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The article is devoted to the problems of definition, classification and genesis of the Epigravettian in the Central regions of the East European plain. It is concluded that Epigravettian sites could be characterized as industrially variable and multicultural. Epigravettian should be considered as a polygenetic phenomenon characterized by a cultural mosaic peculiar to specific geographical regions. In relation to the territory of the Desna and the Middle Dnieper Basin, we can assume a direct continuity between the local Gravettian and Epigravettian traditions, despite changes in technology and typology of stone and bone tools, as well as the style in the design of portable art objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, fossil directors have been key elements for the characterization of chrono-cultural series over time. Current research on lithic technology demonstrate extensive and growing variability within technocomplexes, particularly in the Upper Paleolithic, making more complex the previously established chrono-cultural organization. In this article we analyze the lithic technology of level 497C from Cova Gran de Santa Linya, dated to 26.220 ± 220 BP (31260–30580 cal BP). Chronometric data indicates the assemblage is located between MIS 3 and MIS 2, likely placing it within the Gravettian tradition. The level 497C constitutes one of the few archaeological sites in NE Iberia for this period and allows identifying technical traits in core reduction methods, stone tools manufacture and site composition. Reduction strategies through prismatic cores were used to obtain distinct sequences of blades and bladelets. The assemblage of retouched artifacts is mainly composed by " fond commun" , pieces with abrupt retouch, and burins (mostly on oblique truncation). Backed tools, which were common during this period, are notably rare, as are Gravette points and Noailles burins, classic indicators that are not represented here. Nevertheless, a group of partially retouched macro-flakes forms a little-known category of instruments that can provide remarkable information regarding the technical behaviors of human groups. The technological features seen in level 497C may be consistent with the Gravettian technocomplex. However, we suggest the integration of technical-organizational indicators to assist the contextualization of the diversity of responses and technological decisions identified in technocomplexes. In this sense, the characteristics of this assemblage offer keys for evaluating archaeological sequences without fossil directors, thereby expanding our understanding of technological variability in this period in Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Eastern European Plain, the Desna valley has delivered few gravettian settlements. The group of Pushkari is characterized by final gravettian occupations relied to the Last Glacial Maximum, before the maximum peak. These are the sites of Pushkari I and Pushkari VIII (Pogon). New excavations were conducted for the last decades. In order to highlight the subsistence strategies adopted by humans we proceeded to the zooarchaeological and lithic analyses of these assemblages. In both sites, the faunal spectrum is restricted, mainly composed of Mammuthus primigenius , then Equus sp., R. tarandus , Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes / Vulpes lagopus. The skeletal preservation and mortality profile of mammoth shows that they were slaughtered and butchered by human groups. Furthermore some bones were gathered, particularly tusks, which are associated to a new dwelling structure, fireplaces and small pits. These are two of the few final Gravettian sites showing a quite developed organization of the camps. Reindeer, horse and canids could also be hunted more punctually for the exploitation of fur, fat, meat and marrow. Moreover we have an important use of bones as fuel, whose mammoth bones. According to the lithic study, this is local flint exploited to produce blades and bladelets, tool-kit contains backed points and rectangles, points of large form and burins, relied to hunting and butchering activities. The Pushkari group shows among the last occupations of the Desna valley by late Gravettian peoples of a specific ethnic group, before that the end of the Last Glacial Maximum peak marks the disappearance of late Gravettian peoples and of human populations between 19 and 16,000 BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the Iberian Peninsula, abrupt climate shifts during the Late Pleistocene impacted human and natural systems. Our knowledge of human adaptive responses to these climatic perturbations has improved in recent years with the development of new radiocarbon techniques that have increased the temporal resolution of cultural chronologies. At the same time, new high-resolution paleoclimatic records from Greenland ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, speleothems, and microfaunal assemblages have permitted detailed paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Combined with the archaeological record of culture change, these data sets allow for a better understanding of the nature