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Archaeologists can use the provenance of lithic raw materials to examine the movements, territories, and settlement dynamics of hunter-gatherers. Several studies have used macroscopic analyses to propose the long-distance transport of raw material during the Gravettian and the Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura in Central Europe. Until now hypotheses about raw material transport in this region were not based on reproducible analyses. This study aims to test some of the hypotheses about the origins of lithic raw materials during the Gravettian and Magdalenian, using infrared spectroscopic measurements. These analyses are based on differences and similarities in the mineralogy and crystallography of rocks. Using this method, we test for long-distance raw-material transport between the sites of the Swabian Jura and the Freiburg basin, 200 km to the south-west, and the region of the Altmühl Valley, 150 km to the north-east. For this, we created a reference database of 114 lithic raw material outcrops from Southern Germany and compared these specimens with artifacts from eleven archeological sites. Our study reconstructs the raw-material procurement and transport during the Gravettian and Magdalenian and reveals settlement patterns and territories that span over more than 300 km in Central Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the published archaeological, geological, anthropological, and paleontological research that has been undertaken at Švédův stůl Cave at Ochoz u Brna in the southern part of the Moravian Karst. Most of these excavations took place from the end of the 19th century to the present and have already been described in the literature; however, to date, there has been no comprehensive review for an English-speaking audience. The authors focus on the excavations of Bohuslav Klíma between 1953–1955 and the discovery of a Neanderthal’s mandible by the student Karl Kubasek in 1905, and the circumstances under which this find entered the collections of the Moravian Museum in Brno. The article also includes, for the first time ever, photographs from the Bohuslav Klíma archive documenting his excavations in the cave in the 1950s. This documentation was also used to place the test pits excavated in front of the cave in 2019 by an international research team in the spatial framework of Klíma’s excavations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Anthropologia Integra is the property of Masaryk University, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science 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.)

This paper assesses the exploitation of osseous raw materials, namely antler, used by hunter-gatherer populations in the Late Upper Palaeolithic of Santimamiñe cave. The different categories of products (waste products, blanks, and finished objects) are analysed from a technological perspective to identify the fabrication methods employed by Magdalenian groups. A predominant operational scheme is identified, extraction by the double grooving procedure, related to the production of highly standardised rods. This study will allow us to explore possible cultural variations in the application of this procedure. It also addresses other aspects in relation to the circulation of osseous implements, the mobility of hunter-gatherer groups, and the useful life of the weapons, as regard maintenance and discard behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are now 101 radiocarbon dates from the long Paleolithic and post-Paleolithic culture-stratigraphic sequence in El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain. Here we report on two dates on bone from two different humans whose remains were found in disturbed surface sediments in the cave vestibule rear and that confirm the existence of burials in addition to previously reported residential occupations in the vestibule front pertaining to the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age periods (ca. 5500–3500 cal BP). In another attempt to resolve problems of stratigraphic incoherence of dates from the early Magdalenian periods in the vestibule rear, six new assays on faunal remains from Levels 119, 117, 114, 108, and 106 were run at Queen's University in Belfast. There continue to be date inversions in the Lower Magdalenian range of levels that may be explained by a combination of intensive anthropic and rodent activity, major rock fall, slope wash and gravity-caused object movements, as well as possible problems in following some thin levels during excavations over a large area and across many years of work in the cave vestibule interior, particularly in the absence of any layers that are culturally sterile or even poor. Nonetheless, the coherent age of the Initial Magdalenian is fully confirmed by a new date from Level 21 in the vestibule front at ca. 22,000–20,500 cal BP), as is the general age range of the Lower Magdalenian (ca. 20,500–18,000 cal BP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of bone tools by early humans has provided valuable insights into their technology, behaviour and cognitive abilities. However, identifying minimally modified or unshaped Palaeolithic osseous tools can be challenging, particularly when they are mixed with bones altered by natural taphonomic processes. This has hampered the study of key technical innovations, such as the use of bones, antlers and teeth as hammers or pressure-flakers to work (knap) stone tools. Bones chewed by carnivores can resemble osseous knapping tools and have sometimes been mistaken for them. In this paper, we review recent advances in the study of osseous knapping tools with a focus on two Palaeolithic sites in the UK, the Acheulean Horse Butchery Site at Boxgrove and the Magdalenian site of Gough's Cave, where knapping tools were mis-attributed to carnivore chewing. These osseous knapping tools are investigated using microscopy, high-resolution imaging and comparisons with experimental knapping tools. This allows for new insights into human behaviour at these sites and opens fresh avenues for future research.

Copyright of Študijné Zvesti AU SAV is the property of Institute of Archaeology SAS 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.)

