Acheulian

In Europe the term Acheulian is used for the later stages of the Lower Palaeolithic handaxe tradition. The border between the previous Abbevillian and Acheulian is marked by a technological innovation in the working of stone implements, the use of a flaking tool of soft material (wood, bone, antler) in place of a hammerstone. The type-site is in France at Saint-Acheul, Amiens, where the implements were found in deposits of the early part of the Riss glaciation. Several Lower to Middle Palaeolithic handaxes of this tradition have been found in Buckinghamshire, such as at Lavender's Pit in Iver.