An experimental investigation into the nature of faceted limestone "spheroids" in the early palaeolithic

At some Early Palaeolithic sites (e.g. Ain Hanech, Algeria and el 'Ubeidiya, Israel), archaeologists have uncovered interesting and enigmatic artefact forms that have received special attention. These are the faceted limestone "spheroids" (sometimes called "boules à facettes" or "boules polyédriques"). These artefacts, usually between 5 and 10 cm in maximum dimension and weighing between 250 and 1000 g, are characterized by their roughly globular shape and the numerous flake scars on their exterior surface. Previous interpretations of these forms have suggested that they are intentionally shaped tools representative of an evolved "Pebble Tool" stage. Recent experimental replicative and functional studies of artefacts from the Oldowan site of A in Hanech in north-east Algeria have demonstrated that these limestone forms may simply be very exhausted cores from flake production. These experiments also highlight that there is a continuum from simple limestone core forms (choppers, polyhedrons) to these heavily reduced cores (spheroids) in the process of core reduction, with the heavily reduced faceted spheroids fairly rare in the overall archaeological assemblage at Ain Hanech. © 1997 Academic Press Limited.