Middle Magdalenian Research Articles

Vers une caractérisation du gisement magdalénien d’Isturitz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) à travers sa production artistique

This paper presents the results of the microscopic analysis of over 150 engraved pieces of mobiliary art from the Middle Magdalenian layers of the Saint-Périer and Passemard collections from Isturitz Cave (Saint-Martin d'Arberoue, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) kept in the Museum of National Antiquities (Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye). These bone and lithic items were analyzed focusing on the engravers’ gestures, through the identification of technical indices. In order to do so, several experimental pieces were replicated and subsequently studied using both scanning electron microscope and binocular microscope. This has allowed us to identify various indices indicating the direction of the lines, as well as their order of execution. In some cases, specific marks associated with the a lack of proficiency in the use of the tool could be recognized. These same indices have also been identified during the study of the archaeological material. This approach has allowed us to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire implemented for making and decorating these objects, as well as to identify some diagnostic criteria enabling to ascertain the engravers’ level of expertise to be ascertained. The chaîne opératoire employed in the execution of the engraved motifs shows a high level of homogeneity in both the order of engraving the different parts of the figures and the direction of the lines. In With regards to the degree of expertise, the unskillful unskilled engravers are recognized recognizable by the accidents related to a lack of control of the tool when performing certain movements, such as curved lines, or their difficulty to in returning to a groove in order to deepen it. These artisans also drew clumsily and their motifs lack proportionality. By contrast, skillful engravers made the decorations without any kind of errors when tracing the lines, The objects made by theise engravers show certainbear witness to control of their control of movements, and also are sometimes example ofattest to artistic or technical innovation. The apprenticeship of the engravers during the Middle Magdalenian period can thus be addressed through this case study. Some objects seem to be the product of either skillful or unskillful unskilled engravers and craftspeople featuring an intermediate degree of apprenticeship are also involved. The artistic ensemble from Isturitz is particularly remarkable, not only for its abundance and diversity, but also because of a number of technical and formal innovations. We can consider the studied assemblage as a ‘ serial production’, i. e. the execution of works representing analogous themes on the same mattermaterial, and deploying similar techniques and formal conventions. Works by the same author have also been identified. In addition, it is essentially a production was essentially created by experienced artists. All the data provided by this study of the portable art from Isturitz allow us to speculate on the function of the site during the Middle Magdalenian, and to specify the characteristics of the its occupation. The nature of the relationships that Isturitz maintained with neighbouring local sites can therefore thus be better understood. The location of the Isturitz cave at the crossroads between the three most populated areas in the Middle Magdalenian (the Cantabrian region, the Pyrenees and the Aquitaine region), the proximity of siliceous raw material sources (Flysch and Chalosse), and the abundance and diversity of the archaeological record explain why, throughout the history of research, the site has been considered a place of aggregation used for periodic gatherings. The insights gained from the technical analysis of the portable art help testing modify this proposal hypothesis. Therefore, the paper advocates that Isturitz was a long-term intermittent habitat settlement, where the production of portable art during the Middle Magdalenian would have played a paramount role. Indeed, the homogeneity of the chaînes opératoires implemented to achieve the createion of artistic creations artefacts shows that we are not dealing with a set of objects brought to the site by artists from different groups and mastering different procedures and traditions. Instead, this consistency is a reflection of a coherent process, conducted mainly by highly experienced artists, sharing the same know-how.