Jet is coalified wood widely used as a black raw material for making ornamental objects at the end of the Magdalenian (16.5–14 ka cal BP). This paper applies a multidisciplinary approach, including organic petrology methods, to the study of ornamental archaeological objects, in order to analyse Magdalenian jet exploitation (acquisition and transformation) and distribution modes in northwestern Europe (Jura Arc and the Paris Basin). The results shed light on the exclusive use of jet for the production of symbolic objects (geometric beads, figurative pendants, and elements of portable art) and show that jet-working techniques were adapted to the specific mechanical properties of the material (percussion and meticulous grooving, scraping, and abrasion techniques). The petrographic characters of the analysed materials are surprisingly uniform and are all part of the Swabian Jura group of jet (so-called ‘Posidonia Shale’, Lias epsilon, Lower Toarcian). This uniformity reveals the importance of jet during the Magdalenian, materialised by a wide circulation of the material (at least 500 km, as far as the Paris Basin). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has been proven over the past three decades. Yet it still suffers from issues that need to be discussed and analysed to improve future sampling strategies and strengthen the interpretation of the results. This study presents new AMS dates for the parietal art in Cueva de Las Chimeneas in northern Spain, describes the quality of the samples, and discusses their reliability. The joint assessment of the dates and its comparison with previously obtained dates as well as stratified and dated portable art makes it possible to put forward a hypothesis about the time of creation of the cave's parietal art and the degree of synchrony or diachrony in its production. Consequently, it is proposed that the cave art at Las Chimeneas was created in the lower Magdalenian, between 19,000 and 17,500 cal bp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endokarst landscape is the result of long erosion and sedimentation processes that have modelled an environment in which capricious forms abound. Despite being a hostile environment for human life, these caves must have attracted the attention of human groups from as early as the Palaeolithic. It is striking that many examples of rock art appear to be closely symbiotic with their natural support; nevertheless, it is difficult to confirm any relationship in the distribution of the decorated spaces, based on their morphology. Moreover, if we start from the hypothesis—widely accepted, but not demonstrated—that Palaeolithic cave art is a system of visual communication, the visibility of the art or the number of people who could be accommodated in the decorated sectors should be determining factors. In order to avoid making subjective appraisals when analysing these factors, we have designed a Python script with a workflow to work directly with 3D models of caverns using GISs, which can be easily replicated and edited by other researchers. Application of this script in the Magdalenian caves of Atxurra, Santimamiñe and Altxerri (Northern Spain) has allowed us to compare them accurately based on their visibility features. This has shown that in some cases, there may have been prior planning to enhance the visibility of some figures. In all cases, the groups of figures are located in deep and hidden parts of the caves, usually in sectors with limited capacity to accommodate people, which would be consistent with a system of restricted communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human remains in this region hinders the complete understanding of these critical communities’ diet. To increase our knowledge about human consumption patterns, we selected three Magdalenian levels from the site of El Pirulejo (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain). These levels are characterized by a high abundance of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains (76–97% MNI), initially suggesting that rabbits were the primary source of protein for site inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on two human teeth in tandem with stable isotope analysis of the rabbit teeth. Contrary to the expectations derived from the zooarchaeological analysis, rabbits were not a significant source of dietary protein. Carbon and nitrogen bulk isotopic values are the most enriched found in sampled human remains for this area and context. Our data supports aquatic food resource inclusion and increased resource diversity among Iberian hunter-gatherers during the Magdalenian. This study is consistent with previous studies that suggested a socio-economic network among human groups between inland and coastal regions in the terminal Pleistocene Southern Iberia.

Paleolithic reindeer '(Rangifer tarandus') played an important role for human populations in western and central Europe during much of the Paleolithic period. In southwestern France and in particular during the Magdalenian, reindeer frequently figures among the privileged prey of hunter-gatherer groups. However, and despite numerous attempts to reconstruct the migratory behavior of Paleolithic reindeer, there is no agreement on the degree of mobility of this prey. Modern ethological data indicate that reindeer herds adopt different mobility strategies depending on the type of habitat and the topography of the environment. Thus, our project (Emorph) aims to explore morphometric criteria (through metapodial bones and phalanges) in combination with cutting-edge methodologies like Machine Learning to identify the extent of reindeer migrations. Based initially on the study of modern caribou populations with distinct migratory behaviors, the results obtained could be applied to several Magdalenian assemblages from southwestern France in the future, with the goal of reconstructing the mobility of these tardiglacial reindeer.

