An evaluation of behaviours considered indicative of skill in handaxe manufacture

This paper outlines the results of bivariate correlations made between quantifiable criteria considered indicative of skilled behavior in handaxe technology using a randomised sample from four British Middle Pleistocene sites. The statistical significance and strength of the relationships between these criteria — thinness, edge straightness and asymmetry — is used to ascertain their utility when discussing observable skilled behaviours. Significant correlations between said criteria would provide foundations for investigating, quantifiably, the spectrum of skill present in archaeological handaxe assemblages, potentially elucidating products of skilled and unskilled knappers with future study. Results show that handaxes exhibiting superior thinning in the main display straighter cutting edges but less frequently greater symmetry. In addition, we retest Gowlett’s (2011) finding that handaxe breadth/length ratio is concomitant with its length and not necessarily aesthetic preferences relating to a ‘Golden Ratio’ (Pope et al. 2006). Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between breadth/length ratio and asymmetry. Full reference: Hutchence, L. & Debackere, S. 2018. An evaluation of behaviours considered indicative of skill in handaxe manufacture. Lithics: the journal of the Lithic Studies Society 39: 36–51. Keywords: Biface, hominin, AS-check, refinement, edge straightness, asymmetry. Supplementary material: AS-check : PDF .