Microstratigraphy of the Magdalenian sequence at Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain): Formation and diagenesis

This microstratigraphic study of the Magdalenian sequence in the Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain) shows the detailed evolutionary history of the deposit, revealing a wide variety of pedosedimentary (formation and diagenesis), biogenic and anthropic processes.The sequence begins with Cendres XII, culturally attributed to the Early and Middle Magdalenian, with high probability (95%) dating placing it between 19,270 and 16,530 cal BP with some chronological hiatus. It was formed from biogenic sedimentation associated with bat guano mainly of an insectivorous type, and from anthropic sedimentation related to occupation floors made up of highly complex plant beds with traces of combustion. One of the predominant plant tissue residues is woody angiosperm leaves or stalks. Detrital deposition formed by diffuse runoff increases towards the top of the level. It belongs palaeoclimatically to the Greenland Stadial-2b (GS-2b) and to the first temperate pulsations of GS-2a. Between this horizon and the Upper Magdalenian there is an erosive contact. There follow various levels attributed to the Upper Magdalenian, Cendres XI, dated to between 16,690 and 15,640 cal BP. This shows an abrupt change with respect to the previous level and results from the cryoclastic processes of the walls and solifluction processes, it would coincide with the upper part of GS-2a. With Cendres X, the detrital sedimentation is not very representative and organophosphatic crusts of cryptocrystalline apatite appear, corresponding to accumulations of bird guano at a time when there was little presence of anthropic occupation. The Upper Magdalenian sequence ends with Cendres IX, which in some sectors of the site presents an erosive contact with the previous level. Anthropic activity reappears and is dated to the interval between 15,210 and 14,240 cal BP. Its deposition is due to gelifluction processes in a cold medium with an increase in humidity. It can be allocated to final episodes of GS-2a in transition to Greenland Interstadial-1 (GI-1). At the end of this episode there is a phase of stabilization that can be seen from the biological activity connecting with the horizons of the Early Neolithic.

Circulation of whale-bone artifacts in the northern Pyrenees during the late Upper Paleolithic

The importance of coastal resources in the late Upper Paleolithic of western Europe has been reevaluated in recent years thanks to a growing body of new archeological evidence, including the identification of more than 50 implements made of whale bone in the Magdalenian level of the Isturitz cave (western Pyrenees). In the present study, the assemblages of osseous industry from 23 Magdalenian sites and site clusters in the northern Pyrenees were investigated, systematically searching for whale-bone implements. The objective of this research was to determine if, and how, tools and weapons of coastal origin were circulated beyond Isturitz into the inland, and if similar implements existed on the eastern, Mediterranean side of the Pyrenees. A total of 109 whale-bone artifacts, mostly projectile heads of large dimensions, were identified in 11 sites. Their geographic distribution shows that whale bone in the Pyrenean Magdalenian is exclusively of Atlantic origin, and that objects made of this material were transported along the Pyrenees up to the central part of the range at travel distances of at least 350 km from the seashore. This phenomenon seems to have taken place during the second half of the Middle Magdalenian and the first half of the Late Magdalenian, ca. 17,500–15,000 cal BP (calibrated years before present). The existence of a durable, extended coastal-inland interaction network including the circulation of regular tools is thus demonstrated. Additionally, differences between the whale-bone projectile heads of the Middle Magdalenian and those of the Late Magdalenian document an evolutionary process in the design of hunting weapons.

Rock art and social geography in the Upper Paleolithic. Contribution to the socio-cultural function of the Roc-aux-Sorciers rock-shelter (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, France) from the viewpoint of its sculpted frieze

This article is about the contribution of rock art to current studies on the social geography of European Paleolithic populations. The socio-cultural function of the Roc-aux-Sorciers decorated and occupied rock-shelter is considered through its monumental sculpted frieze. This approach is based on the intended audience, analyzed through the perception of this rock art and the archaeological context of the associated occupations. The site is also considered with regard to the other local decorated sites dated to the Middle Magdalenian with which it shares strong similarities (La Marche, Les Fadets, Réseau Guy Martin).Within this network of decorated sites, the Roc-aux-Sorciers rock art shows a strategy of visibility, and probably was a public art as the site has all the criteria of a meeting place for different bands belonging to a cultural group based in Eastern Vienne. The frieze would come to strengthen the social cohesion of this group through the common values and beliefs that it illustrates. As it establishes this group physically and symbolically in the landscape, it could indicate a territorial affiliation.

