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The Upper Palaeolithic is the 3rd and last subdivision of the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age)

In Europe it dates very broadly between ~50-10,000 BP with a high degree of regional variability in sub-phases

3

http://archaeology.about.com/od/upperpaleolithic/tp/Upper-Paleolithic-Sites-In-Europe.htm

Palaeolithic Chronology:

Basal Palaeolithic: ~2.5 1.8mya (e.g. Homo habilis; Oldowan)

Lower Palaeolithic: ~1.8mya 250kya (e.g. Homo erectus; Acheulean)

Middle Palaeolithic: ~250 50kya (e.g. Homo neanderthalensis; Mousterian)

Upper Palaeolithic: ~50 10kya

4

metas.tistory.com

www.aggsbach.de

http://donsmaps.com/placard.html

Upper Palaeolithic is associated with:

Neanderthal extinction by ~35,000 BP

Numerous technological innovations / changes

Production of portable & parietal art

Domestication of the dog

Global human expansions

A series of significant human behavioural, social and cultural changes extending from the Middle Palaeolithic

5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic

Associated techno-complexes within Upper Palaeolithic that serve as chronological / cultural markers

Chatelperronian (~55-35,000 BP): central & south western France, & northern Spain; intermediate Mousterian to Aurignacian

Aurignacian (~40,000-28,000 BP): Europe and south west Asia; earliest blade industry

Gravettian (29,000-21,000): across Europe; thinner, more finely made blades than Aurignacian

6 http://donsmaps.com/micoque.html

Associated techno-complexes within Upper Palaeolithic that serve as chronological / cultural markers

Solutrean (22,000-18,000 BP): eastern France, Spain & England; extremely refined blade technology

Magdalenian (18,000-11,000 BP): Portugal to Poland; final Upper Palaeolithic blade industry

Azilian (13,000-11,000 BP): northern Spain & Southern France; late Magdalenian / early Mesolithic

7 http://donsmaps.com/micoque.html

Initial Upper Palaeolithic emerged between 55-35,000 years ago

With the Aurignacian (40-35,000 BP) increasing evidence for:

Sophisticated stone & organic technologies

Organized production of personal ornamentation & art

8 http://archaeology.about.com/od/upperpaleolithic/tp/Upper-Paleolithic-Sites-In-Europe.01.htm

Aurignacian origins are unclear - maybe originated outside Europe & spread with modern humans

The Aurignacian was well established by 35,000 BP across much of Europe - by 31,000 BP found on the northern European plain (e.g. Belgium & Britain)

9

resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com

Aurignacian lithic & organic tools functionally generalised & flexible (important for dispersing pioneer populations)

Can be defined on the basis of lithic tools:

Carinated & end scrapers

Retouched & waisted blades

Small, retouched bladelets 10

www.lithiccastinglab.com

http://www.aggsbach.de/2014/03/strangled-blades/

Prismatic blade technology was widely employed

Blades were struck from the top of the core around the periphery, leaving prism-like core

11

http://www.worldmuseumofman.org/display.php?item=1167 http://www.lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2002marchaurignacianpage1.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101026131252.htm

Organic technology was also common - various flat or oval-sectioned bone & antler points

Bone & antler tools such as points, awls, needles indicative of clothing manufacture & use of composite technology

12

www.inrap.fr

Tailored clothing (coats / leggings) - more effective in dealing with severe climates than simple hides or furs

Potentially a significant factor in the expansion of Upper Palaeolithic populations into northern European regions (e.g. Siberia) 13

www.anthropark.wz.cz evoanth.wordpress.com

Goyet Cave (Belgium) provides evidence for the domesticated wolf (~32,000 BP)

Might have originated with captured wild wolves used for traction & potentially for hunting assistance

14 http://archaeology.about.com/od/stoneage/fl/Goyet-Cave-Belgium.htm

www.examiner.com

From 35-31,000 BP increasing evidence for the manufacture of beads & other jewelry from teeth & mammoth ivory

This material, including personal ornamentation manufactured from marine shell, was circulated over several hundred kilometres = established trade networks