In this work we have analysed the provenance of the lithic raw materials recovered during the excavation campaigns at two Mesolithic sites of the Cantabrian Mountains: La Uña (levels III and IV) and El Espertín (level II). From the data obtained, differences between the two deposits and their levels have been observed, with sourcing of very similar lithic resources, but with important differences in the percentages. In the case of El Espertín there is a greater contribution of varieties from the La Liébana area (NE of Picos de Europa) while at La Uña the NW varieties percentages are higher highlighting in both cases the exclusive origin from the northern slope of the Cantabrian Mountains with the exception of Alba radiolarite, a widely distributed raw material.

El yacimiento rupestre al aire libre del Arroyo de las Almas, en las inmediaciones del encuentro entre los ríos Águeda y Duero, presenta un conjunto de 600 motivos grabados, con una larga diacronía desde el Paleolítico Superior hasta la Edad Contemporánea. Presentamos una visión detallada de su arte Paleolítico, con 21 figuras documentadas en 5 rocas, grabadas por incisión, y que corresponden a 13 zoomorfos, 7 signos y 1 motivo indeterminable, además de grupos de líneas no figurativas. Los análisis formales y técnicos llevados a cabo y sus paralelos, nos permiten afirmar que son integrables, desde la óptica cronocultural, entre el inicio del Magdaleniense y el final del ciclo artístico Paleolítico. Este conjunto, formaría parte de la vasta red de yacimientos artísticos en la cuenca del Duero, en su mayoría con arte al aire libre, cuyas principales características de implantación sugieren una inicial función como lugar privilegiado de paso, entorno a la desembocadura de Águeda. Abstract The open-air rock art site Arroyo de las Almas, close to the meeting point of the rivers Águeda and Douro, displays approximately 600 engraved motifs, with a chronology ranging from the Upper Palaeolithic to Contemporary Age. We present a detailed analysis of the Upper Palaeolithic art of the site, corresponding to 21 registered figures in 5 rocks, all engraved by incision and corresponding to 13 zoomorphic figures, 7 signs and 1 undetermined motif, as well as groups of non-figurative lines. The typological and stylistic analyses carried out and their parallels allow us to affirm that all of them are chronologically integrable between the beginning of the Magdalenian and the end of the Palaeolithic artistic cycle. This set was part of the vast network of artistic sites in the Douro basin, for the most part with open-air art. The main implantation characteristics of the site suggest its function as a privileged passage site, around the mouth of the Águeda.

During the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human remains in this region hinders the complete understanding of these critical communities' diet. To increase our knowledge about human consumption patterns, we selected three Magdalenian levels from the site of El Pirulejo (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain). These levels are characterized by a high abundance of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains (76-97% MNI), initially suggesting that rabbits were the primary source of protein for site inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on two human teeth in tandem with stable isotope analysis of the rabbit teeth. Contrary to the expectations derived from the zooarchaeological analysis, rabbits were not a significant source of dietary protein. Carbon and nitrogen bulk isotopic values are the most enriched found in sampled human remains for this area and context. Our data supports aquatic food resource inclusion and increased resource diversity among Iberian hunter-gatherers during the Magdalenian. This study is consistent with previous studies that suggested a socio-economic network among human groups between inland and coastal regions in the terminal Pleistocene Southern Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleolithic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) played an important role for human populations in western and central Europe during much of the Paleolithic period. In southwestern France and in particular during the Magdalenian, reindeer frequently figures among the privileged prey of hunter-gatherer groups. However, and despite numerous attempts to reconstruct the migratory behavior of Paleolithic reindeer, there is no agreement on the degree of mobility of this prey. Modern ethological data indicate that reindeer herds adopt different mobility strategies depending on the type of habitat and the topography of the environment. Thus, our project (Emorph) aims to explore morphometric criteria (through metapodial bones and phalanges) in combination with cutting-edge methodologies like Machine Learning to identify the extent of reindeer migrations. Based initially on the study of modern caribou populations with distinct migratory behaviors, the results obtained could be applied to several Magdalenian assemblages from southwestern France in the future, with the goal of reconstructing the mobility of these tardiglacial reindeer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El ocre es un material colorante utilizado desde épocas antiguas por los cazadores-recolectores de todo el planeta. Estudiamos 34 objetos recuperados en los niveles magdalenienses de la cueva de Lumentxa durante las intervenciones de los años veinte del siglo pasado. En 14 ejemplares hemos reconocido huellas de modificación antropogénica. Las características de las huellas indican que éstas se produjeron por un desgaste ocasionado por tres acciones diferentes: la molienda sobre superficies abrasivas, el rayado con instrumentos afilados y el frotado de materias blandas. Molienda y rayado son procedimientos para la obtención de polvo de ocre destinado a actividades domésticas o simbólicas. Las marcas de frotado evidencian, entre otros usos, la aplicación directa del colorante con finalidades