Rock Sculpture and Symbolic Geography in the Middle Magdalenian

Rock Sculpture and Symbolic Geography in the Middle Magdalenian

A New Look At Portable Art from the Middle Magdalenian in Cantabria and the Pyrenees: Analyzing Operational Sequences

A New Look At Portable Art from the Middle Magdalenian in Cantabria and the Pyrenees: Analyzing Operational Sequences

The Horse Morphotype in the Middle Magdalenian Portable Art of Las Caldas Cave (Asturias, Spain): Technical and Formal Analysis

The Horse Morphotype in the Middle Magdalenian Portable Art of Las Caldas Cave (Asturias, Spain): Technical and Formal Analysis

Datation radiocarbone directe et attribution culturelle des vestiges humains paléolithiques de la grotte d’Isturitz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

This paper presents new AMS radiocarbon dates from three human bones housed at the Musée des Antiquités Nationales (Saint-Germain-en-Laye) and found during the Saint-Périer excavations in the Isturitz cave. This cave, located in the foothills of the western Pyrenees, is a major site of the Franco-Cantabrian region. It is well-known for having yielded a major Palaeolithic sequence with rich Magdalenian levels indicating long and intense occupation by human groups during the Upper Palaeolithic. The cave is divided into two main chambers : the Isturitz chamber (or Grande Salle) and the Saint-Martin chamber (fig. 1). Research was conducted in Isturitz by E. Passemard between 1912 and 1923, by R and S. de Saint-Périer between 1928 and 1948 (Passemard, 1924 and 1944 ; Saint-Périer, 1930 and 1936 ; Saint-Périer and Saint-Périer, 1952), and by C. Normand and others since 1999. The excavations of E. Passemard and R. and S. de Saint-Périer yielded an important assemblage of human remains from both adult and immature individuals. The cultural attribution of these bones is problematic, especially because of the complexity of the stratigraphy and the ancient date of the excavations (fig. 2) ; although the bones come from different levels of the sequence discovered in the cave, they are usually attributed to the Magdalenian (Gambier, 1990-1991). More than 80% of this assemblage consists of fragmented elements of the skull and mandible ; anthropic modifications indicate a processing of corpses linked to either funerary or ritual, warlike practices (flesh removal, disarticulation, intentional breakage, sometimes shaping and engraving of the bones : Gambier, 1990-1991). While fragmentation limits the interest of these remains as regards the study of skeletal morphology, the anthropic modifications of the bones mean they are of major interest for understanding the mortuary behaviour of Upper Palaeolithic populations. Three samples (fig. 3) were selected among the human remains found in the Grande Salle by R. and S. de Saint-Périer. Two are from layer II (Middle Magdalenian) and one is from layer III (Upper Gravettian). They include : IST II-23-1937, a fragment (5.5 cm × 6.4 cm) of an adult parietal ; IST II-41-1933, a fragment (7.5 cm × 6.5 cm) of an adult frontal ; and IST III-53-1937, a fragment of an adult parietal (6.7 cm × 6.0 cm). These three fragments belong to three different adults. The bones were photographed and analysed prior to sampling. Sampling was done in areas without glue, consolidators, varnish or ink. They were submitted for AMS 14C dating at Groningen (Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen University). The results indicate that the two bones 45328 IST II-23-1937 and 45332 IST III-53-1937 are dated respectively in the range of 18461-17652 and 18043-17540 cal. BP, corresponding to the Middle Magdalenian. The third, 45329 Isturitz II -41-1933, is associated with a range of 16351-15174 cal. BP, contemporary with the Upper Magdalenian. The date obtained on the sample from layer III confirms the hypothesis of contamination of layer III, top of the Gravettian, by layer II, Middle Magdalenian. The assumption of the majority of human remains pertaining to the Middle Magdalenian is therefore admissible. The date obtained for the third sample is problematic because it falls within an interval corresponding to the Upper Magdalenian : it is close to the AMS date obtained on a fragment of antler barbed point (’ harpoon head’) from layer F1 (fig. 4 : 13095 ± 55 BP or 16441-15223 cal. BP ; Szmidt et al., 2009). Like the others, this bone sample had anthropic modifications, and therefore the date could have been expected to integrate the interval corresponding to the Middle Magdalenian. Therefore, either the reliability of that date is uncertain — but no arguments support this hypothesis — or the processing of the corpse and head in the Upper Magdalenian was, if not identical, in any case, at least similar to that attested in the Middle Magdalenian. Isolated human bones with anthropic modifications also exist in the Upper Magdalenian (Gambier, 1996) so this hypothesis cannot be ruled out. However, in the Grande Salle of Isturitz, the transition between Middle and Upper Magdalenian is visible in many categories of archaeological objects and fields of activity (flint and antler equipment, game hunted, ornaments and art : Pétillon, 2004 and 2006 ; Langlais, 2010 ; Laroulandie in Pétillon et al., to be published). These differences argue for major changes in human behaviour at the Middle-Upper Magdalenian transition. If the date on the human bone is reliable, it would mean that mortuary behaviour continued, at least partially, beyond these transformations. Other dates are necessary to further the discussion and the dating programme on human bones should be continued. However, the assumption that the majority of human remains at Isturitz pertain to the Middle Magdalenian is reinforced by these new dates.

