there has been more than four decades since frank hole and kent flannery conducted a field expedition in central zagros mountains located in western iran, in 1963. from then onward, numerous discoveries and field projects have been done in this region. some of these findings may contradict the report of the original survey. although the goal of this article by no means, is to criticize the 1967...

Recent volumetric definitions of Levallois core technology are amenable to mathematical modelling. We present a simple geometric model that permits controlled manipulation of a few of the key parameters defining Levallois core morphology. The models indicate that Levallois cores are relatively efficient at minimizing raw material waste while at the same time maximizing productivity in terms of ...

Controlled experiments using a calibrated crossbow to thrust stone-tipped spears into animal carcasses reveal a relationship between Levallois point morphology and their performance as spear points. A comparative study of morphometric variation of Levallois points from Levantine Mousterian contexts supports the hypothesis that the demand for stone spear points was an important factor in Levallo...

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, re...

The production of Levallois flakes is considered a hallmark of many Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites, but this aspect of African Pleistocene hominin technology remains poorly documented relative to that from adjacent regions. The site of Koimilot, from the Kapthurin Formation of Kenya, preserves stratified artifact assemblages that show use of multiple Levallois methods to produce flakes of varied ...

The introduction of Levallois technology in Europe marked the transition from the Lower to the early Middle Paleolithic. This new method of flake production was accompanied by significant behavioral changes in hominin populations. The emergence of this technological advance is considered homogeneous in the European archaeological record at the Marine isotopic stage (MIS) 9/MIS 8 boundary. In th...

BACKGROUND Middle Palaeolithic stone artefacts referred to as 'Levallois' have caused considerable debate regarding issues of technological predetermination, cognition and linguistic capacities in extinct hominins. Their association with both Neanderthals and early modern humans has, in particular, fuelled such debate. Yet, controversy exists regarding the extent of 'predetermination' and 'stan...

The earliest fossils of Homo sapiens are reported from in Africa in association with both late Acheulian and Middle Stone Age (MSA) artifacts. The relation between the origin of our species during the later Middle Pleistocene in Africa and the major archaeological shift marked by the Acheulian-MSA transition is therefore a key issue in human evolution, but it has thus far suffered from a lack o...

Daniel G. Bichet1, Lawrence Rice2 and Jasmin Levallois-Gignac3 Department of Medicine and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Montreal, and Service de Néphrologie, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston TX, USA and Division of Nephrology, Dr Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, Mon...