funcionales u ornamentales. ABSTRACT: Ochre is a colouring material used since ancient times by hunter-gatherers all over the planet. We studied the collection of 34 artefacts retrieved from the Magdalenian levels of the Lumentxa cave during the interventions carried out in the 1920’s. Slightly more than 50% are siderite - lutite nodules or fragments of such nodules, which may have been collected from Cretaceous outcrops near the settlement. The rest are soft, reddish materials with an earthy-clayey mould. By means of macroscopic and microscopic observation, we have identified traces of anthropogenic modification on 14 specimens. The characteristics of the traces indicate that they were produced by surface wear and tear caused by three different actions: grinding on abrasive surfaces, scratching with sharp instruments, and the rubbing of soft materials. The most common traces are those caused by rubbing. They have been identified as the only trace in nine specimens and in another two cases they have been found in association with other traces. Grinding was the activity that generated the modelling of the two pieces defined as crayon. The incisions and grooves that can be seen on three slab pieces were caused by scratching. Grinding and scratching are processes used to obtain fine ochre powder for different domestic or symbolic activities. The traces of rubbing bear witness to the direct application of the dye. We may associate the use of dyes in the Lumentxa cave with a wide range of domestic and symbolic activities. It is clearly linked to graphic expression. This can be seen in the choice of a slab that had served as a natural block on which to obtain ochre powder as a support material for the representation of engraved horse figures or in the use of red pigments for the pictorial representations on the walls of the cavity. In the light of similar replicative experiences, we can assume that it was used in leather work, in the composition of adhesive mixtures for attaching lithic artefacts to hafts, in body painting or on other surfaces.

This succinct contribution focuses on description and preliminary interpretation of "minor" occupations of the large, strategically located El Mirón Cave on the edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera in eastern Cantabria (Spain) during the Middle and early Upper Magalenian that followed upon the massive, culturally rich, faunally dense, functionally complex deposits of the Initial and Lower Magdalenian. The ten levels analyzed here date to the Late Glacial, c. 15.5-12.5 uncal kya BP. At a time when the classic Middle Magdalenian of the nearby French Pyrenees developed and major residential sites with clear social links to it (via the key site of Isturitz) were occupied in the lowland coastal zone of Cantabria and Asturias (e.g. La Garma, Llonín, La Viña), El Mirón had reverted for the most part to the role of a short-term, special-purpose, perhaps logistical campsite, rather than as a long-term, large-scale hub residential base. It is tempting (and indeed traditional) to focus on levels with large numbers of lithic and osseous artifacts, as well as works of portable art and personal ornaments, which are so characteristic of the most famous Magdalenian occupations. However, in hunter-gatherer subsistence systems, the "minor" locations played a significant role in the human exploitation of territories (especially ones with such complex, high relief as Cantabrian Spain). The levels in question here include some that can be interpreted as hunting camps (suggested by high percentages of worked and unworked bladelets and some antler points within the small assemblages), partially reminiscent of the use to which the cave may have been put during pre-Initial Magdalenian times, notably during the Solutrean, which was relatively rich in stone points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cave of Fronsac is for its several engraved schematic female figures attributed to Upper Magdalenian (Bosinski 2011). A recent monography has inserted the cave back into scientific news (Delluc and Delluc 2013), at the same time we were launching a collective and interdisciplinary study, as part of a collective research project. As early as 2012 we offered observations on the nature and supposed homogeneity of the parietal device. The iconographic corpus has been enriched by new discoveries. The complexity of the parietal set and its organization have gradually been revealed in a regional context (Font-Bargeix, La Croix and La Mairie caves) marked by thematic differences and stylistic specificities. A program of photographic and graphical records, fine observations of the engraved lines and a study on the walls’ taphonomy and its role in the preservation and distribution of parietal images backed the exhaustive and systematic revision of the necessary parietal device. In addition, the discovery of some lithic pieces and large fauna remains on the surface of thick bioturbated karstic fillings, foreshadowed the presence of ancient occupations. The identification and analysis of archaeological contexts seemed essential in order to characterize and date the possible living areas and to propose a chrono-cultural framework for the parietal engravings. In this goal, systematic surveys throughout the network as well as located outside the decorated areas were conducted. A new geological and geomorphological study of the network, as well as an analysis of the sedimentary fills, was also realized to enrich the question of the age and formation of the cave and to measure the impact of wall taphonomic phenomena on the organization and the conservation of parietal works. Finally, this research involved new topography and 3D photogrammetry coverage, with particular emphasis on the main decorated panels.This article presents a synthesis of some works currently being undertaken in Fronsac and reaffirms, if needed, the interest of a systematic revision of the decorated caves in a radically transdisciplinary and integrated perspective.

