A statistical comparison of Aurignacian and Mousterian assemblages

There are four archaeological strata at Le Trou Magrite, two identified as Aurignacian and two as Mousterian. The goal of this analysis is to compare the lithic components of each pair of strata in order to identify similarities and differences with respect to raw materials utilized, kinds of debitage produced on different raw materials or by potentially different techniques (e.g., flake versus blade blank production and use), and kinds of tools produced. This study demonstrates similarities between and variability within technological aspects of typologically-defined industries, which may be affected by factors related to quality and abundance of different kinds of raw materials.