Final Palaeolithic Research Articles

Каменный век Камчатки: переход от палеолита к неолиту

The article describes general and peculiar features of transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic on the Kamchatka peninsula. The findings are obtained through studying multi-layered camps of Ushki and artefact of Anavgay II and Razdelny II sites. The objective of the article is to systematize archaeological and stratigraphic materials, both the new ones and the ones already existing in the scholarly discourse. The objective implies description of the functioning of the human culture in the Stone Age Kamchatka with regards to the dynamics of natural complexes. It is established that the peculiarity of the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic on the Kamchatka peninsula is three consequent and differently looking tangible culture complexes: the Final Palaeolithic (~13.3–12.5 thousand years B.P. calibrated; 12.0–10.1 thousand years B.P. calibrated) and the Mesolithic (~9.9–8.6 thousand years B.P. calibrated). The peculiarities of the first complex imply bifacial arrowheads and darts with shafts, stone embellishments (pendants, beads), artificial organic colourings; distinctive feature of the second complex is evidence of using the micro plate technology (Yūbetsu technique); the third complex is represented with the micro lithic technique of tool production and plate- and flake-based tool sets. The population of all complexes is characterized with appropriating economy based on preying on different animal and bird species, fishing and gathering. Two Late Pleistocene cultural complexes are typical for the Final Palaeolithic Eurasia and America in terms of their settlement arrangements, stone industry, economy and symbolic behaviour. The third period demonstrates the Early Holocene age and certain materials, which makes it associated with the Mesolithic. The Mesolithic complexes’ stone industry shows predominant items based on prismatic plates. There is no ceramics found. There are common features with the Mesolithic cultures of Eurasia. The dynamic and migration of the Kamchatka population in the researched period was linked to the volcanic activity, endogenous landscape formation and associated consequences.

Twelve years of the ‘Arabian Seashores’ project: How the extensive investigation of coastal Oman changed the paradigm of the Arabian Neolithic

AbstractFor over a decade, the French mission ‘Archaeology of the Arabian Seashores’ has been exploring the evolution of the Omani coastline, from hunter–gatherers to the rise of complex societies during the crucial passages from the culmination of the Pleistocene to the Early Bronze Age, passing through the Neolithic. The team extensively surveyed the land spreading from the eastern head of Arabia, Ra's al‐Hadd and Ra's al‐Jinz, to the last villages of Dhofar, including Masirah Island and the Hallaniyyat archipelago, covering 1000 km. Most Final Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites were tested or excavated. A multidisciplinary approach that involves the joint work of archaeologists and geologists was chosen to include the contribution of environmental factors to modifying the equilibriums between the natural environment and human communities through the study of climatic and eustatic fluctuations. The project provided a substantive perspective on the evolution of maritime communities between 10,000 and 2000 bce. Moreover, an interdisciplinary and multiscalar approach for describing and analysing the change in the material culture of this region made it possible to transcend the traditional typology and examine the role of human communities’ interaction.

Tuff, Flint, and Hazelnuts: Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Occupation at Netherhall Road, Maryport, Cumbria

Evidence for Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic occupation at Maryport, Cumbria, was discovered during the excavation of Roman occupation features by CFA Archaeology Ltd. A varied lithic assemblage was recovered including worked flint (55%) and tuff (43%), with the rest consisting of a small amount of chert, chalcedony, and rhyolite. Early occupation, probably dating to the Final Palaeolithic Federmesser-Gruppen, is demonstrated through different technological styles among the lithic assemblage. Three phases of activity were identified from cut features and there was a significant amount of charred hazelnut shell, which gave radiocarbon dates centring around 8200 cal BCE. This site provides the first clear evidence that tuff was exploited directly from sources in the Central Lake District, possibly as early as the Final Palaeolithic. The occupation evidence also demonstrates intensive processing of hazelnuts centring around 8200 cal BCE and lasting for 150–558 years. The dates and occupation span are almost identical to those derived from the Mesolithic structure at Cass ny Hawin 2 on the Isle of Man.

