Preliminary Study on the Utilized Pebbles in the Paleolithic

Paleolithic people made and used tools from a variety of materials, including stone, bone, antler, and wood. In particular, based on stone tools found in Paleolithic sites, many researchers have made an effort to reveal the function of the site and the life and culture of the people. It has found not only cores, flakes, retouched tools, but also pebbles that were not retouched but had traces by use in Paleolithic sites. Although utilized pebbles have been continuously used in the Paleolithic, they have not been treated much as a subject of research. So we will try to understand various functions of utilized pebbles through use-wear analysis, experiments, and ethnographic research. There are many different types of utilized pebbles in Paleolithic sites, but they can be largely categorized as hammer stones, anvil stones, pitted stones, and ground stones. Hammer stones can be used alone or in combination with other tools. It is generally assumed that they were used to make stone tools, but they were used for a variety of purposes. Anvil stones were used alone as hammer stones for knapping big stones, or such as bipolar debitage in combination with hammer stones, or to crack bones or hard fruits. Pitted stones have the function of both a hammer and an anvil. Depending on the size and depth of the pits formed on the pebble, it can be assumed that it was used for various functions, such as making stone tools and breaking hard fruits, nuts. Ground stones have grinding or stripe traces on the surface, and it is likely that they were used to work with leather, bone, and antler. Utilized Pebbles had been used as tools by people for a long time since the Paleolithic and reflected the technology, activities, and culture of the people at that time. Various types of utilized pebbles, including hammer and anvil stones, have been identified in Paleolithic sites on the Korean Peninsula. If studies on the utilized pebbles are accumulated, it is expected that we have dynamic interpretations related to the technological and economic activities of Paleolithic people.