Magdalenian

Magdalenian
Magdalenian horse, Musée d'Archéologie Nationale
Bison on plaque, Bédeilhac grottoe, Ariège

The Magdalenian (French: Magdalénien), refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP. It is named after the type site of La Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley, commune of Tursac, in the Dordogne department of France.

Originally termed "L'âge du renne" (the Age of the Reindeer) by Édouard Lartet & Henry Christy, the first systematic excavators of the type site, in their publication of 1875, the Magdalenian is synonymous in many people's minds with reindeer hunters, although Magdalenian sites also contain extensive evidence for the hunting of red deer, horse and other large mammals present in Europe towards the end of the last ice age. The culture was geographically widespread, and later Magdalenian sites have been found from Portugal in the west to Poland in the east.

Contents

Duration

Magdalenian people dwelt not just in caves but also used tents like this one of Pincevent (France).

The culture spans the period between c. 18,000 and 10,000 BP, towards the end of the last ice age. The Magdalenien is characterised by regular blade industries struck from carinated cores. Typologically the Magdalenian is divided into six phases which are generally agreed to have chronological significance. The earliest phases are recognised by the varying proportion of blades and specific varieties of scrapers, the middle phases marked by the emergence of a microlithic component (particularly the distinctive denticulated microliths) and the later phases by the presence of uniserial (phase 5) and biserial 'harpoons' (phase 6) made of bone, antler and ivory.[1]

Magdalenian bone weapons
Magdalenian tools and weapons, 17000-9000 BCE, Abri de la Madeleine, Tursac, Dordogne, France

There is extensive debate about the precise nature of the earliest Magdalenian assemblages, and it remains questionable whether the Badegoulian culture is in fact the earliest phase of the Magdalenian. Similarly finds from the forest of Beauregard near Paris have often been suggested as belonging to the earliest Magdalenian.[2] The earliest Magdalenian sites are all found in France.

The serphants phases of the Magdalenian are also synonymous with the human re-settlement of north-western Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum during the Late Glacial Maximum. Research in Switzerland, southern Germany [3] and Belgium [4] has provided AMS radiocarbon dating to support this.

Magdalenian horse head carving, Mas d'Azil, Ariège, France

By the end of the Magdalenian, the lithic technology shows a pronounced trend towards increased microlithisation. The bone harpoons and points have the most distinctive chronological markers within the typological sequence. As well as flint tools, the Magdalenians are best known for their elaborate worked bone, antler and ivory which served both functional and aesthetic purposes including perforated batons. Examples of Magdalenian portable art include batons, figurines and intricately engraved projectile points, as well as items of personal adornment including sea shells, perforated carnivore teeth (presumably necklaces) and fossils.

The sea shells and fossils found in Magdalenian sites can be sourced to relatively precise areas of origin, and so have been used to support hypothesis of Magdalenian hunter-gatherer seasonal ranges, and perhaps trade routes. Cave sites such as the world famous Lascaux contain the best known examples of Magdalenian cave art. The site of Altamira in Spain, with its extensive and varied forms of Magdalenian mobillary art has been suggested to be an agglomeration site where multiple small groups of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers congregated.[5]

In northern Spain and south west France it was superseded by the Azilian culture. In northern Europe we see a slightly different picture, with different variants of the Tjongerian techno-complex following it. It has been suggested that key Late Glacial sites in south-western Britain can also be attributed to the Magdalenian, including the famous site of Kent's Cavern, although this remains open to debate.

See also

Preceded by
Solutrean
Magdalenian
17,000–9,000 BP
Succeeded by
Azilian
The Stone Age
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before Homo (Pliocene)

Wild Animals Stone tool
Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic
Early Stone Age
Homo
Control of fire by early humans
Middle Paleolithic
Middle Stone Age
Homo neanderthalensis
Homo sapiens
Recent African origin of modern humans
Upper Paleolithic
Late Stone Age
Behavioral modernity, Atlatl,
Origin of the domestic dog

Mesolithic

Microliths, Bow, Canoe

Neolithic

Heavy Neolithic
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Neolithic Revolution,
Domestication
Pottery Neolithic
Pottery
Chalcolithic

In movies

In the movie The Man from Earth , the protagonist claims that he is a 14000 year old Magdalenian i.e., Cro-Magnon.

