The heavy connection: Decline in heavy-duty tools correlates with megaherbivore disappearance in the Paleolithic Levant

Abstract

Early Paleolithic (ca. 2-0.2 mya) lithic assemblages are marked by the recurrent presence of diagnostic heavy-duty tool classes, namely, handaxes, chopping tools, cleavers, core/massive scrapers and shaped stone balls. In the Levant, heavy-duty technologies disappear almost entirely after the Lower-Middle Paleolithic transition, which coincides with major developments in novel light-duty toolkits and technological innovations. In this study, we sought a possible connection between these significant changes in lithic technologies and local animal taxa availability fluctuations. The results indicate that departure from heavy-duty technologies co-occurred with a significant drop in the relative abundance, NISP distribution, and contribution to biomass of megaherbivores (>1000 kg) after the Lower Paleolithic. Concurrently, the presence and availability of smaller prey increased during Middle Paleolithic times and peaked during the Upper Paleolithic. We suggest that Levantine Early Paleolithic heavy-duty tools were involved, first and foremost, in animal processing and were linked to a subsistence centered around the exploitation of megaherbivores, while curated light-duty toolkits emerged in response to a growing reliance on smaller prey. Stability in heavy-duty production may have persisted in other regions where common large prey remained available for longer periods.