of human socio-ecological systems during the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new data on the Gravettian occupations at Lapa do Picareiro, a cave site in Portugal with a long continuous stratigraphic sequence spanning MIS 3 and 2. The ongoing excavation of Lapa do Picareiro has revealed at least three Gravettian levels with very different patterns of raw material use and technological reduction. The Early Gravettian levels contain a quartzite flake assemblage with several refitting clusters and a small chert assemblage with nosed endscrapers and bladelet technology. The Late or Terminal Gravettian level contains carinated endscraper/core-bladelet technology, mainly quartz, with chert blade production, and a few bone tools. The faunal assemblages also have a different character. Both contain a similar range of medium and large ungulates but the earlier Gravettian has a much richer and more diverse assemblage of small animals. These combined archaeological data sets provide a new perspective on Gravettian human adaptations in response to climate shifts, especially Heinrich Event 3 and Greenland Interstadials 4 and 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work presented in this paper is the result of a more general study of all the non-flint lithic materials carried out on several sites of the early Upper Paleolithic of the Vézère valley (Dordogne, France). Among the many objects in this category, we present here only those showing traces of percussion use. Although these traces are most often present on river pebbles, other types of materials have also been used, including the re-use of flints originally knapped for something else. The study concerns three Aurignacian rock shelter sites (abri Blanchard and abri Castanet in Sergeac and Abri Cellier in Tursac) and the Final Gravettian levels of two other rock shelter sites (Pataud and Laugerie-Haute in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac). The collections studied have very different origins: collections from old excavations, collection from the spoil of old excavations and current excavations. Thus, these collections are very heterogeneous. Among the studied material, a macroscopic analysis revealed the presence of different categories of percussion tools, corresponding to diverse uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several Upper Palaeolithic archaeological sites from the Gravettian period display hand stencils with missing fingers. On the basis of the stencils that Leroi-Gourhan identified in the cave of Gargas (France) in the late 1960s, we explore the hypothesis that those stencils represent hand signs with deliberate folding of fingers, intentionally projected as a negative figure onto the wall. Through a study of the biomechanics of handshapes, we analyse the articulatory effort required for producing the handshapes under the stencils in the Gargas cave, and show that only handshapes that are articulable in the air can be found among the existing stencils. In other words, handshape configurations that would have required using the cave wall as a support for the fingers are not attested. We argue that the stencils correspond to the type of handshape that one ordinarily finds in sign language phonology. More concretely, we claim that they correspond to signs of an 'alternate' or 'non-primary' sign language, like those still employed by a number of bimodal (speaking and signing) human groups in hunter–gatherer populations, like the Australian first nations or the Plains Indians. In those groups, signing is used for hunting and for a rich array of ritual purposes, including mourning and traditional story-telling. We discuss further evidence, based on typological generalizations about the phonology of non-primary sign languages and comparative ethnographic work, that points to such a parallelism. This evidence includes the fact that for some of those groups, stencil and petroglyph art has independently been linked to their sign language expressions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major impact of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) on the East-Central European Upper Paleolithic (UP) demographic and cultural adaptation is now largely acknowledged. Archaeologically, the basic trend leading to a fragmentation of the Gravettian technocomplex and the emergence of increasingly regionally-focused paleo-cultural units is also generally agreed upon. Higher-resolution regional syntheses remain, however, the only means of validating continental-scale tendencies. Here, we focus on the previously underreported archaeological record of the Romanian Eastern Carpathians, which host a consistent network of UP sites occupied in the timeframe of the LGM. The many sites located on the Bistrița river terraces display highly similar litho-stratigraphic sequences and comparable successions of archaeological layers and are therefore particularly prone to a synthetic survey. Based on recently updated chronometric support, a selected sample of 12 lithic assemblages from six sites illustrate the diachronic changes potentially related to the LGM impact on regional UP groups. In terms of raw material provisioning, mobility and