The Aterian at Ifri n’Ammar from a functional perspective

In this paper we will resume the results of a detailed functional analysis performed on the assemblage from the rock shelter of Ifri n’Ammar. The site is located in the eastern Moroccan Rif and has been settled periodically since ~170 ka. The entire assemblage has first been screened in Morocco and based on the state of preservation, the selected pieces, representative of all tool morphologies were subsequently exported for a detailed study at the TraceoLab.
For the analysis of the stone tools, a technological study was combined with a functional approach that included the analysis of wear traces and residues in association with an experimental program. This integrated approach permitted the identification of knapping strategies (i.e., hammer used), tool use and hafting and an understanding could thus be obtained of the technological choices, subsistence strategies and the non-preserved organic components. Based on the technological observations of the Aterian tanged tools, a specific experimental program has also been performed to verify different hypotheses on manufacture, use and hafting. After the reproduction of the tanged tools, potentially available hafting systems were tested to examine the relevance of the Aterian tang for hafting and its effect on tool use. Based on the observed wear features and residues on the archaeological tanged and non-tanged tools, analysed using different optical microscopic techniques, further experiments have been designed to gain better insights about their life cycle and finally to build onto broader discussion about the Aterian technocomplex.