Bout-coupé
Bout-coupé is a term used by archaeologists to describe a type of handaxe that constituted part of the Mousterian industry of the Middle Palaeolithic.
The handaxes are bifacially-worked and in the shape of a rounded triangle. They are traditionally diagnostic of Neanderthal tool working.
In Britain, examples are found in river gravels from Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), a cold temperate period in the middle Devensian. There are no signs of human occupation during the warm Ipswichian interglacial, so the bout coupé handaxes indicate a Neanderthal re-colonisation of Britain around 50,000 years ago. However, they have been found as early as 60-65,000 years ago at the Lynford quarry site in Norfolk (Boismier, 2002: 56).
For more information on the presence and absence of Homo in Britain in the Pleistocene see the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) web site.
External links
Boismier, B, 2002. Lynford Quarry, A Neanderthal butchery site. 'Current Archaeology'. No. 182, Vol. 182 No. 2, November 2002.