The new study of Le Roc-aux-Sorciers rock shelter (Vienne), at the beginnings of the 1990s, played a leading role in the research dynamics of Upper Palaeolithic decorated shelters. Unlike most decorated caves, these sites give the opportunity to question the parietal images in association with habitat-like occupations, settled within the landscapes. This specific physical and archaeological context helps discussing diverse issues on these hunter-gatherers societies both from the social and cultural points of view: functions of decorated sites, social use of the images, groups mobility and territorial structuring. The study of sculpted friezes, such as that of Le Roc-aux-Sorciers or La Chaire-à-Calvin (Charente), has also seen the application of methodological and technical developments in Palaeolithic parietal art research, which were then efficiently applied to other sites such as Le Roc-de-Sers (Charente), Cap-Blanc (Dordogne) or Reverdit (Dordogne). In the framework of sets of large works in volume, new methods of data acquisition were sought and set up, like the 3D technologies since the 1990s. The aim of this article is to assess all of these contributions to research, preservation and heritage which attest to the important role of decorated shelters studies in Prehistoric research.

Copyright of Študijné Zvesti AU SAV is the property of Institute of Archaeology SAS 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 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]

The paper presents the results of the newly discovered Epigravettian site situated in the San river valley in the Carpathian foreland close to the Przemyśl Gate – sub- and cross-mountain route. The site lies at the edge of that culture's post-LGM re-settlement of that area. It is a unique remnant documenting the presence of an Epigravettian Culture community in areas at the very same time occupied by Magdalenian Culture people. The geological multiproxy record allows for the reconstruction of a loess plateau with an open landscape, with marked presence of trees, plus a short episode of more favourable climatic conditions following shortly after Heinrich event 1. At that time, a group of Epigravettian hunters established a short term camp close to the edge of the loess terrace on the left San River bank. [Display omitted] • Post-LGM resettlement of areas north of the Carpathians. • Unique example of an Epigravettian camp in the large Subcarpathian river valley. • Inventory made from the Volhynian (Ukrainian) flint, proving eastern provenance. • Open landscape around the camp-site with mosaic of steppe, grassland, park tundra. • Area inhabited by the Magdalenian and Epigravettian people at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four excavations have been performed at the archaeological site of Cova Rosa (Asturias, Cantabrian Spain): three of them in the second half of last century and the other in this decade. Although little of the archaeological material found in those excavations has been published, here we attempt the stratigraphic correlation of sections revealed by the different excavations and we present 22 new radiocarbon dates for bones and marine shells, built in a Bayesian statistical model. This has enabled the documentation of occupations that mainly took place during the Last Glacial period, in the Solutrean (middle and upper phases) and Magdalenian (archaic, lower, and upper phases), and also in the early Holocene (Mesolithic). These occupations are compared with the record at other sites in Cantabrian Spain in general and in Asturias, in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les dix derniers millénaires d’occupation humaine paléolithique ont laissé d’abondants témoignages le long du versant nord-pyrénéen. Si les fluctuations climatiques et leurs conséquences environnementales ont pu conditionner l’exploitation de certains territoires en altitude, le piémont semble en revanche avoir constitué un vaste espace favorable à l’implantation humaine entre des reliefs et vallées progressivement libérées des glaces, l’ouverture de la plaine aquitaine, les littoraux atlantiques et méditerranéens. À partir de travaux récemment aboutis ou en cours, et d’ensembles de sites clés révisés, nous proposons une synthèse sur les principales évolutions des équipements lithiques et osseux et sur des comportements originaux (économie littorale, consommation des petits gibiers) entre 21000 et 11000 cal BP. Les différents segments chronoculturels sont représentés de façon très inégale. Au-delà de ce constat, nous évoquerons les raisons possibles de cette situation contrastée (conservation des sites, état de la recherche ou réalité de peuplement). Il s’agira finalement de mieux comprendre ses variations internes et ses interactions avec le Bassin aquitain et le nord de la Péninsule ibérique mais également avec les rivages atlantiques et méditerranéens. ______________________________________________________________________________ From the start of the Magdalenian to the end of the Laborian, ten millennia of human occupation have provided abundant evidence along the north Pyrenean slope. Climatic fluctuations (from GS-2b to GS-1), glacial history and their environmental consequences may have influenced the exploitation of certain altitude territories. In contrast, the foothills seem to have constituted a favourable area between reliefs and valleys gradually freed from ice, the opening Aquitaine plain, the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Based on recently completed or ongoing work, and revised key sites or sets of sites, we propose here a synthesis to review the main changes in lithic and osseous equipment and original behaviours (coastal economy, use of small game) between 21000 and 11000 cal BP. However, the different moments of this evolution are represented in a very uneven way. Beyond that, we will discuss the possible reasons of the statement (conservation of the sites, state of research or settlement data). Among the privileged