References

  1. ^ (Sonneville-Bordes & Perrot, 1954-56)
  2. ^ (Hemmingway 1980)
  3. ^ (Housley et al. 1997)
  4. ^ (Charles 1996)
  5. ^ (Conkey 1980)

Sources

  • Charles, R. (1996): Back into the North: the Radiocarbon evidence for the Human Recolonisation of the North Western Ardennes after the Last Glacial Maximum. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 62: 1-17.
  • Conkey, M.J. (1980): The identification of prehistoric hunter-gatherer aggregation sites: the case of Altimira. Current Anthropology 21: 609-630.
  • Hemingway, M.F. (1980): The Initial Magdalenian in France. British Archaeological Reports International Series 90. 2 Vols.
  • Housley, R.A, Gamble, C.S., Street, M. & Pettit, P. (1997): Radiocarbon Evidence for the Lateglacial Human Recolonisation of Northern Europe. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 63.
  • Lartet, E & Christy, H. (1875): Reliquae Aquitanicae: being contributions to the archaeology of Périgord and adjoining provinces of Southern France. Williams & Norgate. London.
  • Sonneville-Bordes, D. de & Perrot J. (1954–1956): Lexique typologique du Paléolithique supérieur. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 51: 327-335, 52: 76-79, 53: 408-412, 53: 547-549.
  • Straus, Lawrence Guy (1992) : Iberia Before the Iberians. University of New Mexico Press.

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • magdalenian — magdalenián s. n. (sil. ni an) Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic  MAGDALENIÁN s.n. (geol.) Ultimul subetaj al paleoliticului superior, în care apar elemente de cultură umană. // adj. Care aparţine acestui subetaj. [pron.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Magdalenian — [mag΄də lē′nē ən] adj. [Fr magdalénien, after La Madeleine, rock shelter in SW France, where many of the artifacts were found] designating or of an Upper Paleolithic culture characterized by cave art, bone engraving, and tools of polished stone… …   English World dictionary

  • Magdalenian Girl — is the common name for a skeleton of an early modern human dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BCE, in the Magdalenian period. The remains were discovered in 1911 in southwestern France in the Cap Blanc rock shelter, and since 1926 have been in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Magdalenian culture — Stone tool industry and artistic tradition of Upper Paleolithic Europe. It was named after the type site, La Madeleine in southwestern France. The Magdalenians lived some 11,000–17,000 years ago, at a time when reindeer, wild horses, and bison… …   Universalium

  • Magdalenian — adjective Etymology: French magdalénien, from La Madeleine, rock shelter in southwest France Date: 1885 of or relating to an Upper Paleolithic culture characterized by flint, bone, and ivory implements, carving, and paintings …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Magdalenian — /mag deuh lee nee euhn/, adj. of or pertaining to the final Paleolithic culture of much of western Europe, dating from c13,000 10,000 B.C. and notable for its artifacts of bone, antler, and ivory and for the cave art of western France and… …   Universalium

  • Magdalenian — adj. of or pertaining to an Upper Paleolithic culture …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Magdalenian — [ˌmagdə li:nɪən] adjective Archaeology relating to or denoting the final Palaeolithic culture in Europe, following the Solutrean and dated to about 17,000–11,500 years ago. Origin C19: from Fr. Magdalénien from La Madeleine , a site of this… …   English new terms dictionary

  • magdalenian — mag·da·le·nian …   English syllables

  • Magdalenian — Mag•da•le•ni•an [[t]ˌmæg dəˈli ni ən[/t]] adj. ara of or designating the final Paleolithic culture of much of W Europe, cl3,000–l0,000 b.c., notable for its artifacts and cave art • Etymology: 1880–85; < F magdalénien=Magdalen from La… …   From formal English to slang

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