The quest for palaeolithic art in the Neris river valley, Central-Eastern Lithuania

Only a few artifacts discovered in Lithuania can be considered as examples of portable art from the Final Palaeolithic period. Three of them were found in the Neris river valley in central-eastern Lithuania: an engraved slate pebble from the Eiguliai 1А site, a notched blade from the Skaruliai 1 site, and a flint “figurine” from the Vilnius 1 site. Discovered by Rimutė Rimantienė and her father Konstantinas Jablonskis, these three finds were the first and for many years the only artifacts underpinning the discussion of art from the Lithuanian Final Palaeolithic. The debate on the tentative function of these items, initiated by Rimantienė, is reviewed in this study before presenting the results of the latest research on the subject between 2012 and 2017, carried out using a range of methods: visual examination, comparative analysis with other archaeological finds and reconstructed prehistoric tools, surface analysis under a microscope. The functional interpretation proposed as a result of these investigations in two cases disproves the identification of these artifacts as portable art.

Final Palaeolithic of Zhytomyr Polissia

Final Palaeolithic (Terminal Palaeolithic) — the last, final phase of the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe, dating from 13.5—10 kyr and has numerous paleogeographic equivalents — Dryas period, Late glacier, Late or Final glacial, Tardiglacial period, reindeer age. In Zhytomyr Polissia there are two main groups of different Final Palaeolithic monuments with different cultural and chronological characteristics. At the beginning of the epoch, Еpigravettian mammoth hunters lived in the region. In particular, on the Ovruch ridge at the beginning of the Final Paleolithic a separate variant of the Еpigravettian developed. The extinction of mammoths about 13 kyr and the onset of the reindeer era caused a change in population. During the Allerod warming about 12 kyr reindeer hunters of the Lyngby culture advanced from the South-Western Baltic region to Polissia. The spread of Lyngbian cultural traditions at the end of Allerod in the outwash plains from Jutland to the Neman, Prypiat, Upper Dnipro and Upper Volga laid the groundwork for the emergence 11 000 years ago areas of related cultures with arrowheads on blades. In addition to Lyngby, it includes the following cultures: Ahrensburg in Northern Germany, Swiderian in the Vistula, Prypiat and Neman basins, and Krasnosillia in the Prypiat, Neman and Upper Dnipro basins. The specificity of their flint inventory is the leading role of various tanged arrowheads on blades, while the cultural marker of Epigravettian complexes are a variety of micro-inserts with a backed edge. Genetically descended from the Lyngby culture population, Krasnosillian and Swiderian hunter groupes lived in the cold forest-tundra, hunting for herds of seasonally migrating reindeers. The sharp warming 10 kyr led to the migration of Krasnosillian and Swidrian groupes following the reindeer to the north of Eastern Europe, which they settled during the VIII millennium BC. On the Swiderian basis, the post-Swiderian Mesolithic was formed. It is Butovo and similar Mesolithic cultures of the forest belt of Eastern Europe from the Baltics to the Northern Ural. The Mesolithic Pisochnyi Riv culture of the Middle Desna, the Grensk culture of the Upper Dnipro, and the Ienevo culture of the Upper Volga were formed on the Krasnosillian basis. These Mesolithic communities of northern Eastern Europe in ethno-cultural terms were probably distant ancestors of the Finnish peoples.

