L'Aurignacien et le Gravettien ancien de la grotte Paglicci au Mont Gargano

The author illustrates, in a very synthetical way, Aurignacian and early Gravettian lithic industry from Paglicci Cave (Mount Gargano, South Italy), found during excavations carried out by University of Siena in the Eighties-Nineties. Layer 24 contains Aurignacian industries and is constituted by a fine silty-sandy sediment. The faunal remains from layer 24, dominated by Equus asinus, indicate a dry-temperate phase which on the basis of ¹⁴C dates, would be identified with the Arcy. Lithic industry contains numerous marginally backed bladelets and microbladelets Dufour like that, in the higher level evolve into a special type (denominated “PA 24 A1”). The early Gravettian occupies the overlying layers 23 and 22 that are rich in rough stones and blocks and contain more or less cold faunal remains (at first dominated by Capra ibex, subsequently Bos primigenius becomes abundant): the ¹⁴C dating insert them in a phase between Arcy and Tursac. Lithic industry includes a great number of La Gravette backed points and especially microgravette backed points. Some probable fléchettes are also present but unfortunately they are fragmented.     

Zaozer'e, un nouveau site du Paléolithique supérieur ancien dans le nord-est de l'Europe. Rapport préliminaire

This paper presents preliminary archaeological and chronostratigraphical data obtained during pilot excavations of one of the northernmost European Early Upper Palaeolithic sites, Zaozer'e, situated on the western slope of the Middle Urals.     

Les éléments de parure au Paléolithique supérieur en Belgique

Considering that body ornaments are, through the choice of the elements, good cultural markers, along with the transitional geographical position of Belgium in the Palaeolithic, an up-to-date study of the body ornaments has been undertaken to catch the diffusion and contact phenomenon next to the influences in the lithic industries between regions. Despite the fact that the observations made take cultural value once they are considered in a broader frame than the actual political boarders of the country, cultural and chronological tendencies in terms of “fashions” within the Belgian material have nevertheless confirmed their informational potential.     

Un premier jalon gravettien dans les Pyrénées-Orientales : le Jas-d’en-Biel-1

The open air site of Jas-d’en-Biel-1 (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales) is the first trace of Gravettian presence in the extreme east zone of the Northern-Pyrenees Piedmont. The lithic series made up of surface finds indicates that this occupation could belong to a rather recent phase of southern-French Gravettian.     

Analyse du débitage laminaire du site de Mezhyrich : habitations n 1, 2 et 3

This article presents the results of technological analyses of the laminar products from three bone dwelling structures from the Mezhyrich site (dated to Upper Palaeolithic; 15,000–14,500 years BP). More than 2500 blades and bladelets were studied from technological point of view. We find close similarity between the three dwellings, which reflects similar ways of preparation of core fracture zone (overhang reduction, butt abrading, and flaking surface isolation), as well as in the organization of the negative of the dorsal surfaces of the blades. The comparison with materials from the Kostenki 1 layer 1 site (upper layer, 22,000–24,000 years BP) shows some differences with the artefacts from Mezhyrich site, despite same technological methods. This could be explained by differences in cultural tradition and large time gap between these two sites. The complexes from Mezhyrich to follow the Kostenki 1/1 tradition but with their own particularities.     

L’Aurignacien archaïque de la grotte El Castillo (Espagne) : caractérisation technologique et typologique

In this paper, we present the techno-typological study of level 16 of El Castillo cave (Archaic Aurignacian). In this level, we can identify an important bladelet production from schémas opératoires of unipolar prismatic cores, carinated endscraper and carinated burins types. Besides, we find a specific production of Discoid conception. The retouched blanks, though scanty, are dominated by the Dufour bladelets. Level 16 is in relation with the Archaic Aurignacian at the Cantabrian Iberia, which is present in sites like Cueva Morín, Labeko Koba, Gatzarria, or Isturitz and it also is in relation with the Mediterranean Archaic Aurignacian. Finally, we analyse the different hypotheses about the Initial Upper Paleolithic origin in Europe. The mosaic hypothesis is acceptable for us.     

