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Moravia is the central part of the region between the Danube and Southern Poland, which was settled by the people of the Gravettian Culture in the years 35-24/25 ka cal. BP. The Gravettian was a society of people with a high culture level based on successful animal hunting. This allowed to set aside some of the population from animal hunting and gave time for other activities. There existed a primitive division of labour. The basis for this was undoubtedly a well organized life for the entire society. A certain differentiation of their settlements also came about in Moravia. One can find there not only central settlements with a high living standard and culture but also long-term hunting settlements and short-term hunting stations. The end of the Gravettian Culture was linked with the great climatic change (LGM), which lead to the end of the existing ecosystem and consequently also to the loss of the economic basis. From my point of view, this culture disappeared fairly quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of Palaeolithic Venus figurines, which have become famous, are actually devoid of any archaeological context. This aspect is often forgotten and many of them are even considered as representative of such artefacts. Furthermore, including them mainly in the Gravettian culture has not been justified by any stratigraphic arguments or information related to absolute or cultural dating. In the absence of such evidence, a false postulate has been formulated by attributing them, in an exaggerated manner, to the Gravettian culture. The discovery of the Epigravettian figurine from Piatra Neamț 1, with a cultural stratigraphic context and coherent C14 dates, should trigger a re-evaluation of older finds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to widen the spectrum of sources leading to the knowledge of social aspects and symbolic dimensions of the life of mid-Upper Palaeolithic hunters. The contemporary discussion leaves everything that relates to faunal remains (including their special composition and striking depositions) entirely within the competence of natural sciences, as though the human intervention had ceased with killing and practical usage of the animal. As it is known from ethnohistorical sources, this has not been the case in any society. At the same time, in foraging societies funeral customs are never limited to primary inhumations of complete human bodies, although the contemporary archaeology considers such form as a standard funeral rite of the Upper Palaeolithic. Anything else is viewed as an anomaly requiring a special substantiation. Ethnologically speaking, exactly primary inhumations are exceptional, while both human and animal remains receive a ritualized treatment. A mass deposition from Předmostí (Př. 1–18) is deemed a tomb with complete bodies disturbed by animals; this interpretation still prevails despite its originating from a Christian view of the world in the 19th century. Some of the so-called tombs may not even be secondary inhumations of a body with grave goods, but a hoard of symbolic items with representative animal and human bones and "liturgic" artefacts (Brno 2). Many of the so-called works of art bear witness of an altered state of consciousness, characteristic for individuals aiming to communicate with the "other world", analogically to the later shamans. The crisis of the contemporary Palaeolithic archaeology is found in creating of an entirely artificial picture of people with purely technical motivation and determined by the surrounding nature. It is necessary to restore the discussion into the realm of cultural anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a widely held belief among archaeologists that the paucity of infant burials in the European Gravettian (ca. 33,000–22,000 cal. bp) can be attributed to societal attitudes toward these young individuals. Specifically, it has been argued that infants were "discriminated" against by members of Gravettian society who did not consider infants as "people" until after weaning. Infants who died before this process was complete were not worthy of burial. This paper challenges this characterization of Gravettian infants by considering a wide range of taphonomic factors, drawing on newly discovered as well as existing but reinterpreted burial data, and contextualizing infant burials within the larger context of Gravettian burial practices. It concludes that at certain times and certain places, some Gravettian peoples buried their infants, and when they did, it was with great care and likely with great emotion at their passing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a special case of mortuary habit in the treatment of human bodies during the Upper Paleolithic. Human teeth present a good available raw material source; however, until now, 12 Czech and French sites have been identified with human teeth pendants dated from the Aurignacian to the Magdalenian. Our study investigates four human teeth (Pav 15, Pav 25, Pav 39, and DV 8) from Pavlov I and Dolní Věstonice I that display perforations in the root area. This paper aims at distinguishing traces of human manipulation and perforation activities from traces caused by non-human depositional and post-depositional processes. Furthermore, broad paleoanthropological and archeological approaches were undertaken to understand the possible functional and symbolic meaning of these objects. The habit of functional usage and wearing human remains encompasses a comprehensive spectrum of analogies in human prehistory and recent ethnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swabian Gravettian, which is often equated with the Middle Upper Palaeolithic in the German research tradition (e.g. Bosinski, 2008), is limited to a small number of cave sites in a restricted area of the Middle and Eastern Swabian Jura, namely in the Ach and—possibly—Lone valleys. These caves, however, are an important part of Central European prehistory, since the sites yielded early radiocarbon ages covering the timespan from 35 to 31 ka cal. BP (Conard and Bolus 2003; Moreau, 2009a; Higham et al. 2012; Taller and Conard 2016). Technologically and typologically, the lithic assemblages also reflect an early Gravettian. Refits of lithic artefacts are known from Brillenhöhle (Lauxmann and Scheer 1986) and Geißenklösterle (Moreau 2009a), as well as Hohle Fels (Floss and Kieselbach 2004). These refits are vital for our understanding of the taphonomy and stratigraphy of the sites as well as for the technological analysis of lithic blank production. Here, the main focus on intra-site refits will be on Hohle Fels. Thus far no refits are known from the Gravettian of the Lone Valley. Moreover, the question is, whether the supposed Gravettian remains from the sites of Vogelherd and Bockstein-Törle do actually reflect Middle Upper Palaeolthic occupations. A remarkable feature of the Ach Valley Gravettian are refits between the sites of Brillenhöhle, Geißenklösterle, Hohle Fels and possibly also Sirgenstein (Scheer 1990; Moreau 2009a), which inform us on land use and settlement patterns in the Middle Upper Palaeolithic of Central Europe. Refits from the Ach Valley document a contemporaneous use of at least three of the four caves with Gravettian deposits, while intra-site refits facilitate the study of site formation processes and the spatial use of these important caves. With this paper, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of Gravettian lithic technology, hunter-gatherer mobility and land-use patterns in Swabia as well as the taphonomy of the sites discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knapping methods used between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic show a progressive technical refinement that usually implies, for blade technology, a higher conceptual level related to greater productive effectiveness and capacity of adaptation. The analysis of multiple refittings, providing direct information on core reduction modalities, can be useful in order to clarify these aspects, especially when the findings are framed in their respective finding contexts. In addition, the virtual analysis of multiple refittings can expand considerably the information baggage of these tools in order to infer information on the volumetric structuration of the reduction, the sequences productivity, and the analysis of the missing products (voids) within the refittings. All this allows to overcome the physical limitations