Potentialities of the virtual analysis of lithic refitting: case studies from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic

Abstract

The knapping methods used between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic show a progressive technical refinement that usually implies, for blade technology, a higher conceptual level related to greater productive effectiveness and capacity of adaptation. The analysis of multiple refittings, providing direct information on core reduction modalities, can be useful in order to clarify these aspects, especially when the findings are framed in their respective finding contexts. In addition, the virtual analysis of multiple refittings can expand considerably the information baggage of these tools in order to infer information on the volumetric structuration of the reduction, the sequences productivity, and the analysis of the missing products (voids) within the refittings. All this allows to overcome the physical limitations typical of multiple refittings, making possible the full exploitation of their potentials. The two examined case studies, coming from different contexts of the northern Italian Paleolithic, allow to deepen the theoretical concepts and practical applications of discoid and laminar volumetric reduction, characterized by different technical and behavioral implications. The three-dimensional approach made possible to identify and reconstruct actions, expedients, objectives of the sequences, and the formation dynamics of finding contexts, highlighting technological behaviors directly related to the site’s function and the occupation length. Finally, a different degree of dependence on strictly ecological factors has been recognized for laminar and discoid technologies.