15

donsmaps.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_modernity planetsave.com

Very little strong evidence for burial of the dead or building of complex dwelling structures during the Aurignacian

In contrast, good evidence exists for the production of personal ornamentation, portable art and parietal art

16 maisonfrancaise.as.nyu.edu www.paintingsgallery.pro

The Aurignacian ends across Europe by ~28,000 BP - succeeded by more regionally distinct groups sharing general characteristics over a large area

Gravettian techno- complex lasted from ~29-21,000 BP in some regions - much later in southern & eastern Europe (late stage to ~14kyr = Epigravettian)

17 romanianhistoryandculture.webs.com

Named after the site of La Gravette in the Dordogne, France - found in layers stratified above the Aurignacian & below the Solutrean

Unclear origins - likely to have originated within the later Aurignacian potentially in central Europe

18 http://donsmaps.com/lagravette.html

The Gravettian marks a number of potential behavioural changes which separates it from the early Upper Palaeolithic Aurignacian:

Projectile technology

Subsistence & settlement (e.g. semi-sedentism)

Mortuary activity & elaborate burial

Artistic endeavor and other non-utilitarian aspects of behaviour

19

www.anthropark.wz.cz

paleo.revues.org

Stone technology of the Gravettian characterized by:

Prismatic blades

Points (steep backing)

Burins (flakes with chisel-like edges)

End scrapers (working of skins, wood, bone & antler) 20

www-personal.umich.edu www.aggsbach.de

Gravettian also characterized by distinctive points manufactured from organic material plus the development of spearthrower technology (atlatl)

Appears to have developed gradually at local levels in some areas; in others abrupt transitions might indicate population movement

21

donsmaps.com

Several Gravettian sites provide evidence for large-scale population movements as a response to climatic change

In central Europe (Czech Republic & Slovakia) early Gravettian settlements along rivers appear to have been occupied for several months each year with significant investment in dwelling construction & maintenance

22 http://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_fu_Wilndoaf http://donsmaps.com/dolnivi.html

Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice I & II site complexes (Czech Republic) - hundreds of mammoth, bison & reindeer bones

Complex patterning of artefacts suggestive of highly organised campsites

23

http://donsmaps.com/dolnivi.html

At Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice impressions left in silts on the bank of the Dyje River - sophisticated cordage, basketry & textiles dating 27,000 BP

24

www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk

Complex sites are also found on the terraces of the River Don in Russia, e.g. Kostenski I

Several semi-subterranean dwellings, roofed with mammoth ribs & furs, organised in an oval - a series of 9 hearths in centre of structure provided warmth

25 http://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_fu_Wilndoaf donsmaps.com

Pits were cut into permafrost, contained large herbivore bones indicate storage of meat

26

http://donsmaps.com/lioncamp.html

At Pavlov, Dolni Vestonice and Kostenski - fish & small animal bones suggest a broad spectrum exploitation strategy

Stable isotope analyses on human remains from central and western Europe indicate riverine resources contributed up to 50% of the diet

27

http://donsmaps.com/images11/berez5skeleton.jpg

Predmosti (Czech Republic) dating to 27-24,000 BP - 7 complete large canid skulls recovered from Gravettian levels - evidence of the process of domestication

3 skulls identified as European Palaeolithic dogs (shorter skulls & snouts than wild wolves)

1 skull of a wolf

3 could not be assigned to either group 28

http://www.naturalsciences.be/active/sciencenews/archive2011/goyet/page2

Over 40 Gravettian-age burials from France to Siberia, plus human remains commonly located within settlements, attest to development of mortuary activity

High degree of ornamentation & the inclusion of grave goods / offerings with most burials suggests significant degree of social complexity 29

http://www2.arch.cam.ac.uk/~ajep2/DVII.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sunghir-tumba_paleol%C3%ADtica.jpg

Sungir, Russia, 2 infants buried head to head, dates to ~24,000 BP

Included with the human remains were thousands of fox teeth & mammoth ivory pendants, clothing, an ivory spear & an adult femur filled with red ochre

