The function and role of bifaces in the Late Middle Paleolithic of southwestern France: Examples from the Charente and Dordogne to the Basque Country

Several recently analyzed assemblages with a relatively significant bifacial component from the Charente, Dordogne and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departements show certain similarities or important differences. In characterizing the coexistence of flake production and bifacial-shaping, we attempt to reveal to what extent and in which ways certain bifacial tools stand out. When combined with technological and cognitive considerations, this approach provides new insights on an important behavioral facet of Neanderthal groups who occupied the Aquitaine Basin after the Last Interglacial.