I. The Classic Western European Sequence
A. Aurignacian ca. 40-30 kya; appears earlier in C.
Europe. AmHS affinities; "art," bone tools; etc. (see
last week). Blanchard plaque (possible lunar notation); Hohlenfels
compsite figure ca. 32 kya.
1. Fumane Cave, N. Italy (red figures on slabs include
male composite figure);
1. Chauvet Cave in south-central France >30,000 years old;
unusual concentration of depictions of rare & dangerous animals
(e.g., felines, rhinos);
2. Cosquer Cave w/underwater entrance near Marseilles; early
phase of use ca. 27 kya; late phase during Gravettian: painted
hands, vulvas, barbed arrows engraved on animals.
B. Chatelperronian/Lower Perigordean ca. 37-30 kya;
Mousterian affinities; Neanderthal associations (St-
Césaire). Bone artifacts rarer than in Aurignacian. Some personal
decorative items by end.
C. Gravettian/Upper Perigordean ca. 30-22 kya but
continues to develop another 10,000 years in east;
Font-Robert points; backed blades; food storage in
permafrost pits; boiling stones at Abri Pataud.
Huts of mammoth bones (Mezhirich, Russia).
Famous site of Dolni Vestonice (slides).
"Cemetery" at Predmost, Czech Rep. Portable
"art" includes:
1. female figurines ("Aurignacian Venuses")
common across N. Europe ca. 26 kya:
faces & feet not depicted and form usually
female; all ages.
2. Clay models from Dolni Vestonice
D. Solutrean ca. 22-18 kya during LGM; laurel-leaf
points; originated in S-C or SW France; projectile
points used on the tips of arrows (though many so
large they may have been for ceremonial or status
purposes). Laurel-leaf points more common at sites
where red deer, large cattle, and horse were hunted
than at sites where smaller spp. such as ibex
dominate. Bone needles (for sewing) common. Not
much cave painting, but some sculpture in near-
round.
E. Magdalenian ca. 18-11 kya; bone needles, spear
thrower, harpoons; reindeer, red deer, salmon;
climate change, river & sea level changes; popula-
tion explosion? Largest sites in Périgord always
near river fords.
1. Parietal art (cave walls): 3 main centers.
Famous sites: (slides): Rouffignac,
Lascaux, Altamira, Font de Gaume, etc.
Sympathetic magic? (Henri Breuil);
Shamanism? (Jean Clottes)
2. Relationship between art and archaeofauna:
a. red deer & reindeer portrayed in rough
relation to their importance in the
archaeofauna;
b. larger spp. overportrayed relative to
their importance as game animals
3. Sex differences among anthropomorphs in
cave art:
a. rare in comparison with animal figures
b. 78% male, 22% female (of those where
sex can be told)
c. all running, walking, dancing, or
speared figures male; only males shown
in active modes; females portrayed
standing or lying down. Masked figures
(usually birds) are male when sex can be
told.
d. females more often shown in groups
4. Portable "art:" Grotte du Tai plaque: pos-
sible solar notation.