Middle Magdalenian Research Articles

The Magdalenian horse (Equus ferus arcelini) from Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, France): Seasonality and paleoecology

Roc-aux-Sorciers is one of the most emblematic sites of Magdalenian culture, particularly known for its bas-relief and high-relief sculpted frieze depicting animals and humans, dated to the Middle Magdalenian. The stratigraphic sequence contains archaeological deposits corresponding to the occupations from the Middle Magdalenian, overlain by deposits from the Upper Magdalenian. The study of the horse Equus ferus arcelini, the preferentially hunted species, was conducted through various approaches (paleontological, zooarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental, dental wear analyses) to highlight a possible adaptation of these animal populations to the climatic and environmental changes recorded within the Magdalenian sequence, and to better understand the subsistence strategies of Magdalenian groups towards this fauna. In the Middle Magdalenian, in a steppe environment under cold and dry climate conditions, the site was repeatedly occupied for long durations by Magdalenian sculptors. Seasonality data indicate horse hunting in all seasons, suggesting sedentary to semi-sedentary equine populations in the territory. The results are consistent with dental wear analyses. In the Upper Magdalenian, the climate was cold and wet, and the environment more diversified and semi-open. Dental wear analyses show that horses were adapted to a more diversified and less abrasive diet compared to those of the Middle Magdalenian. Occupations were characterised as brief and seasonal.

Patterns of lithic procurement strategies in the Pre‐Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian sequence of Cova del Parco (Alòs de Balaguer, Spain)

AbstractArchaeological studies carried out in recent decades have demonstrated that the Pre‐Pyrenees, a mountain range in north‐east Iberia, were regularly frequented by several human groups during the Late Pleistocene. The Cova del Parco archaeological site is an example of this large‐scale and regular human presence. The site was discovered and first excavated in the 1970s, and since the 1980s, a team from the University of Barcelona has been conducting archaeological work. So far, we have found that the site was at least frequented from the Middle Magdalenian upon historical times. In this paper, we present the results of the archaeopetrological, geochemical and geographic information system (GIS) analyses of chert tools ascribed to the Middle Magdalenian sequence. The textural, micropalaeontological and geochemical analysis of the lithic artefacts has allowed us to identify several chert types from local, regional and long‐distance sources. Some of these cherts had their origin in the northern slopes of the Pyrenean chain, suggesting that this mountain chain was regularly crossed by Magdalenian groups. Next, we performed GIS analyses to determine the paths and connections that may have linked the archaeological site with the different chert outcrops, and to identify the best routes for crossing the Pyrenean Mountain range. Moreover, this study provides a larger vision of the mobility and the complex economic interactions between the different Magdalenian groups that settled Cova del Parco at the end of the Late Pleistocene.

Geomorphology, Geoarchaeology, and Geochronology of the Upper Pleistocene Archaeological Site of El Olivo Cave (Llanera, Asturias, Northern Spain)

El Olivo Cave (Pruvia de Arriba, Llanera, Asturias, Spain) is a small karst cave located in the Aboño River basin and formed in the Cretaceous limestone of the Mesozoic cover of the Cantabrian Mountains (north of the Iberian Peninsula). It contains an important upper Pleistocene sedimentary, archaeological, and paleontological record, with abundant technological evidence and faunal remains. The archaeological record shows a first occupation that could correspond to the Middle Paleolithic and a second occupation in the Middle Magdalenian. The stratigraphic sequence inside and outside the cave was studied with geoarchaeological methodology. In this paper, the lithostratigraphic sequence is analyzed, and the data from the granulometric, mineralogical, edaphological, and radiometric analyses are presented. The results of these analyses enable an accurate interpretation of both the lithostratigraphy of the deposit and the processes responsible for its formation and subsequent evolution. The available numerical dates allow us to locate the first sedimentation episode in the cave in OIS 7a, in the Middle Pleistocene, the base of the outer fluvial sedimentation in the cold OIS 3a stage of the Upper Pleistocene and the Magdalenian occupation in the Last Glacial Maximum (OIS 2) at the end of the Late Pleistocene.