30

www.rusproject.org

Parts of northern Europe & other high-altitude areas were abandoned, with people concentrated in southern European refuges

Here they underwent marked cultural / behavioural regionalisation - likely due to isolation from neighbouring areas

Some areas witnessed a clear continuity from the Gravettian

In the Italian Epigravettian period, distinctive backed points and ornamented burials with red ochre continued to the end of the Pleistocene (10,000 BP)

31

In other areas new cultures emerged, such as the French and Iberian Solutrean

Stone (flint) was heat treated to improve fracture mechanics, pressure flaking was employed to create a variety of leaf-shaped points

32

en.wikipedia.org www.britishmuseum.org

Solutrean points appear to have been produced to design specifications conforming to a certain size and weight range

Might reflect the requirements for effective hafting & aerodynamic efficiency for atlatl projectiles

33

www.aggsbach.de paleoplanet69529.yuku.com

Many areas of Europe were repopulated due to climatic amelioration from 18,000 BP following the LGM

The late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian techno-complex spread from Iberia & southern France across southern Europe and then north Europe

34 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalenian

Stone technology characterised by blade & microlithic tool production

Organic technology was important, with conical points & harpoons (biserial double edged; uniserial single edged) appearing for the first time

35

www.aggsbach.de http://www.answers.com/topic/magdalenian donsmaps.com

Long-distance circulation of stone artefacts (up to 700km) & personal ornamentation (marine shell) importance & scope of Magdalenian social networks

36 donsmaps.com

quod.lib.umich.edu

Due to cold conditions, reindeer, bison & auroch were important resources

Some regional / environmental variation - red deer important in the south, ibex & chamois important in montane regions

Fish bone often prevalent in sites, indicating importance of riverine resources

37

en.wikipedia.org

Evidence for semi-permanent dwellings comes from sites in eastern Europe

Sites such as Mezhirich, Mezin, Gontzy & Yudinovo on the Russian Plain, dwellings constructed from mammoth bones

38

www.historyofinformation.com annataliya.ru

Evidence for complex burial practice from Late Magdalenian site of Brillen Hohle cave in Germany

The fragmented remains, including an adult cranium (but no long bones), with cutmarks found in a hearth in the centre of the cave

SEM analyses indicate that the cutmarks were systematic - deliberate defleshing of selected human skeletal elements prior to burial

39 http://paleo.revues.org/1504

Climatic oscillations at the end of the Pleistocene:

Older (17-15,000 BP) and Younger Dryas (13-11,500 BP) - severe cold periods

Resulted in increasing regionalisation of European Upper Palaeolithic societies; adaptation to variable environments

Saw the production of increasingly microlithic toolkits continuing into the climatic amelioration of the Holocene (and the Mesolithic period)

40

41

Many researchers view the most fundamental pattern in human behavioural evolution as relating to symbolically organised behaviour

In their use of symbol, people in the Upper Palaeolithic were practicing one of the hallmarks of human behaviour

42 web.arizona.edu

www.examiner.com

Upper Palaeolithic art can be viewed as encompassing:

A set of material practices & performances

Not separable from worldview, politics, economy

Part of social life and ways of making meaning

Must be understood within local & historical context

43

www.bradshawfoundation.com

www.museoorigini.it

Upper Palaeolithic art can be divided into 2 main forms:

Portable art: figurines, personal ornaments, engraved plaques; stone, bone, ivory, horn, antler & clay

Parietal or fixed art: painted or carved in rock shelters and caves

44 mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com www.essential-humanities.net

Aurignacian

Art is present in the form of engraved ivory & bone, and painted & engraved cave walls

Gravettian

Cave painting and engraving continues, with hand prints & stencils and human figurines alongside herbivores, as well as complex, multi-phased panels

45

www.pasthorizonspr.com

scienceillustrated.com.au

Magdalenian

In western Europe, 90% of cave art dates to the Middle & Late Magdalenian

Mainly known from Franco-Cantabria region - south-west France and northern Spain (although known to be a widespread phenomenon in caves & open locations)

46

www.pnas.org

Cave art:

~33,000-10,000 BP

Over 300 painted cave & rock shelter sites

Famous sites - Altamira Cave (Spain), Lascaux & Grotte Chauvet (France)

Painters used charcoal & red ochre

Lascaux: (France) emphasis on animal paintings; simplistic human renderings

Altamira: (Cantabria, Spain) use of natural features of the cave to enhance animal art

47

Cave art graphics consist largely of:

Large animals: mainly horse, bison, auroch, mammoth, various species of deer, goats

Few birds & smaller mammals,

Enigmatic / geometric signs: rectilinear shapes, wedges, tectiforms, dots, lines, strands

Hand prints

Human figures are rare & are almost always abstractly rendered

48

ericwedwards.wordpress.com

en.wikipedia.org

va312aslifilis.wordpress.com

La Grotte Chauvet

Worlds oldest painted cave art (~30-20,000 BP)

Discovered in 1994 near Vallon-Pont-dArc in southern France

49 mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com

www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr

La Grotte Chauvet

The cave was not used for human habitation

Cave bears appear to have hibernated in the cave (skeletal remains)

A hearth was possibly used to provide light for Palaeolithic artists 50

http://donsmaps.com/chauvetcave.html

La Grotte Chauvet

Compositional groupings of herbivores & predators

Find rare species not depicted in other caves: rhino, lion, long-eared owl & hyena

Appear to be stylistically unified

51 www.d.umn.edu lacavernedupontdarc.org

Altamira, Spain

19,000-11,000 BP

Paintings located in the deep recesses of caves in the mountains of northern Spain

Altamira is the only cave painting site where people lived in the first cavern with the art itself

52

mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com

http://donsmaps.com/altamirapaintings.html

Altamira, Spain

Paintings at Altamira primarily focus on bison, importance / emphasis due to hunting

Engraved image of male red deer (elk) from Altamira Cave

Sometimes painters would take advantage of a natural protrusion of the cave wall - movement

53

www.telegraph.co.uk

www.ivorybill.com

Lascaux The Sistine Chapel of Cave Art

17,000 BP

Discovered in 1940 by 4 teenagers, closed to public in 1963, Lascaux II opened in 1983

54 mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com

http://donsmaps.com/lascaux.html

Lascaux The Sistine Chapel of Caves

Contains over 1500 paintings

They consist mostly of realistic images of large animals, including aurochs, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time

55 www.faculty.umb.edu www.lascaux.culture.fr

Portable Art

Necklaces of animal teeth, shells, bone beads etc.

Rings, bracelets, anklets

Clothing adorned with beads

Probably much art was executed in perishable materials, e.g. wood carvings, bark paintings

56 http://donsmaps.com/zaraysk.html kennethgarrett.photoshelter.com

Portable Art

Abundant & diverse across Europe, including:

Carved animal heads & engraved / notated bones from the Pyrenees & Southern France

Anthropomorphic figures

Stylised female carvings from Germany

Engraved bone & antler

Atlatl crooks 57

en.wikipedia.org

Venus Figurines

The iconic Venus figurines are associated with the Gravettian artistic tradition

Female carvings are present throughout the European Upper Palaeolithic

58

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_figurines

Small numbers known from the Aurignacian, some dating to ~33-31,000 BP - flourished during the Gravettian (~25,000 BP)

Early interpretations focused on cause-and-effect magic, functions relating to fertility or childbirth

59

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_figurines

Leroi-Gourhan - respect a design grammar relating to structuralist principles linked to cave art

Rice - using ethnographic analogy suggests they represent females at all life stages, may be a general symbol of womanhood

60 www.tourismus-region-ulm.de

Gamble - proliferation coincides with climatic downturn, central role in social negotiation

McDermott - self-expression among pregnant women, communicating personal experience through figurines

61 www.ancient-origins.net

Difficult to interpret - contextual information often lacking, known context highly variable:

French figurines appear to have been tucked away in caves

Czech Republic figurines were found in domestic refuse

Kostenski & Avdeevo (Russia) figurines were placed in pits to protect stores

Others were buried accompanied by grave offerings

The figurines are stylistically complex, often coloured with ochre, depicting items of clothing or textile adornments regional stylistic variation

62

Too simplistic to view them as having one function, a general theme but variety of meanings with regional variation

Might reflect complex social dynamics 26-23,000 years ago (mid-Upper Palaeolithic burials are overwhelmingly male)

63 archaeology-travel.com news.bbc.co.uk

How has Upper Palaeolithic art been interpreted?

