Fig 1.
Map of the Cave site in the Ach Valley of the Swabian Jura, Southwestern Germany.
Fig 2.
Section through Hohle Fels Cave.
Fig 3.
(A) Calibrated radiocarbon ages of the Aurignacian stratigraphy of Hohle Fels Cave. Calibrated with Calpal-Hulu [13]. (B) Radiocarbon data of the Aurignacian stratigraphy of Hohle Fels Cave including its upper and lower boundaries. Calibrated with Calpal-Hulu [13]. The yellow borders indicated the most appropriate time-span of the respective archaeological horizons in relation to environmental information and absolute calibrated data of neighbouring horizons.
Fig 4.
Analyzed artefacts.
Table 1.
Analyzed artefacts.
Fig 5.
Core categories including formal tools with core function.
Fig 6.
Formal tool categories including bladelet cores.
Fig 7.
Investigated blanks including modified pieces (tools and cores on blanks).
Table 2.
Cores including formal tools with core function.
Table 3.
Hohle Fels AH IV. Formal tools including bladelet cores.
Table 4.
Investigated blanks including modified pieces (tools and cores on blanks).
Fig 8.
Explanation of the method.
Fig 9.
Blade cores. 1–2: unidirectional-parallel sub-prismatic blade cores; 3: unidirectional-convergent sub-cylindrical blade core; 4: opposed platform blade core, which was uni- and bidirectionally reduced from the prismatic main reduction face and the adjacent right lateral reduction face. Scale 1:2. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 10.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 1. Unidirectional-parallel blade core. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 11.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 2. Unidirectional-parallel blade core. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 12.
(A) Working Stage Analysis. Example 3. Unidirectional-convergent blade core. (B) Raw material unit of the unidirectional-convergent blade core and a blade with convergent outline, which fits on one negative. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 13.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 4. Opposed-platform blade core. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 14.
Example 5. Unidirectional-parallel flake core. The morphological features of the reduction face and of the carefully prepared flat striking platform are identical to the typical unidirectional-parallel sub-prismatic blade cores of the assemblage. Scale 1:1. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 15.
Hohle Fels Cave, AH IV (GH 7).
Target products of blade/flake production. Simple tools. 1: flake with stepped retouch; 2: simple burin on blade; 3: burin on truncation; 4: flat nosed endscraper with bilateral retouch & lamellar negatives; 5: carinated endscraper. Scale 1:1. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 16.
Modified blanks.
Fig 17.
Target products of blade production. Burin cores on blades and flakes. (A) 1: burin on truncation/ unidirectional bladelet core; 2: opposed platform unidirectional microblade core; 3: fragment of a multiple burin/ microblade core; 4: oblique burin/ microblade core. (B) 1: dihedral burin; 2: burin on truncation; 3: carinated burin; 4: busked burin; 5: flake with multiple lamellar burin blows. (C) 1–2: carinated/ nosed endscrapers on blades with small reduction faces for microblade production; 3: combined carinated endscrapers (proximal end) for the production of small curved/twisted microblades and dihedral burin (terminal end) for the production of long straight and on-axis twisted baldelets/microblades; 4: busked burin. Scale 1:1. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Table 5.
Lbs = lamellar burin spalls.
Fig 18.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 6. Busked burin: bladelet core.
Fig 19.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 7. Carinated endscraper / dihedral burin: opposed platform bladelet core.
Fig 20.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 8. Carinated/ multiple burin on blade: bladelet core.
Fig 21.
Working Stage Analysis. Example 9. Carinated burin on flake: bladelet core.
Fig 22.
Target products of bladelet production: bladelets, microblades, lamellar burin spalls. 1–3: bladelets; 4–9: microblades from burins; 10: lamellar burin spall with use traces at the terminal edges from borer-like usage; 11–16: microliths on lamellar burin spalls; 17–19: microblades from carinated/nosed endscrapers; 1, 5–6, 9, 14: crested lamellar blanks. Scale 1:1. Drawings: G. Bataille.
Fig 23.
Laminar and lamellar blanks. (A-B) Maximum width and thickness of striking butts. (C-D) Maximum width and thickness of blanks. (A-B) Blades (n = 25), bladelets / microblades (n = 103) & lamellar burin spalls (n = 64); (C-D) Blades (n = 110), bladelets (n = 24), microblades (n = 109), lamellar burin spalls (n = 231).
Table 6.
Laminar and lamellar blanks. Upper row: Maximum width and thickness of striking butts. Lower row: maximum width and thickness of laminar and lamellar blanks. 1: blades (bl; max. width >11.99 mm), 2: bladelets (blt; max. width 7–11.99 mm), 3: microblades (mi; max. width <7 mm), lamellar burin spalls (lbs; max. width <12 mm).
Fig 24.
Synthetic reduction scheme of blade production–unidirectional-parallel method.
Fig 25.
Laminar and lamellar blanks with preserved basal end. Butt type categories. 1. Blades (n = 70); 2. Bladelets (n = 19); 3. Microblades (N = 49); 4. Lamellar burin spalls (n = 91).
Table 7.
Laminar and lamellar blanks. Butt type categories. 1: blades (bl; max. width >11.99 mm), 2: bladelets (blt; max. width 7–11.99 mm), 3: microblades (mi; max. width <7 mm), lamellar burin spalls (lbs; max. width <12 mm).
Fig 26.
Laminar and lamellar blanks with preserved bulbs and lips. Bulbs and lips. Blades (n = 59); bladelets (n = 17); microblades (n = 57); lamellar burin spalls (n = 84).
Table 8.
Hohle Fels Cave, AH IV (GH 7).
Laminar and lamellar blanks with preserved bulbs and lips. Bulbs and lips. 1: blades (bl; max. width >11.99 mm), 2: bladelets (blt; max. width 7–11.99 mm), 3: microblades (mi; max. width <7 mm), lamellar burin spalls (lbs; max. width <12 mm).
Fig 27.
Laminar and lamellar blanks. Blank profiles. 1: blades (max. width >11.99 mm), 2: bladelets (max. width 7–11.99 mm), 3: microblades (max. width <7 mm), 4: lamellar burin spalls (max. width <12 mm). Blades (n = 208), bladelets (n = 65), microblades (n = 125) & lamellar burin spalls (n = 264).
Table 9.
Hohle Fels Cave, AH IV (GH 7).
Laminar and lamellar blanks. Blank profiles. 1: blades (bl; max. width >11.99 mm), 2: bladelets (blt; max. width 7–11.99 mm), 3: microblades (mi; max. width <7 mm), lamellar burin spalls (lbs; max. width <12 mm).
Fig 28.
Technological properties of flake, blade and bladelet/microblade production.
Fig 29.
Reduction angles of blade and burin-cores.
Table 10.
Reduction angles of blade and burin-cores.
Fig 30.
Operational chain of blade and bladelet production.