Techno-functional analysis of small recycled flakes from Late Acheulian Revadim (Israel) demonstrates a link between morphology and function

Revadim is a multi-layered Late Acheulian site in the Levant which has yielded rich lithic assemblages comprising dozens of handaxes, as well as many thousands of other items, mostly flakes. The techno-functional study presented here focuses on Layer C3, the densest layer at the site in terms of flint artefacts and animal bones. The lithic assemblage is characterized by an intense production of flakes, including a specific lithic recycling trajectory oriented towards the production of small flakes from existing flakes (Cores-On-Flakes). In this study, two categories of artefacts are sampled: the flakes used as cores for the production of new blanks (termed here COF-FFs) and the small flakes produced from them (termed BPFCs or products of recycling). Use-wear analysis conducted mainly at a low magnification, combined with residue analysis and a typo-technological characterization of the artefacts demonstrated that the small flakes produced from these COF-FFs were the desired end-products of this lithic trajectory, with a rather high percentage of used items while the COFs were rarely used, confirming their role as cores. The characterization of the used edges suggests a correlation between the activities performed and the different types of small flakes produced. Our results demonstrate the existence of a well-defined link between small flakes form and functionality, highlighting the capability of the Revadim Lower Paleolithic hominins to produce artifacts with pre-determined size, morphology, and specific utilizable edge features, suitable for the execution of anticipated targeted tasks.