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The handaxe is an iconic stone tool form used to define and symbolise both the Acheulean and the wider Palaeolithic. There has long been debate around the extent of its morphological variability between sites, and the role that extrinsic factors (especially raw material, blank type, and the extent of resharpening) have played in driving this variability, but there has been a lack of high-resolution examinations of these factors in the same study. In this paper, we present a 2D geometric morphometric analysis of 1097 handaxes from across Africa, the Levant, and western Europe to examine the patterning of this variability and what it can tell us about hominin behaviour. We replicate the findings of previous studies, that handaxe shape varies significantly between sites and entire continental regions, but we find no evidence for raw material, blank type, or resharpening in determining this pattern. What we do find, however, is that markers of reduction trajectory vary substantially between sites, suggesting that handaxes were deployed differently according to hominin need at a given site. We argue this is reflective of a continuum of reduction strategies, from those focused on the maintenance of a sharp cutting edge (i.e. direct use in cutting activities), to those focused on maintaining tip shapes, and perhaps a corresponding production of flakes. Implications for hominin behavioural flexibility are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Clark et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Simple Summary: This paper looks at past relationships between humans and certain wild animal species, that is, raptors, bears, beavers, and elks. As we have observed, it was the behaviour of animals that caught the attention of humans, such as spectacular flights and hunting by raptors, the similarities in bear and human behaviour, the fascinating impressiveness and charisma of elks, and the landscape-shaping by enigmatic beavers. All these animals have special meanings to humans far beyond their economic significance. Wild goshawks, falcons, and other raptor species have acted as trained hunting companions, but they were never domesticated and had to be treated with care. As for bear, beaver, and elk, there were often complex rituals before, during, and after the killing, because there was no clear separation between humans and animals. The animals were not just prey but equal beings and other-than-human persons. However, there were also changes over time in the human–animal relationship, such as the advent of the farming way of life with a preference for domesticated animals, as well as the arrival of Christianity, by which animals became second to human. Humans have developed a special relationship with some animal species throughout history, even though these animals were never domesticated. Based on raptors, bears, beavers, and elks, the question of whether there are similarities between the perception of these animals that triggered a special kind of fascination in humans and how the relationship between humans and these animals changed between Mesolithic age and medieval times is addressed. As we demonstrate, the categorical antagonism between 'animal' and 'human' is a concept that saw different kinds of influence, from the advent of sedentarism and husbandry to Christianity and from philosophical thinking in Classical Antiquity and the Period of Enlightenment. In prehistory and early history, we find different, opposing world views across time, cultures, and periods. Differences between animals and humans have been considered as fluid, and humans have had to engage with animals and their needs. The well-known and famous 'bear ceremonies' attested to different peoples and times were not unique, but were a part of belief systems that also included other animal species. Among the considered animals, certain raptor species attracted the attention of humans who tried to establish contact with them, as companions, whereas bears were almost 'disguised humans' due to all their similarities with humans, but they were also tabooed beings whose real names had to be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews archaeological research on the transmission of writing knowledge between literate and pre-literate societies. It proposes the use of productive approaches, such as cultural epidemiology and cultural attraction theory (CAT). The case study focuses on East-Central Europe and discusses the role of writing in the construction of social group identity and the transition from local communities with a prehistoric mindset to a historically acting society during the first millennium AD. The study collects relevant archaeological records of Early Mediaeval writing and explains them using reflective archaeology. It is shown that interactions between literate and pre-literate societies are highly complex social processes that function not only at the cultural and cognitive levels of individuals but also among larger groups of people. By combining cultural attraction theory with empirical archaeological data, this study formulates a conclusive explanation for the introduction of writing among Europe's Slavic-speaking population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]