Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12

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Quaternary International
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A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle

Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy)
Francesca Romagnoli a, b, *
a
degli Studi di Firenze, Via S. Egidio 21, IT50122
Dipartimento di Storia, Archeologia, Geografia, Arte e Spettacolo, Cattedra di Paletnologia, Universita
Firenze, Italy
b
Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria “Paolo Graziosi”, Via S. Egidio 21, IT50122 Firenze, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents the modalities of recycling in lithic assemblage in layer L at Grotta del Cavallo
Available online xxx (Middle Palaeolithic, Southeast Italy). The layer exhibits a high diversity of exogenous (>50 km) and local
(<5 Km) raw material, including marine shells for producing retouched tools. Recycling is attested in
Keywords: local raw material and in shell valves. I identified four recycling modalities, related to four object cate-
Neanderthal gories, and analysed each one separately: lithic retouched tools, macro tools, short products with sharp
Lithic tools
edges, and marine-shell tools with two orthogonal edges. I interpreted this behaviour in relation to a
Techno-cultural variability
time-cost model. The aim was to evaluate the role of recycling in changing technological costs and to
Scavenging
Time-cost model
investigate if recycling was a planned strategy and how it was incorporated into the techno-economic
Raw material provisioning organisation of the human group. The lithic assemblage displays a high spatio-temporal segmentation
of productive sequences based on discoidal methods, the production of small flakes, the majority less
than 3 cm in length, and a high technical investment in retouch. The results of the recycling cost-benefit
analysis suggest that this behaviour was integrated into an economic setting regulated by time con-
strictions during tasks performed at the site within a logistic mobility. In this layer, recycling was an
occasional behaviour, which allowed humans to respond to unplanned needs, and was facilitated by the
low degree of volumetric constraints in the productive methods applied and by the short dimensions of
the tools used. Recycling was an element that contributed to define the cultural entity, appearing as a
specific trait in a given human group.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction perspective and uses the broadest definition, considering a time

