Gravettian Levels Research Articles

Subsistence strategies during the Gravettian in the rock shelter of La Viña (Asturias, N Spain)

The rock shelter of La Viña, located on the northern Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, contains a rich archaeological sequence dated from the Mousterian to the Magdalenian. This site preserves an extended Gravettian occupation where a diversified assemblage of fauna, lithic and bone tools has been attested. In this paper, we undertake the archaeozoological and taphonomic study of the macromammals found in the Gravettian levels X and IX of the Western Sector, recovered during the campaigns directed by Fortea between 1987 and 1992. The taphonomy indicates a high presence of fire-altered bone elements and butchery marks related to ungulate skinning and disarticulation activities, with a low presence of carnivore modifications, being Cervus elaphus, followed by Rupicapra rupicapra and Capra pyrenaica the most common taxa, therefore confirming the anthropogenic origin of the bone assemblage. Given the high fragmentation of the infantile remains identified, a biomolecular study by Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) was carried out to increase the taxonomic data and unravel the hunting strategies and site seasonality. Proteomic results revealed a high presence of newborn red deer and ibex, thus suggesting females herd captures during late spring/early summer.

Molodovo V (Ukraine): spatial and contextual study of Gravettian levels 10, 9 & 8

Molodovo V is one of Ukraine’s key-sites for the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Since its excavation in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this sequence has been a cornerstone for the chrono-cultural framework in the Dniestr valley and adjacent areas. The site is also an important contributor to the issue of the Gravettian emergence. With radiocarbon dates around 29–28 ka uncal BP, its cultural levels 10 and 9 stand as the first Gravettian occurrence in this region, and as one of the earliest in Europe. However, this early presence of the Gravettian is relatively questionable, as it is challenged by the late Aurignacian presence in the neighbouring site of Mitoc-Malu Galben (Romania) which extends until 27.7 ka BP. Despite the consistency of the sedimentary and paleoenvironmental studies at Molodovo V, the archaeological artefacts did not benefit from extensive studies since the excavations – except for typological classification. This paper thus aims at clarifying the association of the lithic materials with the sedimentary stratigraphy and associated dates. Three types of analyses have been realized to check the conditions in which the cultural levels 10, 9 and 8 were excavated, labelled and attributed: a spatial analysis of the lithic artefacts, a refit analysis focused on inter-levels connexions and a spatial study of the position of the Upper Palaeolithic combustion features. Consequently, it appears that most artefacts from levels 10 and 9, and a majority of materials from level 8, are not reliably associated to the sedimentary stratigraphy and dates. Thus, there is no ascertained Gravettian presence in Molodovo V before its level 8, imprecisely dated between 27.000 and 25.000 uncal BP. Key words: Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian, Ukraine, spatial analysis.

The residential contexts of Gravettian hunter‐gatherers from Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, Northeast Iberian Peninsula): Searching activity areas from archeozoological evidence

AbstractDuring the Gravettian, Arbreda Cave was frequently occupied by hunter‐gatherer communities. Within this period, the archeological levels E (Iberian Middle Gravettian) and D (Final Gravettian), dated to ca. 26–20 kyr 14C BP, are of particular interest, since fieldwork carried out during the 1980s revealed dense accumulations of archeological materials with remarkable concentrations of burnt remains. The archeozoological and taphonomic studies conducted with faunal remains recovered from both levels have provided essential information about subsistence activities; however, the concentrations of these remains have not been subjected to spatial distribution analysis. In recent decades, spatial analysis has become a key tool for deciphering the formation dynamics of archeological levels, as well as for offering valuable clues with which to understand the relation of the occupants with the morphology of the site cavities. The aims of this paper are to pinpoint the principal activity areas of both Gravettian levels of Arbreda Cave focusing on the location of main hearth‐related assemblages and to interpret these activity areas in terms of the use of the space by hunter‐gatherer groups. To achieve these goals, our research has been based on the processing of archeozoological and taphonomic data obtained in recent studies applying different spatial statistics methods, including techniques of density analysis and spatial correlation. Furthermore, for each level, the results obtained from the geostatistical approaches are supplemented by a detailed taphonomic analysis of the complete assemblage of remains recovered from the principal hearth‐related square. Finally, in each case, an accurate analysis of the burnt remain assemblage of each square provides further elucidation of the large amount of combusted remains in the area. The study reveals that hunter‐gatherer communities established themselves in particular areas of the cave, close to the north wall and beneath the existing roof of the rock shelter. The dense accumulations of different remains found in these areas has enabled us to hypothesize about its hearth‐related origin, where hearths would have been settled and marrow exploitation activities would have been carried out around them. Furthermore, the high rate of breakage and charred and calcined remains and a relatively high percentage of burnt spongy bones indicate that bones were used as fuel to supplement firewood. On the whole, the low level of space organization complexity of levels E and D main activity areas supports a seasonal pattern of occupation during the Iberian Middle Gravettian and Final Gravettian periods.

