Small artefacts for special activity? A better understanding of the variability within the Hummalian industry through lithic refitting, Hummal, Syria

Hummal, located in the El-Kowm area of Central Syria, is a reference site for the Palaeolithic in the interior Levant due to its archaeological sequence of deposits from the Lower to Upper Palaeolithic. The open-air site offers an exceptional opportunity to study patterns of continuity and variability within the lithic assemblages of its eponymous industry, the Hummalian. The particular lithic assemblage recovered from Layer 7 is the focus of an attempted refitting and provides the data used in the research presented here. The collected pieces allowed the reconstruction of several chipped stone tool manufacturing episodes and reveals details of the technological working processes and the life cycle of archaeological objects through this refitting. It alludes to, after the primary blade reduction, the manufacturing of small debitage pieces which in turn testifies to the technological variability within the Hummalian. Combined with other studies such as attribute analysis, distribution patterns and geomorphological analyses they contribute to a greater understanding of the occupational history of the site as well as site disturbance processes. Furthermore, the Hummalian is the part of the Early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) record and the presented refittings give evidence of the diverse technological behaviour of prehistoric humans not only within the Hummalian occupations themselves but also in comparison to other contemporary archaeological sites discovered in this and neighbouring regions. This case study contributes to the growing record of the EMP technological behaviour patterns and indicates the flexibility and dynamics of the technological organisation of prehistoric toolmakers from this period.