The Ebro Basin in NE Spain: A crossroads during the Magdalenian

This synthesis shows the transformation of an area traditionally described as a “research desert” (The Ebro Basin) into a well-known territory with more than 30 sites from the Lower to the Upper Magdalenian. The recent excavations in the majority of these sites have furnished 109 numerical dates that allow a preliminary overview of the development of the human population on the south slope of the Pyrenees and its relationships to the north slope and to the Cantabrian Magdalenian. In the case of Archaic Magdalenian (also called Badegoulian) in Gato-2 cave (Zaragoza), there is speculation concerning its relationship with the Levantine cave of Parpalló, based on the greater antiquity of their dates in relation to those obtained along the Cantabrian coast. During the Lower Magdalenian, the population was concentred in the Jalón and Segre basins, along communication axes towards the Meseta and the southeastern France respectively. During the Middle Magdalenian the only important site is the Abauntz cave (Navarra). For its level e (13,500 BP), a reconstruction of space-use is proposed, based on the study of structures and a factor analysis of the lithic and osseous industrial remains. Human mobility routes during the Middle Magdalenian were studied through the portable art and possible lunar calendars. The Upper/Late Magdalenian saw a notable population increase along the southern slope of the Pyrenees and in the Iberian mountain range.

Magdalenian societies in the Massif Central (France): Paleohistorical perspectives on the long-term (16.5–11.5 ka BP)

The notion of rupture dominates reflections on the prehistoric occupation of the Massif Central (France). From this perspective, the recent Upper Palaeolithic is interpreted through a prism of migrations or climatic determinism. All studies confirm a marginal occupation of this territory during the LGM and at the beginning of the Late Glacial. More than a historiographical balance, this article reviews the definition of early Magdalenian stages in the Massif Central and attempts to place them in an evolutionary process.This approach leads to the proposal of new diagnostic elements for chrono-cultural determination. Not only is the presence or absence of some typical tool types used, but an attempt is made to recognize whole (or parts of) coherent lithic systems. The aim of this paper is to illustrate this methodology through well-documented examples: data from the sequence of the Abri Durif in Enval (Sol de la Grange and Fond de l'Abri, Vic-le-Comte, Puy-de-Dôme, France) clearly highlights the differences between two subphases. This paper presents the results of the first analyses of these lithic assemblages, focusing on microliths whose particular typo-technological characteristics are analyzed in detail (strong backed bladelets of the Sol de la Grange vs. bladelets with marginal right backing of the Fond de l'Abri).This distinction between two chronological and technological traditions is discussed, substantially changing the classical evolutionary schema between Magdalenian and Badegoulian in this region. Particular chrono-regional episodes can be identified in the huge Magdalenian “mosaic”. Based on radiocarbon data, a new subdivision in the Paleolithic sequence of the French Massif Central (Middle Magdalenian vs. Upper Magdalenian) is proposed, reflecting the emergence of a particular paleohistorical event. Dominated by a relative arrhythmic pattern, this transition seems to reflect a greater span of time, through the successive emergence and development of technical and symbolic attributes that may be considered as representative of cultural identity of Magdalenian societies.

