Innovations in Acheulean Biface production at la Noira (France) during Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe PAULA GARCIA MEDRANO (
[email protected] ) Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4574-1019 Jackie Despriée Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France Marie-Hélène Moncel Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France Research Article Keywords: Acheulean, technology, geometric morphometrics, handaxes, shaping strategies Posted Date: August 11th, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-146762/v2 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License Page 1/27 Abstract The archaeological sequence of la Noira (Centre region, France) yielded two phases of occupation: ca 700 ka (stratum a) and ca 450 ka (stratum c). No site between these two dates has yet been discovered in the area, and this chronological period has thus been interpreted as a gap in settlement from MIS 16 to MIS 12, two crucial phases of occupation in Western Europe, before and after the long glacial event MIS 12 which record the onset of the Acheulean in Europe and earliest evidence of innovations from MIS 12 considered as a shift in human evolution. Here, we compare these two levels and track technological innovations during this time, combining technological analysis with geometric morphometrics with the use of 3D models comparison of the Large Cutting Tools (LCTs). Stratum a yielded an Early Acheulean, one of the few evidence in Europe presents tools with mainly short shaping sequences on local millstone slabs, with special attention to tips, but with clear management of tool volume.