Quid de l'expression chez les Magdaléniens et les Aziliens du Bassin parisien ? Ou, il voit des figurines féminines partout !

Abstract

Where in prehistory does symbolism come into the picture? In the Paris Basin the extensive open-air camps of the Magdelenian and of the early Azilian are primarily characterized by evidence of daily living (waste from the crafting of flint and bone tools, remains of the consumption of game, combustion structures and their by-products, etc.). Very rarely is evidence of symbolic or artistic preoccupations discovered, which fact tends to be ascribed to the short duration of occupation of each of these nomadic camps, on the assumption that such manifestations are more readily found in winter quarters that have yet to be identified in the Paris Basin. Accordingly, whenever an object apparently does not fall into the category of « daily usage » specialists of the Paleolithic focus their attention on it, wondering what cultural realm it may appertain to. It is frequently tempting to evoke the symbolic alibi pretext to account for the presence of this artifact in a camp of hunters whose major preoccupations, in any case those we have access to, remain essentially material. Rare examples of such objects, especially flint nodules, have been identified in Magdalenian and Azilian camps in the Ile-de-France area. We endeavor herein to describe and to analyze the various elements that have oriented our interpretations towards the non-functional, perhaps towards the symbolic, and why not towards feminine likenesses.