PALAEOLITHIC IN D. YA. TELEHIN’S RESEARCH

The article is devoted to the coverage of a little-known aspect of D. Ya. Telehin’s scientific activity, namely his research related to Palaeolithic sites and Palaeolithic issues. Although this was clearly not the main area of the scientist’s concern, his interest for Palaeolithic studies has accompanied him throughout his scientific life.
 In the early 1950s, D. Ya. Telehin participated in the works of I. F. Levytskyi at the site Mynivskyi Yar at Seversky Donets, in eastern Ukraine. The lower layer of the site belongs to the period 18—13 thousand years ago. In fact, at the time of excavations, it was the only Upper Palaeolithic site in the region that was investigated on a relatively large area.
 In the mid-twentieth century, a cascade of new hydroelectric power plants and reservoirs was being built on the Dnieper. During the field seasons of 1953 and 1957, D. Ya. Telehin’s explorations in the area of construction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power plant and the Kakhovskoye reservoir discovered, in addition to numerous sites from later periods, the first upper Palaeolithic locations of the Lower Dnieper, namely: Shyroka, Valivalska and Merzlyakova gullies.
 In 1975 together with N. I. Tarasenko, D. Ya. Telegin conducts excavations at the Rogalyk farm. According to modern interpretation, the remains of three new stratified sites were discovered during these works. The authors have identified the materials as early Mesolithic; they are now attributed to the final Palaeolithic.
 In 1976 D. Ya. Telehin researches the Upper Palaeolithic site of Zbranky near the eponymous village in the Ovruch loess area. The materials found once again, after the works of I. F. Levytskyi and V. A. Mesyats, confirmed that this region was actively exploited by the Palaeolithic man at the end of the Pleistocene.
 A number of new, mostly surface, Upper Palaeolithic sites were discovered by the «Dnieper-Donbas» and «Slavutych» expeditions led by D. Ya. Telehin in 1970—74 and 1980—83 on the territory of the Middle Dnieper Basin (Chernyavshchyna, Pereschepyno, Khizhnyakivka, etc.) and the middle reaches of Southern Buh (Apolyanka, Berezyno).
 During the 1980s, D. Ya. Telehin investigated the area of the left bank of the Dnieper River near the mouth of the Sula River. This work resulted in the discovery of a new concentration of Upper Palaeolithic sites. The features of lithic assemblages make it possible to identify groups of later and earlier sites in the preliminary view, including the so-called archaic Upper Palaeolithic.
 In 1984, D. Ya. Telehin investigated the location of Semenivka 1 in Baryshevsky district of Kiev region in the valley of Trubizh river. The peculiarities of the stone tools allowed to see the nearest analogies to the findings in the materials of the sites of Epigravettian mammoth hunters. Studies at Semenivka 1 gave an impulse for further searches in this area.
 The brief overview offered shows that although Palaeolithic studies were not in the focus of D. Ya. Telehin’s attention, his works are nevertheless deservedly included in the general fund for achievements in domestic Palaeolithic studies.

Demographic estimates from the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic boundary in Scandinavia: comparative benchmarks and novel insights.

Prehistoric demography has recently risen to prominence as a potentially explanatory variable for episodes of cultural change as documented in the archaeological and ethnographic record. While this has resulted in a veritable boom in methodological developments seeking to address temporal changes in the relative size of prehistoric populations, little work has focused on the manner in which population dynamics manifests across a spatial dimension. Most recently, the so-called Cologne Protocol has led the way in this endeavour. However, strict requirements of raw-material exchange data as analytical inputs have prevented further applications of the protocol to regions outside of continental Europe. We apply an adjusted approach of the protocol that makes it transferable to cases in other parts of the world, while demonstrating its use by providing comparative benchmarks of previous research on the Late Glacial Final Palaeolithic of southern Scandinavia, and novel insights from the early Holocene pioneer colonization of coastal Norway. We demonstrate again that population size and densities remained fairly low throughout the Late Glacial, and well into the early Holocene. We suggest that such low population densities have played a significant role in shaping what may have been episodes of cultural loss, as well as potentially longer periods of only relatively minor degrees of cultural change.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography’.

A Technological and Typological Analysis of Lithic Material from Skovmosen I, Denmark

During road construction work, material attributed to the Final Palaeolithic was discovered at Skovmosen I, near Kongens Lyngby on Zealand, eastern Denmark. Although it is regularly mentioned in reviews of the southern Scandinavian Final Palaeolithic, the Skovmosen I assemblage has hitherto remained poorly described. We here review the site’s discovery history and its context. Aided by a three-dimensional digital recording protocol, this article details the assemblage composition and its technology. The assemblage is comprised of tanged points, scrapers and burins, alongside blades and cores as primary reduction products. Although evidently disturbed by the road construction that led to the site’s discovery, the material likely reflects the remains of a small Final Palaeolithic locale, where diverse activities were carried out.