Recycling involves a time gap between two use events (Baker,
2007), meaning that an object has finished its life history and is
dumped and considered waste before being picked up again and
transformed into a new tool. Within this definition, some authors
have argued that an artefact's radical transformation between two
use events provides evidence of recycling (e.g., Camilli and Ebert,
1992; Amick, 2007) and allows researchers to distinguish be-
tween resharpening (or re-use) and recycling. In many archaeo-
logical cases (e.g., considering retouched tools dumped and then
retouched again), the change of function is only detectable through
use-wear analysis. This paper focuses on a technological
* Dipartimento di Storia, Archeologia, Geografia, Arte e Spettacolo, Cattedra di
Paletnologia, Universita
degli Studi di Firenze, Via S. Egidio 21, IT50122 Firenze,
Italy.
E-mail address: f.romagnoli2@gmail.com.
gap between two use events as a proxy for recycling. During this
temporal lapse, the object has lost its original value and can be
considered a waste. The reuse of previously discarded waste is
repeatedly reported in contemporary hunter-gatherer human
groups (Kelly, 1964; Gould, 1968; Smith, 1974; Binford, 1977;
Wandsnider, 1989; Fowler, 1992). Widespread findings of lithic
scavenging in ethnographic contexts suggest recycling to have been
a diffuse provisioning strategy during prehistoric times, and recent
studies have attested that recycling was widespread and spanned a
large chronological range during Prehistory (e.g., Almeida, 2008;
Thiebaut, 2010).
In technological studies on stone tool assemblages, the time gap
can be highlighted through two data categories: stone tool trans-
formations (both chemical and mechanical) and spatial distribution
of linked artefacts. The clearest clue of a temporal lapse is the
presence of alterations on artefact surfaces. The patina is a chemical
alteration that develops on the external surface of a stone tool, and
each tool can show several different patinas, due to the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
1040-6182/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
2 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12
transformation sequence to which it has been subjected. Archae-
ological lithic recycling has been detected from patina due to air
exposure (Mora et al., 2004; Amick, 2007; Barkai et al., 2009) or
thermal alteration (Sergant et al., 2006; Vaquero et al., 2012).
Within the mechanical transformations that help identify recycling,
we can consider core transformed into tools and flake (which could
or not be retouched) transformed into core. Both cases describe two
distinct life histories of an artefact, between and after the recycling
event. In the first case, a previous technical event in which the core
was used as a volume to product blanks is followed by a phase in
which the core itself was used as a blank and recycled into a
functional tool. This case is clearly detectable if retouching precedes
its use as a tool. A flake transformed into core is usually an expe-
dient way to obtain a few short products. This recycling clue is more
difficult to identify because short flake extractions can also occur
when finishing the tool (e.g., for the regularisation of the shape for
hafting). The temporal shift defining recycling can also be detected
through the spatial analysis of intrasite anthropic transport events
of stone tools identified through refitting analysis (Vaquero, 2008,
2011; Vaquero et al., 2014).
The interpretation of this behaviour is still uncertain. Published
studies attempt to explain recycling as it relates to a single factor.
Recycling is usually assumed to be a response to a scarcity of raw
material (Kelly, 1988; Dibble and Rolland, 1992; Close, 1996; Amick,
2007; Galup, 2007; Hiscock, 2009); it is also sometimes explained
as an economic strategy related to “microproduction” (Cuartero,
2007). It is considered an aspect of curated technology (Binford,
1977; Bamforth, 1986) or, alternatively, of expedient technology
(Vaquero et al., 2012). It is explained as related to the long duration
of site occupation (Rolland, 1981; Kelly, 2001) or, alternatively, to
high human group mobility (Kuhn, 1995). These interpretations
may not be mutually exclusive.
The above cited literature has pointedly revealed that recycling
was part of the technical choices of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer
communities. Analysing this behaviour could be an interesting
approach to investigate how and why prehistoric hunter-gatherers
structured their technical strategies and could improve our un-
derstanding of past technical behaviours. Tools were clearly pro-
duced to fulfil needs in relation to subsistence strategies in a
specific environment and played a societal role. Therefore,
described as the combination of human activities that have been
finalised to produce tools, technology must be analysed as it relates
to the overall economic strategies and cultural traditions of the
group that has produced and used these tools. In this analysis, we
must also consider that the environment is a dynamic entity, which
changes due to climate, ecosystems and biodiversity. This dynam-
icity influenced human choices, which also depended on many
other factors, such as group size, gender organisation of activities,
individual or group hunting strategies, and restricted resource ac-
cess. Lithic data are limited and have to be integrated into a holistic
and multidisciplinary analysis to interpret why prehistoric hunter-
gatherers organised their technology as they did. Despite this
limitation, a detailed technological analysis, including geo-
archaeological data, human mobility and the technological cost-
benefit evaluation, could allow us to propose a technological
model for the comprehension of recycling. This “time-cost” model
is integrated with foraging theory and provides a framework that
helps link the strategies for the creation and use of stone tools and
waste products to hunter-gatherer behaviours.
Foraging models consider the costs and benefits of acquiring
different resources and are normally applied to subsistence activ-
ities, such as acquiring and handling food (Winterhalder, 1981;
Stephens and Krebs, 1986; Jochim, 1988; Lowe, 1990). According
to Bousman (1993), handling costs (i.e., time spent in providing,
preparing and consuming food) should also include the costs of
Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
technological production and tool transportation (e.g., the costs of
procuring and knapping raw materials and maintaining tools).
Palaeolithic evidence suggests that technological costs influenced
human economic strategies and that resource availability and
abundance in turn influenced technological strategies. Changes in
land use and mobility seem to be reflected pattern changes in stone
tool manufacture and use. The two extreme strategies relating to
technological costs are as follows: (1) using expensive technolog-
ical gears or (2) using inexpensive ones. Hunter-gatherers show a
mix and different degrees of these opposing strategies depending
on the risks associated with different activities (e.g., Binford, 1979;
Shott, 1986; Torrence, 1989; Cashdan, 1990; Nelson, 1991; Bousman,
1993; Bamforth and Bleed, 1997). A technological cost evaluation
could be performed according to Bleed tool design theory (1986),
which considers (a) production time (both time in raw material
procurement and the complexity of the knapping method used);
(b) the tool's use-life (from potential to resharpening); (c) the tool's
efficiency (the highest investment in the functional cutting edge);
and (d) the productivity of the applied knapping method (consid-
ering the number of products per a given volume of raw material).
In relation to which parameters they considered the most impor-
tant, hunter-gatherers produced (a) expedient tools, (b) maintain-
able tools, (c) reliable tools, or (d) a highly productive technology.
Because these options are not mutually exclusive in the toolkit,
technological costs and strategies must be evaluated separately
within each tool category.
Analysing recycling in this perspective helps to evaluate its role
in changing technological costs (e.g., reducing production costs or
raw material procurement costs) and to develop a hypothesis to
account for the expediency of this behaviour. This approach helps
to investigate if recycling was a planned strategy and how it was
incorporated into the technological organisation of the human
group, as discussed later. The Middle Palaeolithic evidence pre-
sented here from layer L at Grotta del Cavallo hints to recycling as a
technological behaviour integrated into the economic context and
influenced by many factors (e.g., task time restrictions, dimensional
production standards, and occupation duration). The data suggest
that recycling was part of a rich technology and represented a
specific strategy of the human group.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Grotta del Cavallo: geological setting
Grotta del Cavallo is a karst cave located on the west coast of
Salento in southern Apulia (southeast Italy; Fig. 1). The cave is a
single circular cavity approximately 9 m in diameter. The entrance
faces northwest and opens in Cretaceous limestone on the Baia di
Uluzzo, approximately 15 m above present day sea level.
The southwest coast of Salento is rich in karst caves with
archaeological deposits related to the Middle Palaeolithic (Palma di
Cesnola, 2001). As is the case in most of the Apulia region, Salento's
geology is composed of limestone units (Serre Salentine) that crop
out in long ridges arranged northwest to southeast. These units
depend on tectonic events that occurred during the Cretaceous and
early Pleistocene. The lithostratigraphy of the cliff where the cave
opens is related to one of these units, denominated locally as
“Calcari di Melissano”. The Calcari di Melissano formation is
composed of fine or medium-fine grained microcrystalline lime-
stone and dolomitic limestone, both with conchoidal fractures with
variable degrees of regularity; marlstone layers are also observed
(Martinis, 1968; Largaiolli et al., 1969; Commissione Italiana di
Stratigrafia, 2003). All along the formation, joint sets split the
rock into quite regular blocks of dimensions variable between few
centimetres and more than 30 cm. It means that the blocks were big
 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12 3

