Handaxe typology and Lower Palaeolithic cultural development: ficrons, cleavers and two giant handaxes from Cuxton
Handaxe typology and Lower Palaeolithic cultural development: ficrons, cleavers and two giant handaxes from Cuxton
One small test pit dug off Rochester Road, Cuxton in August 2005 produced over twenty handaxes, including two of exceptional size and quality. This volume in honour of RJ MacRae, properly known of course as Mac, provides the ideal opportunity to report briefly on the circumstances of their discovery and not only to indulge in their aesthetic qualities, but also to consider some of their wider implications. It is now clear that throughout the Lower Palaeolithic, there is a trend for handaxe shapes to become both more varied and increasingly recognisable as intentionally executed types. The Lower Palaeolithic is perhaps not, therefore, the period of stasis that is often suggested, but incorporates a trajectory of cultural, cognitive and behavioural development that is continued into, and through, the Middle Palaeolithic.
lower palaeolithic, cuxton, handaxes, typology, ficrons, cleavers, macrae
11-21
Wenban-Smith, Francis
d2cdf06f-ff1d-41f7-a57c-a9c8e25a2110
2004
Wenban-Smith, Francis
d2cdf06f-ff1d-41f7-a57c-a9c8e25a2110
Wenban-Smith, Francis
(2004)
Handaxe typology and Lower Palaeolithic cultural development: ficrons, cleavers and two giant handaxes from Cuxton.
Lithics, 25, .
Abstract
One small test pit dug off Rochester Road, Cuxton in August 2005 produced over twenty handaxes, including two of exceptional size and quality. This volume in honour of RJ MacRae, properly known of course as Mac, provides the ideal opportunity to report briefly on the circumstances of their discovery and not only to indulge in their aesthetic qualities, but also to consider some of their wider implications. It is now clear that throughout the Lower Palaeolithic, there is a trend for handaxe shapes to become both more varied and increasingly recognisable as intentionally executed types. The Lower Palaeolithic is perhaps not, therefore, the period of stasis that is often suggested, but incorporates a trajectory of cultural, cognitive and behavioural development that is continued into, and through, the Middle Palaeolithic.
Text
W-S_2004_(Cuxton_handaxes).pdf
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Published date: 2004
Additional Information:
This work was funded by the Aggregates Levy as part of the Medway Valley Palaeolithic Project, which will be completed in 2007.
Keywords:
lower palaeolithic, cuxton, handaxes, typology, ficrons, cleavers, macrae
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 41481
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/41481
ISSN: 0262-7817
PURE UUID: 11e0abe9-178d-4964-85d2-b8a118d6175c
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Date deposited: 14 Sep 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:29
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