techno-typological patterns, a sharp contrast is marked between the Late Gravettian and the subsequent early Epigravettian. This shift is particularly visible at the peak of the LGM, around 24 ka cal BP, and indicates an increased focus on the Eastern Carpathians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stone hunting points have generated substantial interest and it is often used as a fossil guide to enable the identification and characterization of complex technologies or "cultures". However, the armatures remain poorly understood in Central Europe, despite various original types. This paper explains the key points from Unit K11 of Dolní Věstonice II (South Moravia, Czech Republic). The collection is not directly dated; however, through the typology, it is included in the Gravettian sensu lato. Despite the limited sample of 33 fragments of armatures, it is possible to identify recurrent features. These stone artifacts differ slightly from the other microliths of the Pavlovian sensu stricto , which are dated 27,500–25,500 uncal BP. The main objectives of this article are to report the presence of and describe the microlithic points and to discuss possible analogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a discussion of Late and Final Gravettian assemblages from Western Slovakia and Moravia (25,500/24,000 – 22,000 uncal BP). Shouldered points and Kostienki knives have historically been widely used as fossiles directeurs for these assemblages and have been seen as the most reliable features for cultural attribution. Nevertheless, recent studies of lithics, osseous artifacts (from bone, antler and ivory) and subsistence strategies demonstrate significant variability. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the heterogeneity of the "post-Pavlovian" sites, based on studies of selected localities, namely Milovice I, Petřkovice I, Moravany-Lopata II, Moravany-Žakovská and Trenčianske Bohuslavice-Pod Tureckom. Additionally, we propose a description of artifacts which might become new lithic fossiles directeurs (Petřkovice bi-truncated elements). Finally, we discuss the effectiveness of traditional fossiles directeurs in the description of this period and in studying analogies with Eastern Europe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tyragetia is the property of National Museum of History of Moldova and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To palliate the current scarcity of information about lithic raw materials in the Western Pyrenees during the Gravettian, the study of ten assemblages has explored the flint procurement patterns and economic organisation of the territory. The study was based on the macro- and microscopic analysis of the different lithic remains. A wide range of flint varieties were used, including some excellent rocks for knapping and others of poorer quality. This diversified catchment pattern was defined by the criteria of quality and suitability for reduction. Although procurement took place mostly at the primary outcrops, there is some evidence of limited acquisition in secondary deposits. Within the economic territory of the Western Pyrenees, divergences in the connections between the outcrops on one side of the mountains and the archaeological sites on the other may indicate different territorial or economic roles for each side. In general terms, the northern side may have been more residential with more stable habitation, while the southern side was linked with logistic tasks and more seasonal occupation. The economic connections between this territory and surrounding areas revealed by the lithic resources are the reflection of inter-group contacts and an economic mosaic imbricated with a cultural or symbolic one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the Gravettian in the Basque Country has ceased to be a poorly known bridge between the Aurignacian and the Solutrean and has acquired its own personality. Progress in fieldwork and laboratory studies, the discovery of new sites in rock-shelters and in the open air, changes in the location pattern of the sites, and better knowledge of the lithic raw materials and their spatial distribution have greatly improved our understanding of the period. The main advances made since 1990 are described in this overview. At the present time, we are probably closer to describing territoriality in the Gravettian than for any other technocomplex in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the role of foxes in Palaeolithic economies, focusing on sites of the Middle Palaeolithic, Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura. For this purpose, we used published faunal data from 26 assemblages from the region, including new information from the Magdalenian layers of Langmahdhalde. We explore how the abundance of foxes changes over time, how they were used by humans, and how they were deposited at the sites, with a special focus on fox hunting methods. To evaluate these hunting methods, we use the prey choice model of optimal foraging theory (OFT) and simulate possible hunting scenarios, which we test based on the published faunal assemblages. Our research indicates that foxes were hunted since the early Upper Palaeolithic for their meat, fur and teeth, possibly with traps. We find that the abundance of fox remains in the archaeological record of the region increased continuously starting in the Aurignacian, which cannot be explained by taphonomic factors. The trend of foxes to adapt to human-influenced environments with commensal behavior may also have contributed to them being hunted more often. [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]