L’industrie aurignacienne de la grotte de Šandalja II (Istrie, Croatie) dans le contexte de la région de l’Est de l’Adriatique

This paper presents the results obtained by lithic analysis of Early Upper Palaeolithic levels in Šandalja II Cave, Istria, Croatia. Technological and typological analysis of stone and typological analysis of bone artefacts have been carried out. Production of flakes in Aurignacian levels (G, F, E and E/F) is dominant, but blade and bladelets production is also present. Blades and bladelets were produced by direct soft hammer technique. Aurignacian people of Šandalja II produced their debitage mainly on local grey chert, which is often patinated. Šandalja II is one of the rare—if not the only—site with Aurignacian industry in eastern Adriatic region. The main reason for absence of such industry at other sites can be seen in scarce population or abandonment of some parts of this region.     

Paléolithique supérieur et Mésolithique en Méditerranée : cadre culturel

The origin of the Upper Palaeolithic around the Mediterranean was the result of the local evolution, particularly in the Near East and in the Lower Nile basin, and of the migration from this zone to South-Eastern and Central Europe. The Initial Upper Palaeolithic in the Near East belt was the effect of local evolution from the industries based on Levallois concept to the industries which developed leptolithic blade technologies. This evolution is well registered in multi-layer sites in the Syro-Palestinian belt (Emirian/Ahmarian), which was the starting point of the diffusion of these “transitional” industries in South-Eastern and Central Europe. This diffusion could be identified with the migration of first anatomically Modern Humans. The Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe — dated to the second half of the Interpleniglacial — was, at least partially, based on these “transitional” industries and manifested by the appearance of the Aurignacian, contrasted with local cultures such as the Uluzzian in Mediterranean Europe. During whole the Interpleniglacial Europe was separated from Northern Africa dominated by local evolution of Middle Palaeolithic (Middle Stone Age) cultures (mostly expressed by the Aterian), and by specific “transitional” industries on the southern Mediterranean coast (Early Dabbian) and in the Lower Nile basin. The Last Glacial Maximum and the corresponding sea level recession opened new possibilities of contacts between the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula in both directions (Aterian-Solutrean and Gravettian-Early Iberomaurusian), which are still difficult to be proved before new chronostratigraphic correlations are made. At the same time we register links between south-eastern Europe and western Anatolia; the real border between Near Eastern and European Mediterranean cultural zones was marked, in the Late Glacial, by the Taurus chain. During the Late Glacial the cultural separation between Europe and Africa was particularly marked. Only in the Aegean basin the first sea navigation facilitated contacts which become widespread as late as in the Early Holocene with neolithization trough maritime contacts.     

L’industrie du site néandertalien de la grotte de Vindija (Croatie) : une révision des matières premières lithiques

The new analysis of the Middle Paleolithic industry from the cave Vindija (Croatia), showed a necessity of revision of the previous obtained data especially considering the use and origin of the raw materials (Kurtanjek and Marci, 1990). The results presented in this study pointed out some new aspects of interpretation. First, the significance of quartz in the Middle Paleolithic was underestimated. At the same time it is obvious that the major change in the use of the raw material was at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic and of the Epigravettian, especially in the use of chert. The second change is registered in the use of chert between Middle and Upper Paleolithic: the chalky nodules of chert are more frequent in the Upper Paleolithic then the river pebbles used in the production of Middle Paleolithic artefacts. Still, the origin of this new raw material is at the moment unknown.     

Le site Paléolithique de Suyanggae, Corée

The Suyanggae site is an open-air site in central part of South Korea. This site was discovered in 1980 and seven excavations have been carried out from 1983 to 1996. As a result, many stone artefacts were unearthed and 49 stone tool workshops were known. This site contains 5 cultural layers and the most important one is the Upper Paleolithic layer. This layer is dated to be 16,400 ~ 18,630 BP by ¹⁴C dating. It shows a massive blade production and microblade technique. It is one of the crucial sites for understanding the Upper Paleolithic of Korea.     