Location Modeling of Final Palaeolithic Sites in Northern Germany

Location modeling, both inductive and deductive, is widely used in archaeology to predict or investigate the spatial distribution of sites. The commonality among these approaches is their consideration of only spatial effects of the first order (i.e., the interaction of the locations with the site characteristics). Second-order effects (i.e., the interaction of locations with each other) are rarely considered. We introduce a deductive approach to investigating such second-order effects using linguistic hypotheses about settling behavior in the Final Palaeolithic. A Poisson process was used to simulate a point distribution using expert knowledge of two distinct hunter–gatherer groups, namely, reindeer hunters and elk hunters. The modeled points and point densities were compared with the actual finds. The G-, F-, and K-function, which allow for the identification of second-order effects of varying intensity for different periods, were applied. The results reveal differences between the two investigated groups, with the reindeer hunters showing location-related interaction patterns, indicating a spatial memory of the preferred locations over an extended period of time. Overall, this paper shows that second-order effects occur in the geographical modeling of archaeological finds and should be taken into account by using approaches such as the one presented in this paper.

The problem of the Paleolithic to Mesolithic transition on the Upper and Middle Don River

The youngest Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Upper and Middle Don Valley have radiocarbon dates about 1312 ka BP (Borshchevo 2, Divnogorye 1, 9). Lithic assemblages of these sites are characterized by the presence of backed implements, end-scrapers on blades, burins on truncation which are distinctive features for the final stage of the Eastern Epigravettian. The sites that could be undoubtedly associated with the Final Palaeolithic are not represented in the region. Several Early Mesolithic sites discovered during two last decades have radiocarbon dates about 109 ka BP. Geometric microliths, burins of different types, circular end-scrapers and some pointes and chisels are typical for toolkits. Although at least 2000 years separate Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlements there are some similarities in technical and typological characteristics of its lithic assemblages. Various scenarios of the Mesolithic formation and its probable origin are discussed in the paper. The most preferable is the point of view that there is no continuity between the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, and the appearance of the Mesolithic population can be explained by migrations from neighboring territories.

Радіовуглецева хронологія фінального палеоліту, мезоліту та неоліту Криму в археологічному та палеоекологічному контекстах

Радіовуглецева хронологія фінального палеоліту, мезоліту та неоліту Криму в археологічному та палеоекологічному контекстах

The Final Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherer Colonisation of Lithuania in Light of Recent Palaeoenvironmental Research

This paper critically reviews the culture-historical framework for the re-colonisation of Lithuania during the Final Palaeolithic in the light of recent palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data. We argue that the existing chronology of the Final Palaeolithic in Lithuania suffers from an undue western European orientation grounded in research history, and that it likely requires reconsideration. The lack of well-constrained excavations, the paucity of both radiocarbon dates and of palaeoenvironmental data pertinent to the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (LGIT) lead us to be cautious with regard to the existing chronology. In reviewing the typological classification of the relevant lithic material, we argue in particular that there is a lack of reliable evidence not only for Hamburgian occupation but also for any substantive Federmessergruppen, Brommean and Ahrensburgian presence. Whilst Swiderian sites are better represented, a large majority of these may date to the early Holocene. In light of the current evidence, we question the usefulness of existing archaeological taxonomies for this period and favour a model of punctuated colonisation for the Lithuanian territory, where periodic and ephemeral forager presences are interspersed with longer periods of depopulation. In closing, we outline avenues for future research in the region.

A new look at an old dog: Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered

The Bonn-Oberkassel dog remains (Upper Pleistocene and 14223 +- 58 years old) have been reported more than 100 years ago. Recent re-examination revealed the tooth of another older and smaller dog, making this domestic dog burial not only the oldest known, but also the only one with remains of two dogs. This observation brings the total known Magdalenian dogs to nine.Domestication of dogs during the final Palaeolithic has important implications for understanding pre-Holocene hunter-gatherers. Most proposed hunter-gatherer motivations for domesticating dogs have been utilitarian. However, remains of the Bonn-Oberkassel dogs may offer another view.The Bonn-Oberkassel dog was a late juvenile when it was buried at approximately age 27–28 weeks, with two adult humans and grave goods. Oral cavity lesions indicate a gravely ill dog that likely suffered a morbillivirus (canine distemper) infection. A dental line of suggestive enamel hypoplasia appears at the 19-week developmental stage. Two additional enamel hypoplasia lines, on the canine only, document further disease episodes at weeks 21 and 23. Pathological changes also include severe periodontal disease that may have been facilitated by immunodeficiency.Since canine distemper has a three-week disease course with very high mortality, the dog must have been perniciously ill during the three disease bouts and between ages 19 and 23 weeks. Survival without intensive human assistance would have been unlikely. Before and during this period, the dog cannot have held any utilitarian use to humans.We suggest that at least some Late Pleistocene humans regarded dogs not just materialistically, but may have developed emotional and caring bonds for their dogs, as reflected by the survival of this dog, quite possibly through human care.

