Levallois Technology: 3D Analysis of African Middle Stone Age Prepared Cores

Middle Stone Age lithic cores from five African sites are analyzed using 3D computational methods to quantify variability in prepared core technology. The dataset provides metrics on core preparation, recurrence, and exhaustion, challenging discrete typological classifications. It supports research into hominin technological decision-making, investment, and flexibility during this period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing continuous variability in core preparation and exhaustion metrics to test typological boundaries.
• Modeling hominin technological decision-making and investment based on 3D core morphology.
• Comparing prepared core techno-morphology across different Middle Stone Age sites in Africa.

Strengths

• Applies a bespoke set of 3D computational methods to directly quantify Levallois criteria.
• Samples prepared cores from five distinct African Middle Stone Age sites, providing comparative context.
• Dataset is openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0, facilitating reuse and sharing.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count are not provided in the available metadata, limiting understanding of data structure.
• The dataset size is given as 29683 (likely in kilobytes), but the exact composition of this size is unclear.
• Relies on inference for data type; the primary file format is XLSX, suggesting tabular data.

Provenance

Source

Authored by Antoine Muller, based on analysis of cores from five African MSA sites.

Collection Method

Bespoke 3D computational methods applied to a diverse sample of archaeological lithic cores.

Time Range

Middle Stone Age (African Middle Palaeolithic).

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-20.

Geography

Africa (specifically, five Middle Stone Age sites on the continent).