Is the Soanian techno-complex a Mode 1 or Mode 3 phenomenon? A morphometric assessment

The Soanian is traditionally seen as one of the major (non-Acheulean) Palaeolithic techno-complexes of the Indian subcontinent. Over several decades comparisons of Soanian assemblages have been made with the non-bifacial industries of East Asia and north-west Europe. The chronological status and typo-technological relationship(s) of the Soanian to other Palaeolithic industries have been the subject of much debate. When first named and described the Soanian was considered to contain evidence of Mode 3 Levallois-style core reduction. However, in recent years, the potential Mode 3 component of the Soanian has largely been ignored, and the techno-complex is described under various guises as a core/flake or ‘Mode 1’ techno-complex. Here, a comparative morphometric assessment of selected Soanian cores and other Palaeolithic nuclei is undertaken, to test the hypothesis that this industry contains a definite Mode 3 Levallois element. Discriminant Function Analyses (DFA) of morphometric variables provide robust evidence that at least part of the Soanian techno-complex contains Mode 3 Levallois cores. The implications of these analyses for the relationship between the Soanian and the Acheulean, and the relevance of the Soanian in considerations of the Movius Line are also discussed.