typical of multiple refittings, making possible the full exploitation of their potentials. The two examined case studies, coming from different contexts of the northern Italian Paleolithic, allow to deepen the theoretical concepts and practical applications of discoid and laminar volumetric reduction, characterized by different technical and behavioral implications. The three-dimensional approach made possible to identify and reconstruct actions, expedients, objectives of the sequences, and the formation dynamics of finding contexts, highlighting technological behaviors directly related to the site's function and the occupation length. Finally, a different degree of dependence on strictly ecological factors has been recognized for laminar and discoid technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cussac Cave, discovered in 2000 in the Dordogne department of France, is one of the major decorated and sepulchral sites of the Gravettian period of the Upper Palaeolithic. It contains spectacular engravings, human remains—some of which were deposited in bear hibernation nests—and other well-preserved artefacts and traces of human and animal activity, such as human and cave bear footprints. The exceptional preservation of this cave is due to its recent discovery (followed by an extensive preservation program) and the apparent absence of human frequentation since the Gravettian period. As part of the multidisciplinary research program developed since 2008 (PCR Cussac, dir. J. Jaubert), this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the factors—natural and/or cultural—that influenced the Gravettian people in their selection and general distribution of rock art panels in the cave. We investigate the nature of the rock support, location, surroundings, accessibility, and visibility of 31 panels. For this purpose, we developed an innovative methodology combining the data recorded in a dedicated database and on topographic documents with data processing using complex statistics (Factor Analysis for Mixed Data - FAMD). Through this work, we identified three groups of panels that reveal three ways of using the cave, two of which appear homogenous. Group 1 is characterized by small panels located in narrow passageways of the Palaeolithic path in the Downstream Branch of the cave. These panels share a strong potential for visual relationships whereas it is impossible for more than four people to see a given panel at the same time. In contrast, Group 3, also mainly located in the Downstream Branch, is composed of large panels with numerous graphic entities. These panels are always located in wide corridors and distant from the natural path, and their field of visibility is thus large enough to accommodate a small group of individuals. They also share visual relationships with other panels. Finally, Group 2 contains fewer intrinsic criteria, though all the panels are situated between the beginning of the Downstream Branch and the Upstream Branch, and they are visually isolated from each other. This study yields evidence of a strong interaction between geological and cultural factors in the selection of the rock art panels in Cussac Cave. The Gravettian people that frequented Cussac Cave linked their cultural goals to what the cave had to offer in terms of geology, geomorphology and available space. They adapted to—and even optimized—both the opportunities and constraints of the cave, thus demonstrating a strong interaction between geological and cultural parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decorated cave of Coliboaia in Romania has been claimed to date to the Aurignacian period, and to supply support for the Aurignacian attribution of France's Chauvet cave. In this paper, we examine the evidence and show that neither the radiocarbon dates obtained at Coliboaia nor the style and content of its cave art correspond to the Aurignacian period, and that comparisons with Chauvet cave – itself badly dated and erroneously attributed – are equally ill-founded. We also show that both caves are in regions which are bereft of Aurignacian occupation, and neither cave contains any artefacts from the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Central and Eastern Europe, the archaeological record of the Gravettian is very well researched. However, Southeast Europe and especially the Balkans contribute only little to the picture of Gravettian hunter-gatherers. Whether this is due to less extensive research in this area or to the different ways of life of Gravettian hunter-gatherers in the Balkans remains to be investigated. Nevertheless, a better understanding of Gravettian communities in the Balkans is of crucial importance for comprehending Gravettian ways of life in late Pleistocene Europe. This paper focuses on the site of Meča Dupka in southeastern Serbia, which contains a Gravettian layer dating to 25 420 ± 190 BP (OxA-38547). Lithic and faunal analysis show that during the Gravettian, Meča Dupka represented a short-term camp with a specific lithic industry. Comparing similarly dated sites in the Balkan region, it appears that the period between 26-24 000 BP in the Balkans represents a unique episode in Gravettian hunter-gatherer ways of life, which is entirely different from the Central and Eastern European Gravettian of the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian settlements of Europe are considered as an expression of human adaptation to harsh climates. In Southern Europe, however, favorable vegetation-climate conditions supported hunters-gatherer subsistence and the maintenance of their large-scale networks. This was also the case of the North-Adriatic plain and the Apennine mountain ridge in Italy. Traditionally considered lacking evidence, the northern part of the Apennine ridge has recently yielded the Early Gravettian site of Piovesello, located at 870 m a.s.l. Survey and excavation revealed lithic artifacts in primary position embedded in loamy sediments. Radiocarbon dating, anthracological and extended palynological and microcharcoal analyses have been integrated to reconstruct the palaeoecological context of this camp which was probably positioned above the timberline in an arid rocky landscape, bounding the fronts of local glaciers close to their maximum expansion at the time of Greenland Stadial (GS) 5 (32.04 - 28.9 ka cal BP). Human activity left ephemeral traces represented by lithic artefacts, charcoal, and the introduction of radiolarites from sources in proximity to the site and of chert from very far western sources. Evidence from Piovesello contributes to the reconstruction of human and vegetation ecology during Late Pleistocene glaciations and also provides hints for the historical biogeography of petrophytic plants and their orographic relics in the northern Apennine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: La Cala (southern Italy) is an important prehistoric cave site containing a clastic sedimentary infill recording evidence of an almost constant human occupation from the Mousterian to the Copper Age. However, a cultural gap (estimated to be approx. 10.5–6.2 ka) has been identified between the Evolved Gravettian and the Evolved Epigravettian. This study presents a sedimentological and allostratigraphic study of the cave clastic infill. The succession at La Cala can be subdivided into four allostratigraphic units (CC1–4 in stratigraphic order), each one bounded by major erosional surfaces. The most prominent erosional surface (UN1), which separates unit CC1 from CC2, has a channel‐like geometry and is directly overlaid by cross‐stratified sediments, suggesting deposition in an underground stream setting. This documents an important hydrological change in the cave drainage with the development of an important phase of sediment erosion. The erosional surface UN1 stratigraphically marks the cultural time‐gap revealed by the archaeological excavations, suggesting that this hiatus may be due to the erosion of sediments rather than to a lack in human occupation. This study confirms the importance of cave clastic sediments in archaeological cave sites as a helpful tool for refining the timeframe of human presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the first results of the micromorphological study of the anthropic sequence from the Upper Paleolithic site of Poiana Cire;ului (Neamţ County). The stratigraphic succession of the layers attributed to the Gravettian occupation was studied on the Western, Northern and Eastern profiles, in Section V. After the resin impregnation and the subsequent induration, the samples were processed in order to obtain the thin sections for the optic microscopy study. Thin sections were analysed using a polarising petrographic microscope (Olympus BX 60). The stratigraphic units were systematically described and interpreted, and the identification of the sedimentary facies was achieved at magnifications between x100 and x600, using standard methods. The study was centred on the characterization of the sedimentary matrix, and of the anthropogenic features, in order to identify the units corresponding to anthropic and natural forming processes, and to characterize from this point of view the studied occupational sequence from Poiana Cire;ului. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ) is one of the main game species during the Upper Palaeolithic in the Swabian Jura. Procurement and exploitation of this mega mammal shows quantitative differences and qualitative changes between the Aurignacian and the Gravettian periods. The raw material ivory in the Aurignacian became replaced by mammoth ribs in the Gravettian accompanied by technological changes concerning points as well as cultural changes concerning jewelry. Although some signs of climatic deterioration from the Aurignacian to the Gravettian are evident and the ecological niche of mammoth is partly occupied by horses in both periods, the habitat of the mammoth populations does not seem to have been endangered. From the point of view of the organic artefact industry, we argue for a clear cultural break, in contrast to a degree of continuity observed in the lithic industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to firewood as a natural resource that was gathered, processed and consumed on a daily basis by Palaeolithic groups. Using Gravettian occupation of the Pavlovské Hills as a case study (dated to around 30,000 years BP), we investigate firewood availability using archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and ecological data, including making inferences from charcoal in Pavlovian hearths. The collated evidence suggests that while dead wood was likely readily available in woodland areas where humans had not recently foraged, longer term occupations – or repeated occupation of the same area by different groups – would have quickly exhausted naturally occurring supplies. Once depleted, the deadwood pool may have taken several generations (∼40–120 years) to recover enough to provide fuel for another base camp occupation. Such exhaustion of deadwood supplies is well attested ethnographically. Thus, we argue that Pavlovian groups likely managed firewood supplies using methods similar to those used by recent hunter–gatherers: through planned geographic mobility and by deliberately killing trees years in advance of when wood was required, so leaving time for the wood to dry out. Such management of fuel resources was, we argue, critical to human expansion into these cold, hitherto marginal, ecologies of the Upper Palaeolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reconstruction of the Cantabrian Gravettian and its palaeoenvironmental sequence is based on cave stratigraphies, which generally indicate a very rigorous climate (intense cold, occasionally dry and other times attenuated by the humidity). However, as open-air deposits are increasingly studied (Ametzagaina, Irikaitz and Mugarduia South), other situations are being detected in the Gravettian, with much milder conditions. We can now criticise the simplistic view of the Gravettian as a period governed solely by intensely cold conditions and look through the window of opportunity offered by the open-air camps to observe completely different landscapes and environments. Consequently, in the cold Heinrich events caves would have been inhabited, while in more temperate times (such as the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles) the habitat would have been preferentially in the open-air. The historiographic and methodological over-emphasis on cave sites has created a mirage that is reinforced by every new study in such locations. The difficulties of all kind involved in locating, excavating and dating open-air sites adequately has led us to believe they did not exist or their contribution was unnecessary to draw a global picture of the period. The most extreme case is the flint workshop of Mugarduia South (Navarre) at over 900 m above sea level, nearly 60 km from the modern coast and in a palaeobotanic environment dominated by deciduous species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian is the most widespread Paleolithic culture in Slovakia. The Early Gravettian (30–25/24 ka BP) does not involve any significant network of sites. It represents mainly workshop sites for processing of radiolarite (Nemšová, Zamarovce) or short-term cave camps (the Dzeravá skala cave near Plavecký Mikuláš, the Slaninová cave near the village of Háj). Trenčianske Bohuslavice, dated to 26–25/24 ka BP, is a rather important site. The Late Gravettian (24–20 ka BP) involves a thick network of sites in the Váh and Nitra river regions and in Eastern Slovakia, around the Zemplín Hills. The shouldered points horizon is named after its typical tool. The group of tools comprises frequent retouched blades and retouched pointed blades. Burins usually prevail over end-scrapers. The number of backed tools varies. In the Váh region, larger concentrations of settlement are documented, confirmed also by radiometric dating in the region of Moravany nad Váhom and Trenčín, in the Nitra river region and the town of Nitra, in Cejkov and Kašov in Eastern Slovakia. Smaller groups of Gravettian hunters with high mobility often founded multiple settlements. Imports of Polish raw materials in Slovak sites document the connection of the Váh and Nitra river regions with the territory of the Upper Vistula river. Inventories of individual sites are different in terms of used raw materials and tool typology. Future investigation and new analyses of lithic inventories might confirm the assumption that the Late Gravettian in Slovakia consisted of several independent facies. The Epigravettian (20–17 ka BP) production used local raw materials: radiolarite in Western Slovakia and obsidian in Eastern Slovakia. End-scrapers on short blades and flakes prevail over burins. Aurignacoidal elements also occur and there are backed tools. The number of microbladelets with microretouch increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent works undertaken in Sabor valley, Northeast Portugal, revealed an important Upper Paleolithic sequence to the North of Douro River in a region with little Paleolithic evidence. Previous Upper Paleolithic occupation evidence in the region had only been identified and studied in Côa Valley, to the south of Douro River. Foz do Medal site is located in an interior area of Iberia, on the fringe of the Spanish Meseta in the transition to the Atlantic façade. The work accomplished allowed the identification of Gravettian levels. The Gravettian lithic assemblage from Foz do Medal presents different characteristics when compared with other more “traditional” Gavettian assemblages, namely from Portuguese Estremadura, although sharing some features. The objectives of the reduction and the strategies applied show big peculiarities which can be related mainly with the geological context and the raw material sources. The scarcity of biogenic chert and the availability of other local siliceous rocks such as hydrothermal cherts, rock crystal and other types of fine quartz, have played a major role in the choices made by prehistoric humans. Quartz, in its several varieties, was the chosen raw material for knapping, reaching more that 80% of the total collection. As a result, the regional environmental context and human strategies show great variability between Foz do Medal and Côa valley Gravettian assemblages and other Gravettian assemblages where chert is easily available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first excavated Palaeolithic site of Bohemia was Lubná, where J. Kušta in 1890 excavated station I. At least seven other sites (Lubná II to VIII) were discovered in its vicinity over time, making the Lubná area the richest site cluster in Bohemia. It is also the only place in Bohemia where several stations are located in a small area. All sites belong to the Upper Gravettian period, dated to 25 to 21 ka BP. For comparison of Lubná sites, there are 3646 artefacts from 6 sites in Lubná. The largest assemblage is Lubná