What's your point? Flexible projectile weapon system in the Central European Final Palaeolithic. The case of Swiderian points

This paper seeks to provide an interpretation of Final Palaeolithic Swiderian points variability based on the concept of flexible projectile weapon systems. The paper focuses on aspects of performance characteristics of Swiderian points and their function as elements of projectile weapons. The sample of 294 Swiderian points from 12 Polish and one Ukrainian site was incorporated in the study.The applied research methodology combines a use wear analysis, observation of diagnostic impact fractures (DIF's), analysis of quantitative ballistic features, such as the tip cross-sectional area (TCSA), and geometric-morphometric analysis of points outline shape along with ethnographic analogies. The combination of these methods allows a more comprehensive understanding of lithic points function within particular projectile weapon systems.The study has revealed that the duality in the morphology and the design of Swiderian points most likely corresponds to a phenomenon, which is frequently observed in the construction of projectiles in traditional hunting societies and which derives from the so called “mass/velocity relationship”. This phenomenon is here referred to as “flexible projectile weapon systems”.

La variabilidad tecnológica del Paleolítico superior final en el sur de Cataluña: la cueva de la Mallada (Perelló, Tarragona) y el abrigo de l’Areny (Vilanova d’Escornalbou, Tarragona)

We present the first technological study of the lithic assemblages from the cave of La Mallada (Perello, Tarragona) and the rockshelter of Areny (Vilanova d’Escornalbou, Tarragona), both belonging to the final Upper Palaeolithic. After defining their differences and similarities, we compared them to other sites of the same time period in southern Catalonia. Our results document the variability of core reduction strategies during the final Upper Palaeolithic.

Les occupations gravettiennes de Buran-Kaya III (Crimée) : contexte archéologique

Buran-Kaya III (Crimea, Ukraine) is a unique site, with a stratigraphy from Middle to Final Palaeolithic. The Gravettian layers 5-2, 6-1 and 6-2 of this site yielded numerous lithic and bone industries, ornaments from marine and freshwater shells, mammal teeth and mammoth ivory, human fossils and abundant faunal remains. Аccording to the stylistic indications of the lithic and bone inventories, the settlements of layers 5-2, 6-1 and 6-2 of Buran-Kaya III represent local variants of the Gravettian in Crimea and in mainland Ukraine and, therefore, the existence of separately social communities. Conversely, ornament objects and human remains (with specific mortuary practices) of Buran-Kaya III may suggest extensive social contacts of its Gravettian inhabitants with other human populations from mainland Ukraine. These hypotheses make necessary future investigations about the social organisation of the Epigravettian societies in Eastern Europe.

Lateglacial and Holocene fluvial dynamics in the Lower Scheldt basin (N-Belgium) and their impact on the presence, detection and preservation potential of the archaeological record

Several alluvial areas in the Lower Scheldt basin (LSB) have been subjected to geo-archaeological surveys and excavations in light of tidal restoration and nature development projects. Through the combination of a large number of radiocarbon dates and the sedimentary and geomorphological characteristics of the dated samples, several trends in the evolution of Lateglacial and Holocene fluvial activity in the LSB emerge.At the onset of the Lateglacial period the fluvial style in the LSB consisted of a meandering river system. During most of this period and the early and middle Holocene depositional processes dominated. After a first phase of gyttja deposition, organic and clastic sediments gradually filled the channels and later on this accretion also occurred outside their confines, extending laterally in the alluvial plain. The transition from the Subboreal to the Subatlantic period witnessed an intensification of fluvial activities, and a new meandering river system developed. Vertical accumulation processes continued to dominate the fluvial environment. Due to the creation of an extensive network of dikes floodplain evolution was restricted from the 11th–12th century onwards. Similar evolutions are observed in other lowland river basins in NW Europe, evolutions which have been related to climatic changes, and from the 4th millennium cal BP onwards, also to anthropogenic influences.The low-energy aggradation regime throughout the Holocene within the alluvial areas of the LSB accounts for an extensive, well-preserved, but well-hidden archaeological record. The observed geomorphological and sedimentary evolutions are of primary importance for the understanding of the presence and ‘preservation potential’ of archaeological structures and finds from the Final Palaeolithic up to the Medieval period.

