Bipolar Slicing the Stone: Opportunistic Technologies in the Lower Palaeolithic of the Outer Carpathians
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2026.162.18
Keywords:
Lower Palaeolithic, Pleistocene, Outer Carpathians, lithic technologies, opportunism, bipolar on anvil technique, bipolar slicingAbstract
Introduction. The study seeks to identify the techno-morphological characteristics of newly discovered core-and-flake industries in the Outer Carpathians and to clarify their adaptive mechanisms in response to the properties of local raw materials. Its primary objective is to define the distinctive features of these local technological strategies and to establish their position within the broader framework of the European Lower Palaeolithic.
Methods. The research methodology combines: 1) technological analysis of the archaeological assemblages, and 2) experimental modelling conducted within a qualitative framework. Additionally, Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry was used to create detailed 3D models of artefacts to perform diacritical analyses aimed at reconstructing the operational sequences. Particular attention is given to the relationship between raw material, reduction strategy, and flake morphology, as these parameters directly reflect the behavioural and technological choices of early hominins inhabiting the region.
Results. The study revealed a specific strategy for processing local raw materials, based on the bipolar on anvil technique and the parallel fragmentation of stone blocks into elongated flakes with straight profiles, referred to as ‘citrons’ and ‘bars’. This method, termed ‘bipolar slicing’, played a key role in the Lower Palaeolithic industries of the Outer Carpathians.
Conclusions. The Solne 1 and Solne 2 assemblages represent a local variant of the Lower Palaeolithic technological tradition of the Eastern Carpathians, characterised by the application of bipolar slicing to local sandstone. Together with the Skhidnytsia locality, they form a coherent technological cluster that demonstrates regional specificity in raw material exploitation and reduction principles. These industries are closely related to several other Lower Palaeolithic sites in Ukraine, such as Medzhybizh, Holovchyntsi, and Velykyi Sholes, and are classified as core-and-flake industries.
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