The Antler, Ivory, and Bone Artefacts from Maszycka Cave (Southern Poland). New Signals from a Late Upper Palaeolithic Key Site

The well-known Late Upper Palaeolithic cave site of Maszycka (southern Poland), excavated in the end of the nineteenth century as well as in the 1960s, furnished a collection of 89 osseous artefacts manufactured from cervid antler, mammoth ivory, and mammal long bone. The great majority are finished tools, mostly projectile points, while raw material blocks, pre-forms, and production waste are represented by only a few pieces. Based on the presence of the characteristic double-split antler tools, distinct projectile morphologies, and recurring ornaments, the assemblage from Maszycka can be assigned to the early Middle Magdalenian facies à navettes which dates to around 19 - 17.5 ka cal. BP. Compared to the western European sites, which also belong to this facies, Maszycka is characterised by a high proportion of ivory tools, reflecting the abundance of this favourable raw material in eastern central Europe, as well as an unusually high proportion of decorated tools, which may relate to an increased need for symbolic communication within the small and geographically isolated Magdalenian group. Both the remarkable typo-technological similarities of the bone industry from Maszycka to contemporary assemblages in France and the gap in the central European archaeological record between 22 and 19 ka cal. BP speak in favour of a direct immigration of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers from western Europe immediately after the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. Their relations to the bearers of the Epigravettian adjacent to the east and south remain to date poorly understood.

Socio-economic dynamics of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers: Functional perspective.

The beginning of the Middle Magdalenian is marked by an increase in the density and geographic extension of evidences of human occupation across western Europe. The Early Middle Magdalenian (19,5–17,5 ka cal. BP) thereby extends from Poland to Spain, and the sharing of the flint-knapping concepts and the circulation of raw materials show the existence of networks active over this wide area. In parallel, part of the production of art, ornaments, microliths, bone industry, and the proportions of hunted ungulates vary regionally and allow to identify distinct technical traditions. Departing from a palethnographic approach at a regional scale, this paper aims at participating in renewing our understanding of the mechanisms of regionalisation during the period, and among past societies of hunter-gatherers. The reflection is based on the techno-functional analysis of stone tools from two cave sites of west-central France that are at the heart of the definition of two technical traditions: La Marche (Magdalenian with Lussac-Angles points) and the Blanchard cave (Magdalenian with navettes). Inter-site comparisons of the functioning and management of stone tools, and of subsistence strategies show the sharing of techno-economical norms, expressing the adhesion to a wider community of practice. The long-term occupation of at least part of the caves and the high density of sites in the Vienne, the Creuse, the Gartempe, and the Charente Valleys, indicate the strong regional implantation of human societies. This strong territoriality (effective and symbolic) is likely a major factor to understand the specificity of the EMM expressions in the area, as well as the sharing, in the same economic territory, of technical norms and of part of the system of symbolic representation.

Коллекция из палеолитических горизонтов пещеры Плакар в Музее антропологии МГУ

Introduction. The collection from the Palaeolithic site Grotte du Placard (Charente, France) are repre-sented at the Museum of Anthropology (Lomonosov Moscow State University). These artifacts were gath-ered by Arthur de Maret during his excavation campaigns of 1877-1888. In 1910 D.N. Anuchin bought this assemblage from m-me de Maret. After 150 years of exploration of the Grotte du Placard there were identi-fied 8 chrono-stratigraphic horizons attributed to the Mousterian, to the Middle and Upper Solutrean, to the Badegoulian, and to a good part of the Magdalenian. Materials and methods. The collection consists of 224 items. According to the data from the Scien-tific archive of the Museum of Anthropology they are divided into 4 units: the Mousterian, the Solutrean, the Magdalenian and the osseous industry (antler, bone, tooth and shell artifacts). Each unit’s inventory was studied using typological analysis. Results and discussion. The Mousterian unit is distinctive by the Mousterian points and the side-scrapers. The Solutrean unit is characterized by the shouldered points, the unifacial points and the thin end-scrapers on long blades. The Magdalenian unit is represented by scrapers. The chisel-like tools are typical for the Badegoulian. The osseous industry consists of some items specific for the Magdalenian (pierced baton and eyed needles) and for the Middle Magdalenian (double point and pierced phalanx). Conclusion. Current research affirmed the chrono-cultural characteristic of the artifact assemblages distinguished by D.N. Anuchin. The obtained information was added to the electronic database. This arti-cle’s timeliness consists of the osseous inventory publication, including antler and bone implements, per-sonal adornments and pieces of portable art.

