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.     

Temps et réseaux de l’art paléolithique : la grotte de La Covaciella (Asturies,Espagne)

The study of graphic convergences and divergences in Palaeolithic art is used to understand the culture, territories and interaction systems of human groups. La Covaciella cave has fifteen animal representations and other linear, dots and geometric motifs. The bison stands out; some were executed with complex technical procedures. Two of them were dated by C14 AMS, obtaining a result of 14,260 ± 130 BP (17,733–16,973 cal BP) and 14,060 ± 140 BP (17,503–16,260 cal BP). These correspond chronologically with the beginning of the middle Magdalenian or the very end of the lower Magdalenian. Similar depictions to the bison at La Covaciella are located in other areas of Western Europe. The repertoire of parietal bison displaying graphic similarities with those at La Covaciella is very large; both of the Pyrenean model (Niaux morphotype) and of the Perigordian model (Font-de-Gaume morphotype). A first consideration derived from the search for comparisons involves a new interpretation of the territorial value implied by the term Pyrenean style (Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarre, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Ariège, Dordogne, Lot, Ardèche and Vienne). The Font-de-Gaume parietal morphotype is most common in Dordogne. In addition, in some cases, spatial complementariness has been found, with both graphic morphotypes. This article proposes different chronological and anthropological hypothesis to explain the distribution and coexistence of the two graphic models.     

Humanizing European Paleolithic art: A new visual evidence of human/bird interactions at L’Hort de la Boquera site (Margalef de Montsant,Tarragona, Spain)

This paper reports the discovery of a new example of portable art in North-eastern Iberia dating to the Late Upper Palaeolithic (12.250 ± 60 BP). The piece is analysed in relation to the European Palaeolithic art assemblage to determine its significance and how it contributes to our understandings of Palaeolithic artistic practices. Both the motifs depicted (birds and humans) and the patterns of composition (a narrative scene) are unusual in Palaeolithic assemblages. In addition, this new find contributes to filling a geographic gap in the artistic record as evidence of Palaeolithic art is rare in Catalonia. The anatomical features of one of the birds suggest that it is a crane, a species that has been depicted in a limited number of sites, as summarized in this paper. Moreover, there are only three known example of birds and humans interacting in a narrative scene in Palaeolithic art. Exhibiting innovations in media, subject matter and compositional norms, this new find has the potential to change the classic definition of European Upper Palaeolithic art and integrate the region in the artistic trends circulating along Mediterranean Iberia during the Upper Magdalenian.     

Diet of upper paleolithic modern humans: Evidence from microwear texture analysis

This article presents the results of the occlusal molar microwear texture analysis of 32 adult Upper Paleolithic modern humans from a total of 21 European sites dating to marine isotope stages 3 and 2. The occlusal molar microwear textures of these specimens were analyzed with the aim of examining the effects of the climatic, as well as the cultural, changes on the diets of the Upper Paleolithic modern humans. The results of this analysis do not reveal any environmentally driven dietary shifts for the Upper Paleolithic hominins indicating that the climatic and their associated paleoecological changes did not force these humans to significantly alter their diets in order to survive. However, the microwear texture analysis does detect culturally related changes in the Upper Paleolithic humans' diets. Specifically, significant differences in diet were found between the earlier Upper Paleolithic individuals, i.e., those belonging to the Aurignacian and Gravettian contexts, and the later Magdalenian ones, such that the diet of the latter group was more varied and included more abrasive foods compared with those of the former. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:570–581, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Deciphering archaeological palimpsests with bone micro-fragments from the Lower Magdalenian of El Mirón cave (Cantabria,Spain)