Diversity in social organization across Magdalenian Western Europe ca. 17–12,000 BP

Magdalenian hunter–gatherers in western Europe ca. 17–12,000 BP navigated complex and diverse social landscapes, as the Magdalenian was characterized by marked changes in climate, topography, resource structure, and population distribution. Over the course of its 5000 years, people from southwestern regions moved eastward and northward to (re-)colonize even the highest elevations and latitudes. This study uses a combination of ethnographic evidence and the circulation of exotic lithic raw materials, personal adornments, and portable decorated objects to identify diversity in Magdalenian social organization. While societies in some geographic regions, at certain times, were characterized by enforced social equality (e.g., Middle Magdalenian Eastern France), others allowed for inter-personal social competition and achieved inequality (e.g., Lower Magdalenian Cantabrian Spain and Upper Magdalenian West-central Germany), and some may have seen institutionalized social hierarchy (e.g., Middle Magdalenian Pyrenees, Upper Magdalenian Southwestern France). The Magdalenian evidence generally suggests that societies in newly (re-)colonized areas are characterized by marked social competition and negotiation, whereas those in more well-established areas tend toward more formalized and stable relationships. Examining the Magdalenian in this light expands our understanding of diversity in communal foraging economies and processes of colonization.

The Magdalenian settlement of the Cantabrian region (Northern Spain): The view from El Miron Cave

The Magdalenian of Cantabrian Spain spans the period of Oldest Dryas and the Late Glacial Interstadial, with an Epimagdalenian extension, the Azilian, dating to Younger Dryas, for a full temporal range between ca. 17–9 ka (20–11 cal ka). It is currently divided into Initial (17–16 ka = 20.3–19.3 cal ka), Lower (16–14.5 ka = 19.3–18 cal ka), Middle (14.5–13.2 ka = 17.7–16.4 cal ka) and Upper (13.2–12 ka = 16.4–14 cal ka) phases, a possible Final Magdalenian/Transitional (12–11.5 ka = 14–13.4) period, and finally the Epimagdalenian Azilian per se dating to ca. 11.6–9 ka (13.4–10.2 cal ka). Although the Initial and Middle phases are still poorly known (and difficult to specify in the absence of diagnostic artifacts and/or precise radiocarbon dates), it is clear that the densities of Lower Magdalenian, Upper/Final Magdalenian and Azilian sites are the highest of any of the Paleolithic time periods in the geographically circumscribed Cantabrian region, a narrow strip of land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Cordillera. Human populations may have been organized into small band territories corresponding to the short valleys in this region of extremely high relief, whose Late Glacial coastline (unlike that of neighboring Aquitaine) was only slightly further north its present position and whose chief game species (red deer and ibex–as opposed to reindeer, horse and saiga) were characterized by low mobility. The Magdalenian is known for a wealth of cave and portable art. In the Initial and Lower Magdalenian (as in the preceding Solutrean), Cantabrian societies seem to have been characterized by a high degree of “localism”, while in the Middle and Upper Magdalenian contacts with Pyrenean France and other parts of the expanding Magdalenian world increased significantly, as expressed in art styles and items of exchange. This region had been a major refugium for human groups during the Last Glacial Maximum/Solutrean period and the development of Magdalenian technologies and other cultural traditions seems to have been a largely in situ process in northern Atlantic Spain, which is adjacent to, but geographically and ecologically different from both SW France and Mediterranean Spain. However, increasingly, as environmental conditions ameliorated, there was an intensification of social contacts between Vasco–Cantabria and the rest of the ever-larger inhabited parts of Western Europe. El Mirón Cave, in the Cordillera on the border between the provinces of Cantabria and Vizcaya, has yielded one of the most complete and thoroughly dated sequences of Magdalenian (and Azilian) levels in the entire region. It is characterized by major, intensive, repetitive, long-term, multi-functional occupations (Initial, Lower and Middle Magdalenian)–with independently dated rock art and rich assemblages of lithic and osseous artifacts, portable art objects, personal adornments, terrestrial and anadromous faunal remains, structural features, and a highly ritualized secondary human burial. However, there were also short, ephemeral, limited-function, discontinuous occupations (Upper/Final Magdalenian, Azilian), as the role of the cave and the organization of human activities within the territory of the Asón River basin both changed during the closing millennia of the Pleistocene.

