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Archaeologists have described five types of pointed stone tools, which 80-40 thousand years ago were used by Neanderthals who inhabited the Mezmai cave in the south of the Krasnodar Territory (in the Northwestern Caucasus). The authors conducted a statistical comparative analysis of these groups, which showed significant differences between them. The tools differ not only in proportions, but also in the degree of processing and symmetry, and could be used for different purposes: as hunting weapons — spearheads, as well as in everyday life — as scrapers and knives. The work helps to better understand how ancient people processed stone and what types of tools were used in everyday life and for hunting. The results of the study, supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RNF), are published in the journal of Lithic Technology. The Mezmai cave in the Northwestern Caucasus is a valuable archaeological site, since Neanderthals lived in it 80-40 thousand years ago, and scientists find numerous artifacts left by ancient people here. Stone tools of labor and hunting, jewelry, and animal bones allow researchers to study the lifestyle of Neanderthals, as well as to trace the development of culture and stone processing technologies. Archaeological finds in the Mezmai cave indicate that its ancient inhabitants belonged to the Mycenaean cultural tradition, which was widespread in central and eastern Europe. The Mikok culture is characterized by the manufacture of convergent tools — such stone tools whose side faces converge at one point, so that a pointed shape close to a triangle is obtained. These include small wide choppers, leaf-shaped tips, angular scrapers and pointy tips. Scientists from the ANO "Laboratory of Prehistory" (St. Petersburg) and the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) (St. Petersburg) studied convergent tools in the Mezmai cave to understand the reason for the variety of forms of these tools. The authors analyzed the size and shape of 188 artifacts discovered during excavations in 1987-1997, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2011. Then, based on the size, type of symmetry, proportions of the tools, as well as the type of processing of their edges, the archaeologists divided all the tools into five groups. The first group included short symmetrical guns, whose length was almost equal to the width, and both side faces were retouched (corrected with small chips). The instruments of the second group had a more elongated shape — their length was more than 1.5 times the width. The edges of such instruments also converged symmetrically to the pointed end and were retouched. The authors note that some artifacts attributed to this group resemble wide triangular small switches typical of the Mycenaean sites of central and eastern Europe. The instruments, whose length was more than twice the width, were assigned to the third group by scientists. The edges of such products have been retouched. The proportions of the tools of the fourth group did not differ much from the artifacts of the third group, but their edges were less processed. Researchers believe that these pointed tools were created by ancient people as tips of hunting weapons for short-term (possibly one-time) use during hunting. The last, fifth group included the shortest asymmetric guns, the edges of which, although they were retouched, but in different ways. One edge resembled a sharp cutting surface, while the other, on the contrary, was blunted. Such a different type of processing may indicate that these tools performed some kind of function different from all the other described tools. They may have served as knives, scrapers or scrapers in economic activities. To accurately determine their function, it is necessary to examine in detail the traces left on the surface of the tools during use. "The data we have obtained generally allow us to better understand what the tools of ancient people were like, how tools were designed, how products were modified within different shapes. For the first time, a comparative analysis of a number of features was carried out for these materials, which showed that the differences previously observed only on the basis of visual characteristics are not accidental, and the groups of tools differ at a statistically significant level. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to study the traces of use on the surface of the guns, since they are not always preserved. In this regard, the preservation of products in the Mezmai cave, unique for the Middle Paleolithic, allows for various types of analyses and obtaining new data on the shape and function of products, which can then be adapted for the reconstruction of materials from other monuments," says Lyubov Golovanova, head of the project supported by the RNF grant, Chief researcher at the ANO Laboratory of Prehistory. PHOTO: Convergent tools from the Mezmai cave. Source: ANO "Laboratory of Prehistory" Information and photos provided by the press service of the Russian Science Foundation Information taken from the portal "Scientific Russia" (https://scientificrussia.ru /)