A tradition of Middle Palaeolithic fire making inferred from microwear analysis

Abstract

We present here the first direct evidence for regular fire making by Neandertals. Isolated zones of macroscopic and microscopic traces suggesting repeated percussion and/or forceful abrasion with a hard mineral material were identified on dozens of large late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tools using microwear analytical techniques. These bifaces were curated tools used for relatively long periods of time, and therefore possess a higher probability of preserving traces from multiple uses, including more infrequent activities. Both the distribution and nature of the observed mineral polish and associated striations are in many respects comparable to those obtained experimentally by obliquely percussing fragments of pyrite (FeS2) against the flatter 'faces' of a biface to make fire. The striations are always oriented roughly parallel to the long axis of the tool and are in some cases crosscut by subsequent flake removals, together arguing against a taphonomic origin for these traces. Such a percussive method is effective at regularly producing sparks that are easily directed towards tinder material while leaving the edges of the tool sharp for other tasks. These directional percussive and frictive use wear traces are present on bifacial tools recovered from archaeological layers primarily attributed to the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) technoculture (ca. 50,000 years BP) at multiple sites throughout France. We discuss findings from five of these sites: Chez-Pinaud/Jonzac (Charente-Maritime) and Pech de l’Azé I, Fonseigner, Bout des Vergnes and Meyrals in the Dordogne-. The use of bifaces as strike-a-light tools is a technocultural feature shared among the MTA peoples that represents the ‘smoking gun’ attesting to Neandertal fire making capabilities.