sectors, the Arudy basin is the scene of recent field operations and revaluations of collections. Other sites, such as Belvis, Gouërris, Troubat or Rhodes II, have benefited from PhD research (lithic and bone industries, archaeofauna, chronology, etc.). Data on the early Magdalenian period remain limited. With the exception of certain sites assigned to this period from dates C14 onwards, only the altitude site of Montlleó makes it possible to testify to an increase in altitude as early as post-Late Glacial Maximum period. The Early Middle Magdalenian, mainly documented by ancient excavations, which are difficult to re-evaluate from an archaeostratigraphic point of view, remains poorly understood in the Pyrenees. Nevertheless the presence of certain objects establish links with Aquitaine and the Cantabrian Sea. The Recent Middle and Upper Magdalenian are particularly well documented periods in the Pyrenees. These occupations illustrate, in particular, a development of occupations in the context of often decorated cave bottoms and the anthropization of valleys freed from ice with hunting camp to ibex. The Azilian region has significant regional economic variations with a decline of craftsmanship in the bone industry and a technical simplification of lithic production. The Laborian is documented by the revaluation of old series provides evidence of Aquitaine region influences but in stratigraphically complicated contexts. Beyond the question of the unity of the Pyrenean chain between Magdalenian and Laborien, it will finally be a question of better understanding its interactions with the Aquitaine basin and the north of the Iberian Peninsula but also to the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.

The Malalmuerzo cave (Moclín, Granada, Spain) has been known since the 1980s for its archaeological remains and rock art, dated to the Neolithic and the Solutrean periods respectively. However, following thirty years of neglect, our team carried out a brief archaeological intervention after looters destroyed parts of the sediment fill of the cave. The refreshing of disturbed surfaces and the examination of a small undisturbed profile produced many archaeological remains attributed to several Magdalenian levels. The levels partially covered the depiction of a red horse, which probably dates to the Solutrean period. _____________________________________________ RESUMEN La cueva de Malalmuerzo (Moclín, Granada, España) es conocida desde los años 80, del siglo pasado, por albergar restos arqueológicos del Neolítico y arte rupestre Solutrense. Sin embargo, tras treinta años de abandono, nuestro equipo llevó a cabo una intervención de urgencia después de la destrucción a manos de expoliadores de parte del sedimento arqueológico. La regularización y limpieza del perfil aportó gran cantidad de restos adscritos al Magdaleniense. Además se documentó la figura de un équido en rojo solutrense, cuya parte inferior estuvo parcialmente cubierta por el sedimento arqueológico objeto de nuestro estudio.

This study aims to provide anthracological data on forest transformations on the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula during the transition from the last glacial GS-2a to the last isotopic event of interstadial GI-1. We present a complete anthracological sequence from Molí del Salt (Vimbodí i Poblet, Tarragona, NE Iberian Peninsula), a site assigned to the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Our results suggest a continuous forest cover transformation throughout the inter-GI-1. Forest opening was determined by the retreat of Pinus sylvestris type, which was dominant during the Late Pleistocene, in relation to the continuous expansion of Juniperus sp. Likewise, our results suggest a progressive increase in the diversity of cold- and drought-resistant mesophilic taxa, which would have begun with the more temperate climatic conditions occasioned by the positive isotopic oscillations of GI-1. A comparison with other paleoecological data from the Iberian Peninsula suggests the presence of different biogeographic regions, as evidenced by different frequencies of certain montane and meso-thermophilic taxa. Our research also made use of a new methodology based on the spatial distribution of the charcoal remains recovered from Late Magdalenian layer A of Molí del Salt. The results have provided data with which to evaluate the taphonomic alterations identified in the charcoal fragments, such as hyperfragmentation and the occurrence of postdepositional processes. This analysis has increased the temporal resolution of the archaeological fieldwork, allowing us to identify unique events of human activity in a context of cumulative palimpsests. Finally, the Kernel distributions according to the standard deviation of the tree taxa, projected both in plan (X-Y) and in section (X-Z1), indicate human strategies in fuel selection that differentiated between Pinus sylvestris type, Juniperus sp. and Prunus sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the revision of certain reinterpretations regarding the organization of living spaces and regional mobility systems of some hunter-gatherers, throughout the late Pleistocene in western Europe, as well as of specific new discoveries of movable art --which suggest the continuity of the classical canons of Magdalenian art-- it is argued that: 1) these "transitional" traditions --especially the Azilian-- do not represent the decline of the great Paleolithic civilizations, faced with the environmental crisis that gave rise to the Holocene, but rather that 2) they should be understood as the techno-cultural innovations created to confront it and adapt, which was carried out by 3) preserving an appropriation economy, thus avoiding the need to invent production economies, nor utilizing predatory logic, which exacerbates the negative consequences of climate change. In fine, this example of techno-cultural innovation could provide a source of inspiration for the design of actions to be taken in the