New information from Maszycka Cave and the Late Glacial recolonisation of Central Europe

Maszycka cave is one of the most important Magdalenian sites in Central Europe. The assemblage is characterized by a considerable number of organic tools including points, navettes and a decorated perforated antler. The cave was related to the middle Magdalenian of western Europe and identified as one of the earliest Magdalenian sites of Central Europe. A series of four AMS-dates now assigns the site more precisely to the period 16,350 to 16,100 calBC (c. 15.000 BP). No other reliably dated Magdalenian sites of this early period of recolonisation of southern Central Europe are known and its clearest parallels to the west are the Grotte Grappin at Arlay in western France and perhaps the open air site Munzingen in southwestern Germany. After the first short episode of recolonisation, a more permanent Magdalenian expansion into Central Europe started hundreds of years later with sites such as Kesslerloch in northern Switzerland.

La grotte ornée paléolithique d’Etxeberri (Camou-Cihige, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) : datation du contexte archéologique de la « Salle des peintures »

The cave of Etxeberriko Karbia, in the “ Massif des Arbailles” (Western Pyrenees), has been the subject of spelunking expeditions since the early 20th century. However, during a visit in May 1950, P. Boucher, with G. Laplace, discovered a small painting of a red horse as they were on their way out of the cave before crossing through a crawlway. The following year, Laplace decided to study the art in this cave and, in 1952, he published the results along with the cave of Sasiziloaga (Laplace, 1952a and b). The general shape of the cave of Etxeberri is a 200 m long north-south gallery, with a difficult passage. It begins with a large chamber scattered with huge blocks from the partially collapsed vault. Accessing the decorated areas is particularly challenging because of the narrowness of the gallery and the presence of three underground lakes. The first chamber with parietal art is of modest size with extensive figures on both walls. Next, down a ten-metre vertical passage, is the end of the cave system with four decorated areas (la salle du gouffre, l’étroiture, la fissure, la corniche), and a 20-metre deep chasm. Laplace reports a total of 38 figures for the entire cavity, including a complex type of sign described as “ pectiforme”, ten horses, two bison, two ibex and a few dots and indeterminate lines. A later publication by P. Paillet (Paillet, 1989), based on existing literature, reports poor conservation of the paintings, with some vandalism. Indeed, several years of uncontrolled cave visits have caused the disappearance and/ or irreversible deterioration of a significant portion of the representations. The resuming of research in the cave of Etxeberri by a team under D. Garate Maidagan (2007-2010) was accompanied by the study of the other decorated caves in the “ Massif des Arbailles” : Sasiziloaga and Sinhikole. The recent investigations, which have discovered new paintings and engravings in all three cavities, can now offer an updated interpretation of the graphical representations and their context. Indeed, in 2008, during the study of the parietal art in the cave of Etxeberri, we found archaeological material (ochre and flint) on the ground beneath the decorated walls of the “ Salle des Peintures”. After authorization by the Aquitaine Service Régional de l’Archéologie, we performed a test excavation in 2010 to extract these remains and unearth others. Radiocarbon dates (by Beta Analytic Laboratory) were obtained from two fragments of burnt bones and a Littorina obtusata shell. The fragments of burnt bones yield two statistically different dates : 13370 ± 60 BP (equivalent to 16040-15690 cal BP) and 13770 ± 60 BP (equivalent to 16550-16240 cal BP). These dates are perfectly consistent with the known limits for the Middle Magdalenian. They therefore fit well with the “ Old Style IV” proposed by A. Leroi-Gourhan in 1971 based on stylistic comparisons (Leroi-Gourhan, 1971). The date of the first bone is slightly more recent which may indicate two painting stages within the Middle Magdalenian period. However, several arguments suggest a unique visit (stylistic coherence between decorated sectors, depth and danger of the cavity, etc.). However, the dating of the shell is even older and would correspond to the Lower Magdalenian (16570 ± 60 BP equivalent to 19470-19190 cal BP). This date should be interpreted cautiously, as it is generally accepted that a date obtained on a marine shell is 400 to 500 years older than one with a terrestrial origin. We cannot, however, totally exclude the idea of a quick visit before the Middle Magdalenian, unrelated to artistic events, as this could confirm another lithic artifact found in the “ Salle du Gouffre” in 2009. To conclude, these dates offer the possibility of chronologically situating the human artistic activity during the Middle Magdalenian in the chamber called “ Salle des Peintures” and, by extension, the other decorated chambers away from the cave entrance. In recent years, direct AMS-14C dating of paintings and archaeological contexts in decorated caves has become more common and can now contribute to a discussion about the place of Etxeberri in the art of the Magdalenian period in the Franco-Cantabrian region (including the sites of Bédeilhac, Niaux, Marsoulas, Le Portel, Trois-Frères, Oxocelhaya and Covaciella, Tito Bustillo, Altamira, La Garma, Santimaniñe, etc.). Thus, formal and stylistic parallels, supported by the new dates, can link Etxeberri with other relatively contemporary decorated caves in this geographical area.