Technological development in Europe around the end of the Middle and beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic was expressed not only in the new methods for working flint, bone, antler, etc., but also by appearance of processing food and raw materials by grinding, crushing and abrasion. Ground plant resources can be dried and stored for longer periods and are more digestible when cooked and eaten, while crushed mineral substances can be used to create mixtures with new physical qualities. These are obvious observations to make, and findings of Palaeolithic grinding stones are known, but at the same time, we have a poor idea of the distribution of artefacts used for grinding. There is still no general understanding of where, from which periods, and in which forms they are found. This article reviews the corpus of Upper Palaeolithic grinding stones from the East European Plain, including 76 directly studied finds from 15 sites. Macroscopic and, where possible, microscopic traceological analysis has been used for their analysis. From this review we observe that grinding stone tools in the region under study include the following types: grinding slabs or lower grindstones (most often found as fragments from the late Middle Palaeolithic and later; in the Upper Palaeolithic they were used for grinding pigments, plant resources and for polishing stone); two types of grinders or upper grindstones (active tools) – elongated for repetitive, continuous movements and short for circular or irregular movements (used for grinding pigments and the working of plant resources; in the Late Upper Palaeolithic at Eastern Epigravettian sites trapezoidal grinders, similar to those from later periods, appear); pestles-grinders (found on sites related to the Eastern Gravettian); and finally, pestles (which appeared as specialised artefacts in the Late Upper Palaeolithic). Most sources refer to the sites of Gravettian circle and Epigravettian. One-third of them are securely associated with pigment and the remaining two-thirds have indications of use for grinding soft fibrous material. Based on these data, the study of paleo-economics and other aspects of the prehistory can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract, geometric, and also ornamental images which could not be directly decrypted are one of plots of iconic portable art of Eastern Europe. This type of pictorial activity emerges already during the early phase of the Upper Paleolithic simultaneously with figurative art. Development of iconic and ornamental art could be traced in the Russian Plain during the whole Upper Paleolithic epoch. It was mostly widespread during the Middle (25–21,000 BP) and Late (20–12,000 BP) phases of the Upper Paleolithic. Geometric art existed side by side with tradition of realistic engravings of humans and animals during the Gravettian time, and it entirely displaces the latter after the Late Glacial maximum. The article systematizes data about ornamental geometric images of the center of the Russian Plain dealing with regional and chronological peculiarities of this type of art. Basing on the data of technical and morphological analyses the author suggests two criteria for differentiation of ornaments in portable art of the Gravettian and Epigravettian time: 1. Presence/absence of organic combination of geometric and realistic elements in one image; 2. Character and technique of zonal ornamentation of the surface of artefacts with complicated shape. Geometric ornamentation was engraved on the whole surface of artefacts with complicated shape with obligatory preliminary mark-up, and also use of one or several base lines for creation of such images at Epigravettian sites. Elements composing one geometric design could be engraved on artefacts with complex volume during different episodes, and consequently without preliminary preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the problem of interpretation of Mammoth Bone Dwellings. The author considers the history of the tradition to interpret bone structures as ruins of dwellings. He concludes that this interpretation was formulated a priori. The published data on the taphonomy of faunal remains, as well as on the stratigraphy of archaeological objects belonging to the Anosovo-Mezin bone construction, are analyzed in this paper. Currently available data allow concluding that this type of archaeological structure could not be interpreted as remnants of dwellings. Anosovo-Mezin bone constructions demonstrate the final stage of the very specific tradition that existed in the Palaeolithic of Central and Eastern Europe. There is every reason to believe that these objects were determined by the religious ideas of their creators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Balzi