A crossed-glance between southern European and Middle-Near Eastern early Upper Palaeolithic lithic technocomplexes. Existing models, new perspectives.

The aim of this article is to offer a critically-oriented comparative crossed-glance at lithic industries from the South-West of Europe on the one hand, and the Near and Middle East on the other, with a particular emphasis on modes of bladelet production. Indeed, this type of production seems to be one of the key elements for understanding the transition from Middle Palaeolithic to Upper Palaeolithic. The objective of this contribution is to find a common ground for the vocabulary used to describe these productions. In this perspective, we propose an updated techno-typological classification of retouched bladelet armatures, based on the original definitions of known types. This first review opens the discussion on chronocultural models traditionally applied to the initial phases of the circum-Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic