Roe Line
Encyclopedia
The Roe Line is a suggested distinction between two forms of prehistoric stone tool named in honour of the archaeologist Derek Roe
by Clive Gamble and Gilbert Marshall.
The line runs across North Africa to Israel and then to India and separates two different techniques used by Acheulean
toolmakers from the Lower Palaeolithic. North and east of the Roe Line, Acheulean hand-axes were made directly from large stone nodules and cores
whilst to the south and west they were made from flakes
stuck from these nodules.
This distinction between flake (débitage) and nodule/core (façonage) distribution is suggested as a replacement for the Movius Line
which has looked doubtful since discoveries made in East Asia since the 1980s. The débitage industries made biface
s including cleavers
from flake blanks. Further north, the façonage industries produced more pointed bifaces and exercised a greater degree of control over their tools. Débitage tools are found as islands in façonage regions and the line can only differentiate between continuous distributions over wider areas.
Its developers have suggested it as a replacement for the Movius Line
.
Derek Roe
Derek Roe is a British archaeologist most famous for his work on the Palaeolithic period.Educated at St Edward's School in Oxford he undertook his National Service with the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Intelligence Corps in Berlin. He went on to study Archaeology and Anthropology at Peterhouse,...
by Clive Gamble and Gilbert Marshall.
The line runs across North Africa to Israel and then to India and separates two different techniques used by Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
toolmakers from the Lower Palaeolithic. North and east of the Roe Line, Acheulean hand-axes were made directly from large stone nodules and cores
Lithic core
In archaeology, a lithic core is a distinctive artifact that results from the practice of lithic reduction. In this sense, a core is the scarred nucleus resulting from the detachment of one or more flakes from a lump of source material or tool stone, usually by using a hard hammer percussor such...
whilst to the south and west they were made from flakes
Lithic flake
In archaeology, a lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure," and may also be referred to as a chip or spall, or collectively as debitage. The objective piece, or the rock being reduced by the removal of flakes, is known as a core. Once the proper...
stuck from these nodules.
This distinction between flake (débitage) and nodule/core (façonage) distribution is suggested as a replacement for the Movius Line
Movius Line
The Movius Line is a theoretical line drawn across northern India first proposed by the American archaeologist Hallam L. Movius in 1948 to demonstrate a technological difference between the early prehistoric tool technologies of the east and west of the Old World.Movius had noticed that assemblages...
which has looked doubtful since discoveries made in East Asia since the 1980s. The débitage industries made biface
Biface
In archaeology, a biface is a two-sided stone tool and is used as a multi purposes knife, manufactured through a process of lithic reduction, that displays flake scars on both sides. A profile view of the final product tends to exhibit a lenticular shape...
s including cleavers
Cleaver (tool)
In archaeology, a cleaver is a name given to a type of biface stone tool of the Lower Palaeolithic.Cleavers are a little like hand axes. They are large and oblong or U-shaped tools meant to be held in the hand, but unlike hand axes, they have a wide, straight cutting edge running at right angles...
from flake blanks. Further north, the façonage industries produced more pointed bifaces and exercised a greater degree of control over their tools. Débitage tools are found as islands in façonage regions and the line can only differentiate between continuous distributions over wider areas.
Its developers have suggested it as a replacement for the Movius Line
Movius Line
The Movius Line is a theoretical line drawn across northern India first proposed by the American archaeologist Hallam L. Movius in 1948 to demonstrate a technological difference between the early prehistoric tool technologies of the east and west of the Old World.Movius had noticed that assemblages...
.