“Poor” archeological levels not to be forgotten: units of Middle and early Upper Magdalenian age in El Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain)

This succinct contribution focuses on description and preliminary interpretation of “minor” occupations of the large, strategically located El Mirón Cave on the edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera in eastern Cantabria (Spain) during the Middle and early Upper Magalenian that followed upon the massive, culturally rich, faunally dense, functionally complex deposits of the Initial and Lower Magdalenian. The ten levels analyzed here date to the Late Glacial, c. 15.5-12.5 uncal kya BP. At a time when the classic Middle Magdalenian of the nearby French Pyrenees developed and major residential sites with clear social links to it (via the key site of Isturitz) were occupied in the lowland coastal zone of Cantabria and Asturias (e.g. La Garma, Llonín, La Viña), El Mirón had reverted for the most part to the role of a short-term, special-purpose, perhaps logistical campsite, rather than as a long-term, large-scale hub residential base. It is tempting (and indeed traditional) to focus on levels with large numbers of lithic and osseous artifacts, as well as works of portable art and personal ornaments, which are so characteristic of the most famous Magdalenian occupations. However, in hunter-gatherer subsistence systems, the “minor” locations played a significant role in the human exploitation of territories (especially ones with such complex, high relief as Cantabrian Spain). The levels in question here include some that can be interpreted as hunting camps (suggested by high percentages of worked and unworked bladelets and some antler points within the small assemblages), partially reminiscent of the use to which the cave may have been put during pre-Initial Magdalenian times, notably during the Solutrean, which was relatively rich in stone points.

The role of foxes in the Palaeolithic economies of the Swabian Jura (Germany)

In this study, we examine the role of foxes in Palaeolithic economies, focusing on sites of the Middle Palaeolithic, Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura. For this purpose, we used published faunal data from 26 assemblages from the region, including new information from the Magdalenian layers of Langmahdhalde. We explore how the abundance of foxes changes over time, how they were used by humans, and how they were deposited at the sites, with a special focus on fox hunting methods. To evaluate these hunting methods, we use the prey choice model of optimal foraging theory (OFT) and simulate possible hunting scenarios, which we test based on the published faunal assemblages. Our research indicates that foxes were hunted since the early Upper Palaeolithic for their meat, fur and teeth, possibly with traps. We find that the abundance of fox remains in the archaeological record of the region increased continuously starting in the Aurignacian, which cannot be explained by taphonomic factors. The trend of foxes to adapt to human-influenced environments with commensal behavior may also have contributed to them being hunted more often.

Reconstructing Magdalenian hunting equipment through experimentation and functional analysis of backed bladelets

The hunting technical sphere has a particularly important socioeconomic role among hunter-gatherers as it provides vital nutritive goods and serves numerous technical spheres. Approaching Upper Palaeolithic hunting techniques therefore offers a valuable insight into past cultural dynamics. Microliths are often the only conserved evidence of Magdalenian hunting equipment, occasionally accompanied by osseous projectile points to which they were exceptionally found hafted. Backed bladelets are the most common Magdalenian microliths. In this paper, we investigate their function as projectile insert, and address the question of projectiles designs through the analysis of impact damages. In this perspective, we implemented three experimentations including manufacturing, trampling and use of backed bladelets as projectile inserts. Results show distinctive combinations of damages between each three experimentations, allowing to reinforce the damaging pattern of lateral flint inserts and to discriminate lateral scars specific to the impact. The functional analysis of backed bladelets from two Early Middle Magdalenian sites located in west-central France (La Marche and the Blanchard cave) shows that these tools were specifically used as projectile inserts. The bladelets impact damage patterns are different between the two sites and match differences of morphologies of antler projectile points. The systemic reasoning carried out allows evidencing variations of hunting technical behaviours that were not, until then, perceived through the comparison of production techniques and typology of microlith assemblages of west-central France.

