of discoidal technologies. However, many key studies of Levallois technology describe éclats débordants as a far more general class of blanks which can be produced by both discoidal and Levallois techniques (Boëda 1988, 1993, 1994; Boëda et al. 1990; Debénath and Dibble 1994; Meignen 1995). A simple definition of these artifacts could be “flakes whose lateral margin removes an edge of the core.” Because a technological understanding of this blank type is necessary to follow the logic of several of the arguments being presented throughout the book, it would have been better if Sandgathe had made more explicit his reasoning for associating