Stable isotope evidence of human diet in Mediterranean context during the Last Glacial Maximum

The Final Gravettian in Europe overlapped with the cold and dry climatic event of Heinrich 2 (ca. 27–23.5 kyr cal BP), which caused the contraction of human distribution over refuge regions in the southern peninsulas of Europe. Here, we consider the human subsistence in the northeast Iberian Peninsula, where an extensive range of small to large prey was available. Four human remains from the Serinyà caves were investigated using the stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur of bulk collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15Ncoll, δ34Scoll) and of phenylalanine and glutamine amino acids (δ15NPhe, δ15NGlu). Direct AMS dating of the human and animal remains from the Final Gravettian levels of Mollet III, Reclau Viver, and Arbreda at Serinyà confirmed their chronological position from 27.5 to 22.6 kyr cal BP and the occurrence of four different human individuals. The δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll values showed a large contribution of terrestrial prey to the dietary protein of the individuals. The δ34Scoll values were consistent with a subsistence based on the local continental resources, without detectable contribution of marine resource. The δ15NPhe and δ15NGlu values confirm that freshwater resources were not a substantial component of the diet of the considered individuals. Contrast in the isotopic amounts in bulk collagen could be interpreted as the result of different proportions of terrestrial prey in human diet at Serinyà. Altogether, the isotopic investigation reveals the importance of terrestrial over aquatic resources in the subsistence of the studied Final Gravettian individuals from the Serinyà caves in northeastern Iberia during the Last Glacial Maximum. It would be consistent with a scenario of a productive enough terrestrial ecosystem to sustain hunter-gatherer subsistence in this refuge region.

Human adaptive responses to climate and environmental change during the Gravettian of Lapa do Picareiro (Portugal)

On the Iberian Peninsula, abrupt climate shifts during the Late Pleistocene impacted human and natural systems. Our knowledge of human adaptive responses to these climatic perturbations has improved in recent years with the development of new radiocarbon techniques that have increased the temporal resolution of cultural chronologies. At the same time, new high-resolution paleoclimatic records from Greenland ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, speleothems, and microfaunal assemblages have permitted detailed paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Combined with the archaeological record of culture change, these data sets allow for a better understanding of the nature of human socio-ecological systems during the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new data on the Gravettian occupations at Lapa do Picareiro, a cave site in Portugal with a long continuous stratigraphic sequence spanning MIS 3 and 2. The ongoing excavation of Lapa do Picareiro has revealed at least three Gravettian levels with very different patterns of raw material use and technological reduction. The Early Gravettian levels contain a quartzite flake assemblage with several refitting clusters and a small chert assemblage with nosed endscrapers and bladelet technology. The Late or Terminal Gravettian level contains carinated endscraper/core-bladelet technology, mainly quartz, with chert blade production, and a few bone tools. The faunal assemblages also have a different character. Both contain a similar range of medium and large ungulates but the earlier Gravettian has a much richer and more diverse assemblage of small animals. These combined archaeological data sets provide a new perspective on Gravettian human adaptations in response to climate shifts, especially Heinrich Event 3 and Greenland Interstadials 4 and 3.

