Invasive retouch position is the term used to describe the application of retouch that covers most, or all, of an artifact. In the lower Palaeolithic handaxes are produced with invasive bifacial retouch using direct percussion. In later periods invasive retouch is often achieved by using the long flake removals of parallel retouch and/or sub-parallel retouch, which are thought to be applied by pressure flaking. It differs from other retouch positioning in that it is applied with the purpose of shaping the entire artifact - others are restricted to modifying the edges. Invasive retouch can be applied unifacially, bifacially or can be limited to selected areas of an artifact.