Human and Animal Individuals in the Middle Magdalenian

The category of “animal species” is at the heart of traditional interpretations of Palaeolithic art. In this context, animal depictions have traditionally been conceptualized in terms of the “animal species” they are supposed to represent. Moreover, the relationships between humans and animals have been discussed in similar terms. In this paper, I examine some innovative ways in which this relationship can be considered. In particular, I explore the possibility of interpreting animal images as representations of individuals, rather than just of species. Focusing on a number of pieces of rock art and portable images, and examining other kinds of activities (animal butchery, body adornment, treatment of human corpses, etc.) from the Middle Magdalenian (19,000–16,000 cal BP), I seek to demonstrate how the concept of the “individual” offers a number of interpretive possibilities beyond the traditional category of “species”. I argue that the focus on the head and face can reflect this interest in individualized animals. I also highlight the existence of practical techniques employed to create a relationship between human and animal individuals.

Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Portugal: Synthesis and prospects

The Tardiglacial of Portugal has been associated with the Magdalenian culture and lithic industries characterized by tool miniaturization, a diversity of microlith types, and the absence of a intentional blade production. The technological characterization, the chronology and the phasing of the Portuguese Magdalenian have been defined based on data recovered from open-air sites of the Estremadura region (Central Portugal). This paper presents an overview of the research undertaken over the last twenty-five years, including results from research and preventive archaeology fieldwork outside this region, namely in the Côa, Sabor and Vouga Valleys (northern Portugal), as well as in the Guadiana Valley and Algarve regions (southern Portugal). Our chronological boundaries are the Greenland Stadial 2-1b and the 8.2 ka event, from Early Magdalenian to Early Mesolithic. Regarding vegetation, deciduous Quercus underwent expansion during the warm phases of the Tardiglacial and retracted during cold ones, when pines increased. After the Solutrean, the faunal assemblages show a decrease in the variability of the represented species and an increase in fish, birds, small mammals and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).Concerning the cultural sequence, the Middle Magdalenian remains uncharacterised. After the Upper Magdalenian, and thenceforward, the use of local raw materials and of cores-on-flakes (burin or carinated endscraper type) for bladelet production gradually increased. In terms of lithic armatures typology, a four-stage sequence can be discerned: 1) Upper Magdalenian with axial points rather than backed bladelets, quite common in previous phases; 2) Final Magdalenian with an increase in the diversity of armature types; 3) Azilian with geometric microliths, curved backed points (Azilian points) and Malaurie points, and 4) Early Mesolithic without retouched bladelet tools or at best a persistence of Azilian armature types.There were some changes in the Palaeolithic rock art of the Douro basin between phase 3 (Final Magdalenian) and phase 4 (Late Azilian): figurative animal representations give place to animal depictions characterized by their geometrical bodies, often filled-in, and red deer becomes the best-represented animal.

Highlighting the role of carnivores as a multifunctional resource among the Middle Magdalenian: The case of the Lower Galley of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain)

The Magdalenian of the Cantabrian region is a well-known archaeological period with many sites contributing to the understanding of the economic and social organization dating ca. 14,800 cal BCE. Nevertheless, concerning the faunal management little is known on the role of carnivores as resource during this chronology, although they appear in many sites and archeozoological collections. Generally, carnivores have been related with site formation processes as bone accumulators and modifiers although they also play an important role as a multifunctional resource.The Lower Gallery of La Garma, is a site where exceptional preservation conditions allows archaeologist to analyze and interpret faunal remains with a unique perspective, that shows how carnivores can be seen as a resource linked with meat exploitation, fur procurement, ornament production or social/symbolic activities during the Magdalenian.