Heating histories and taphonomy of ancient fireplaces: A multi-proxy case study from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Abri Pataud (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, France)

While the use of fire has long been recognised as a crucial innovation in the cultural evolution of humankind, much research has focused on the (debated) chronology of its earliest use and control, and less on the ways in which fire was used in the deep past. At its latest by the Upper Palaeolithic, hunter-gatherers routinely used fire to heat a wide range of materials, adjusting parameters like temperature, exposure time and fuel type to the specific requirements of the treated materials, for instance in food preparation or tool production.Comparing analyses of the chemical and physical properties of modern materials, heated under a range of controlled conditions in a laboratory, to archaeological ones might allow the reconstruction of the “heating history” of excavated materials and hence to infer the function of particular fires in the past - provided changes affecting the properties of the heated archaeological material during burial time are taken into consideration. To investigate the feasibility of such an approach, heated materials sampled from ~40,000 to 25,000 year old fireplaces (hearths) and their sedimentary matrices from the Upper Palaeolithic Abri Pataud rock shelter in South-Western France are used here to study (1) the fuel type(s) used by the site’s occupants, (2) the temperatures reached in fireplaces and (3) the potential changes in human activities related to fireplaces over time, with the influence of post-depositional processes taken into explicit consideration throughout. For this purpose, we used a range of methods to analyse macroscopically visible as well as “invisible” (microscopic and molecular) heat-altered materials.The results suggest that charred organic materials (COM) encountered in the samples predominantly result from the fuel used in fireplaces, including the earliest reported use of dung as fuel. Earlier suggestions about the use of bone as fuel at the Abri Pataud are not supported by this study. The heating temperature of COM increased gradually from 350 °C in the Aurignacian to 450 °C in Gravettian levels. Py-GC–MS studies identified a range of organic compounds, biomolecules derived from plant as well as animal sources, still preserved in the sediments after exposure to heat and burial in the rock shelter more than 20,000 years ago. Mammalian mtDNA was identified in sediment samples retrieved from the fireplaces, including ancient mtDNA fragments that originated from one or more modern human-like mitochondrial genome(s). This makes the Abri Pataud the first archaeological site for which ancient modern human mtDNA has been retrieved from sediment samples.The absence of specific organic compounds (furans) in the Aurignacian levels and their presence in the Gravettian ones, the changes in temperatures reached through the Aurignacian-Gravettian sequence as well as changes in the character of the fireplaces (presence/absence of lining river pebbles) suggest that the functions of hearths changed through time.These results highlight the potential of multi-proxy analyses of macro- and microscopic traces of ancient fireplaces, and especially of a shift in focus towards molecular traces of such activities. Systematic sampling of fireplaces and their sedimentary matrix should become a standard part of the excavation protocol of such features, to improve our understanding of the activities of humans in the deep past.

A refined chronology for the Gravettian sequence of Abri Pataud

Abri Pataud (France) is the type site in studies focusing on the appearance of modern humans and the development of classic Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes in Europe. It contains important evidence of successful adaptation strategies of modern humans to new territories and in response to sharply changing climatic conditions that characterized Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2. Despite being for decades one of the best excavated and most studied Paleolithic sites, the chronology of Abri Pataud has lacked precision and revealed large discrepancies. The chronology of the lowermost part of the sequence (Levels 14–5) was refined in 2011 with the publication of 32 new radiocarbon determinations, mainly from the Aurignacian levels. In contrast, the Gravettian levels (Levels 5–2) remained poorly dated until now. Here, we present 18 new radiocarbon dates on cut-marked animal bones from the Gravettian part of the site, which complete the dating of this important sequence. The determinations are analyzed using Bayesian statistical modeling, and the results allow us to place the start of the Gravettian at the site between ∼33,000 and 32,000 cal BP (∼29,000–28,000 BP). We discuss the succession of the Gravettian facies across the sequence (Bayacian, Noaillian, Rayssian), as well as the likely duration of each archaeological level. With a total of more than 50 radiocarbon determinations, Abri Pataud offers secure information for the appearance and development of the technocomplexes linked with early modern humans and their establishment in western Europe. Based on published genetic data, it appears that it is the Gravettian hunter-gatherers and subsequent human groups, rather than the earlier Aurignacian and pre-Aurignacian groups, that contributed to the genetic signature of later and living Europeans. Hence, elucidating the precise timing of the Gravettian appearance has broad implications in our understanding of late human evolution across Europe.