Abstract

Modern excavation techniques aim accurately to recover extant archaeological data. Usually bone micro-fragments are gathered as a result, however, during archaeological analysis these remains are often set apart as indeterminate bones and generally do not contribute to the interpretation of the deposits. How to decipher archaeological palimpsests using these small bone fragments is the aim of this paper. El Mirón Cave, located in northern Iberia, contains a very rich Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian deposit (17–15 uncal ka BP) with high densities of faunal remains and artefacts. Here, we present zooarchaeological, taphonomic and spatial distribution analyses of macromammal finds, including those small bone fragments, accumulated during a series of intensive and repeated human occupations found in the outer vestibule excavation area. Our results show that a broad spectrum of activities was performed there, including meat, marrow and grease processing and waste abandonment. We propose that bone micro-fragments must be considered when addressing human subsistence reconstructions from animal remains, as they represent the leftovers of the chaîne opératoire of animal carcass exploitation. The archaeological implications of their inclusion are extremely valuable, especially when deciphering palimpsests. A multidisciplinary approach to study these small animal remains provides information that otherwise would be missed.     

Determination of the dietary habits of a Magdalenian woman from Saint-Germain-la-Rivière in southwestern France using stable isotopes

To obtain direct dietary information, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured from bone collagen acquired from the well-preserved skeleton of a Magdalenian woman from the site of Saint-Germain-la-Rivière in southwestern France. Comparison of delta13C and delta15N values of the human bone collagen to those of bone collagen from local herbivores and carnivores indicates that the woman's primary source of protein was the meat of large terrestrial herbivores. Application of a linear mixing model to the woman's isotopic signature indicates that (1) no significant marine-derived protein contributed to her average diet; (2) saiga antelope, which dominates the faunal remains at Saint-Germain-la-Rivière, was not the main source of terrestrial protein; and (3) her pattern of subsistence reflects a less opportunistic behavior than generally attributed to humans from this period. Dietary proportions of prey reflected by the number of identified specimens are revised using meat percentage estimates, which de-emphasize the importance of saiga antelope in human subsistence at Saint-Germain-la-Rivière during the middle Magdalenian.     

Des mammouths et des hommes

Epigravettian dwellings from Eastern Europe give the Mammoth a privileged place: in the spectacular and elaborated architecture of their huts, like in the leading site Mezhyrich. However, the range of hunted and/or eaten game shows a variety of species including small ones such as the hare, testifying economical choices or even cultural practices where the Mammoth is not dominant. Magdalenian cave art, in Western Europe, gives the Mammoth a significant, sometimes exceptional place, like in Rouffignac or Combarelles, next to the even more important place of the Bison or the Horse. However, the dietary habits of the artists prove the prominent value of the Reindeer compared with the Horse. In Western Europe, wide and different landscapes and environments produced an economical-cultural mosaic. In the eastern part of Europe, the strong uniformity of climates and environments promoted an economical and environmental block leading to a sedentary lifestyle of the people, demonstrated by the concentration of huts. In the dreams of the hunters, as well as in their daily life, the incredible complexity of the relationship between men with animals revealed its creative and nourishing power.     

Les statuettes féminines en ivoire des faciès gravettiens et post-gravettiens en Europe centrale et orientale : modes de fabrication et de représentation

During the Upper Palaeolithic, especially in Gravettian times, the hunter-gatherer societies had an economy closely linked with the exploitation of two local species in Eastern Europe: reindeer and woolly mammoth. The ivory objects are rich archives about their ways of life and their collective imagination, as in particular the ivory female statuettes show. These figurines, also called “Venus”, are one of the cultural characteristics of the Gravettian sites. To date, although they are more numerous in Eastern Europe, they were discovered, in a variable number, also in site of Central and Western Europe; today, we have no clue that this cultural tradition crossed the Pyrenees. The corpus of pieces from the Gravettian sites of the Russian Plain (dated between 25,000 and 21,000 B.P.) is the more informative about technological know-how of the Gravettian craftsmen. He consists in the leading material of this paper, completed with some data about Epigravettian and Magdalenian statuettes. Whereas the Gravettian figurines show figurative female representations, those of the later cultural facies are more stylized. In a technological point of view, there is a close link between the choice of blanks within the mammoth tusk and the morphology of the statuettes, whatever the period of time considered.