New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about the process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some of the results of the latter suggested that dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre of domestication. In this study, we describe and discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small dogs in the South-West (Pont d’Ambon and Montespan) and North of France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to the possibility of miss-identification between small early dogs and dholes ( Cuon alpinus), a middle-sized Canidae, the size of which can be similar to early small dogs. Detailed analyses of the archaeological contexts alongside that of taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry and pathology, identified 49 small canid remains from the three sites. They allowed us to exclude the presence of dholes and to conclude that they were all small Upper Paleolithic dogs. These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed the presence of Western European Upper Paleolithic Small (WEUPS) dogs from, at least, the Middle Magdalenian to the end of the Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As they are contemporaneous with the much larger Russian Upper Paleolithic dogs, they plea for several Euro-Asian origins for Late Palaeolithic dogs.

La méthode Orville : une invention badegoulienne ?

During the Badegoulian and the start of the Magdalenian entirely new techniques of bladelet production were invented. The Orville technique was the first to be identified, followed by the Rocher-de-la-Caille, La Marche, Thèmes and Oisy techniques, and most recently the La Bertonne technique. At present, of these six recognized methods, only two are relatively well situated chronologically. These are the Oisy technique, dated to the Badegoulian, and the La Marche technique, dated to the Middle Magdalenian. The others have been attributed by deduction to the Badegoulian (La Bertonne), Early Magdalenian (Thèmes), or Middle Magdalenian (Rocher-de-la-Caille and Orville). In order to verify the reliability of their cultural attribution, and with the aim of developing new criteria to differentiate between the Badegoulian industries and those from the beginning of the Magdalenian, we have attempted to determine whether some of these techniques shared reduction concepts. This research has proved fruitful, the most marked similarities concerning the Oisy, La Bertonne and Orville techniques. In this paper we have chosen to present the results from a comparison of the Bertonne and Orville techniques. We conclude that the Orville technique probably did not appear during the Middle Magdalenian, but had existed since the Badegoulian.