Subsistence strategies of Gravettian hunter–gatherers in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: the case of level E of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà)

The Gravettian covers a long period characterised by widely fluctuating climatic conditions that led to a diversity of subsistence strategies, which extended from the Iberian Atlantic coast to Siberia. Within this vast area, the northeast of Iberia acted as a transitional territory, between steppe–tundra in the northern regions and Iberian wooded steppe to the south. Owing to the small number of studies, subsistence during the Gravettian period in this region is not as yet well known. The Arbreda Cave site (Serinya) preserves the largest and most detailed Palaeolithic stratigraphy of the Reclau Cave complex, providing the most accurate information about the changes that occurred from the Early Upper Pleistocene to the Holocene in the northeast Iberian Peninsula. Presented here is a detailed archaeozoological and taphonomic study of Iberian Middle Gravettian level E (c. 26–25 kyr 14C BP). Allowing for the possibility that density-mediated biases and post-burial bone attrition may have influenced the study, it appears to confirm that the rich faunal assemblage recovered at this level was primarily due to anthropogenic activities. On the contrary, the slight evidence of carnivore activity mainly consists of small prey. The archaeozoological analysis suggests selective hunting focused almost entirely on familial groups of horses and red deer among ungulates and rabbits among small prey. The taphonomic study points to extensive animal exploitation-butchery activities, marrow extraction and use of bone as fuel and raw material to make “less-elaborated” tools. Hunter–gatherer communities made seasonal use of the cave as a temporary residential camp site, preferably between spring and autumn. Upper Palaeolithic horse-dominated macrofaunal assemblages are rare in the Iberian Peninsula, being found only in the Cantabrian and Catalonia regions. In contrast to what is observed in southern Mediterranean areas, the higher percentage of horses in relation to red deer in Arbreda Cave may indicate colder conditions for this area located close to the expanse of the steppe–tundra biome.

Le Gravettien du Fourneau du Diable (Bourdeilles, Dordogne) : révision chronoculturelle des ensembles lithiques de la «Terrasse inférieure »

Le Gravettien du Fourneau du Diable (Bourdeilles, Dordogne) : révision chronoculturelle des ensembles lithiques de la «Terrasse inférieure »

Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain.

Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9–45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3–40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6–33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain.

Les statuettes en ivoire gravettiennes d’Europe occidentale

The results of an archeozoological and taphonomical analysis of mammoth ivory statuettes from gravettian levels of the grotte du Pape at Brassempouy (Landes) are presented in this article.

New evidence of bones used as fuel in the Gravettian level at Coímbre cave, northern Iberian Peninsula

The use of bone as fuel has been already documented in some sites dated to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. They contribute to a longer combustion time due to their durability; consequently, they are useful to reduce the need for firewood, a good advantage in open palaeoenvironmental contexts with limited arboreal vegetation. The use of bones as fuel can be identified by several lines of evidence. The main one is a large number of burned bones, with an intense cremation–charring or calcination, together with high fragmentation resulting from the long contact with the fire. Other features may be present, although they can also result from individual circumstances. They include either the presence of complete skeletal profiles–which implies using all the bones of the animal–or a selection of the anatomical parts which contribute better to combustion, i.e. epiphyses and axial elements. In this article, we argue that the faunal assemblage of level Co.B.6 of Coimbre cave fully corresponds to this model. Moreover, this level coincides with a cold palaeoclimatic event, which was correlative to the climatic deterioration that occurred at the end of MIS 3, and an open environment. Thus, we propose that this level contains the first known use of bones as fuel in the Cantabrian Gravettian.

The Gravettian of El Castillo revisited (Cantabria, Spain)

The long sequence of El Castillo cave contains Units 12 and 14, attributed to the Gravettian. This paper presents a revision of the lithic industry and the fauna recovered during H. Obermaier's 1910–1914 excavations of the site, as well as a number of new datings that enable us to chronologically place the above Gravettian occupations as one of the oldest in Europe. Unit 14 is dated between 34 and 33 ka cal BP and Unit 12 between 30 and 28 ka cal BP.The cave's oldest Gravettian level, Unit 14, presents techno-typological features typical of the first phases of the Gravettian in the Cantabro-Pyrenean region, such as Noailles burins, although it also shows some common elements with the Evolved Aurignacian. The youngest Gravettian unit, Unit 12, is characterised by laminar production from bipolar prismatic cores and a greater, albeit still discreet, presence of dorsal pieces. In terms of the fauna, Unit 14 is represented by red deer, chamois and horse, whereas Unit 12 is represented by red deer and horse, a hint as to what would later become the characteristic composition of Late Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblages. The lithic and chronological characteristics of the Gravettian at El Castillo and the Cantabro-Pyrenean region lead us to believe in a mosaic formation of this techno-complex.

