| Title: |
Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness
|
| Issue: |
J Archaeol Sci 34 (6) |
| Series: |
Journal of Archaeological Science
|
| Volume: |
34
(6)
|
| Page Start/End: |
883 - 893 |
| Biblio Note |
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please be aware that we cannot advise further on availability.
|
| Publication Type: |
Journal
|
| Abstract: |
The morphology of Acheulean handaxes continues to be a subject of debate amongst Lower Palaeolithic archaeologists, with some arguing that many handaxes are over-engineered for a subsistence function alone. The study aims to provide an empirical foundation for these debates by testing the relationship between a range of morphological variables, including symmetry, and the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery. Sixty handaxes were used to butcher thirty fallow deer by both a professional and a non-professional butcher. Regression analysis on the resultant data set indicates that while frontal symmetry may explain a small amount of variance in the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery, a large percentage of variance remains unexplained by symmetry or any of the other morphological variables under consideration. |
| Year of Publication: |
2007
|
| Subjects / Periods: |
| Lower Palaeolithic (Auto Detected Temporal) |
|
| Source: |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
|
| Relations: |
|
| Created Date: |
03 Dec 2007 |