Le gisement rupestre de Siega Verde, Salamanque: Une vision de synthèse

The Paleolithic shelter Art in the open air of Siega Verde, Salamanca, is the unitary group better endowed with paleolithic shelter manifestations in the bleakness of the whole Iberian Peninsula. Its study, consequence of more than 10 years of works on the land, has culminated with the recent publication of a complete monograph. In the following lines, we intend to synthesize the content of that, with special emphasis in the internal analysis of the representations and in their relationship with its cultural immediate environment, the Upper Paleolithic of the Castilian Plateau. The results of so long investigation process suppose a new interpretation way, not only of the own site, but also of the whole Paleolithic shelter phenomenon inside the Peninsula, and in a more general environment, of the graphic system of the European Upper Paleolithic.     

Paléogéographie des chasseurs de l’Europe du Paléolithique supérieur : répartition et spécialisation des sites

During the Upper Paleolithic, Europe was occupied by human populations mainly living from hunting of big terrestrial mammals. A repartition of fauna and of archeological sites was done with a database: a repartition of Upper Paleolithic sites in central and western Europe. This study shows that the european space was structured following several factors; climate, environment, cynegetic behaviours… We observe a partition of Europe with a mediterranean area with mainly deer, and ibex and an atlantic area with reindeer. Equally, most of the occupations are localized in the “aquitano-cantabric horn” around the Gulf of Gascony. The occupation of Europe undergone a pulsation with a retreat of occupations toward the west and the south during the glacial maximum, then a colonization of North Europe during the Tardiglacial climatic amelioration.     

Hommes et environnements au Paléolithique supérieur en Ukraine continentale et en Crimée : introduction

Research, conducted under the ANR project “Mammouths”, on “the end of the mammoth steppe: Man/Environment relationship during late Pleniglacial in Eastern Europe”, is the subject of several contributions, a part of them is published in this volume, under the heading “Humans and environments during Upper Paleolithic in mainland Ukraine and Crimea”, in the French journal L’anthropologie.     

Les premières considérations sur le débitage Levallois de l'industrie moustérienne de Villa Ladronaia près de Cecina (Toscane, Italie)

The Palaeolithic site of Villa Ladronaia (Cecina, Tuscany) has given back a lithic industry composed by about 8000 finds. The author presents in this note the main techno-economical characteristics which come from two reduction processes. The main one is interested in the exploitation of subrounded blocks, the second one, on the contrary, employs flakes which are produced by the main reduction process. The technological analysis has put a large use of Levallois conception in evidence, the preliminary data of which will be presented about the variability of the methods an its relation with the different local raw materials, of an industrial facies typical Mousterian rich in scrapers widely documented in Tuscany during the Upper Pleistocene.     

Le Paléolithique moyen et supérieur de la Hongrie du nord : nouvelles investigations dans la région d’Eger

The region of Eger town at the foot of the Bükk Mountains in Northeastern Hungary has particular importance for the understanding the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic periods of the Carpathian Basin. One of the key-problems is the association of carinated tools and foliate points in the lithic assemblages of the sites. New investigations at the Egerszalók-K?vágó site give fundamental data for the animated discussion on the relation between Aurignacian and Szeletian.     

