Diversity in social organization across Magdalenian Western Europe ca. 17–12,000 BP

Abstract

Magdalenian hunter–gatherers in western Europe ca. 17–12,000 BP navigated complex and diverse social landscapes, as the Magdalenian was characterized by marked changes in climate, topography, resource structure, and population distribution. Over the course of its 5000 years, people from southwestern regions moved eastward and northward to (re-)colonize even the highest elevations and latitudes. This study uses a combination of ethnographic evidence and the circulation of exotic lithic raw materials, personal adornments, and portable decorated objects to identify diversity in Magdalenian social organization. While societies in some geographic regions, at certain times, were characterized by enforced social equality (e.g., Middle Magdalenian Eastern France), others allowed for inter-personal social competition and achieved inequality (e.g., Lower Magdalenian Cantabrian Spain and Upper Magdalenian West-central Germany), and some may have seen institutionalized social hierarchy (e.g., Middle Magdalenian Pyrenees, Upper Magdalenian Southwestern France). The Magdalenian evidence generally suggests that societies in newly (re-)colonized areas are characterized by marked social competition and negotiation, whereas those in more well-established areas tend toward more formalized and stable relationships. Examining the Magdalenian in this light expands our understanding of diversity in communal foraging economies and processes of colonization.