An open-air site from the recent Middle Palaeolithic in the Paris Basin (France): Les Bossats at Ormesson (Seine-et-Marne)

The recent discovery (2009) and excavation of the open-air site of Ormesson (Seine-et-Marne – France) was initially intended to document a Gravettian occupation floor dated around 29,000 cal. BP and related to a preferential bison hunt. Whilst checking the thickness of the loess in which the Gravettian level was found, several other prehistoric settlements were discovered (Chatelperronian, Middle Solutrean) including two units attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic. One, level 4, seems to be particularly well-preserved. It occurs between 1 and 3 m below the main Upper Palaeolithic occupation. The lithic industry from level 4 belongs to a single kind of reduction sequence: the Discoid method. The freshness of the material and the presence of bone fragments attributed in part to horse support a general good state of preservation of this occupation. The Mousterian remains seem to cover at least 500 m2, as currently estimated. Even more exceptional is the close spatial relationship between the discoid industry, the bone pieces, remains of fireplaces and especially the numerous fragments and nodules of red colouring materials. These were brought to the site where they were utilised by the Mousterians. The used surfaces show indisputable scraping traces and facets. These recent discoveries will certainly contribute to the debate on the cognitive capacities of nearly the last representatives of the Middle Palaeolithic, and the complex stratigraphy will allow comparisons between the different periods.

Shell Technology, Rock Art, and the Role of Marine Resources during the Upper Paleolithic

During the Upper Paleolithic, marine resources have traditionally been considered to be low-efficiency resources. However, in recent years, new data have emerged to demonstrate that their importance for human utilization was probably greater than previously thought. The assessment of their value has generally been from the perspective of their nutritional or ornamental value, not from the technological potential that these resources might have. A use-wear analysis of shells from the Gravettian levels of Fuente del Salin, a cave in northern Spain, has documented their use for a diverse range of production activities, most notably the processing of the red pigments used in artistic representations on the cave walls, as well as for tanning hide. This technological use of shells demonstrates that marine resources were of greater importance to the hunters and gatherers of the Upper Paleolithic and that their utility was more diverse than previously understood.

Discovery of the mandible of a young child in a Gravettian level of Gargas cave (Hautes-Pyrenees, France)

New archaeological research has been carried out in the lower gallery of Gargas cave (Hautes-Pyrenees) since 2004. The main results concern the Gravettian occupations of this gallery and update data from former excavations directed by Cartailhac and Breuil (1911-1913), in particular, data relating to the functional, spatial and chronological characteristics of site use by the authors of the rock art. During the 2011 excavations, a young child’s mandible was discovered in the upper part of the Gravettian level of Room I, where two thirds of the painted hands are located. The aim of this paper is to present this discovery with a preliminary description of the mandible and its stratigraphic location. The interest of these human remains is evaluated in regard to the context of recent discoveries in Cussac and Vilhonneur and updated data for southwestern Europe. The possible existence of a funerary context in Gargas cave could advance further studies and interpretations for this key European Gravettian site.

Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: The radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle

The German site of Geißenklösterle is crucial to debates concerning the European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition and the origins of the Aurignacian in Europe. Previous dates from the site are central to an important hypothesis, the Kulturpumpe model, which posits that the Swabian Jura was an area where crucial behavioural developments took place and then spread to other parts of Europe. The previous chronology (critical to the model), is based mainly on radiocarbon dating, but remains poorly constrained due to the dating resolution and the variability of dates. The cause of these problems is disputed, but two principal explanations have been proposed: a) larger than expected variations in the production of atmospheric radiocarbon, and b) taphonomic influences in the site mixing the bones that were dated into different parts of the site. We reinvestigate the chronology using a new series of radiocarbon determinations obtained from the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels. The results strongly imply that the previous dates were affected by insufficient decontamination of the bone collagen prior to dating. Using an ultrafiltration protocol the chronometric picture becomes much clearer. Comparison of the results against other recently dated sites in other parts of Europe suggests the Early Aurignacian levels are earlier than other sites in the south of France and Italy, but not as early as recently dated sites which suggest a pre-Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans to Italy by ∼45000 cal BP. They are consistent with the importance of the Danube Corridor as a key route for the movement of people and ideas. The new dates fail to refute the Kulturpumpe model and suggest that Swabian Jura is a region that contributed significantly to the evolution of symbolic behaviour as indicated by early evidence for figurative art, music and mythical imagery.

The Barma Grande cave (Grimaldi, Vintimiglia, Italy): From Neandertal, hunter of “Elephas antiquus”, to Sapiens with ornaments of mammoth ivory

In 1884 the Barma Grande cave (Grimaldi, Ventimiglia, Italy) entered history following the research of L. Jullien and S. Bonfils who discovered, buried at a depth of 8.4 m, a grave dating from the Upper Paleolithic: “le nouvel homme de Menton”. Subsequently, there were the excavations by the quarry-worker Abbo and his sons, which revealed new burials, including a triple burial which included ornaments crafted from mammoth ivory (discovered in 1892) and remnants of a late “Elephas antiquus” in a Mousterian level. Starting in 1928, the research of A. Mochi, G.A. Blanc and L. Cardini highlighted the site’s stratigraphy: at the base, a Tyrrhenian marine level (MIS 5.5); above, a long continental sequence from the middle Paleolithic including several Mousterian hearths with a fauna composed of large mammals, including the remains of “E. antiquus”.The study of the material of the Bonfils excavations, preserved at the Musée de Préhistoire Régionale of Menton, and of the Abbo excavations preserved at the Balzi Rossi Museum allowed attribution of all of the graves to the early and middle Gravettian level with its “fléchettes“. Moreover, in the highest sequence of the site (MIS 2), mammoth bone remains have been found, as well as ivory funerary ornaments in the triple burial and in the burial known as of "l’homme aux jambes croisées". Although very rare, there are sporadic mammoth remains in some sites in Liguria, but it is primarily in western Gravettian hunter sites in the low valley of the Rhône that this animal is well represented. The sites were on the road for zoned flint (Stampien), a material that was both exotic and prestigious, constituting a funerary offering given by the Gravettians of Liguria. The “E. antiquus” of the lower levels (MIS 3 to 5), present in the Mousterian levels, not only indicates the persistence of this animal until MIS 3 (when it took refuge in Provence and Liguria), but provided material for tools made from elephant ivory by the last Neandertal hunters.

Rectangular Beads from the Final Gravettian Level of the Abri Pataud: Raw Material Identification and its Archaeological Implications

The Final Gravettian level (level 2) of the abri Pataud (Dordogne, France) yielded a large assemblage of body ornaments that consists essentially of 85 quite standardized rectangular beads. Some uncertainty remained about the raw material in which these small beads were made: mammoth ivory, reindeer antler or bone? Non-invasive methods were employed in order to determine the raw material. First chemical analyses using microbeam Proton Induced X-ray Emission analysis (microPIXE) did not enable us to conclude definitively. Therefore, synchrotron and laboratory X-ray microtomography (microCT) were applied on eight beads and allowed us to identify ivory for all of them except for one, which shows slightly different morphological features.

Chronology of the site of Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, France

Higham et al (2010) published a large series of new dates from the key French Palaeolithic site of the Grotte du Renne at Arcy-sur-Cure. The site is important because it is one of only two sites in Europe in which Châtelperronian lithic remains co-occur with Neanderthal human remains. A large series of dates from the Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels of the site was obtained. The 14C results showed great variability, which Higham et al (2010) interpreted as most likely to be due to mixing of archaeological material in the site. In contrast, Caron et al (2011) suggested that the site stratigraphy is well preserved and that the problem with the variability in the radiocarbon ages was due to unremoved contamination in the dated bone. In this paper we address their critique of the original Higham et al (2010) paper