Art for arts sake

Ceremonial purposes

Success in the hunt

To promote fertility in the herd

Initiation rites for youngsters

Depictions of trance experiences, painted after the fact

64

www.faculty.umb.edu

journalofcosmology.com

Abb Henri Breuil (1940s and 1950s)

Functionalist Approach

Caves were sacred sites or sanctuaries

Painting were part of rituals preformed to increase success in hunting (sympathetic magic)

65

magoism.net

leseyzies-tourist.info

Andre Leroi-Gourhan (1965)

Paintings part of elaborate system of meaning with specific structure or grammar (mythogram)

Based on division of world into male and female elements

Compared cave art and portable art

Certain species chosen for depiction not because they are good to eat, but because they are good to think

66

zientzia.net

en.wikipedia.org

Margaret Conkey (1980s+)

Contextual Approach (Geertz)

Art as social practice - abstract, ambiguous

Constructs meaning through its production and use in specific social contexts

Must be understood in broader context of Upper Palaeolithic lifeways

67

en.wikipedia.org

Upper Palaeolithic Lifeways

Rich, diverse environments

Seasonal but predictable resources

Mobile hunter-gatherers; collecting strategies

Required coordination and cooperation

E.g. Seasonal aggregation site, hunting and foraging

68

www.inqua2011.ch

http://archaeology.about.com/od/archa13/a/franchthi.htm

Individual and Group Identity

More interaction between groups

Trade, exchange of marriage partners, competition, territoriality

Greater elaboration of local styles of material culture

E.g. Altamira - portable art reflects complex mix of diverse design elements

69

www.megalithic.co.uk

www.archeoworld.de

The meaning of cave art

Territorial markers

Sites of ceremonies & rituals that produce & reproduce group identity

Part of cultural landscape - associated with social memory, story telling, cosmic geography

70 www.worldtransformation.com

Significance of portable and parietal art

Ways of creating knowledge & meaning in the material world

Makes personal experience public

Transmits social information

Aesthetically & symbolically charged representation of social / material reality

71

fashionskribo.wordpress.com

http://donsmaps.com/rouffignac.html

Dramatic shifts in stone and organic tool technology

Apparent broadening of the subsistence base & settlement structure

Greater use of imported, exotic goods and expansive trade networks

Evidence for elaborate burials

A shift from virtually no works of art to the highly characteristic use of symbol & the production of art

72

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Slide Number 1ARCA1000 Early HumansThe Upper Palaeolithic in EuropeSlide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6Slide Number 7The AurignacianSlide Number 9Slide Number 10Slide Number 11Slide Number 12Slide Number 13Slide Number 14Slide Number 15Slide Number 16The GravettianSlide Number 18Slide Number 19Slide Number 20Slide Number 21Slide Number 22Slide Number 23Slide Number 24Slide Number 25Slide Number 26Slide Number 27Slide Number 28Slide Number 29Slide Number 30Slide Number 31Slide Number 32Slide Number 33The MagdalenianSlide Number 35Slide Number 36Slide Number 37Slide Number 38Slide Number 39Slide Number 40Slide Number 41Art & Identity in the Upper PalaeolithicSlide Number 43Slide Number 44Slide Number 45Slide Number 46Slide Number 47Slide Number 48Slide Number 49Slide Number 50Slide Number 51Slide Number 52Slide Number 53Slide Number 54Slide Number 55Slide Number 56Slide Number 57Slide Number 58Slide Number 59Slide Number 60Slide Number 61Slide Number 62Slide Number 63Slide Number 64Slide Number 65Slide Number 66Slide Number 67Slide Number 68Slide Number 69Slide Number 70Slide Number 71Upper Palaeolithic in Europe SummarySlide Number 73