face of the environmental crisis of the 21st Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vogelherd and Petersfels are two of the richest central European Palaeolithic sites from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian periods. Vogelherd is known for its figurative art, flutes and ornaments made of ivory, while Petersfels is known for its complex ornament assemblage, especially the female figurines made of jet. Both sites yielded Glycymeris molluscs, which can provide unique information on the mobility and social behaviour of groups from the Upper Palaeolithic of southern Germany. In this paper, we examine the Glycymeris finds from southern Germany and place them in a broader European context by summarising the finds from Belgium, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Glycymeris are one of the most common bivalve species in the Upper Palaeolithic of Central Europe and are found from the Aurignacian until the Magdalenian. The analyses presented here constitute a functional analysis of Glycymeris and an interpretation of their significance in terms of longdistance connections. Finally, we address use-traces and residues left on the Glycymeris and put forward various hypotheses for future investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Côte Chalonnaise (Saône-et-Loire, France) is a region rich in Palaeolithic sites. The Magdalenian, however, is underrepresented in the region when compared to other periods. Recent research at the site of Grotte des Teux-Blancs provides new insights into the Palaeolithic occupation of the site and proves its use during the Magdalenian. Since the first excavation in 1913, the site has received little attention from researchers. To reconstruct the site’s occupation history, excavations were carried out in the back-dirt in addition to a new analysis of the known inventories. These excavations were able to provide insights into the 1913 excavation methods as the excavated sediments were deposited on the back-dirt separated by layers, forming an inverse stratigraphy. The analysis of the finds shows a small Middle Palaeolithic and a larger Upper Palaeolithic assemblage. In particular, the lithic and organic artefacts attest to the use of the site, in a hunting context, during the Magdalenian. The embedding of the site in the Magdalenian of Eastern France suggests that Grotte des Teux-Blancs, together with other sites west of the Bresse, was part of the same settlement system as the sites of the French Jura. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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After its dramatic appearance in 1995, with the threat of destruction by a dam counteracted by a worldwide preservation campaign, the open-air rock art in the Côa Valley region fully confirmed the high scientific expectations it raised, with a 30000 yearlong continuous rock art sequence starting in the Upper Paleolithic and up to the Modern Age. It is the world's largest concentration of Upper Paleolithic open-air rock-art, definitely updating the previously established cave art paradigm within European Paleolithic art. With 20000 years of continuous Paleolithic diachrony, from the Gravettian to the Late Glacial and including the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods, the site of Ribeira de Piscos is among the most important, mainly in the Magdalenian period, where it is the largest and arguably the most prominent site in the region. This text examines some particular figures in this site that display explicit and varied emotional aspects. Besides the scarcity of this trait in Paleolithic art, it can be argued that they played an important role in the establishment and evolution of this site during the Magdalenian, and that this emotional aspect may have been symbolically essential in the definition of the site and its prevalence in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of a broad special issue exploring the Cultures of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Western Europe. In this context our aim is to offer a state of the art review of the figurative Palaeolithic art spanning the period between 15000 and 11500 cal BP (12500-10000 BP) in the Mediterranean Iberia. We start with a short description of the few, but singular, finds published to date in the archaeological literature and ascribed to this period based on both absolute and relative dating techniques, assessing the quality and reliability of the ascription suggested. The aim is to offer an updated review of the main features, the evolution and sequencing of final Palaeolithic art in the study area, of interest for comparative analysis and for more global debates on the latest changes and final disappearance of figurative art of Palaeolithic style in this part of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coast of Málaga constitutes a key territory for documenting the end of Palaeolithic times in the westernmost corner of the European continent. We present an overview of the economic, cultural and symbolic models documented in settlements from this region. Along with it, some of the main questions that will help to frame the research in this area are set out. Lastly, the use of the coastal fringe is discussed from the standpoint of mobility and economic strategies from southern Iberia, taking into account the hinterland and Guadalquivir basin territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the main sites of the Northern Valencian region dating to the end of the Pleistocene. The analysis of the material culture recovered at these sites provides the necessary data to offer an updated overview of the main characteristics and changes of the industries of this period in Mediterranean Iberia. The initial division of the period into four major stages (Upper Magdalenian, Early Epimagdalenian, Late Epimagdalenian and Sauveterrian) can now be redefined according to the changes observed, suggesting the existence of a new short time facies typified by the