III with 1442 artefacts; the second largest is the assemblage of Lubná II with 952 artefacts. Lubná IV has 566 artefacts and Lubná I 460 artefacts. The smallest assemblages come from sites Lubná VI and VIII (162 and 64 artefacts). Dominant raw materials are silicites of glacial sediments from the north (Silesia and Saxony). There are small amounts of quartzites of northwestern Bohemia and Bavarian plattensilex. All sites have very low amount of cores, and they show high stages of exploitation. Microchips, flakes and burin spalls demonstrate blade and tool production on sites. Tool composition is typical for the Gravettian with gravettian points and micropoints, domination of burins, and numerous microliths. Kostenki points are absent. Pavlovian microliths, triangles and segments, are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of the large site clusters of the Gravettian (Pavlovian) represents one of the final effects of modern human adaptation in central Europe, but chronology of the site formation processes at such sites are still little understood. Here we present new evidence from Pavlov I, a site now prepared for the construction of a museum and subjected to a large-scale preparatory excavation. Understanding the spatial organisation, microstratigraphies, and the effects of cryogenic processes on the site formation is the basic presumption for lithic analysis at a large and complex site. Obviously, these extensive sites have a longer prehistory than was previously thought. The detection of the Early Upper Palaeolithic/Gravettian boundary was related to a radical change in the lithic raw material composition. The early and evolved Gravettian industries complete previously recorded the techno/typological spectrum by additional microlithic assemblages. With this new evidence, the paper also discusses the question of Gravettian origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Willendorf II provides the longest and best-studied MIS 3 sequence in the Middle Danube region, and represents one of the key reference sequences for this time period in Central Europe. The assemblage chosen for analysis derives from archaeological horizon (AH) 5, attributed to the period of the first Gravettian between 30 and 27 ka uncal. BP. Previous analyses were all based on a selected inventory (mainly tools and cores) derived from the 1908/1909 excavations. The discovery of labelled wooden boxes containing numerous additional artefacts from the 1908/1909 excavations at the end of the 1990s in the cellar of the Natural History Museum in Vienna considerably raises the total number of finds for all archaeological horizons, and opens new perspectives for investigating Upper Palaeolithic behavioural variability in the Middle Danube region. For the first time, all artefacts have been assigned to a raw material source area, thus providing a picture of the geographic extent of the foraging territory, and allowing for quantified observations on raw material economy and technological variability in the early Gravettian of the Middle Danube region. Willendorf II provides an excellent basis for the study of Gravettian lithic assemblage variability due to the wide array of local and nonlocal lithic resources available at varying distances from the settlement. Source provenance information and patterns of raw material use offer complementary measures of mobility. We discuss the results in the light of the concepts of “technological provisioning” developed by S.L. Kuhn. Distance to source alone is not suitable to predict and explain raw material frequencies and the character of transported technologies on nonlocal material at Willendorf II-AH5. We argue that other factors such as the degree of anticipation of foreseeable activities and occupation span might account for the observed economic patterns. Our results clearly have broader relevance for understanding assemblage variability in the Gravettian of Central Europe and further afield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field and laboratory work carried out in recent decades have substantially changed our vision of various aspects of the Gravettian in the Cantabrian Region and the western Pyrenees. The objective of this work is to carry out a critical synthesis of the available data for the lithic industry of the Gravettian in this region, according to raw material procurement, exploitation strategies and typological markers. Thereby several aspects are of importance: (1) the alternating availability of high quality raw material, where two territories can be divided: one to the West, where raw material acquisition is showing a wide range of raw materials (notably flint, quartzite, quartz), and one to the East, where assemblages are completely dominated by a single raw material: flint; (2) the great similarity between different reduction strategies, mainly in relation to flint; and (3) an existing polymorphism throughout the territory in case of the tool types, within which protrude two typological groups: back elements and burins, notably the Noailles burins. The latter are massively present in the eastern part of the Cantabrian Region and the western Pyrenees. This variability does not seem to correspond to chronological phases, but has to be probably understood in functional terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins and expansion of Gravettian industries in Western Europe have recently been considered a cultural mosaic phenomena marked by regional technological facies. Probably associated with climatic oscillations, the development of these facies is likely related to sociocultural patterns and human adaptations to different ecological niches. Thereby, changes of subsistence strategies and mobility patterns are also reflected by technological and typological adaptations and innovations within the lithic assemblages. With the Iberian Peninsula being an important ecological niche for studying these phenomena, we conducted a comparative analysis of two occupations to test human ecological and lithic technological adaptations during the early Gravettian in Iberia: Cueto de la Mina on the northern Iberian Atlantic coast and Vale Boi on the western Portuguese Atlantic coast. Results show that these occupations exhibit major technological differences, but also strong similarities in the case of typological innovation/adaptation, possibly related to local resource accessibility (e.g. high-quality raw material). Based on these observations, the study provides further information concerning possible connections throughout the Iberian Atlantic coastline during an early Gravettian timeframe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located at the interface between the Paris and the Rhine Basins and the more northern territories of Europe, Belgium contains several Gravettian occupations, both open-air and in caves. The available documentation is unfortunately limited by the earliness of the excavations conducted at most sites. Stratified records in karstic context, primarily excavated in the 19th century, are particularly affected by this situation. The analysis of Gravettian lithic technological behaviours can, however, rely on two open air sites excavated in the late 20th century which provide more rigorous data: Maisières-Canal and Station de l'Hermitage. These two sites have been the focus of comparisons that highlight their similarities, both in terms of the lithic industry and location. In fact, the former stands out for the presence of tanged tools, a typological marker which is usually associated with the Early Gravettian of Western Europe. In this article, we present a new study that evidences the differences in the lithic technical systems represented at these sites. After a presentation of the most recent data, we consider the causes that may be responsible for such diversity, highlighting the possible role of the chronological factor, but also of the existence of an original technical tradition in north-western Europe during the appearance and development of the Gravettian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typological studies applied on the osseous industry developed slowly in France following the pioneering work of H. Camps-Fabrer and the technological renewal that F. Billamboz and D. Stordeur brought to this field in the 1970–1980s. This field has been thriving since the 2000s. Technology represents part of a systemic approach where each component of a technical system is analysed as to its purpose, its structure and its connection to other