Efficiency of Raw Material Use
The ability to produce thin, scalpellike blades rather than thick flakes meant a much more efficient use of raw material. By some measures, Upper Paleolithic craftspeople could obtain ten times more usable "cutting edge" than could Mousterian tool - makers from the same amount of flint. This advantage would have been especially important in areas where stone was scarce or during winter, when stone sources would have been covered by snow.
