By the Rivers of Bilate – Twisted Bifaces from Ethiopia

The facial retouched obsidian tools found in the river basin exhibit a sophisticated and unique technology resulting in twisted gyro symmetrical handaxes. So far similar concepts are known only from few other Acheulean sites worldwide. The assemblage was collected in 2011 and 2012 by a team of the CRC 806 – Our Way to Europe. At that spot the altitude is approximately 1500 m a.s.l. Starting at Mount Gurage in Central Ethiopia the Bilate River and its tributaries flow through parts of the Western Highlands along the Main Ethiopian Rift. To its west lies the upper Omo Basin. Finally, it opens into Lake Abaya. Among this prominent research areas, the catchment encompasses Mount Damota with the site Mochena Borago that is very important for Ethiopia’s palaeodemography. The poster focuses on the chaîne opératoire of the Bilate artefacts