Aterian

[ uh-teer-ee-uhn ]

adjective

, Archaeology.

1. of or indicating a Middle Paleolithic industry of northwestern Africa and the Sahara, characterized by the production of tanged points and bifacially worked leaf-shaped points of varying sizes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aterian¹

1925–30; < French atérien, after the type-site, Bir el Ater, Algeria; -ian