Bone Industries of the Middle Palaeolithic of Eastern Europe and the Northern Caucasus

This paper provides for the first time an overview and comparison of Middle Palaeoliohic bone industries of two adjacent regions — Eastern Europe and the Northern Caucasus. The bone tools of Khotylevo I are newly introduced into scientific circulation, while a number of other important collections, including Barakaevskaya Cave, Staroselye Grotto and Rozhok I site, are considered at a new level of analysis. The composition and preservation of these collections make it possible to assess the main patterns of bone processing and use in the Middle Paleolithic of the two regions. The study analyzes various techniques of primary splitting and secondary processing, as well as the use of blank. The bone industries of Eastern Europe and the Northern Caucasus demonstrate a complex technology for the production of blanks, which may include splitting with a direct blow of a hammer, chopping with a stone tool and use of an organic intermediary tool. There are traces of secondary treatment of the blanks with periosteum removal and knapping. The blanks were used for retouching of stone artifacts and processing of hard and soft organic materials. The work highlights the breadth of the use of solid organic materials in the industries of this period, and also testifies to the commonality of technologies for their processing in different Paleolithic eras

Lithic technology · Middle Paleolithic · Middle Stone Age · Stone tool · Upper Paleolithic · Western europe · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Marine and environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology