Statut fonctionnel de l'outillage bifacial dans les industries du Paléolithique moyen

Functional status of the bifacial tools in the Middle Palaeolithic: methodological proposals : Biface technology occupies an important place in Middle Palaeolithic industries, however it is still often approached from the single angle of typology and always independently of the non-biface technology witch it shares with the flintworkers' range. We propose here a techno-functional treatment of bifacial and non-bifacial implements with the aim of establishing their relationships, as much technical as functional. This route seems to us basic to tacking the status of bifacial technology in Middle Palaelolithic industries. To illustrate this approach we base ourselves on the study of the Mesvin IV industry (Belgium).