KEEP IT OR DISCARD IT? WHY THE NEANDERTHALS MADE TOOLS FROM SOME ROCKS

The adjustability of stone processing techniques to the kind and quality of accessible stone raw materials is an important factor of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool production. Middle Palaeolithic people mostly exploited local rocks, preferably of good quality, and yet in some sites, even located in flint-rich areas (like the Obłazowa Cave site discussed in the text). Neanderthals used rocks they found elsewhere, alongside locally sourced but quite unusual raw materials. These are rocks that are likely to crack or that are very soft, unsuitable for knapping and for later use as tools. The question that arises is, to what end were these rocks even processed? In the paper, the typological character of those artefacts, prepared from a variety of raw material (high-quality foreign rocks and low-quality local ones), and their place in the chaîne opératoire will be discussed.