Fülöp Éva – Cseh Julianna szerk.: „Die aktuellen Fragen des Mittelpaläolithikums in Mitteleuropa”. „Topical issues of the research of Middle Palaeolithic period in Central Europe”. Tata, 20-23 October 2003. (Tudományos Füzetek 12. Tata, 2004)

Viola T. Dobosi: Pebble tools from Tata-Porhanyó

Bifacial elaboration reaches nearly 40% in Tata. Bifacial elaboration could be applied only on the edges or on entire surfaces. This could be the reason why research was likely to affiliate the industry of the site to the Hungarian Middle and Upper Palaeolithic industries characterised by bifacial elaboration. From among the retouch types, the classical Middle Palaeolithic (around 60 degrees) stepped and surface retouches are the most frequent.

4 The above-mentioned WGK is characteristic of the archaic types. Lateral retouch is characteristic of the occasional edge retouching of flakes, while fan-shaped retouch appears on end-scrapers. Most of the flakes that were suitable for further elaboration were turned into tools, or at least they were retouched on a short stretch. The largest number (although not the most significant in its bulk) of finds contains the waste of reducing production technology from all the raw material types. Vértes made experiments with probability calculations at the elaboration of the finds in 1958-59. The scrapers and the scraper-knives build standard groups of finds, which can be well determined in themselves, "The statistical difference demonstrated between the two groups of finds certainly implies differences in planning, production and function."

5 The greatest controversy of the archaeological material of Tata appears in the measurements. The average measurement of the typologically perfect items does not surpass 30 mm. It is a veritable micro-industry. I would not even dare to suggest a function for a 22 mm long scraper. Although it could be the stone inlay of a composite tool by its trapezoid shape, this conclusion seems to be far-fetched. After the elaboration of about the half of the tools, the technical parameters of the Tata industry can be described in the followings: Standardisation is pronounced in every metric feature. The average measurement is 30-31 mm. The proportion of the length and the width of the tools is 65%. Owing to the pebble raw material and the flake-technology, the industry is definitely stout. László Vértes' technological experiments have proved that a blow on the rounded surface of a pebble led to similar results as flaking from a Levallois core. L. Vértes found that this could be one of the primary reasons why this special raw material had been chosen.

6 In the preliminary evaluation, we analysed only a small portion of the recovered finds. The particular data can be modified yet the basic trends and regularities are valid for the entire industry. T. DOBOSI, VIOLA (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum 1370 Budapest, Múzeum körút 14-16.) Email: tdv@hnm.hu 4 VÉRTES 1965,108. 5 VÉRTES 1965,108. 6 VÉRTES 1965,108. 71