An Amudian Oddity: A Giant Biface from Late Lower Palaeolithic Qesem Cave

Abstract

The paper reports the discovery of an extraordinary flint implement—a large biface—and discusses its significance in the context of Qesem Cave in particular and the late Lower Palaeolithic Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex of the Levant in general. We contend that this unusually large biface was discarded in an unfinished and unused state, most probably due to a collapse event that took place at the cave some 280,000 years ago.