The earliest double dog deposit in the Palaeolithic record: The case of the Azilian level of Grotte‐abri du Moulin (Troubat, France)

AbstractIt is now largely accepted that the wolf was the first animal to be domesticated during Pleistocene time. Although the exact timing of this event is still the subject of considerable debate, it is generally agreed upon that dogs lived side‐by‐side with humans for at least the last 15,000 years. Recent discoveries from the “Grotte‐abri du Moulin” (Troubat, France) provide crucial new information as to our understanding of the relationships between humans and dogs during prehistory. The site produced a deep stratigraphic sequence demonstrating that the cave was occupied from the Middle Magdalenian (ca. 17.5 ky cal BP) to the Sauveterrian period (ca. 9.5 ky cal BP). Faunal remains from layer 6, attributed to the Azilian culture, included a small Canis. The biometric study of these remains is fully consistent with their attribution to the dog (Canis familiaris). A total of 147 dog remains were isolated and represent a minimum of two individuals. These remains were recovered from a restricted space, and several skeletal elements remained in anatomical connection or in loose connection. The most labile elements were only slightly dispersed, and there is no evidence of human or carnivore modification on these bones. Direct radiocarbon dates obtained from a complete tibia demonstrate the dog remains to be contemporaneous with the Azilian occupation of the cave. The Grotte‐abri du Moulin evidence represents, therefore, the earliest known occurrence of an intentional double dog deposit and evidence for a particularly close relationship between Azilian groups and their dogs.

Beyond the Alps and Tatra Mountains—the 20–14 ka Repopulation of the Northern Mid-latitudes as Inferred from Palimpsests Deciphered with Keys from Western and Central Europe

The timing and course of the recolonisation of Central Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum are intensively debated. Particularly puzzling is the distribution of sites between 19,000 and 18,000 calBP, attributed to the so-called Magdalenian ‘a navettes’, where the easternmost site (Maszycka, Poland) is located 1300 km away from its closest neighbour to the west (Grappin, France). The question of early recolonisation pulses into Central Europe is linked to the problem of identifying weak occupation signals within archaeological palimpsests, whose largest parts have accumulated during later periods of more intensive human activities. In order to disentangle palimpsest assemblages and identify components of early occupation events, we set aside traditional archaeological units such as Middle Magdalenian and instead focus on artefact associations. Under this premise, we review the evidence of faunal assemblages, radiocarbon dates, artefact morphology, technology and artisan craftwork of sites in Central Europe between roughly 20,000 and 14,000 calBP. We identify numerous, previously overlooked evidence for early occupations, particularly for the periods from 19,000 to 18,000 calBP and 18,000 to 15,800 calBP. Our findings add new tesserae to the mosaic picture of the repopulation process in Central Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum and significantly alter the current view on its timing and course.

A new archaeological sequence for the Magdalenian in the Corrèze. Focus of the Early Middle Magdalenian at Bouyssonie Cave (Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze, France)

Decouvert en 2005 par T. Bismuth et diagnostique dans le cadre d’une operation preventive de l’Inrap, sous la responsabilite de L. Detrain en 2006, le site de la grotte Bouyssonie fait l’objet de fouilles programmees, coordonnees depuis 2008 par D. Pesesse. Ces travaux ont mis au jour une sequence stratigraphique du Paleolithique superieur au Neolithique, qui documente plusieurs traditions culturelles dont certaines sont mal connues regionalement. En particulier, les travaux menes au-devant de la cavite, creusee dans les gres triasiques, ont livre une succession de nappes de vestiges datees entre 20 500 et 9 000 cal BP. Reposant sur des ensembles en cours d’etude attribuables au Gravettien (etude L. Klaric) et au Solutreen (etude C. Renard), deux nappes de vestiges culturellement homogenes sont separees par un horizon de melange interstratigraphique. La premiere nappe de vestiges, actuellement fouillee sur deux metres carres seulement, livre une industrie a lamelles a dos dextre marginal datee autour de 20 500 cal BP et vraisemblablement attribuable a une phase ancienne du Magdalenien. La seconde nappe de vestiges, datee autour de 19 000 cal BP, est caracteristique du « Magdalenien moyen ancien ». L’essentiel des vestiges mis au jour au-devant de la grotte lors de l’operation de 2006 peut etre rattache a cette seconde nappe. Pour terminer, un ensemble plus dilate en epaisseur et moins dense en vestiges regroupe des elements melanges du Tardiglaciaire (Magdalenien s.l. et Azilien) voire du Postglaciaire (Mesolithique) et coiffe les deux ensembles magdaleniens preserves.Le croisement des analyses petro-archeologiques et techno-typologiques permet de caracteriser le Magdalenien moyen ancien. Un premier examen traceologique offre la possibilite de s’interroger sur l’etat de conservation des vestiges, de preciser les objectifs fonctionnels des debitages et de documenter certaines activites menees au gre des occupations. L’analyse anthracologique, croisee avec les datations radiocarbone, offre la possibilite de questionner l’homogeneite de l’ensemble superieur et de proposer un premier cadre radiometrique a cette sequence. Replacee dans son contexte geologique, cette nouvelle archeo-sequence du Magdalenien permet de caracteriser deux ensembles regionalement mal connus.