Fig. 1. Location of Grotta del Cavallo on the western coast of Salento, in South Apulia, around 90 km south of Taranto (A), and stratigraphic sequence of the deposit in the cave (B;
from Palma di Cesnola, 2001; modified).

enough to undertake any type of debitage, as is also attested by
many abrupt changes along the sequence of Grotta del Cavallo to
the modalities of exploitation of these resources and to the di-
mensions of the products knapped (Carmignani, 2010; Romagnoli,
2012; Romagnoli et al., in press; Sarti et al., in press).
2.2. Grotta del Cavallo: archaeological stratigraphy and layer L
archaeological assemblage
A. Palma di Cesnola, who directed the archaeological excavation
on a small surface area of the deposit from 1963 to 1966, discovered
the cave in 1961 (Palma di Cesnola, 1963, 1964, 1965a, 1965b, 1966a,
1966b). The site preserves a long stratigraphic sequence (Fig. 1) and
represents one of the most important Middle Palaeolithic archae-
ological series in south Italy. After a long break, the Universities of
Siena and Florence resumed stratigraphical excavations in the cave.
Starting in 1986, Lucia Sarti directed the investigation of the Middle
Palaeolithic deposit on a surface area of approximately 12 m2. Based
on sediments, each layer was divided into levels.
The archaeological sequence is based on a marine interglacial
beach conglomerate, related to the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e
(layer O; Sarti et al., in press). The 4 m-long Middle Palaeolithic
sequence is directly superimposed on the Tyrrhenian beach and
covers a chronological range between MIS 5 and MIS 3 (layers N-F;
Sarti et al., 1998-2000, 2002).
Above the layer F, a thin layer of volcanic ash (level Fa) sits
underneath the Uluzzian layers (E-D). The base of the Uluzzian
layers (level EIII) is dated at 47,530e43,000 cal yr BP (radiocarbon
analysis on shell remains; Benazzi et al., 2011). On top, the strati-
part of the layer (level L2) and of Equus ferus, possibly related to a
dry climatic fluctuation, in the upper part (level L1). Layer L has a
thickness of approximately 30 cm, and its interface is located
approximately 1.50 m above the Tyrrhenian beach (layer O) and
1.80 m below the base of Uluzzian layer E.
In Grotta del Cavallo, the lithic industry of layer L is well pre-
served from invasive taphonomic processes. Discoidal methods
and small blank production characterise the productive sequences.
Are attested both uni- and bifacial schemes, with variability in the
organisation of removals due to the morphological variability of
the block exploited. The lithic industry reported here was collected
during the stratigraphic excavations in 1990s that were directed
by Lucia Sarti. This collection amounts to more than 1900 ele-
ments. The micro-stratigraphic excavation and sifting all of the
sediment also allowed excavators to retrieve little fragments and
debris. Excluding indeterminable fragments, the lithic assemblage
consists of 1031 elements (Table 1). In association with lithic re-
mains, the assemblage is composed of 126 retouched tools on
valve fragments of Callista chione, a large marine mollusc
(Romagnoli et al., 2014).
Table 1
General technological composition of the lithic assemblage.
Without Counting
Callista chione Callista chione
Number % Number %

graphic sequence ends with layer C of sterile tephra, which is Cores 22 2.4% 22 2.1%
empirically related to Campanian Ignimbrite eruption (Giaccio Fragmented cores 7 0.8% 7 0.7%
Retouched tools 302 33.4% 428 41.6%
et al., 2006), and layer B, which is related to local facies of final
Un-retouched blanks 484 53.5% 484 46.9%
Epigravettian. Retouched tools on natural blanks 21 2.3% 21 2.0%
Faunal association and sedimentary data suggest a chronolog- Fragmented hammers 15 1.6% 15 1.5%
ical attribution of layer L at the end of MIS 5 to the beginning of MIS Flakes of retouch (>10 mm) 28 3.1% 28 2.7%
4 (Palma di Cesnola, 2001). The faunal remains attest to the pres- Hammers 26 2.9% 26 2.5%
Total 905 100% 1031 100%
ence of Cervus elaphus, Bos primigenius and Dama dama in the lower

Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
4 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12
2.3. Lithic analysis
The whole industry was studied from a technological
perspective, reconstructing the production processes from
finding the raw material to discarding the tools (chaîne
operatoire; Inizan et al., 1999). The total collection was analysed
with a diacritical approach, which reconstructed the chronology
and direction of each previous removal for each artefact (e.g.,
flakes, retouched tools and cores) and is widely used in lithic
technology. This approach allows us to go beyond the classical
morphological analysis of lithic artefacts and to reconstruct the
scar organisation (Baena et al., 2010). The diacritical reading is
based on the analysis of (i) presence or absence of percussion
cone; (ii) superimposition of removals; (iii) presence and
orientation of percussion ripples and hackles; (iv) morphology
of the arrises of removal. Taphonomic analyses (Prost, 1989;
Thiebaut, 2007) were applied to retouched tools to identify
manufacturing retouch from latter damages. Retouched tools
were analysed in keeping with the Analytical Typology of
Laplace (1964). Retouched artefacts were also classified by the
tool's technical characteristics according to a techno-functional
analysis that was finalised to identify each tool's technical ele-
ments (i.e., gripping and active parts) and to identify each part's
technological attribute (Boe €da, 2011; Romagnoli et al., 2014). In
an effort to determine material transfer distances and the
characteristics of the artefact's life history, special attention was
given to the spatio-temporal segmentation of the chaîne
operatoire. The archaeological remains were classified in Raw
Material Units (RMU; Roebroeks, 1988) to evaluate the degree of
raw material modification introduced at the site. All lithotype
variability presented in the Calcari di Melissano formation were
surveyed, positioned, collected, and tested (Romagnoli et al., in
press; Trenti et al., in press). These artefacts are now
conserved in the geo-archaeological mineral collection of the
Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria “Paolo Graziosi” in Florence.
Geological surveys were also finalised to localise sources of good
quality raw material (e.g., chert, radiolarite and quartzite) that
was absent in the local formation (Fig. 2).
Callista chione tools were analysed according to Romagnoli
(2012; Romagnoli et al., 2014). In relation to recycling,
taphonomy (Claassen, 1998) and the temporal relations between
retouch and breaks were analysed, using a light microscope at
overview and high magnifications (20, 40, 100). In accordance
with diacritical analysis, the superimposition of a break surface
onto a retouched edge was considered a clue of the anteriority of
Fig. 2. Raw material sources used in the site. (n.1-2 and 5): local lithotypes (silicified limestone); (n. 3-4, 6e7): exogenous good quality chert and radiolarite.
Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
the retouch. Similarly, analysing superimposition of retouch re-
movals between two retouched edges reveals the temporal re-
lations between these two retouch events.
2.4. Recycling
Although these study approaches are mainly qualitative, the
analysed sample is considered representative. Furthermore, inte-
grating these approaches allows us to construct a framework that
helps to isolate and interpret recycling behaviour in the general
organisation of lithic technology. Evidence of a tool's discard before
finalising re-manufacturing for a new use event was assumed to
indicate recycling.
The discard phase between two use events was identified
through the following features:
i) Tools manufactured on patinated blanks. The presence of an
alteration with the same intensity to the flake's upper and
lower surfaces, associated with a fresh retouch, shows that
the flake displayed climatic alterations before being picked
up and reinserted into the technological context as a func-
tional tool.
ii) Core transformed into tool. This transformation was identi-
fied through the diacritical analysis of retouched core at the
end of its productive life history.
iii) Flake (which could be retouched) transformed into core. At
Grotta del Cavallo, this feature is highly questionable in many
cases. The assemblage is characterised by a great number of
retouched tools. According to Bernard-Guelle and Porraz
(2001), in the case of a flake with ventral removals, the
presence of at least one retouched cutting edge has to be
considered a hint of a tool (outils amincies), rather than core-
on-flake. Therefore the ventral removals of the outils amin-
cies are part of the manufacturing process and are not linked
to a new use as core of discarded tools. In layer L of Grotta del
Cavallo, this definition often does not help determine artefact
category assignments. This uncertainty is due to a general
high investment in intentional blank transformation aimed
at regularising shape, which could likely relates to hafting
(Fig. 3). To track recycling, which is only referred to core-on-
flake, only undeniable elements were considered, with an
awareness that only future use-wear data could give defini-
tive evidence.
iv) A new retouched cutting edge on a broken tool made of shell.
To be considered a recycling clue, instead of evidence of re-
 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12
Fig. 3. Retouched tools with inverse proximal removals to finish the tool, likely for hafting (outils amincies).
use or resharpening, the new cutting edge has to change the
volumetric structure of the original tool and has to include a
technical procedure outside the standard.
3. Results
The technical investment in retouch is high (the retouched tools
ratio is 41.6% when also considering shell tools and 33.4% when
only considering stone tools), and side scrapers are the largest
typological group (58.6%).
Most lithic artefacts (86.8%) are obtained from local lithotypes
(Table 2, Fig 2 n. 1e2, 5) that are very abundant in the Calcari di
Melissano formation and hence in the area surrounding the cave
(<5 km). During this period of cave occupation, Neanderthals use
practically the whole range of siliceous limestone found in this
formation. In contrast, 13.2% of the assemblage is composed of fine-
grained and homogeneous chert and radiolarite (Fig. 2 n. 3e4, 6e7),
which is absent in the Salento area and most likely relates to distant
(>50 Km) geological sources (Romagnoli et al., in press; Sarti et al.
in press). The lithic industry of layer L is characterised by a high
segmentation of the productive sequences. The raw material was
transported from source to site in many different stages of trans-
formation, independent of the procurement distance (Romagnoli,
2012).
Table 2
Retouched tools subdivided depending on raw material.
Without shell Including
tools shell tools
Retouched tools N % N %
Patinated blanks, exogenous raw material 3 1.0 3 0.7
Patinated blanks, local raw material 25 8.3 25
Exogenous raw material 96 31.8 96
Local raw material 178 58.9 178
Callista chione e e 126
Total 302 100% 428
Recycling behaviour is shown by several findings.
- There are 302 retouched tools, and 9.3% (28 tools) were obtained
from patinated flakes. These data indicate a time lapse between
obtaining the flake and retouch modification, at which time the
flake had to be abandoned outside the site. This condition is
suggested by the presence of a reddish patina on both flake
surfaces associated with a fresh retouch (Fig. 4), as patina for-
mation within the site would be incoherent with the absence of
patina on the rest of the lithic remains. Almost all these recycled
tools were made with local raw material (25 tools). Similar
reddish patina is commonly observed on raw material blocks in
the Calcari di Melissano formation as neo-cortex, due to air
Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
5
alteration. As with the general typological structure of the
assemblage, most recycled tools manufactured on patinated
flakes are scrapers. Of these 25 tools, slightly more than half (13
elements) show an asymmetric transversal section and a new
retouched cutting edge opposite a patinated back, which could
be represented by an ancient fracture (Fig. 4 n. 5) or by the butt
and adjacent portion of the striking platform in overflowed
flakes (Fig. 4 n. 6). This volumetric construction is well repre-
sented in the assemblage, both within retouched and unre-
touched elements. The presence of ancient patina on the back
suggests that the last modification, which occurred after the
recycling event, was only localised on the functional cutting
edge. The recycling of other scrapers (12) shows a search for a
cutting edge. The rest are points, realised through a new bilat-
eral retouch (Fig. 4 n. 7). The dimensions of these recycled tools
are coherent with the rest of the lithic assemblage. Considering
complete retouched tools (n. 64 made of raw materials from far
sources and n. 82 from local sources), 73.4% of artefacts made of
exogenous raw materials (flint, radiolarite and rarely quarzite)
are between 11 and 24 mm long and 64% of tools made of local
raw materials (silicified limestone) are between 13 and 30 mm
long (Fig. 5).
- Two cores show a retouch modification of the overhang that was
finalised to produce a functional cutting edge. This event
occurred at the end of the artefact's life as core (i.e., when its
productive function was exhausted and the core was turned into
a waste). Both cores are the result of the exploitation of local raw
material. One is attributable to an unifacial discoidal exploita-
tion. The diacritical analysis and refitting showed that the last
removals were not finalised to produce flakes but to configure a
large notch (Fig. 6 n. 1). The other recycled core is attributable to
a bifacial discoidal exploitation, transforming the core into tool
through the creation of two retouched cutting edges (Fig. 6 n. 2).
5.8
22.4
This recycling modality produced large tools, 7 cm and 8 cm
41.7 long, respectively. They supplement a rare component of the
29.4 assemblage, which includes five more tools. This group is
100% characterised by bigger size than the rest of the retouched ele-
ments. These tools are limestone natural blanks more than 3 cm
thick, measuring between 6 and 8 cm in length and between 4
and 9 cm in width and were retouched on an edge (Fig. 6 n. 3e4,
Fig. 7). These tools are characterised by a cutting edge with
adjacent and opposed surfaces more or less perpendicular to the
two faces (back). These backs could be cortical or prepared. In
the first core recycled (Fig. 6 n. 1), the lateral back is formed by a
break surface, and the back opposed to the notch is part of the
core's peripheral striking platform. In the second core recycled,
the backs are formed by the butt of the large flake that was
exploited as core for the discoidal reduction sequence and by
part of the striking platform (Fig. 6 n. 2).
- Three flakes seem to show recycling as core. They were used for
a short series of extractions (in two cases only one extraction)
that were realised on the flake's lower surface to take advantage
6 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12