components of the socio-economic system. Nevertheless, technology is not an end in itself. Any technological observation must be considered in its sociological and palaeohistorical context in order to understand, not only the activities that took place during the occupation of a site, but more broadly to translate these data into “a realistic story of human behaviours”. That is why reducing osseous technology to analysis of technical stigmata alone oversimplifies the potentials of this approach. We will illustrate this topic using Aurignacian and Gravettian examples from a few key French and Spanish sites. By showing technical and conceptual differences in the manufacturing of osseous projectile points (e.g. split-based points) in assemblages usually considered homogeneous, we can infer the existence of different techno-typological traditions and discuss if they are – or not – representative of different cultural traditions. Various technical details such as splitting base preparation by scraping, are significant indicators allowing discussion of whether there was diffusion of ideas and/or human groups from one side of the Pyrenees to the other at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the excavation in the Borsuka Cave site (southern Poland), extraordinary materials were obtained for the study of the Mid Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) settlement in the region. In layer VI, six deciduous teeth of a modern Homo sapiens infant were discovered together with 112 pendants made from the teeth of European elk and steppe wisent or aurochs. The teeth appear to belong to a 12- to 18-month-old child. The sex of the child cannot be determined. Diagnostic features of the teeth and the fact that they all represent the same developmental phase suggest that they belong to a single individual. In this paper, we put forward a number of alternative explanations for why only a child's teeth and numerous pendants were deposited in the late Pleistocene sediments of Borsuka Cave, for example, natural factors (carnivore activity), human habitation, existence of a pendant workshop in the vicinity of the cave and intentional burial. Although no traces of a burial pit were encountered, intentional burial, the oldest known from Poland, is indicated by the presence of human remains together with numerous ornaments and absence of 'domestic' finds, such as lithic cores, debitage and tools. An unusual presence of a larger number of pierced teeth of large herbivores in a child burial is noticeable among assorted mortuary practices recorded in MUP Central Europe. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of use-wear analysis of the backed implements (shouldered points and backed blades) discovered at Kraków Spadzista, trench B + B1. Of the 197 examined tools, 113 specimens (55%) bear traces of use. In this group, 55 artefacts show a complete set of clear, characteristic impact traces and could be interpreted as the flint parts of thrown weapons. They were used in mammoth hunting at the Kraków Spadzista site 24 thousand years ago. The hafting method can be identified on the basis of the direction of linear traces and impact negatives. Most of these artefacts were placed at the top of wooden or bone shaft. Only single specimens were attached laterally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human manipulation on mammoth ivory is widely known from the archaeological record of the Upper Palaeolithic. The ring notching technique to break a tusk can be documented from the Early Aurignacian with continuous traditions in the Gravettian/Pavlovian. Experiments with rotten and fresh elephant ivory highlight for many Palaeolithic objects the analogy to breakage patterns in a significant decomposition process. The use of rotten ivory is especially evident in several Upper Palaeolithic art objects. These ivory plates, showing a concave inner surface caused by rotting, were the raw material for several Aurignacian figurines from the Swabian Alb (Southern Germany) and Gravettian figurines from Southern Moravia. The use of rotten ivory in a “carve and splinter technique” will be discussed for the lion man from Hohlenstein-Stadel. Strategies of deliberate maceration can reduce working costs. Procurement of rotten ivory is conceivable as a chaîne opératoire, either starting by killing the animal and caching of the tusks, or harvesting of specific weathered material from the land surface. In particular, the latter behavior gives reason to consider that raw material acquisition as “recycling”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian is an Upper Palaeolithic unit that had a pan-European range. Unlike the Aurignacian, it did not extend beyond Europe. In terms of taxonomy, in a polythetic system, the Gravettian can be placed on various levels. In terms of material culture and lithic inventories, it is closer to the concept of a “technocomplex”, while in terms of symbolic culture it corresponds to the concept of “archaeological culture”. These differences in the degree of the correlation of particular socio-cultural sub-systems have caused emphasis to be placed either on unifying elements, or on differentiating components. These different viewpoints on the Gravettian have resulted in various hypotheses of the origins of this complex. These hypotheses take into account: a) monocentric origin from Danubian centers, from which the Gravettian spread to the west giving rise to the “western European Perigordian”, and to eastern Europe where it gave rise to the Kostienkian (the Kostienki–Avdeyevo culture). This hypothesis is most frequently proposed. b) polycentric origins that assume other centers of autonomous formation of the Gravettian (e.g. eastern European and middle Mediterranean centres). c) origins related to cultural adaptations that led to convergent cultural evolution in various territories in consequence of environmental changes, notably in the younger part of MIS 3. None of these hypotheses seems to fully explain the processes of the emergence of the Gravettian. It is only a combination of these hypotheses that enables a more penetrating understanding of the process of cultural evolution in the Middle Upper Palaeolithic in Europe. Doubtless, the Gravettian is a varied unit in a number of aspects. Nevertheless, similarities do exist in respect of numerous elements of technology, morphology of lithic and bone implements, symbolic culture, behaviours related to food procurement, and the broad sphere of inter-group contacts and zones of raw material procurement. In the Gravettian, a number of elements are herbingers of the “Neolithic revolution”: the semi-settled way of life (multiseasonal settlements), intentionally designed lay-out of villages, the use of fired clay, the building of complex dwelling structures, and the use of plant foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeolithic archaeological sites of the Western Ukraine are clustered along the Prut and Dniester Rivers. Different sites provided data enabling reconstruction of the paleoenvironment, chronology and cultures of human group during the Upper Paleolithic (notably Molodova V). During the second part of the Pleniglacial, between 23 000 and 20 000 years BP, palaeoclimatic variations took place. The intensification of cold and arid conditions is liable to force human groups to adapt to a changing environment. Little is known about this period, with only a few assemblages. Ongoing excavations continue to provide new data. The archaeological site of Dorochivtsy III has an important sequence stratigraphy with several archaeological layers. Among the seven Upper Palaeolithic layers, layers 6, 5, 4 and 3 testify to activities of a human group during the Upper Pleniglacial. We studied the faunal assemblages applying zooarchaeological methods, identifying mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ), reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ), horse ( Equus sp.) and fox ( Alopex lagopus/Vulpes vulpes ). The Gravettian layers 3, 4, 5 have anthropogenic clues in connection with subsistence activities oriented on reindeer, then horses, and finally fox. Concerning mammoths, we cannot define the modes of acquisition and use. These occupations have been interpreted as recurrent hunting occupations linked to procurement of local flint and lithic production for butchering activities. Layer 6 dated to 22 330 ± 100 BP is remarkable because of previously unseen practises. The lithic assemblage combined with bone industry and engraved