A quantitative comparison of finds from open-air and cave sites in the Western European Middle Paleolithic

This study looks at quantitative differences and similarities in diversity of archaeological finds (stone tools and animal bone) at two categories of Western European Middle Paleolithic sites: open-air and cave/rockshelters. Specifically, it tests the null hypothesis that there are no differences in (1) artifact diversity as measured using the Bordes typology; (2) faunal diversity as measured by number of taxa; and (3) the percentages of stone tools that fall into the categories of either denticulates/notches or intensively retouched pieces. All analyses are based on regressions of diversity against assemblage size. For lithic assemblages, the H0 of no differences in find diversity between site types is rejected for lithics when the full Bordes typology is employed, but not when retouched-only pieces are analyzed (excluding Bordes' types 1-3, 5, 38, and 45-50). Faunal data are equivocal. The H0 is also rejected for the dimension of percentages of heavily-retouched tools, but not for denticulates/notches