ABSTRACT

Although refitting analysis has been known as a valuable methodological tool for more than a century, it is only seldom explored on a systematic basis for the interpretation of stone age sites. This article reviews the results of a long-term refitting programme for the Middle Palaeolithic site complex at Maastricht-Belvédère. The Netherlands. On the basis of the Belvédère example, the potential value of such refitting programmes for the reconstruction of Palaeolithic site taphonomy as well as early human behaviour will be discussed. Specific attention is paid to the impact of post-depositional processes on artefact scatters, the reduction processes of Middle Palaeolithic core technologies, the complex life histories of single stone tools, the use of space by early humans and the spatial dynamics of lithic technologies.