Identification by the experiment of the percussion with the striker of limestone with the average Paleolithic: the case of the shaping of bifacial scrapers Quina of Chez Pinaud (Jonzac, Charente-Maritime)

Several 'limestone balls' were discovered during recent excavation of the Quina layers at Chez Pinaud, Jonzac. Some of these objects show percussion marks on their protruding parts. These objects were mainly interpreted in previous excavations as bolas, by analogy with ethnographic data. We created an experimental frame of reference in which analogous stone balls were used as hammers to shape Quina scrapers on bifacial blanks similar to the ones recovered at Jonzac, according to the operational schema deduced from the analyses of the Jonzac assemblage. We also used hammers made of quartzite, boxwood and deer antler. Comparison between experimental flakes shows that limestone hammer features are shared with quartzite and organic hammers. Only one feature, tight ripples on the first centimeters of the inferior face of flakes, is diagnostic of using a limestone hammer to shape bifacial Quina scrapers. In addition, we show that some feature associations are specific to each hammer type. Our study thus confirms the need to use limestone hammers in experimental frames of reference to diagnose hammer raw materials. Moreover, comparison with the archaeological sample shows that limestone hammers were used at Jonzac, as well as other types of hammer. The use of limestone as a hammer is here described for the first time in a context earlier than the Gravettian, and demonstrates the Neandertals' abilities to change their technical traditions by using a wide choice of the raw materials available in the immediate environment.