Animal residues found on tiny Lower Paleolithic tools reveal their use in butchery
Stone tools provide a unique window into the mode of adaptation and cognitive abilities of Lower
Paleolithic early humans. The persistently produced large cutting tools (bifaces/handaxes) have long
been an appealing focus of research in the reconstruction of Lower Paleolithic survival strategies, at
the expenses of the small flake tools considered by-products of the stone production process rather
than desired end products. Here, we use use-wear, residues and technological analyses to show direct