Raw materials, technology and use-wear analysis of scrapers and points of the rock shelter of Benzú

Abstract

The rock shelter of Benzú, located in the Atlantic-Mediterranean geohistorical region of North Africa and the vicinity of the Strait of Gibraltar, presents a deep stratigraphic sequence dated, using various techniques, to a Middle and Late Pleistocene geo-archaeological context. We present a functional study of the site's Mode 3-Middle Palaeolithic scrapers and points, evaluating the raw materials, the technology and the use of these products. It is confirmed that these artefacts present no major differences in terms of use, being used as scrapers to process meat, hides, wood and fish, results which rule out the use of the points as projectiles. This suggests that they were used for domestic purposes, and sheds light on the use of Mode 3-Middle Palaeolithic technology in North Africa.