Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic TY - JOUR JO - Anthropologie (Brno) TI - Conception of Lower Acheulian Tools. A Comparison of Three Sites on the Early Handaxe Culture and Its Aspect of Behaviour AU - Fiedler L Y1 - 1998 VL - 36 IS - 1-2 PB - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic SN - 0323-1119 SP - 69 EP - 84 KW - Techno-cultural network KW - Communication KW - Gene flow KW - Language KW - Socio-cultural identity KW - Human identity N2 - N2 - The Lower and Middle Acheulian is known from many sites between southern Africa, western Europe and south-eastern Asia. The handaxe usually is the tool type used to define this culture. But the Lower Acheulian has some more common traits: 1. An inventory of stone-tools consisting of handaxes, cleavers, picks, discoids, polyhedrons, side scrapers, denticulates, borers and small scrapers. 2. A concept of tool-making including the discoid core technique, the Kombewa technique and the biface flaking technique. 3. A concept of tool-making based more along the lines (step by step) of creating an end-product than on strong formal ideas of special types or standardisation 4. The possibility to use special assemblages selected from the Acheulian tool-kit for special activities. These common traits should be demonstrated by the three sites: Amguid in western Sahara, 'Ubeidiya in the Near East (Stekelis, Stekelis 1966/1969, Bar-Yosef, Goren-Inbar 1993) and Chirki-on-Pravara in India (Corvinus 1983). The distance from Amguid to Chirki is of about 8,000 km. What could the demonstrated similarity of types, inventories and concepts mean? 1. The Acheulian culture was a system or a network with transmission and feed-back of information. 2. The system had a strong tradition to be upheld by members of the social groups. 3. The tool-kit itself is a system corresponding with the social and behavioural system. 4. Types in a tool-kit are classified and designated for special duties. 5. Lower Acheulian tools were finished step-by-step on functional lines. Personal identity could be upheld by fulfilling traditional activities. 6. A classified cultural system can be held in the mind only by universal usage of common word symbols. ER -