late pleistocene population interaction in western europe

Retouchers
Several bone retouchers have been identified at Saint-Césaire. Characteristically,
these consist of large ungulate midshaft fragments. Because the status of these “tools” has
been debated (e.g. Binford 1981), it is necessary to discuss them at fuller length.
Almost a century ago, Henri-Martin (1907) noted a series of peculiar marks on
certain skeletal elements, predominantly phalanges, humerus, and various long bone
fragments, from the Mousterian site of La Quina (southwestern France). These marks
were interpreted as resulting from the use of these elements as tools in flintknapping
activities. These bone tools, called compresseurs, were said to be similar to other finds
reported at the end of the nineteenth century at the Grotte des Fées and Pair-non-Pair, two
sites also located in southwestern France (Patou-Mathis and Schwab 2002).
The marks described by Henri-Martin consist of small zones of linear depressions
aligned more or less perpendicular to the long axis of the specimen, presumably inflicted
by an object driven through, not across, the bone surface. Typically, these concentrations
of marks are restricted to the cortical face, most often near the end of a long bone
fragment (Figure 9). Unambiguous carnivore marks are generally absent from the surface
of these objects. At present, this type of marks, sometimes discussed in the Anglo-Saxon
literature (Binford 1981; Chase 1990, 1999; Villa and d’Errico 2001), is referred to in
French publications as “retouchoirs” (retouchers). These objects have been identified in a
growing number of sites, from Spain to Russia (Chase 1990, 1999; Armand and Delagnes
1998; Armand 1998; Castel 1999a; Malerba and Giacobini 2002; Auguste 2002; Schwab
2002; Valensi 2002a, 2002b; Julien et al. 2002; Costamagno 1999; Sekhr 1998). It is
currently unknown whether this type of mark exists in Africa and Asia, as the presence of
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