Levallois Core
Unknown Artist
ca. 90,000–35,000 B.C.
Medium
Flint
Dimensions
No measurement
Classification
Core, Levallois, Nubian A
Period
Middle Paleolithic
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of C. T. Currelly, 1906
Accession Number
06.322.57
About this artwork
This flint core exemplifies the sophisticated Levallois technique used by Middle Paleolithic peoples in the Theban region of Upper Egypt between approximately 90,000 and 35,000 years before present. A Levallois core is the prepared nucleus from which flakes were struck using a predetermined method, representing a significant cognitive advance over earlier, more opportunistic stone-working techniques. The Levallois method involved carefully shaping the core's surface to control the size and form ...