The Middle/Upper Magdalenian transition at Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France): Portable art and context-induced considerations

Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France) is a Paleolithic dwelling site with occupations mostly assigned to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The archeological richness of the levels, the good preservation state and diversity of the remains, which include portable art, make it a major site of the western Pyrenees. It has been excavated meticulously with a fine recording of data for about twenty years. So far, available data for occupations older than the Upper Magdalenian are rare. However, the discovery at the back of the cave of a rib fragment decorated with a particularly detailed horse head feeds our considerations. By its style, this figuration differs much from art works assigned to the Upper Magdalenian; it has obvious connections with the Middle Magdalenian Pyrenean art. This discovery is consistent with the presence in the spoil of a clandestine excavation of half-round rods fragments decorated with spiral patterns of the Isturitz type, and of fork-based spearheads also found in stratigraphy together with truncated microliths. Based on these elements, we formulate the hypothesis that occupation level(s) documenting the middle phase of the Magdalenian and/or the transition between the Late Middle Magdalenian and the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons exist in stratigraphy inside the cave.

The Upper Paleolithic sequence in el Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain): An overview

El Mirón Cave, located on the northern edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera and 20 km from the present Atlantic shoref, contains a sequence of Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian and Azilian) levels (ranging in radiocarbon age from 28,000–10,500 BP) atop a minor Middle Paleolithic layer (>46,000 BP) and beneath a long, rich series of Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age deposits (5700–3200 BP). The Upper Paleolithic levels, spanning early MIS3, LGM, Oldest Dryas, and Late Glacial environmental conditions, display alternation between short-term, ephemeral, limited-function human occupations (Gravettian, Solutrean, Upper Magdalenian and Azilian) and repeated, long-term, multi-functional ones (Initial, Lower and Middle Magdalenian). The rich ungulate faunas are co-dominated by ibex and red deer, which is logical since the cave is on a high, steep, rocky cliff-side (ibex habitat), but dominates a broad, low-lying inter-montane valley (red deer habitat). Salmon fishing was also important at times. The lithic artifact assemblages, with abundant evidence of in situ knapping, include mixes of debris and tools made on local non-flint materials and others (including abundant projectile points and backed bladelets) made on high-quality, non-local flints from coastal flysch outcrops and other exotic sources. Domestic tools (scrapers, denticulates, etc.) can be made of either type of lithic material. Osseous artifacts, especially in the early-mid Magdalenian levels, include large numbers of antler points, bone needles and awls, as well as a few distinctive works of portable art. The cave also includes rupestral art of probable Magdalenian age. The Lower Magdalenian levels are particularly rich in hearths and other human-made structures (a wall, pits, pavements) and the first human burial from this period ever to be found on the Iberian Peninsula. The individual was a healthy, robust female of 35–40 years old, buried in ritual fashion with a special ochre from an outcrop located on the modern shore and “marked” by engravings and the same ochre on a large block that had fallen from the cave ceiling soon before the grave was made in a narrow space between it and the rear vestibule wall. Numerous technical studies (e.g., paleoenvironments, DNA, stable isotopes) are summarized in this article.