Madonna dell'Arma (San Remo, Italie) : expression locale de la végétation ligure au cours du Paléolithique moyen

Pollen analysis of Madonna dell’Arma cave inside part (Liguria, Italy) allowed us to reconstitute, at local scale, the Ligurian coastal vegetation between the end of the last interglacial period and the beginning of the pleniglacial. This transition period shows an important representation of arboreal cover and a persistence of thermophilous elements that allowed us to considerate the western Liguria as a periglacial refuge. During the end of the last interglacial, xerophytic, halophytic herbs and shrubs taken over from a Mediterranean pre-forest unit in the first slopes constituted the coastal zone. The nearness of Argentina torrent and the Armea influenced, in the coast, the existence of marshy zones colonized by hygrophilous trees. In the Ligurian lowlands spread out sclerophyllous and mesophilous forests according to altitude. The beginning of the pleniglacial is indicated in the sequence by increases of Pinus, Cupressaceae and Artemisia in the context of a decline in the thermophilous components. This picture of vegetation has become integrated into the multidisciplinary studies of the site and contributed to the elaboration of palaeoclimatic hypothesis similar as those revealed by the fauna.     

Prospections sur les plateaux désertiques du désert libyque égyptien (Abydos, Moyenne Égypte). Quelques exemples de technologies lithiques

Recent work in the high desert west of the historic site of Abydos has revealed a number of technologies that date from the Middle Paleolithic through later periods. The earliest of these include both Nubian and classical Levallois technologies, which are abundant and demonstrate virtually all stages of production. Presumed later technologies include both large blade production technologies as well as more expedient reduction methods. Although results are still preliminary, the lack of significant taphonomic disturbance, the abundance of refits (including many discrete flintknapping episodes), and the high visibility of the archaeological remains make this an ideal area to reconstruct the techniques of lithic reduction in use.     

La Lloseta : une grotte importante et presque méconnue dans l'ensemble de Ardines, Ribadesella

This summary on The Lloseta shows us a much richer reality that it had been presented through the precedent publications. To begin it is presented as an shelter environment decorated in all their extension whose decoration and parallel they find real sense if we put them in connection with the neigh boring Tito Bustillo. It possesses a prevalence of signs and old representations, a bad general conservation and an own and original internal organization. None of the caves of Ardines, including their main protagonist, she makes isolated significant sense, but rather they are and were supplemented in the past, for activities, occupation and use. We try to know the meaning of all and each one of the caves in connection with the other ones, because we think that their function should be collective and complementary.     

C et style: La chronologie de l’art pariétal à l’heure actuelle

The chronology of the Paleolithic art proposed by A. Leroi-Gourhan had a strong installation among the specialists until his death, in the years 1980s of the last century. After that the system SMA of direct dating began to be applied producing some disagreements and a supposed revolution against the chronological-stylistic procedure that has been overvalued. There are not so many disagreements and when they appear, they can tinge the French author's procedure and to improve it partly. If we take it with enough flexibility and aperture, it continues being a non perfect model, but useful and valid to organize the graphs of the Upper Paleolithic whose systematic should continue based on the material documentation, in the represented forms and in all the technical procedures that allow to specify and to improve our chronological arguments.     

Stratégie de débitage et mode de façonnage des industries du Paléolithique inférieur en Chine et en Europe entre 1 Ma et 400 000 ans: Ressemblances et différences de la culture de l’homme de Yunxian et Acheuléen européen

These stone tools from Yunxian with other Lower Paleolithic sites in South China, for example, the site Lantian (Shanxi, China) and the site Bose (Guangxi, China), indicates that there are many common characteristics among these industries. There are choppers, chopping-tools, picks, hand-axes, cleavers and scrapers. Long ago we thought that there are not hand-axes in China. In fact, there are lots of hand-axes in China and these hand-axes existed more earlier than those in Europe. The hand-axe appeared in China before 800,000 years old and it barely arrived in Europe before 600,000 years old. The quaternary deposits of the site of Yunxian Hominid (Hubei, China) are at least dated to 800,000 years old. A large quantity of lower Paleolithic material was discovered. The types of the tools are choppers, picks, scrapers, hand-axes and cleavers. The pebbles tools make up the majority of the implements. Small flake tools are relatively rare. The lithic industries comparison of the two regions has help us to know the cultural evolution in China and Europe.