An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s4.10

v1.c9.s4.10

The hallmark of the Upper Palaeolithic technology was the production of blades from prismatic cores. The selected raw material, in the form of nodules or pebbles or tabular pieces, was initially dressed apparently with a cylinder hammer. For dressing the core flakes were struck off from different directions, as is observable in the cross and parallel negative scars on the primary core-dressing flakes and some of the first detached blades. After dressing one or both ends of the core were trimmed on the horizontal axis to facilitate a suitable platform, but not necessarily in all cases. After dressing blades were struck off along the perimeter with a soft hammer and by direct percussion. It is likely that an intermediate punch was used in some cases. The process of detaching blades along the perimeter was repeated several times until the core got exhausted. Several core-rejuvenation flakes (or core tablets) and plunging blades found at some of the workshop centres show that both the striking platform and the body of the core were reworked a few times, to get the maximum production of blades from a single core. There are also instances, particularly when raw material of crypto-crystalline silica was used, indicating that even thick flakes were used as cores for blade production. These blades, strictly speaking blade blanks, were eventually finished by backing, nibbling and pressure retouch into a variety of tool types such as backed points, pen-knives, scrapers, shouldered points, etc. Burins were produced by the removal of minute spalls at the business end and were made on blade, flake and split core. Scrapers, points and awls were made on flake, flake-blade and nodule. The backed tools must have been hafted with bone or wood to make composite tools.