Sonja TOMASSO
Title
What is new in the Aterian? A functional view on tool use, hafted stone tool technologies and assemblage variability at Ifri n’Ammar within the context of the Northwest African Middle Stone Age
Supervisor
V. ROTS
Jury
P. NOIRET (ULiège), R. SALA (IPHES, Spain), R. NESPOULET (MNHN, France), I. GROMAN-YAROSLASKI (Univ. Haifa, Israel)
Defended on
25/06/2021
Summary
This thesis presents the results of a functional study undertaken on the lithic collection from Ifri n'Ammar (Morocco). The stratified rockshelter has yielded an assemblage where emblematic Aterian tanged tools are present among other tool morphologies and technological features typical of the North African Middle Stone Age. The entire lithic assemblage was studied using a strategy that combined exhaustive use-wear analysis with morpho-technological observations, residue analysis, and experimental research. This integrated approach gave valuable insights into lithic tool production, maintenance, hafting, and use at the site. The detailed functional observations helped reconstruct the perished organic component of the assemblage, which allowed discussing the lithic tools in the context of overall technological choices and raw material strategies employed at Ifri n'Ammar. These new perspectives contributed to a better understanding of long-term technological changes during the Middle and Late Pleistocene in North Africa.
