Bone retouchers, while often underrated, stand out as widespread tools throughout the Palaeolithic, typically linked to breaking bones for marrow extraction. Although bone retouchers are commonly considered a by-product of butchering activities, the possibility of intentional manufacturing has been rarely considered but should not be dismissed. In our experimental protocol, we explore decision-making processes involved in manufacturing bone retouchers, focusing on how these decisions are guided by intentional production rather than solely marrow extraction. The results indicate that individuals employ specific techniques and make technological decisions, rapidly acquiring experience in retoucher manufacturing that extends beyond mere intuition. The choice of bone-breaking technique(s) reflects the intention behind either marrow extraction or producing suitable bone fragments for retouchers. This decision-making process is heavily influenced by the morphology of the bone, presenting challenges that individuals learn to overcome during the experiment. The analysis of the experimental percussion marks suggests that certain marks on specific skeletal elements indicate intentional bone retoucher manufacturing. We then propose a likelihood grid to assess the reliability of traces on each skeletal element in inferring intentional manufacturing. Given the abundance of bone retouchers in Middle Palaeolithic contexts, a thorough investigation into the intentionality behind their manufacturing processes could significantly impact their relevance within other Palaeolithic bone industries.

骨骼修饰器虽然经常被低估，但在整个旧石器时代作为广泛使用的工具脱颖而出，通常与骨折以提取骨髓有关。尽管骨骼修饰剂通常被认为是屠宰活动的副产品，但很少考虑有意制造的可能性，但不应忽视。在我们的实验方案中，我们探索了制造骨骼修饰器所涉及的决策过程，重点关注如何通过有意生产而不是仅仅通过骨髓提取来指导这些决策。结果表明，个人采用特定的技术并做出技术决策，迅速获得超越单纯直觉的修图制造经验。骨折技术的选择反映了骨髓提取或为修饰师生产合适的骨头碎片背后的意图。这一决策过程很大程度上受到骨骼形态的影响，这给个体在实验过程中学习克服的挑战带来了挑战。对实验敲击痕迹的分析表明，特定骨骼元素上的某些痕迹表明骨骼修饰者有意制造。然后，我们提出了一个似然网格来评估每个骨架元素上痕迹的可靠性，以推断有意制造。鉴于旧石器时代中期背景下的骨骼修饰师数量众多，对其制造过程背后的意图进行彻底调查可能会显着影响它们在其他旧石器时代骨骼行业中的相关性。