tusk is a novel set of cultural elements in this area, called ancient Epigravettian. This layer testifies to the diversity of human activities during the Upper Pleniglacial and to the particular status of mammoth ivory as an artistic medium. Palynological data and taphonomic observations on bones indicate the persistence of relatively moist conditions during some periods, which could favour the movement of human groups. Although little is known about the Upper Pleniglacial period, Dorochivtsy III testifies to the continuity of a large exploitation of the territory of the Dniester valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammoth bone beds associated with Palaeolithic settlements were reported in the Pavlovian, the Eastern Gravettian, and the Mezinian. Several points of method are posed: - How to identify and differentiate without ambiguity the remains of mammoth bone beds from the remains of dwelling structures built in part from the bones of these bone beds? - How to study the processes that are at the origin of the bone bed deposits and the processes of human exploitation of these deposits? - How to identify the origin of these accumulations, unique, multiple or continuous, either due to geological changes, deaths of natural origin (famine, storm) or human activity (hunting, trapping)? This paper is particularly involved in the study of cases, more systematic than exceptional, of accumulations that are associated with a settlement. It provides a quantitative method to distinguish the mammoth bone beds from the dwelling structures, and to identify and characterize the various processes behind the systems of bone beds and artefacts discovered by the archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to present the materials of the Upper Paleolithic site of Kostenki 4. Despite the fact that the site is situated in the easternmost part of the Gravettian area, neither its dwelling constructions nor stone industry show much similarity to the so-called East Gravettian assemblages, such as those of the Kostenki-Avdeevo group. The evidence that has been accumulating in recent years makes it possible to look at the site in a new light, to better understand its place in a wider cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian site of Předmostí I in the central Moravian Plain has yielded a rich and diverse large mammal fauna dated around 25–27,000 14 C years BP (ca. 29,500–31,500 cal BP). This fauna includes numerous carnivores (cave lion, wolf, brown bear, polar fox, wolverine) and herbivores (reindeer, large bovine, red deer, muskox, horse, woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth) whose trophic position could be reconstructed using stable isotopic tracking (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 34 S) of bone collagen ( n = 63). Among large canids, two morphotypes, “Pleistocene wolves” and “Palaeolithic dogs”, were considered, and two human bones attributed to the Gravettian assemblage of Předmostí I were also sampled. The trophic system around the Gravettian settlement of Předmostí I showed the typical niche partitioning among herbivores and carnivores seen in other mammoth-steppe contexts. The contribution of the analyzed prey species to the diet of the predators, including humans, was evaluated using a Bayesian mixing model (SIAR). Lions included great amounts of reindeer/muskox and possibly bison in their diet, while Pleistocene wolves were more focused on horse and possibly mammoth. Strong reliance on mammoth meat was found for the human of the site, similarly to previously analyzed individuals from other Gravettian sites in Moravia. Interestingly, the large canids interpreted as “Palaeolithic dogs” had a high proportion of reindeer/muskox in their diet, while consumption of mammoth would be expected from the availability of this prey especially in case of close interaction with humans. The peculiar isotopic composition of the Palaeolithic dogs of Předmostí I may indicate some control of their dietary intake by Gravettian people, who could have use them more for transportation than hunting purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian in Portugal is known primarily from three main areas: the Côa valley, the central region between the Mondego and Tagus river valleys, and Algarve in the south. Each region seems to be represented by various cultural facies that likely correspond to different social networks with diverse technological, subsistence and settlement organization. Despite these differences, the Portuguese Gravettian appears to have had a similar emergence in each area, beginning at least in central and southern Portugal around 33 ka cal BP, and ending ca. 26.5 ka cal BP with the appearance of the Proto-Solutrean. The present study focuses on the various aspects mentioned above, presenting the more recent dates for Portugal and the boundaries for the beginning and end of the Gravettian phase based on Bayesian modeling. The results suggest that there is a possibility of a two thousand years overlap between the late Mousterian and the Early Gravettian in central and southern Portugal; that the Early Gravettian started with the onset of the Heinrich Event 3 and lasted c. 4000 years, followed by the Late Gravettian and gave place to the Proto-Solutrean around 26.5 ka cal BP, with the beginning of the Heinrich Event 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New research affords new data on bird usage in the Pavlovian culture. This is the first article to report on bird remains excavated at Dolní Věstonice II and Pavlov II, and to discuss a small group of bones from Pavlov I. Although the two sites share a number of striking similarities, including the high frequency of Raven ( Corvus corax ), there are also some differences, e.g., in the ratio of the bird taxa. The former may be common for the whole Pavlovian culture; the latter may depend from specific usages of the sites by the Gravettian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The open-air Bilancino site (Mugello basin, Florence, Italy) may be ascribed to the Noaillian facies of the Gravettian. The site is dated to 25,410 ± 150 BP. As no faunal remains have been preserved due to the local deposit conditions, attention has been paid to the procurement strategy of the inorganic raw material – i.e. lithics and minerals – as well as to the exceptional evidence of behavior strictly related to vegetal food processing. Bilancino was a summer seasonal camp for the harvesting and the processing of hygrophilous herbs, in particular Typha latifolia (cattail). The Noailles burins were the tools that Gravettian people used to produce fibers from cattail; vegetal residues (starch) found on pestle-grinders and grinding stones provide the earliest evidence of a technique used in the preparation of flour based on wild plants. Mineral residues (hematite) found on another grinding stone, as well as fragments of this mineral found on the living floor of the site, provide evidence for the coloring of vegetable fibers and possibly other materials. Analysis of the provenance of the lithic and mineral raw material allows us to define the territory within which the Bilancino inhabitants may have found the natural sources for collecting the raw materials useful for their daily activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long sequence of El Castillo cave contains Units 12 and 14, attributed to the Gravettian. This paper presents a revision of the lithic industry and the fauna recovered during H. Obermaier's 1910–1914 excavations of the site, as well as a number of new datings that enable us to chronologically place the above Gravettian occupations as one of the oldest in Europe. Unit 14 is dated between 34 and 33 ka cal BP and Unit 12 between 30 and 28 ka cal BP. The cave's oldest Gravettian level, Unit 14, presents techno-typological features typical of the first phases of the Gravettian in the Cantabro-Pyrenean region, such as Noailles burins, although it also shows some common elements with the Evolved Aurignacian. The youngest Gravettian unit, Unit 12, is characterised by laminar production from bipolar prismatic cores and a greater, albeit still discreet, presence of dorsal pieces. In terms of the fauna, Unit 14 is represented by red deer, chamois and horse, whereas Unit 12 is represented by red deer and horse, a hint as to what would later become the characteristic composition of Late Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblages. The lithic and chronological characteristics of the