Technical traditions of early middle Magdalenian. Contribution of lithic industries from Combe-Cullier, Lacave, Lot, France (layers 11 to 13)

Combe-Cullier (Lacave, Lot) est un site connu depuis le debut du XXe siecle, grace aux sondages des abbes Hereil et Calle. Il a ete popularise suite aux fouilles des niveaux magdaleniens de la grotte, menees par A. Vire entre 1906 et 1935. Le talus est ensuite fouille, par J.-F. Flies, a la fin des annees 1960 et a livre plusieurs niveaux recemment dates du Magdalenien inferieur, moyen et superieur. Cette collection constitue un riche ensemble archeologique : industries lithiques et osseuses, faune, matieres colorantes, parure et art mobilier. Dans le cadre d’une revision collective du gisement, nous nous sommes interesses a la caracterisation des niveaux du Magdalenien moyen ancien (ou MMA), dates entre 19 500 et 18 500 cal. BP, ayant notamment livre des lamelles scalenes. A partir des analyses petroarcheologiques, techno-economiques et techno-typologiques du materiel en silex, nous proposons de caracteriser certains comportements et choix mis en œuvre par les chasseurs-collecteurs ayant occupe Combe-Cullier au cours du MMA. Cette etude a permis de mettre en evidence, a Combe-Cullier, une diversite dans le spectre de matieres premieres siliceuses. L’approvisionnement se fait essentiellement a l’echelle locale et est centre sur des silex senoniens du Perigord et tertiaires du bassin d’Aurillac (disponibles dans les alluvions de la Dordogne). Quelques pieces temoignent egalement de circulations des matieres premieres depuis la Chalosse, la Charente-Maritime (Saintonge) et le sud du Bassin parisien. Nous avons donc mis en evidence une segmentation, differentielle dans l’espace et le temps, des chaines operatoires de productions lamino-lamellaires. Le debitage laminaire, realise sur place ou documente par des lames importees, indique un schema unipolaire mene au percuteur tendre organique et preferentiellement oriente sur l’exploitation de surfaces larges selon des sequences frontales juxtaposees. Il fournit des supports pour l’outillage a vocation domestique. Le debitage lamellaire est destine a la fabrication des armatures de chasse, dont les gabarits et la composition typologique varient entre les differents niveaux, avec une recherche notable d’armatures tronquees. Enfin la fabrication des lamelles scalenes temoigne d’une normalisation avec la recherche d’un morphotype particulier, preferentiellement lateralise.

The magdalenian fauna from Roc-aux-Sorciers, a sculpted rock shelter (Vienne, France). Main archaeozoological results

The Roc-aux-Sorciers site, on the townland of Angles-sur-l’Anglin, contains two localities with cave art: Abri Bourdois and Cave Taillebourg. The site is well-known on account of the Middle Magdalenian carved frieze in Abri Bourdois. Excavations by Suzanne de Saint-Mathurin from 1947 to 1964 revealed several occupation levels contemporaneous with the parietal art in Abri Bourdois and Cave Taillebourg. This study focuses on the large mammal remains from these former excavations. The faunal association comprises 20 species, and is characterized by the presence of two dominant species: the reindeer and the horse, followed by two secondary species in terms of abundance: the Saiga antelope and the bison. This site is one of the rare decorated Magdalenian rock shelters with occupation remains associated with the parietal art. The archaeozoological study combines different approaches and brings to light the complex relations between the Magdalenians and fauna. Some species, such as the reindeer, are only a source for basic necessities (food, skin, tendons, and antlers). Others have a more symbolic connotation and are only depicted in parietal art (ibex) or used for portable art or decorative objects (mammoth and carnivores). Lastly, the horse is a symbolic animal and a food source. During the Middle Magdalenian, the Roc-aux-Sorciers could correspond to a residential camp where human groups used the site during long periods of the year, or even for more than a year. This points to semi-sedentary Magdalenian populations with differential resource management during different seasons.

Des armes en ivoire de mammouth : deux cas particuliers

The Upper Palaeolithic material made from mammoth ivory comprises many hunting weapons, mostly spear points and a few big hand spears, mainly from Eastern Europe notably Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia… Two objects stand out through their uniqueness. The first one is a fragment of a spearthrower, the only one made in ivory, decorated in semi round, in the shape of a young bovid, probably a bison. It dates to the Middle Magdalenian and comes from the La Madeleine shelter in Dordogne (France). The second one is a non-returning boomerang with a striated handle, dating to the Early Gravettian and coming from the Obłazowa cave in Poland. Its morphology and morphometry are very like some Australian examples.