Early Acheulian & Developed OldowanB / a)earlyacheulianmatrix

As described in Notes Toward an Early Acheulian Stone Tools Logic Model: Constitutive Operations and Analogies of the Soul, Early Acheulian tool makers appear to use a set of elemental shape oppositions in making bifaces and other tools. The table below summarizes the archaeologist T. Wynn's identification of basic shape oppositions (T. Wynn. (1989). The Evolution of Spatial Competence. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press). Wynn observes: "[a basic notion] was that of two dimensional shape. By this I mean simple curves, projections, concavities, and so on" (58-61). Given apparent straight edges on cleavers, that are actually—as Wynn notes—natural and due to breaking away of flake on natural cleavage lines, I have added the opposition between a natural edge and an intentionally trimmed edge. This yields a 2X4 matrix of oppositions as shown below.

Illustration © James B. Harrod