Rossi archaeological complex (comprised of caves, rock shelters, and open-air sites) is a globally significant site for Palaeolithic culture and understanding the transition from Neanderthal to Anatomically Modern Human populations in Europe. It also retains some of the earliest evidence of human interactions with their coastal environment. Balzi Rossi has been subject to excavation for over 150 years – traditionally as individual site locations – with most deposits removed when the discipline of archaeology was nascent, and the science not yet developed. The consequence was the unfortunate loss of materials and critically important stratigraphic context. However, valuable information regarding the Palaeolithic population, their coastal environment, and earlier sea-level change, remains in the literature and in museum repositories. In this work we have compiled and reviewed the extensive resources, available largely in French and Italian, to provide a summary and catalogue for each individual site. These 'Site Summaries' are available as appendices to this review, which provides a comprehensive synopsis of the history of excavations conducted at Balzi Rossi, a reconstruction of stratigraphy where possible, the evidence of Palaeolithic occupations, the evidence of Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations, and an assessment of the chronological constraint available for both the Palaeolithic populations and sea level. Finally, this synopsis identifies gaps in knowledge and provides comments on pathways for future research, suggesting a consilient approach that can be applied in other archaeological contexts. • Provides a comprehensive geoarchaeological review of over 150 years of excavations; • Provides the most complete synthesis of human cultural and environmental change yet published; • Confirms evidence of at least three Pleistocene sea-level highstands; • Highlights understanding human-environment interaction requires complete biome approach [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper aims at describing and analysing the backed tools found in two Early Gravettian sites separated geographically from each other: Grotta Paglicci (layer 23-22) in Italy, and Kostenki 8 (layer II) in Russia. A similarity between the lithic assemblages of the two sites, and other cultural aspects, has been reported by authors over many decades. The analysis of the backed tools has created the opportunity to apply the same methodological approach to verify the resemblance and potential causes for the similarity, and also to address broader considerations on Gravettian hunting strategies and the modalities and timing of the spread of new techniques, whether related to physical movement of people or assimilation of ideas. The perception is that, during the Gravettian period, shared symbolic behaviours and subsistence strategies linked people living in completely different environments with completely different resources, from the temperate regions of southern Italy, to the very cold Russian plains. This point of view cannot be questioned, but it tends to flatten an articulated palimpsest of human generations and to underestimate the very low demographic density of Prehistoric Europe.

El yacimiento de la cueva de Atxurra fue excavado entre 1934 y 1935 por J.M. Barandiarán Ayerbe. Las condiciones de la excavación, la tardía publicación de los resultados y los avatares sufridos por los materiales arqueológicos recuperados han condicionado el análisis y la interpretación del yacimiento y de su secuencia estratigráfica. Recientemente el yacimiento ha sido objeto de una revisión arqueológica que ha propiciado una nueva lectura de la secuencia. A la luz de estas nuevas informaciones proponemos una revisión integral de la excavación de la década de 1930. Se discute, a partir del estudio de la industria lítica, ósea, cerámica y de los restos de macrofauna la pertinencia de la división estratigráfica propuesta por I. Barandiarán Maestu en los años 1960. Como resultado se propone la existencia de una ocupación Gravetiense en la base de la secuencia, la ausencia de Solutrense, la presencia de Magdaleniense Inferior, de Magdaleniense Superior, la ausencia de Aziliense y la presencia de Neolítico-Calcolítico. ____________________________________________ The cave of Atxurra was excavated by J.M. Barandiarán Ayerbe between 1934 and 1935. The circumstances of the excavation, and the vicissitudes suffered with the archaeological remains biased the analysis and interpretation of the site and its stratigraphic sequence. Recently, the site has been revisited, and a new interpretation of the archaeological sequence is proposed here with an integral review of the 1930´s excavation. Considering the new data obtained from the lithic, bone tool, ceramic and macromammal assemblages, the validity on the cultural sequence defended by I. Barandiarán Maestu in the 1960´s is discussed. As a result, the existence of a Gravettian occupation in the base of the sequence, the absence of Solutrean, the presence of Lower Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian, the absence of Azilian and the presence of Neolithic-Calcolithic occupations at the cave are proposed.