presence of Truncated backed points. The new facies, never identified before, marks the change from the Upper Magdalenian to the Epimagdalenian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies focusing on Palaeolithic portable rock art have a long tradition in Europe. Nevertheless, they tend to only focus over formal and stylistic criteria of the motifs, important as they provide chronologies for cave art. This article proposes a multiple approach to a sample of 25 engraved plaques of the Foz do Medal archaeological site, where horses and aurochs were depicted, in order to construct a preliminary model able to guide the future analysis of the whole collection composed of more than 1500 fragments. On the one hand, relevant archaeological data was collected and systematized into a database that can be subjected to statistical analysis, for which we develop different variables and their respective attributes. On the other hand, laboratory techniques of analysis and examination of materials were applied, valuing the motifs details, their potential surface treatment by fire or pigments ornamentation, as well as the identification of raw materials and their origins. In this article, we present the obtained results, which allow us to propose some hypotheses regarding the social importance of this specific kind of artefact, as well as its possible manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany is famous for its Paleolithic sites which have been studied since the 1860s. While there is a rich tradition of research on the Magdalenian, many of the best-known sites were not excavated using modern methods, and recently, few discoveries of new sites have been made. Thus, much of the information on this period comes from sites lacking data collected using modern standards. This has left open questions regarding the recolonization of the Swabian Jura and hunter-gatherer subsistence and settlement during the Magdalenian in the region. Langmahdhalde is a recently discovered rock shelter in the Lone Valley of the Swabian Jura that has intact, well-stratified horizons dating to the Magdalenian with associated lithic artifacts, faunal remains, and combustion features. In this paper, we present a study of the faunal materials from this new site. We use the macrofaunal remains to discuss human subsistence and a taphonomic analysis of the microfaunal remains to determine the spatial scale of our previously published paleoenvironmental interpretations. Our results on human subsistence support previous interpretations from other Magdalenian assemblages in Central Europe. Further, our taphonomic study of the microfauna suggests that our paleoenvironmental analyses are relatively local, within a maximum of 70 km2 from the rock shelter. We place these results within the larger context of human paleoecology in the region and suggest that the successful resettlement of the Swabian Jura by Magdalenian peoples during the Late Glacial was probably facilitated by the presence of a higher diversity of resources on the landscape compared to regions to the west. [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]

The category of "animal species" is at the heart of traditional interpretations of Palaeolithic art. In this context, animal depictions have traditionally been conceptualized in terms of the "animal species" they are supposed to represent. Moreover, the relationships between humans and animals have been discussed in similar terms. In this paper, I examine some innovative ways in which this relationship can be considered. In particular, I explore the possibility of interpreting animal images as representations of individuals, rather than just of species. Focusing on a number of pieces of rock art and portable images, and examining other kinds of activities (animal butchery, body adornment, treatment of human corpses, etc.) from the Middle Magdalenian (19,000–16,000 cal BP), I seek to demonstrate how the concept of the "individual" offers a number of interpretive possibilities beyond the traditional category of "species". I argue that the focus on the head and face can reflect this interest in individualized animals. I also highlight the existence of practical techniques employed to create a relationship between human and animal individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hunting technical sphere has a particularly important socioeconomic role among hunter-gatherers as it provides vital nutritive goods and serves numerous technical spheres. Approaching Upper Palaeolithic hunting techniques therefore offers a valuable insight into past cultural dynamics. Microliths are often the only conserved evidence of Magdalenian hunting equipment, occasionally accompanied by osseous projectile points to which they were exceptionally found hafted. Backed bladelets are the most common Magdalenian microliths. In this paper, we investigate their function as projectile insert, and address the question of projectiles designs through the analysis of impact damages. In this perspective, we implemented three experimentations including manufacturing, trampling and use of backed bladelets as projectile inserts. Results show distinctive combinations of damages between each three experimentations, allowing to reinforce the damaging pattern of lateral flint inserts and to discriminate lateral scars specific to the impact. The functional analysis of backed bladelets from two Early Middle Magdalenian sites located in west-central France (La Marche and the Blanchard cave) shows that these tools were specifically used as projectile inserts. The bladelets impact damage patterns are different between the two sites and match differences of morphologies of antler projectile points. The systemic reasoning carried out allows evidencing variations of hunting technical behaviours that were not, until then, perceived through the comparison of production techniques and typology of microlith assemblages of west-central France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]