Fig. 4. Recycled tools made on patinated blanks. Flakes were picked up outside the cave and were retouched, as indicated by a fresh retouch, creating scrapers and rarely points (n.
7). In many cases the scrapers had a patinated back opposed to the retouched cutting edge (n. 5 and 6). Tools with a retouched edge opposed to a back are commonly attested also in
the rest of the lithic finds.

of its natural convexity. One of these flakes is a tool manufac-

tured on a patinated blank (Fig. 8). The unpatinated surface at-
tests that the recycling event is located on the distal transverse
retouch and the proximal ventral negative. The attribution of
recycled core-on-flake was determined by the refitting of the
ventral product, which showed scars on the distal edge that
were most likely related to use. They are little scars visible to a
macroscopic analysis, continuous along an extended portion of
the edge, with a scaled morphology. Points of impact are visible
at low magnification (5, 10). Use wear analysis has not yet
been done, but the morpho-technical characters of the scars
could be related to use according to taphonomic analysis (Prost,
1989; Thiebaut, 2005, 2007). In this case, recycling was finalised
to produce a tool and to use the flake as core. It could be possible
that ventral product use was secondary with respect to the
flake's function as a tool (i.e., fresh retouch). Similarly, the distal
retouch and ventral proximal removal could potentially be
related to two distinct recycling events.

