Question

Which stone tool-making technique, associated with the Neanderthals, allowed toolmakers to produce many good flakes with little effort and then transform those flakes into a wide variety of fine tools?

Answer 1

The Mousterian tool industry is the technique associated with Neanderthals that allowed for efficient production of a variety of fine stone tools by directly using flakes chipped from cores.

Step-by-step explanation:

The stone tool-making technique associated with the Neanderthals that allowed toolmakers to produce many good flakes with little effort and then transform those flakes into a wide variety of fine tools is known as the Mousterian tool industry. The Mousterian tradition involved striking flakes from cores, which could then be used directly as tools without further major shaping of the core itself. This was a significant development as it provided more utility and versatility in the tools, which included small knives, spearheads, and scrapers.

The Mousterian technique was an advancement over the earlier Acheulean tools, which were larger hand-axes and tools made primarily from shaping the stone core. Unlike the Acheulean style, wherein flakes were removed to shape the desired core tool, Mousterian tools utilized the detached flakes themselves, leading to the development of smaller, lighter, and sharper implements with numerous functional purposes.