Archaeologist Discovers New Prehistoric Tool Type, Names It 'Scraper-Thingy'

Dr. Gwendolyn Debitage of the University of Arizona has identified a previously unclassified stone tool type at a Middle Paleolithic site in southern France — a discovery that has been somewhat overshadowed by her decision to formally name the artifact a 'scraper-thingy' in the peer-reviewed publication announcing the find. 'It has attributes of a side scraper, a notched tool, and a denticulate, but it doesn't fit cleanly into any existing Bordes typological category,' Dr. Debitage explained. 'Previous researchers would have forced it into an existing type and footnoted the inconsistencies. I chose honesty.' The paper, published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology under the title 'A Novel Lithic Implement from the Mousterian of Southern France: The Scraper-Thingy,' has generated significant debate within the archaeological community. 'The artifact itself is genuinely interesting,' said lithic analyst Dr. Pierre Platform of the French National Institute of Archaeology. 'It shows a unique reduction sequence we haven't seen before, with alternating dorsal and ventral retouch that suggests a specific but unknown function. I just wish she'd called it something else.' Dr. Debitage defended her choice in a response letter. 'We name these things as if we know what Neanderthals were doing with them. We don't. A scraper might not have scraped anything. An endscraper might have been used in the middle. A burin might have been a toy. "Scraper-thingy" is the most scientifically accurate name because it accurately conveys our level of understanding: we think it scraped, and we're not sure.' The typological designation has been tentatively accepted, pending further discoveries. Dr. Debitage has also proposed reclassifying several existing tool types, including renaming the Levallois core to 'the fancy one' and the Mousterian point to 'the stabby triangle.' These proposals remain under review.