The result of core-on-flake production is the quick production of

short flake with a natural sharp edge, as evidenced in many Middle
Palaeolithic sites. An indirect argument for this behaviour is the
assemblage presence of eight flakes with double lower faces
(“Kombewa” products), which were obtained through the exploi-
tation of flake as core. They were generally used without retouch, as
suggested by the presence of scars on one edge similar to the ones
preserved on the refitted “Kombewa” flake described above. They
measure between 15 and 31 cm in length, 13 and 23 cm in width,
0.3 and 0.8 cm in thickness.

- Recycling is also observed in the chaîne operatoire finalised for

Fig. 5. At the top: techno-morphological and metric attributes of recycled tools made
on patinated blanks (black triangles) were similar to the rest of the retouched tools in
the assemblage (black circles). At the bottom: length-width ratio of recycled tools
made on patinated blanks.
the production of retouched tools of Callista chione valves. The
assemblage consists of fragmented valves that present a
retouched cutting edge along the valve's external edge, parallel
with the growth lines. Along with the analysis of the artefacts
with light microscope at overview and high magnifications
(20, 40, 100), the taphonomic and morpho-technical tools
analyses show that the valve was retouched on the external

Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12 7

Fig. 6. (n.1): Core of local raw material recycled into a big notch, at the and of its productive life history. In grey the retouch series, corresponding to the recycling event. The photo shows
the refitting of a big pseudo-levallois point produced during a previous productive sequence and of the first flake produced during the recycling event. (n.2): Core of local raw material
recycled into a retouched tool, at the end of its productive life history. (n.3e4): large tools, comparable to cores recycled into tools. In grey, the cortical surfaces of the blanks.

Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
8 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12
Fig. 7. Diagram of big-tools (black triangles) and cores recycled into retouched big-
tools (black circles) compared with the rest of the retouched tools (146 complete
tools; black squares).
edge when it was almost entirely intact, and the break surfaces
were posterior to the retouch. Experimentation has shown that
when a break occurs on a Callista chione valve, it could create a
very abrupt surface (approximately 90 ) or a languette surface,
comparable to languette break surface on lithic tool (Fig. 9). This
sloping surface in Callista chione valves revealed the meso-
stracum, which is the internal part of the shell that has a
response to percussion similar to stone. This break surface ty-
pology is frequently present on shell tools at Grotta del Cavallo,
but it is only rarely exploited to manufacture a cutting edge.
Such exploitation occurred in nine cases (7.2% of C. chione tools;
Table 3), which serve as evidence of recycling. The diacritical
analysis of these recycled items allows us to reconstruct three
phases in the life-history of these tools (Fig. 10):
Table 3
Retouched tools in Callista chione's valve subdivided according to the localisation of
retouch. Tools retouched on both the external and the normal edge are proxies for
recycling.
Callista chione N %
Retouch parallel to the growth lines on the 112 88.9
external edge of the valve
Retouch parallel to the growth lines near 5 3.9
the hinge (umbo)
Retouch both parallel to the growth lines on 9 7.2
the external edge of the valve and on a normal edge
Total 126 100%
1) A retouch was realised on the shell's external edge, parallel to
the growth lines (primary retouch).
2) A break occurred to the valve, and two break surfaces developed
radial to the growth lines, which interrupted the retouch.
3) One languette break surface, orthogonal to the primary retouch,
was exploited for the configuration of a secondary retouched
cutting edge. The temporal succession of retouches is displayed
by the superimposition of the last retouch on the lateral ex-
tremity of the primary one.
4. Discussion and conclusions
This layer's recycling seems to represent a technical element
that is integrated into the human group's economical behaviour.
The concept of recycling wastes into new functional tools requires
different modalities, related to four different object categories:
lithic retouched tools, “big” tools, short products with a
sharp edge, and marine-shell tools with two orthogonal edges
(Table 4).
Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
Table 4
Recycling modalities at Grotta del Cavallo, layer L.
Recycled blanks Recycling Products Raw material N
event
Patinated blanks Retouch Scrapers Local 10
exogenous 2
Retouch Scrapers opposed to a back Local 12
exogenous 1
Retouch Points Local 3
Cores Retouch big-tools Local 2
Flakes Knapping Cores producing short flakes Local 3
with sharp edge
Fragmented Retouch Tools with two orthogonal Local 9
shell tools cutting edges
Total 42
- Lithic retouched tools were realised through dumped flake
scavenging. This recycling modality was systematically applied
to local raw materials, easily and abundantly available from
exploitable sub-prismatic block in the cave's surrounding. Ne-
anderthals collected blanks for their functional potential and
their specific shape, as attested by the selection of flakes with
patinated backs. These flakes are mostly between 14 and 38 cm
long. The morpho-technical and metrical characteristics are
comparable to those of other lithic retouched tools, which have
short dimensions. Considering 146 complete tools 69% are be-
tween 11 and 25 cm long (Fig. 7). The recycled flakes are as-
cribable, as with the whole industry, to technological strategies
with low degrees of predetermination.
- Tools measuring more than 6 cm in length were realised
through core recycling. This modality was also applied to local
raw material, and the recycling outcomes were comparable to a
few tools observed in the assemblage: large tools, between 6
and 8 cm long and between 4 and 9 cm wide (Fig. 7).
- Short products with a sharp edge were realised by recycling
flake as core. This recycling modality allowed Neanderthals to
quickly produce a few short tools. The difficulty in identifying
this behaviour results from the generally high retouch invest-
ment in the assemblage. Tools are often highly modifieddfor
example, through ventral removals that most likely relate to
hafting (Fig. 3). In the range of most assemblage tools, the
double ventral tools produced within this recycling modality are
between 15 and 31 cm long and 13e23 cm wide, with a thick-
ness lower than 0.5 cm. The three cores-on-flake are surely
attributable to this modality, and the eight double ventral pieces
are made of local raw material.
- Marine-shell tools with two orthogonal cutting edges were
realised by recycling fragmented tools, which were re-worked
using non-standard procedures, to create new tools.
Analysing the variability of recycling behaviour with a cost-
benefit approach, it is suggested that hunter-gatherers used lithic
recycling to make opportunistic tools. The whole stone tool
assemblage was produced with technological strategies with a low
degree of predetermination. This methods has fewer morphological
constraints than Levallois, which require a more rigid volumetric
construction of core and products. This volumetric flexibility is
linked to a high adaptability of the operative knapping scheme to
the raw material volume to be flaked, which is expressed in many
different modes of execution with variable degree of predetermi-
nation, including expedient productive schemes. This variability is
based on the numbers of surfaces exploited for production and on
the organisation of the recurrence of removals. Discoidal knapping
could be understood as multipurpose from a functional point of
 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12 9

