The origin of the Gravettian

Abstract

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