Stone‐flaking technology at Leang Bulu Bettue, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

ABSTRACT Approximately 50000 stone artefacts have been recovered from the prehistoric site of Leang Bulu Bettue (LBB), on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. This large assemblage offers the opportunity to produce a large‐scale, comprehensive model of the early lithic technologies of South Sulawesi. Through the analysis of half of this assemblage, this study identifies a technological shift between the artefacts produced ca.50–40 thousand years ago (ka) – the “Lower Industry” – and the “Upper Industry” artefacts produced ca.40–16 ka. The majority of the assemblage belongs to the Upper Industry, and these artefacts are associated with portable art, ornamentation, and the Homo sapiens remains reported in previous works. These Upper Industry artefacts are largely made on chert that was brought to the site, sometimes in the form of large flake blanks, which was further reduced within the cave and used for ochre and plant processing. Artefact reduction was strategic during this period, and the bipolar method was frequently used for controlled reduction of flakes of various sizes. This represents a shift from the technology seen on the small number of Lower Industry artefacts, recovered from the deeper deposits. The oldest lithic artefacts yet reported from the site were made on immediately available limestone pieces, which were reduced through least‐effort and non‐intensive flake removal dictated by the available platforms. This study is compared to an analysis of Pleistocene artefacts at the nearby site of Leang Burung 2, where a similar technological shift has been observed. Résumé Environ 50.000 objets en pierre ont été récupérés sur le site préhistorique de Leang Bulu Bettue, sur l'île wallace de Sulawesi, en Indonésie. Ce grand assemblage offre la possibilité de produire un modèle complet et à grande échelle des premières technologies lithiques du sud de Sulawesi. Grâce à l'analyse de la moitié de cet assemblage, cette étude identifie un changement technologique entre les artefacts produits il y a environ 50 à 40.000 ans (ka) – la “Lower Industry” – et les artefacts de la “Upper Industry” produits environ il y a 40−16 ka. La majorité de l'assemblage appartient à la Upper Industry, et ces artefacts sont associés à l'art mobilier, à l'ornementation et aux restes d'Homo sapiens signalés dans des travaux antérieurs. Ces artefacts lithiques de la Upper Industry sont en grande partie fabriqués sur des nodules de chert qui ont été apportés sur le site