Growing Evidence for the Purposeful Production of Bladelets in the Middle Paleolithic Industry from Heidesheim am Rhein, Germany

In a previous paper, the largely opportunistic production of bladelets in the Middle Paleolithic industry from Heidesheim am Rhein was described (Anderson 2020). In the present article, the possibility of a more systematic bladelet production is briefly explored. Even if minor in scope, a bladelet component could reflect an evolutionary development of the Heidesheim am Rhein industry towards the Upper Paleolithic. Such a development is in fact already supported by the industry's significant proportion of Upper-Paleolithic-style tools.