The East African origin of the Western European Acheulean technology: Fact or paradigm?

The East African genesis of the Western European Acheulean is an axiom for most scholars. The main component of the Acheulean, i.e. lithic assemblages, has been used to identify technical traditions, as well as to draw scenarios on the tempos, modes, causes and origin(s) of the early peopling of Europe. The presence and frequency of large shaped tools has been seen as a proxy of the emergence and development of the Acheulean technology. Despite the typological variability of these tools, which was already highlighted during the 20th century, the East African and the Western European Acheulean have been usually considered as a homogeneous entity when comparing lithic techno-complexes and creating models for the European human settlements. However, such large-scale syntheses can be flawed because the archaeological data are highly fragmented both in time and space and frequently incomparable given the different theoretical/methodological approaches adopted. The aim of this paper is to avoid such pitfalls. Accordingly, I will systematically review the Lower/early Middle Pleistocene East African assemblages and the late Lower/ early Middle Pleistocene Western European assemblages which have been labeled as “Acheulean”. The contemporaneous core and flake industries will be taken into account and discussed. This will allow evaluating the theoretical/methodological implications of an East African origin for the Western European Acheulean, and understanding if it is a fact or a paradigm.