Levalloisian

[ lev-uh-loi-zee-uh n, -zhuh n ]

/ ˌlɛv əˈlɔɪ zi ən, -ʒən /

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of a distinctive late Lower and Middle Paleolithic method of preparing a stone core so that preformed thin, oval or triangular flakes with sharp edges could be struck from it.

Also Le·val·lois

[luh-val-wah] /ləˈvæl wɑ/.

Origin of Levalloisian

First recorded in 1930–35; Levallois(-Perret) + -ian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for levalloisian

Levalloisian

Levallois (ləˈvælwɑː)

/ (ˌlɛvəˈlɔɪzɪən) /

adjective

of or relating to a Lower Palaeolithic culture in W Europe, characterized by a method of flaking flint tools so that one side of the core is flat and the other domed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for levalloisian

Levalloisian

[ lĕv′ə-loi′zē-ən ]

Relating to a technique for producing flaked stone tools that appeared in the late stages of the Acheulian (Lower Paleolithic) tool culture, characterized by a distinctive method of striking off flake tools from a prepared stone core. In the Levalloisian technique, large, sharp flakes were struck from the core with a single blow and could be used, possibly for skinning and butchering, without further flaking or finishing. Later refinements to the Levalloisian technique formed the basis for the Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic) technology.