{"id":2726,"date":"2024-04-05T12:40:41","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T10:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kernsverlag.com\/?p=2726"},"modified":"2024-08-20T20:34:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:34:17","slug":"using-the-technological-feature-of-tranchet-blow-on-keilmesser-as-a-connecting-element-between-similar-middle-paleolithic-assemblages-from-the-cote-chalonnaise-saone-et-loire-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kernsverlag.com\/en\/using-the-technological-feature-of-tranchet-blow-on-keilmesser-as-a-connecting-element-between-similar-middle-paleolithic-assemblages-from-the-cote-chalonnaise-saone-et-loire-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the Technological Feature of Tranchet Blow on Keilmesser as a Connecting Element Between Similar Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the C\u00f4te Chalonnaise (Sa\u00f4ne-et-Loire, France)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nJens Axel Frick1,2<\/sup>, Klaus Herkert1,3<\/sup>, Christian Thomas Hoyer1,2<\/sup>, Harald Floss1,2,3<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval Archaeology, Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of T\u00fcbingen, Germany
\n2<\/sup> Projet collectif de recherche (PCR) \u201cLe Pal\u00e9olithique sup\u00e9rieur ancien en Bourgogne m\u00e9ridionale\u201d associated with UMR 6298 ARTeHIS at the Universit\u00e9 de Bourgogne, Dijon, France
\n3<\/sup> DFG CRC 1070 \u201cRessourcenKulturen\u201d B01, University of T\u00fcbingen, Germany<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Abstract<\/h2>\n

This article examines lithic artifacts which, because of a particular modification, may be considered a shared feature of late Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the Sa\u00f4ne-et-Loire Department in eastern France. There, the modification of the cutting edges referred to as tranchet blow was first described in detail in the 1970s using the lithic material from Grotte de la Verpilli\u00e8re I, which was excavated in 1868. However, research carried out in recent years has shown that this tranchet blow modification on Keilmesser<\/span> is not confined to this site; in fact, it also occurs at several surrounding sites. Thus, the tranchet blow modification can be seen as a specific regional phenomenon. Research on Keilmesser<\/span> and the tranchet blow modification brings us face to face with the problem of terminology. It is not the linguistic barrier that is important here, but rather the use of different terms and very different spellings in the literature. This makes the search for further assemblages featuring this phenomenon considerably more difficult. In this context, a technological and terminological rethink is called for.<\/p>\n

In previous studies, the similarity between burin blow and tranchet blow modification was highlighted. It has recently been more often assumed that the technological prerequisites of these two reduction variants can be regarded as similar but nevertheless different. This article addresses these technological concerns in a general overview and proposes a coherent standardized terminology using the more neutral term \u201cKeilmesser<\/span>\u201d with the addition of the qualifier \u201cwith tranchet blow.\u201d Furthermore, regional research on Keilmesser<\/span>, and related tranchet blow modification, is described and the initial results of recent studies on the suggested technological clustering of Middle Paleolithic behavior in Sa\u00f4ne-et-Loire are presented.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Ongoing research on the Middle Paleolithic, conducted within the framework of Paleolithic projects in southern Burgundy, offers new evidence to help build hypotheses regarding Middle Paleolithic settlement patterns and assemblage characteristics.<\/p>\n

This paper focuses on enigmatic tools from Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the northern part of the Sa\u00f4ne-et-Loire Department in eastern France (see Fig. 1), in the area known as the C\u00f4te Chalonnaise.<\/p>\n

Deriving from old surface collections housed in museums and institutions, and from recent fieldwork, the lithic assemblages studied were selected because they contain Keilmesser<\/span> with specific cutting-edge modifications. Known as tranchet blow, this modification is used to lower the edge angle and to produce a straight cutting edge that requires only minimal edge regularization. This contribution aims to describe the technical and technological characteristics of these tools, which we refer to as Keilmesser<\/span> with tranchet blow, from the C\u00f4te Chalonnaise.<\/p>\n

\"Relief<\/a>
Fig. 1a: Relief map of southern France showing the position of the C\u00f4te Chalonnaise between the Massif Central and the Morvan Massif on the western margin of the Bresse Basin (base map: NASA, SRTM 2000, www.pacha-cartographie.com).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Relief<\/a>
Fig. 1b: Relief map of the C\u00f4te chalonnaise in the North of the Sa\u00f4ne-et-Loire department showing the position of the sites that have yielded Keilmesser<\/span> with tranchet blow (map: IGN France 2016; mapping: C. T. Hoyer).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We examine the confusing diversity of terms used in European lithic studies to refer to Keilmesser<\/span> with tranchet blow and the tranchet blow modification itself, and we follow this with a systematic distinction to other modification systems.<\/p>\n

Since little is known about these highly characteristic tools and their modification, which date to the Middle Paleolithic in this region, we have carried out related historical research on important previous regional studies of these tools. The preliminary results of technological studies, which examine the production process with regard to equifinality and permutation of working stages, are presented, demonstrating the high variability of Keilmesser<\/span> featuring the tranchet blow concept.<\/p>\n

In 2017, we identified n=54 such lithic tools and successively analyzed them with regard to the succession of working stages, their equifinality (What kind of matrix was used? How was the desired tranchet blow stage reached?), the flexibility and exchangeability of working stages and maintenance processes. In this regard, the material from Grotte de la Verpilli\u00e8re I provides the bulk of the data with n=44 Keilmesser<\/span> with tranchet blow and n=55 tranchet blow blanks. As refitting was not possible, the data derive from single piece analyses.<\/p>\n

Keilmesser<\/span> (Nomenclature and Morphological Definition)<\/h2>\n

Diversity in Keilmesser<\/span> nomenclature<\/h3>\n

The great diversity of names assigned to asymmetrically (mostly bifacially) backed knives or Keilmesser<\/span> (KM in singular and KMs in plural form) makes it difficult to identify these pieces from published sources. A recent survey identified over 20 terms used to refer to them, and if we include names assigned to objects possessing a tranchet blow negative, then nearly 40 names occur in the reviewed literature (Frick et al. 2017b). The following list, arranged chronologically, provides an overview of this diversity, but is by no means exhaustive:<\/p>\n