Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness

Machin, A. J., Hosfield, R. T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6357-2805 and Mithen, S. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3391-7443 (2007) Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness. Journal of Archaeological Science, 34 (6). pp. 883-893. ISSN 0305-4403 doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2006.09.008

Abstract/Summary

The morphology of Acheulean handaxes continues to be a subject of debate amongst Lower Palaeolithic archaeologists, with some arguing that many handaxes are over-engineered for a subsistence function alone. This study aims to provide an empirical foundation for these debates by testing the relationship between a range of morphological variables, including symmetry, and the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery. Sixty handaxes were used to butcher 30 fallow deer by both a professional and a non-professional butcher. Regression analysis on the resultant data set indicates that while frontal symmetry may explain a small amount of variance in the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery, a large percentage of variance remains unexplained by symmetry or any of the other morphological variables under consideration.