Nouvelles données sur l’évolution paléoclimatique de l’époque magdalénienne, d’après l’étude lithostratigraphique du Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne, France)

Situated a few kilometres from Angles-sur-Anglin (Vienne, France), the Roc-aux-Sorciers cave has yielded in 1927 and 1950 industry of the Middle and Upper Magdalenian periods. Our analyses of the sedimentary filling, dated from isotope stage 2, demonstrate the existence of two climatic sequences in the six ensembles defined during the excavations. A first sequence, at the base of the cave filling, corresponds to the occupation levels of the Middle Magdalenian and of the early Upper Magdalenian. At that time, the climate was globally cold and particularly humid, a conclusion that does not support Bastin's 1975 hypothesis on the oscillation of Angles-sur-Anglin, which postulates a mild and humid climate. In fact, the climate evolved progressively towards a slight warming from the base to the top of the stratigraphy. During the second sequence, corresponding to the occupation period of the Upper Magdalenian, the relatively stable climate was slightly warmer and quite humid. Stratigraphical and sedimentological data thus provide new information on the conditions under which the filling was deposited and on the palaeoclimatology of the Poitou-Charentes region during Magdalenian occupation.

Les saïgas dans l’art magdalénien

The saïga antelope in Magdalenian Art. The saïga antelope is the size of a goat. It is perfectly adapted to an arid climate and can also endure heat and cold. Its large nose has a cavity in which inhaled cold or warm air is adapted to body temperature. Today the saïga antelope lives in the arid steppes of Central Asia, first of all in Kazakhstan. In historical times, its range extended westwards to the Ukraine. In especially dry and cold periods of the Palaeolithic, the animal was found as far west as Brittany and Cantabria. With 22 representations at 16 sites the saïga antelope was only seldom depicted in the Magdalenian. This corresponds to its minor importance as a hunted animal. Only at Moulin Neuf and other sites in the Gironde region was the saïga antelope a frequent prey. Most of the sites with representations of the saïga delivered only a few or no bones of the animal. Chronologically, the representations cover the timespan from Middle (Moulin Neuf, Enlène) to Final (Peyrat, Limeuil) Magdalenian. During the first part of the Middle Magdalenian (Magd. III), the saïga antelope was an element of the fauna in Southwestern Europe, but the animal was known until the end of Magdalenian.

Pierres gravées de la Marche à Lussac-les-Châteaux (Vienne) : techniques, technologie et interprétations

Abstract. The artistic creations of Magdalenian peoples are multiple and astonishingly rich. In the domain of portable art, engraved stones play an important role in the iconography of this period and clearly reflect the diversity and complexity of Magdalenian representations. Since its discovery, the site of la Marche (Lussac-les-Châteaux, Vienne), dated to the Middle Magdalenian, has been known for its engraved stones; several researchers have attempted to decode them and have revealed the presence of hundreds of human and animal figurations. During a recent field project, more than one thousand new engraved stone fragments were discovered. The objective of the study presented here is to analyse these engravings and their supports, as well as other traces found on them. In addition to the discovery of new engraved figures, it appears that these stones can provide evidence of Magdalenian behaviours and activities, as well as their symbolic concepts. The testing of new investigative techniques in the context of a methodology adapted to these supports shows their value for the understanding, valorization and conservation of these prehistoric objects. à part -

De la fin du Solutréen au Magdalénien moyen dans les vallées de la Claise et de la Creuse

Abstract This paper presents a re-evaluation of the archaeological record available for an economic approach of lithic assemblages, dated between 19000 and 14000 BP, from the Claise and Creuse valleys. The integrity of each lithic assemblage is accessed through the taphonomic analysis of the Fritsch Shelter and La Garenne stratigraphic sequences. This approach permits a new interpretation of the Fristch Shelter stratigraphic units and the establishment of technological relationships with lithic assemblages recovered from open-air sites in the Claise and Creuse valleys. The data revealed a variability of raw material procurement and technology of the lithic industries, both in caves and open-air settlements, between the end of the Solutrean and the Middle Magdalenian, and allows an interpretative model to be proposed in terms of settlement complementarities.