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]

Human presence in Poland during the Late Pleniglacial is evidenced by Gravettian sites, mostly from Małopolska. Such settlement almost disappears from the archaeological record during the period between 24 and 19 ky cal. BP. Only a few sites from that period have been discovered - two workshops without absolute chronology, and some meagre records of settlement with uncertain dating to the LGM. The Polish territory was resettled in the 19th and 16th millennium cal. BP onward, the settlers being associated with the Epi-Gravettian and Magdalenian cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina is the property of Museu de Prehistoria de Valencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The formation of extensive mammoth bone deposits is a characteristic feature of the large Upper Paleolithic settlements of the Moravian Gravettian (approximately 30 ky cal BP). Some of these were preferentially deposited in moist locations, possibly for reasons of hygiene and conservation. Here, we present a case of a mammoth bone deposit located in a side gully below the Dolní Věstonice II settlement, where an earlier a Pleistocene landslide temporarily created a shallow water basin. The environmental record is provided by analyses of pollen and mollusks. The structure of the osteological and archaeological assemblages suggests the use of this location as a place for storage, garbage disposal, and related activities. We suggest that the mammoth remains were transported to such places by humans either directly from nearby kill sites, or, after first selection, from the nearby settlement. We also discuss possible facilities for such transport. [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]

The oldest unequivocal evidence of mammoth hunting in prehistoric Central Europe has been found in the Gravettian archaeological site Kraków Spadzista (Poland). The site contains thousands of lithic artifacts and the remains of >100 woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), with radiocarbon dates clustering ∼25–24 ka uncal BP. A fragment of a flint shouldered point is embedded in a mammoth rib, and more than 50% of the site's flint shouldered points and backed blades bear diagnostic traces of hafting and impact damage from use as spear tips. Additional support for mammoth killing is the mortality profile of 112 mammoths from the site: some age groups may have been depleted due to recurring heavy hunting by humans during periods of environmental stress. The evidence for intensive human hunting could portend a development thousands of years later, at the end of the Pleistocene, when climate-caused habitat changes were more extreme, and, in combination with opportunistic human hunting, may have led to woolly mammoth extinction. • Kraków Spadzista contains the oldest direct evidence for mammoth-hunting in Central Europe. • Evidence includes used flint points and a point fragment embedded in a mammoth rib. • Certain age classes of the site's 112 mammoths had been depleted several times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a synthesis of the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres. Points of special attention are the sedimentary and micromorphological characterisation of level XVI, the analysis of the vegetal and animal resources and their incidence on the economy of the Gravettian human groups, and the characterisation of the landscape during this period. Furthermore, the paper offers important information of the lithic and bone assemblages, economic behaviour and radiocarbon dates of sub-levels XVIA and XVIB, related to the Gravettian, and XVIC and XVID, corresponding to the Aurignacian. Finally, the Gravettian and Aurignacian regional contexts in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula are discussed, and the recent proposals for regional technological variation in the Iberian Gravettian industries are critically evaluated. [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]

Abstract The impact of injury on the health and activities of human foragers is of great interest for understanding the adaptability of past populations to their environments. For the Gravettian female of Caviglione 1, a violent blow has been suggested as the origin of the left radial fracture, and abnormal body asymmetry has been observed. Access to high resolution CT-scans of the upper limb allows us to address new etiologic considerations and assess the after-effects of trauma on bone biomechanical properties by focusing on cortical and trabecular bones and conducting a comparative analysis of cross-sectional geometric properties in an Upper Paleolithic context. This originally right-dominant female, who became left-handed, was mainly affected by severe bone modifications on the proximal right humerus due to secondary changes following a traumatic event. The left radial fracture is very well consolidated with thick and homogeneous cortical bone. Etiological considerations point to a Galeazzi fracture for the left forearm occurring during a fall. The bone structure and robusticity of the left arm probably prove the lack of strong and enduring dependency of this female on her group for the usual cultural tasks despite the strongly limited function of the right arm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to present a very general view of siliceous raw material sources in the central Pyrenees, with support from recent bibliographic references. To illustrate the use of these materials in the Upper Paleolithic, we chose the example of the Gravettian occupation of Gargas Cave (Hautes-Pyrénées, France). Finally, we describe a few economic characteristics of the Pyrenean region, which are distinct from the Perigordian context in several ways.

