Stone tool hafting and use in the European Upper Palaeolithic: first results from Hohle Fels

European Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages have been so far defined largely on a typological or technological basis, whereas extensive studies that would utilise the full potential of functional analysis have been few. In this poster, I will present the outline and first results of an ongoing PhD project dedicated to the variability in stone tool use and hafting in the Upper Palaeolithic of Central and Western Europe. Recent methodological developments have made possible the distinction between hafted and hand-held tools and the identification of different hafting modes in archaeological assemblages. The aim of my research is to understand the main developments and regional patterns in tool hafting and use in the Gravettian and Magdalenian, and evaluate their impact on lithic assemblage variability. The cave site Hohle Fels serves here as a case study, and the first results of the analysis of the site’s Gravettian material will be used to illustrate the potential of this kind of approach in the study of past human behaviour, cognition and culture.