The Palaeolithic of Sehremuz near Samsat on the Euphrates River. Summary of the Excavation Findings and a Morphology of the Handaxes

Abstract

The Sehremuz site is a handaxe site in Eastern Anatolia, well documented from a gravel in situ. The material belongs to a later Acheulean and could be dated within the range from the last cooler periods before or the first after the Eemian. A decision can not be made in that respect in face of the open questions connected with the chronostratigraphy of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Pleistocene between 150 000 and 80 000 years ago. The functional morphology of the handaxes on the basis of their complete three-dimensional shape is proposed as a new approach.