Fig. 8. A patinated flake was recycled both to produce a retouched tool (n. 1; distal transversal retouch) and a short proximal ventral flake (n. 2), which shows macro traces on the
distal transversal edge.

view (Locht and Swinnen, 1994; Peresani, 1998, 2003; Wallace and is an unplanned technological solution to an unplanned need. At
Shea, 2006; Slimak, 2008; Vaquero et al., 2008; Arrighi et al., 2009; Grotta del Cavallo, as expected for opportunistic behaviours sensu
Baena et al., 2012). Consequently, this technological strategy facil- Nelson, recycling was systematically applied to local resources, and
itates the recycling of waste. However, according to Bleed (1986) artefacts probably related to short period of use, as suggested by the
tool design theory, the abundance of exploitable raw material in coexistence of (i) the short dimensions, (ii) the low degree of
the site's proximity and simple knapping methods applied do not modification, (iii) the lack of resharpening, (iv) the lack of use in-
explain recycling as an advantageous behaviour in terms of the cidents (e.g., fractures), and (v) their discard at the site. The artefact
time and energy costs of toolkit production. It seems instead to be dimensions are not necessary directly linked to use-life, depending
related to expediently used toolsdwhat Gould calls “instant tools” on the task activity. As showed by Eren et al. (2008) in their
(1980, p. 72). It is an opportunistic behaviour to quickly meet im- experimental work, discoidal flakes could have a very long use-life
mediate needs. When he described the Nunamiut (1979, p. 266), if retouched, due to their resharpening potential. Here, I take into
Binford related a famous ethnographic example of this behaviour
and defined these tools as “situational gear”. A hunter lost his knife
during a hunt and butchered the prey by making expedient flakes
from local stone. Nelson (1991) discussed the distinction between
expedient technological strategies (e.g., “simple” knapping
methods) and opportunistic technological behaviour (e.g., expe-
dient flakes or “situational gear” sensu Binford). She argued that the
former behaviour (i.e., expedient) is a planned technological
strategy for an expected task, while the second (i.e., opportunistic)

Fig. 9. Two experimental fragments of fresh Callista chione valves: internal surface (n.
1) and external surface (n. 2). The external view shows a languette (sloping) break Fig. 10. Schematic representation of productive sequence of tools made of Callista
surface, highlighting the mesostracum. chione's valve. In grey the recycling episode.

Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
10 F. Romagnoli / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e12
account the co-presence of the multiple technical characters listed
above, many of which highlight a low investment in the retouched
cutting edge (Fig. 4 n. 2 and n.7; Fig. 6 n. 1-2; Fig. 8 n. 2), as evidence
of opportunistic behaviour. This technological behaviour highly
reduces time spent on tool manufacture and could be explained
hypothesising time constraints for specific tasks, as presented in
Binford's example.
Layer L is characterised by the chaîne op eratoire segmentation
and the high mobility of flakes and tools, in part also of specialised
tools (Romagnoli, 2012). This context is typical of curated tech-
nology (Binford, 1979), a framework in which recycling would be
expected (Binford, 1977; Bamforth, 1986). The expected recycling
associated with curated technology is connected with the pro-
duction of sustainable tools, produced to increase their use-life.
Maintainable tools can be multipurpose, usually portable, quickly
repairable and easily transformable for other tasks than those for
which they were originally produced. Only this last possibility
could be defined as recycling, while the repeated repairs are
considered resharpening. Within a highly mobile human group,
this strategy reduces the costs of raw material acquisition and
might result from the site's scarcity of raw material. The high
mobility of human groups at Grotta del Cavallo, who potentially
travelled more than 50 km to the northwest/southeast, and the
segmentation of the productive sequences might relate to this type
of logistical mobility, associated with the short duration of site
occupation, as is argued for other Italian Middle Palaeolithic set-
tlements (e.g., Kuhn, 1995). However, the recycling observed in
layer L was not related to maintenance. Choosing to produce
opportunistic or maintainable tools depends on which tool type is
the priority in the technological organisation for producing effec-
tive tools. The effectiveness could indeed be related to time (e.g.,
selecting the quickest way to produce tools or producing tools with
longest use-life). The opportunistic recycled tools in layer L can be
considered specific unplanned options (based on fast production),
most likely related to the ways in which people organised their
tasks within logistical mobility, and facilitated for the industry's
general small metric characters.
Recycling shell tools may indeed be interpreted as a time- and
energy-saving strategy in tool manufacturing, as the production
sequence started with collecting valves of a specific size (approxi-
mately 8 cm). This provisioning strategy required time and was
most likely also limited by how difficult it was to locate an abun-
dance of valves with the desired dimensional target. The strategy
with this resource was to ameliorate the cost of raw material
acquisition by extending the tool's use-life. The evidence seems to
fit with the definition of a maintainable tool. The human ability to
anticipate recycling events allowed the possibility of quickly and
easily changing the tool structure to create a new functional cutting
edge. This human ability comes from specific cognitive skills and
high knowledge of the physical quality and functional potential of
the exploited resources (e.g., the high frequency of languette break
surfaces and the physical response of mesostracum to percussion).
Recycling shell tools was an occasional behaviour (7.2% of C. Chione
tools) and this finding, associated with the presence of the chaîne
operatoire in the cave, suggests an opportunistic solution to un-
planned needs for tasks performed in the cave rather than a
planned strategy within logistic mobility. It would have been a
useful solution in an economic setting regulated by time constric-
tions. As already highlighted by Bousman (1993), this finding sug-
gests that a tool can incorporate elements of more than one design
goal in varying degrees, and tool complexity has to be analysed in
each tool category to investigate hunter-gatherer technological
organisation.
In contrast with all other recycled items, tools manufactured on
patinated blanks were not collected and used inside the cave. The
Please cite this article in press as: Romagnoli, F., A second life: Recycling production waste during the Middle Palaeolithic in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo (Lecce, Southeast Italy), Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.033
scavenging behaviour of ancient patinated flakes outside the cave
and their transport to and use in the site suggest that this recycling
feature potentially demonstrates a higher level of planning. This
behaviour implies that people have picked up the flake in antici-
pation of future use. According to Torrence (1983), the strategy of
producing tools in advance of use results from time stresses, and at
Grotta del Cavallo, this strategy may be related to task organisation
at the site, within a logistic mobility among collectors.
In sum, the data presented contribute to the discussion on
recycling in European Middle Palaeolithic and offer new evidence
of recycling modalities. This behavioural analysis highlights vari-
ability among groups and allows us to contextualise production and
use of tools and product wastes in terms of subsistence strategies
and the global socio-economic organisation of a human group.
Recycling is a way to minimise technological time costs and provide
solutions to scheduling problems. The way to solve time costs can
vary greatly between groups, and interpreting this behaviour has to
consider all recycling modalities and analyse each one separately.
The technological adaptations observed in layer L at Grotta del
Cavallo and their time-cost analysis suggest that “collectors”, with
high mobility and high toolkit variability, had selected “forager”
technological strategies as expedient, rather than investing signif-
icant maintenance costs, in relation to task time constraints. The
technical human responses to specific constraints are influenced by
external factors (e.g., climate) and internal group dynamics (e.g.,
knowledge shared). Therefore, recycling assumes cultural value,
asserting a specific trait on a given human group. Further research
on faunal remains, comparisons among different layers and use-
wear analysis may help to verify this model and to better under-
stand recycling behaviour in past technological organisations.
Acknowledgements
The author is very grateful to the organisers of the Recycling
Workshop, the Israel Science Foundation and Tel Aviv University for
their invitation. The workshop was kindly supported by the Israel
Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Research at
Grotta del Cavallo was conducted with the permission of Soprin-
tendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Puglia and the financial
support of Universita
degli Studi di Siena, Universita
degli Studi di
Firenze and Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria “Paolo Graziosi”. The
author is very thankful to Lucia Sarti and Fabio Martini that coor-
dinated archaeological excavation in the cave and researches on the
Middle Palaeolithic materials and assumed responsibility for the
financial support for the investigation in the site. A huge thank you
goes to all the students and the interdisciplinary team involved in
the researches, in particular to Lorenzo Nannini, Francesco Trenti,
Massimiliano Ghinassi, Andre  Colonese and Cristina Lemorini.
Thanks also to Manuel Vaquero for the stimulating and useful
discussions about this topic and the anonymous reviewers for their
helpful comments that improved the paper.
The author has been supported by a doctoral grant from the PhD
School of History, International PhD Storia e Civilt
a del Mondo
Antico, XXIII cycle, of the Universita
degli Studi di Firenze.
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