Notes on Early Acheulian Stone Tools: Constitutive Operations and Analogies of the Soul

Early Acheulian bifaces appear to be characterized by seven basic operations. After a brief description of each operation, I propose how the pattern of that operation had the capacity to serve as an analogue for a concept of the soul that could be expressed both in self-concept (selfobject) and interpersonal relations (object relations). 1. A 'core' is flaked and the flake is trimmed, in turn, to become a 'core' which, in turn, may be used as a source of flakes. There is a return or restoration of the 'core'. The flake is treated like a core. In a sense this is a reduplication of the Oldowan pebble at the meta-level or next higher level of abstraction as a flake transformed into a core. • Concept of 'renewal, re-presencing, restoration, and reparation of the core'. Building upon the Classic Oldowan spiritual concept of 'sustaining core-essence', the Early Acheulians develop the thematic 'restoration of the sustaining core-essence.' 2. Feature derived from Developed Oldowan A: 'orientation of flake', by verticality, top and bottom, and secondarily horizontality, left and right. • #2 combined with #1 yields concept of 'restoration or reparation of the core with orientation, uprightness (verticality) and balance (horizontality).' 3. Concept of interval, or constant quantity of space, used with an internal reference (Wynn 1989:58-61), as with respect to internal central point (e.g., very circular discoids, very spherical spheroids) or internal midline (e.g., bifaces). • Concept of 'internal central point, internal reference, inward dimension'. 4. Apply, elemental themes from the 2X4 matrix of oppositions, which is my paraphrase summary of Wynn. Wynn observes: " [a basic notion] was that of two dimensional shape. By this I mean simple curves, projections, concavities, and so on " (1989:58-61). 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.