A Palaeolithic fishhook made of ivory and the earliest fishhook tradition in Europe

Prehistoric fishhooks have previously been described in northern Europe as being common since the Mesolithic. Here we present a Final Palaeolithic ivory fishhook from the site Wustermark 22 (north-eastern Germany), the raw material of which is about 19,000 years old. Five further fishhooks were discovered in situ at the same site one of which has a calibrated radiocarbon age of about 12,300 years. The tool industries of flint artefacts and bone/antler tools are associated with descendants of the Federmesser-culture and the palynological context indicates a Younger Dryas environment. Wustermark 22 represents the largest collection of Palaeolithic fishhooks so far found at a single European site. A comparison with other sites in Europe, containing Palaeolithic fishhooks suggests that the appearance and development of fishhooks may be associated with a general change in resource availability during the Greenland Interstadial 1 (Bølling/Allerød warming), which is also connected with a change from late Upper Palaeolithic to Final Palaeolithic industries in Northern Central Europe. We conclude that Mesolithic fishhook tradition has its roots in the Final Palaeolithic.

La fin du Tardiglaciaire dans le Grand-Ouest de la France

In recent years, the Late Glacial period of Western France has been the scene of exciting new research. Prior to this research, the human occupation of Western France at the very end of the Pleistocene was seldom considered in discussions of European Prehistory. The presence of few stratified sites and the acidic soils of the Armorican Massif, which preserve few organic remains, are probably to blame for this treatment. A systematic study of assemblages collected in the 1970s-80s and the excavation of new sites allow us to re-examine the Final Palaeolithic of Western France. This new research has allowed us to propose a new chrono-cultural organization of the lithic industries. Because few sites are well-dated or stratified in Western France, this new chronology is based on lithic technology and a comparison of assemblages from the surrounding areas. In this paper, I specifically deal with assemblages long thought to be Magdalenian. However, some are in fact younger and represent a different technology that was replaced at the very end of the Late Glacial, during the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition. These so-called ’ Post-Azilian’ industries mark a clear technical departure from the Azilian that preceded and the early Mesolithic that succeeded them. Contrary to the Azilian, where non-uniform elongated flakes were the main objective, blades and bladelettes are the central focus of reduction in post-Azilian societies. Post-Azilian blanks are regular and standardized. They are produced from methods using high-quality raw materials. The bladelettes are used to make different kinds of projectile points. The design of projectiles varies across Europe and these different types are seen as the cultural markers of separate traditions : Laborian/ Epilaborian, Ahrensburgian/ Epiahrensburgian, Swiderian,… The assemblages of Western France show an interesting diversity of projectile points. Straight backed points are most common. These projectile points testify to southern influences and are characteristic of the Epilaborian in Southern France. The presence of these projectile points in Western France is not surprising considering the fact they have been found in surrounding areas ; it is however unexpected to find elements similar to the Ahrensburgian and Epiahrensburgian. The presence of Ahrensburgian tanged points and oblique truncated points in Western France show the extension of these Northern European traditions farther West. While these axial points are the most common, our work also suggests the existence of trapezoidal elements probably used as cutting points. Well known during the second half of the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, this kind of projectile point seems to appear much earlier than usually considered. We are currently working on the origin of this concept (changes in hunting strategies, diversification of targets) and its link with the environmental changes of the end of the Pleistocene. While projectile point types vary throughout Europe, study of the lithic sub-system shows the diffusion of strong technical concepts over a wide area. The assemblages of these different European traditions testify to the presence of homogeneous objectives and methods of production. This homogeneity suggests that there may be a large European techno-complex composed of several traditions that are not necessarily contemporaneous or geographically restricted. This new view of the very end of the Late Glacial period allows us to develop new hypotheses about the socio-economic organization of these human societies. From this perspective it is interesting to consider the impact climatic instability may have had on populations during this period.

Final Palaeolithic of the Campine region (NE Belgium) in their environmental context: optical age constraints

Final Palaeolithic of the Campine region (NE Belgium) in their environmental context: optical age constraints