Abstract Eight breast-shaped beads were found variously scattered among differing layers of the Gravettian site, Dolní Věstonice I. Typologically, it is a set of morphologically similar beads of varying sizes made from mammoth ivory with holes for stringing them; one of the pieces was decorated with engraving. Various parts of human body were also found with the artefacts, in a manner typical for this site. The artefacts, however, have no analogies within the Gravettian. The main focus of this will paper will be the manufacturing technology, decoration and possible integration of these variously interpreted artefacts into the Gravettian symbolic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The legacy of specialists in Upper Paleolithic art shows a common point: a more or less clear separation between Magdalenian art and earlier symbolic manifestations. One of principal difficulty is due to little data firmly dated in the chronology for the "ancient" periods, even if recent studies precise chronological framework. There is a variability of the symbolic traditions from the advent of monumental art in Europe, and there are graphic elements crossing regional limits and asking the question of real symbolic territories existence. The different thematic choices also allows to raise territorial kinships between various caves and various regions. The object of this paper is to define where these rich and varied symbolic records appear, and how graphic traditions are distributed in the Western European Paleolithic area, throughout these 15 000 years. To provide some elements of response to this question, we will draw on the one hand, on the formal approaches in the figures, and on the other - on the thematic range used by Paleolithics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Riparo Mochi is considered a key site for the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic chrono-cultural sequence in the Mediterranean area. Climatic and environmental conditions have been reconstructed after the study of the small mammal assemblage by means of linear regression method and the Habitat Weighting method. The climate proxies for the late Mousterian and Proto-Aurignacian (cultural units I to G) indicate an environment with a relative high percentage of forest component during two cold and one relative warm oscillations. Open environments with low temperatures are registered for the Gravettian (cultural Unit D) allowing a possible relation to the Heinrich 3 Event. The final Gravettian (cultural Unit C) shows a relative warm peak, tentatively related to Greenland Interstadial 2. The late Epigravettian (cultural Unit A) is characterized by a high percentage of forest-related environment suggesting that this horizon formed during the Bølling–Allerød Interstadial. Finally, the Riparo Mochi sequence contributes to reconstruct the processes of faunal changes along the northern Tyrrhenian coast in a period of climatic instability, especially during the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 when foraging groups adopted different mobility strategies between southern France and the Italian peninsula. [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]

Les figurines découvertes dans des grottes du Jura souabe ont été datées de l'Aurignacien depuis près d'un demi siècle à la suite des travaux de J. Hahn, mais ce n'était pas l'avis des découvreurs dans les sites Vogelherd et d'Hohlenstien Stadel. La datation de ces sculptures soulève des questions au sujet des premiers développements de l'art figuratif. Cet article examine la validité des arguments présentés sur les âges radiométriques au regard des situations stratigraphiques. Une chronologie plus variée de cet art mobilier devient claire : selon nous, de nombreuses pièces de Vogelherd et de Hohle Fels datent du Gravettien, alors que d'autres de Vogelherd et Hohlenstein Stadel datent du Magdalénien. Les arguments en faveur de l'Aurignacien ne résistent pas à l'examen critique. The portable art discovered in the caves of the Swabian Jura has been dated to the Aurignacian for almost half a century, following work by J. Hahn, but that was not the opinion of the discoverers at the sites of Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel. The dating of these figurines poses questions about the first development of figurative art. This paper examines the validity of the arguments presented about radiometric ages of the finds comparing to their stratigraphic locations. A varied chronology for these artworks becomes clear: in our view, some pieces from Vogelherd and Hohle Fels date to the Gravettian, while others from Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel date to the Magdalenian. The arguments in favour of the Aurignacian do not hold up to critical examination. [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]