Gravettian at El Castillo and the Cantabro-Pyrenean region lead us to believe in a mosaic formation of this techno-complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gravettian is the most important phase for the technological and cultural setting of the Upper Paleolithic sequence in the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula. For the Gravettian record in this territory, the archaeological site of Vale Boi (Vila do Bispo, Cape St. Vicente, Portugal) provides one of the most complete chrono-stratigraphic sequences. This paper focus on technological and typological variability of the Gravettian lithic assemblages from Vale Boi, dated from c. 33 to c. 28 ka cal BP, and tests affinities with other Gravettian contexts from central Portugal and southern Spain. Technological analysis shows that Gravettian lithic assemblages from Vale Boi are characterized by reduction strategies focuses on flake and bladelet debitage. Backed technology represents the most important morph-type. However, instead of the so-called typical Gravettian points (i.e. Gravette and Microgravette points), the early Gravettian of Vale Boi is characterized by double backed and bipointed bladelets. Statistical analysis shows that data from Vale Boi represent a new insight on human technological and socio-cultural behaviour during the onset of Upper Paleolithic in Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The woolly mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ) was an emblematic and key species of the so-called mammoth steppe ecosystem between ca. 110,000 and 12,000 years ago. Its contribution to human subsistence during the Gravettian period as source of raw material was documented in southwestern France and southwestern Germany, with some evidence of active hunting in the latter region. However, decreasing genetic diversity and increasing indications of nutritional stress point to a likely decline of this megaherbivore. The specificity of the ecological niche occupied by the woolly mammoth is clearly reflected by their collagen 13 C and 15 N abundances (δ 13 C coll and δ 15 N coll ), measured on skeletal remains of the typical mammoth steppe. The abundances of carbon-13 in mammoth collagen are comparable to those of other grazers like horse ( Equus sp.), while the nitrogen-15 abundances are significantly higher (about 3‰) than in the other herbivores, either horse or reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ). During the Aurignacian and Gravettian occupation at Geißenklösterle in the Ach Valley (Germany), the mammoths had the expected stable isotope signature, but the nitrogen-15 of horses showed an unexpected overlap with those of the mammoth. This unusual pattern was already occurring during the Aurignacian, while the oxygen-18 abundances in bone phosphate (δ 18 O bp ) of horse and reindeer were unchanged between Aurignacian and Gravettian periods, which rules out significant change in environmental and climatic conditions. Thus, we hypothesize that during the Aurignacian and Gravettian, the ecological niche of mammoth was intact but not occupied intensively by mammoths due to a decline in their population. This decline could be tentatively explained by human pressure through hunting. In Dordogne (France), decreasing horse and reindeer δ 15 N coll values coeval to decreasing horse δ 18 O bp values between the Aurignacian and the Early Gravettian periods reflected a clear change in the environment, while no contrast in δ 15 N coll values was observed between the Early and Final Gravettian at the Abri Pataud. The mammoth of Dordogne yielded slightly higher δ 15 N coll values than expected, probably as a consequence of the nursing effect since all the analyzed samples were ivory instead of bone. The direct dating and sulphur-34 measurement on the ivory of the Early Gravettian at Pataud showed that almost all of them were of contemporaneous and local origin. Significant contrasts in δ 34 S coll values were found between the Dordogne and the Ach Valley for the same herbivores species, which confirms the potential of sulphur-34 in collagen as a mobility tracker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Carpathian basin provides abundant lithic raw material sources for stone tools. In spite of their abundance, Gravettian lithic assemblages contain raw materials from north and east of the Carpathians. Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye assemblage from Northeastern Hungary is one of the sites yielding an exotic stone assemblage. The procurement strategy of these raw materials has not been discussed until now in the theoretical background of forager societies. The present study demonstrates that Gravettian lithic procurement strategy was opportunistic, most probably embedded in daily foraging, and the technology was adapted to the natural stone environment and anticipated needs during mobility. Although the exotic stones are of high quality and apparently the result of thorough selectivity, those seem to have been acquired with the same strategy, and the reason why those are present in the Bodrogkeresztúr–Henye assemblage is that they were taken as a mobile toolkit, and arrived at the site exposed to curation for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the end of the 1960s numerous stone artifacts made of jasper were found in a field in the region of Müllheim/Baden in the Markgräfler Hügelland in Southwestern Germany. Among the findings are Font-Robert points, Gravette points, and microgravettes which allow an attribution to the Gravettian. Different test excavations were placed in the areas of artifact concentration. Since 2003 the Steinacker and surrounding fields have been surveyed by two amateurs who continue to find different stone artifacts. The different findings show good parallels to other Gravettian open sites in Germany and other surrounding countries. Within the context of the hitherto known Gravettian settlement of the South-western part of Germany this is the remotest and unfortunately less known site that was discovered in the Rhine area. The site of Feldberg “Steinacker” can be regarded as the most important Gravettien open air site of Baden-Württemberg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multilayered site Borshevo 5 is one of the recently excavated Upper Paleolithic settlements in the Kostenki-Borshevo location (Russia). Borshevo 5 has been investigated over a total area of 130 m 2 since 2002. Five habitation levels of the Upper Paleolithic were established. The uppermost first cultural layer was associated with the Gravettian 14 C dated 22–20 ka BP uncal. It was discovered in the excavation area 2009–2010 that the first cultural layer upslope was split in two separate cultural horizons divided by a sterile loam. Horizons 1a and 1b were associated with two different paleosols. Both of the horizons yielded almost typologically identical stone assemblages. The stone industry was based on the exploitation of mainly Cretaceous and some Carboniferous flints as well as quartzite, sandstone, and slate raw materials. According to the typology of tools, 1a and 1b assemblages of Borshevo 5 have analogies in the neighboring Gravettian sites Kostenki 9 and Kostenki 4. A clear feature of the assemblages is the occurrence of slate and dolomite artifacts treated by polishing. It seems that this kind of culture had no relations with the typical Eastern Gravettian Kostenki-Avdejevo culture. According to the features in knapping (wedge cores and small blades size), as well as tool composition (Gravette and Vachon points), Borshevo 5 should be called late Gravettian or early Epigravettian. The cultural roots of these communities may originate from the Central European context such as Milovice (upper layer), with similar 14 C dates and stone industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Plant Resources in the Palaeolithic” is a research project focused on the technologies for plant food processing as documented by use-wear traces and plant residue on grinding tools found in European sites. Many researchers have been involved in the project, which encompasses the fields of archaeology, botany and food processing technologies, within the context of the history of European Prehistoric societies. The first study was carried out on use-wear traces and plant remains recovered from grinding tools from the sites of Bilancino (Italy), Kostienki 16 (Russia) and Pavlov VI (Czech Republic), dating to the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian and Gorotsovian) around 28,000–30,000 cal BP. The results demonstrated that vegetable food processing and the production of flour was a common practice across Europe from at least 30,000 years ago and that flour, a high-energy food, was a component of the food economy of mobile hunter gatherers. Flour production and consumption imply multi-step processing from harvesting to cooking to obtain a suitable and digestible food, and that this was part of an Upper Paleolithic behavioural package. This paper presents new data from two Gravettian pestles, found at Grotta Paglicci – level 23a (Southern Italy) and at Dolni Vestonice I (Czech Republic), which furnish further information about plant exploitation and the technologies related to plant food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the phenomenon of mammoth ivory necklaces from Dolní Věstonice I (Moravia, Czech Republic). The ivory artefacts were described by the excavator K. Absolon in 1937 as necklaces, and this primary interpretation is still in use today. In this case, mammoth ivory was worked into repeating standardised forms of various size, which are almost absent elsewhere in the Upper Palaeolithic. The seven artefacts were here examined for their state of conservation, manufacturing technology, decorating style and supposed functional purpose. Partial reconstruction of the chaîne opératoire can enable integration of these artefacts into the style of mammoth ivory processing at this Gravettian site, and help to define the status of this raw material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dearth of evidence for late Neanderthals in Europe reduces our ability to understand the demise of their species and the impact of the biological and cultural changes that resulted from the spread of anatomically modern humans. In this light, a recently investigated cave in the northern Adriatic region at the border between the Italian Alps and the Great Adriatic Plain provides useful data about the last Neanderthals between 46.0 and 42.1 ky CAL B.P. Their subsistence is inferred from zooarchaeological remains and patterns in Middle Palaeolithic lithic technology. Unexpected evidence of the ephemeral use of the cave during the early Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian period shows a change in lithic technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it may seem paradoxical, the mobility patterns of nomadic Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups are usually discerned based on the study of a single, static site. By statistically analysing patterns of lithic procurement at the Gravettian camp of Ametzagaina (Basque Country), we attempt to interpret how different raw material types influenced mobility and technological preferences. In order to overcome the static view created by analyzing a single site, this study provides new methodological keys with which to approach this question. Because this site is located very near a critical corridor between France and the Iberian Peninsula at the westem end of the Pyrenees, it contains lithic materials from both sides of the mountain chain. It is argued that these materials were used differently according to their original source location and their physical characteristics (e.g., quality, size, shape). This information is compared with data from other Gravettian sites across the same region and on both sides of the Western Pyrenees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé La description et l’étude tracéologique d’un objet gravettien non utilitaire en stéatite provenant de la Grotte Florestan (Grimaldi) sont proposées dans cet article. Il s’agît d’un objet sub-rectangulaire aplati, irrégulièrement quadrillé par un profond rainurage et pourvu de dentelures sur l’une des extrémités. L’une de ses faces présente une profonde perforation « borgne ». Des interprétations technologiques sont proposées ici sur la base d’observations micromorphologiques des surfaces de l’objet. The description and traceological study of a Gravettian non-utilitarian steatite object formerly found in the Florestan Cave (Grimaldi) are proposed here. The two main faces of this sub-rectangular object are covered with marked grooves. One of its sides shows serrations. A deep blind hole is visible in the middle of one of the faces. A technological interpretation is proposed, on the basis of the micromorphological study of surface modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé Le complexe des gisements de Předmostí est parmi les plus connus du centre de l’Europe centrale. Le site Předmostí III a fait l’objet de plusieurs campagnes de fouilles. Le présent article se focalise sur les découvertes mises au jour en 1982 et 1983. L’industrie lithique est produite in situ sur les galets de rivière en radiolarite. L’association d’un couteau de Kostenki à un microlithe géométrique permet d’attribuer l’ensemble au Pavlovien et plus particulièrement à l’une de ces composantes « le groupe à microlithes géométriques ». Les lames et les lamelles sont majoritairement débitées au percuteur tendre organique. Cette technique identifiée est en concordance avec la découverte d’un objet en ivoire de mammouth portant des traces d’impacts, interprété comme un percuteur. Une partie de la faune étudiée pour le moment montre la forte prédominance du mammouth. Malgré la quantité restreinte du matériel, le site contribue à une meilleure compréhension des industries pavloviennes. The complex of sites of Předmostí is one of the most famous in the Central Europe. The site Předmostí III has been excavated several times during the last thirty years. This article focuses on the materials discovered in 1982 and 1983. The lithic industry has been knapped in situ on radiolarite river pebbles. The association of a Kostenki’ knife with geometric microlith indicates a cultural attribution to the Pavlovian and more particularly to the kind described as the “group with geometric microliths”. Blades and bladelets are mainly produced with an organic hammer. This fact could fit with the discover of a piece of mammoth tusk with percussion marks on its the distal end that could have been used as a hammer. In spite of the small number of artefacts preserved, the reassessment of that collection contributes to a better understanding of the Pavlovian industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé La description et l’étude technologique de 13 objets en ivoire retrouvés associés à deux sépultures gravettiennes de la Barma Grande de Grimaldi (burial II et burial III) sont proposées dans cet article. Il s’agît de 9 pendeloques claviformes et de 4 boutons définis originairement comme « pendeloques en double olive ». Tous ces objets présentent une ornementation à séries de sillons. Des interprétations d’intérêt technologique sont proposées sur la base des observations tracéologiques. Thirteen ivory objects found associated to two Gravettian burials in the Barma Grande (burial II and III) are housed at present in the Balzi Rossi Museum. They are represented by nine claviform pendants and by four buttons formerly defined as “double-olive pendants”. Their decoration is composed of sets of grooves. The micromorphology of their surface will be described in this paper and some technological implications will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of the occlusal molar microwear texture analysis of 32 adult Upper Paleolithic modern humans from a total of 21 European sites dating to marine isotope stages 3 and 2. The occlusal molar microwear textures of these specimens were analyzed with the aim of examining the effects of the climatic, as well as the cultural, changes on the diets of the Upper Paleolithic modern humans. The results of this analysis do not reveal any environmentally driven dietary shifts for the Upper Paleolithic hominins indicating that the climatic and their associated paleoecological changes did not force these humans to significantly alter their diets in order to survive. However, the microwear texture analysis does detect culturally related changes in the Upper Paleolithic humans' diets. Specifically, significant differences in diet were found between the earlier Upper Paleolithic individuals, i.e., those belonging to the Aurignacian and Gravettian contexts, and the later Magdalenian ones, such that the diet of the latter group was more varied and included more abrasive foods compared with those of the former. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:570-581, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]