Serial handaxe production in Charbonnières? A technological investigation of the regular recurrence of the handaxe in the context of the late Middle Palaeolithic and its implication for the socio-economic behaviour of the Neanderthal on the example of the site Charbonnières

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Harald Floss
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 513984209

In the late Middle Palaeolithic, the artefact type handaxe re-entered the tool spectrum of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. The Moustérien de Tradition Acheuléenne (MTA) and the Moustérien à petit biface are particularly well known examples for this.In the project presented here, the phenomenon of specialised workplaces is investigated. It focuses on the Charbonnières site, located ten kilometres north of Mâcon (Burgundy). The site is composed of more than ten individual find zones. Charbonnières has been the focus of amateur archaeologists for more than 100 years, who have recovered artefacts of the palaeolithic period. Particularly noteworthy is the enormous quantity of handaxes.Until 2021, almost exclusively surface finds had been investigated. In the summer of 2021, a first excavation was carried out by the University of Tübingen under the direction of David Boysen and Harald Floss. The aims of the sondage were to gain insight into the geological and stratigraphical situation of the site and to search for stratified and datable artefacts. Within the scope of the sondage, a location to the north of the known handaxe concentration "Atelier" was selected, because this site had not experienced any invasive agricultural use to date. An area of 2 square metres was excavated. The discovery of a handaxe in stratified context and the excellent preservation of the former Palaeolithic surface should be emphasised. It consists exclusively of raw material nodules, cores, production debris, blanks and tools. In total, more than 3000 lithic objects could be documented. The state of preservation of the objects is remarkable. They are sharp-edged and there are no traces of displacement. In summary, this is a Palaeolithic work site whose surface has been excellently preserved by slowly accumulating aeolian sediments. In the present project, the Charbonnières site will be investigated. On the one hand, the focus is on the question of the role of the site in the region in the Late Middle Palaeolithic: Can Charbonnières be regarded as a place of specialised handaxe production? For this purpose, the material from Charbonnières will be compared with artefacts from other inventories. Within this framework, the technotypological characteristics of the handaxes will be considered. By further excavation of the Palaeolithic horizon planned for summer 2022, the nature and organisation of this Late Middle Palaeolithic work site will be analysed: how did people in the Late Middle Palaeolithic organise their work sites? Can a statement be made about the approximate quantity of handaxes produced? Is it possible to draw conclusions about the lifespan of the workshop? What is the variability of the handaxes? How widespread is the distribution of handaxes produced in Charbonnières?

• DFG Programme: Research Grants