Curieuze vuistbijlachtigen van Rhenen (Utr.). Ook eens iets voor kinderen?

Samenvatting

Curious handaxe-like objects from Rhenen (Utrecht). Kids at last? Five handaxe-like objects from Rhenen are described. These are part of the Rhenen Industry (Acheulian), which can be placed in the Early Middle Palaeolithic because the Levallois technique is clearly in evidence. The Rhenen Industry certainly predates the Saalian ice cover, since the finds occur in river gravels that were pushed up by the ice. A rare find is a handaxe with a natural hole. A subtriangular Halbkeil is also remarkable. Two of the implements, a handaxe-like core and a ‘pic’ reveal poor-quality flaking, and the pic-like object also shows ‘face battering’ on both faces. These artefacts, as well as a micro-Levallois flake, are interpreted as specimens made by learners in the art of flintworking, i.e. children. A miniature handaxe, only 4.4 cm long, is provisionally interpreted as an instructive toy made by an adult. It is concluded that the possible occurrence of artefacts deriving from activities by children (learning, play) tends to be overlooked in Lower Palaeolithic archaeology.