Gravettian

The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic

Gravettian
that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP.[1][4] It is archaeologically the
last European culture many consider unified,[5] and had mostly disappeared by c.
22,000 BP, close to the Last Glacial Maximum, although some elements lasted until
c. 17,000 BP.[2] At this point, it was replaced abruptly by the Solutrean in France
and Spain, and developed into or continued as theEpigravettian in Italy, the Balkans,
Ukraine[6] and Russia.[7]

They are known for their Venus figurines, which were typically made as either ivory
or limestone carvings. The Gravettian culture was first identified at the site of La
Gravette in Southwestern France.[8] Geographical Europe
range
Period Upper Paleolithic
Contents Dates 33,000[1] to 21,000
BP[a]
Gravettian culture
Type site La Gravette
Diet
Hunting Major sites Dordogne
Use of animal remains Preceded by Aurignacian
Decorations and tools
Followed by Solutrean,
See also Epigravettian
Note Defined by Dorothy Garrod,
References 1938[3]
External links

Gravettian culture
The Gravettians were hunter-gatherers who lived in a bitterly cold period of European prehistory, and Gravettian lifestyle was shaped
by the climate. Pleniglacial environmental changes forced them to adapt. West and Central Europe were extremely cold during this
period. Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known mainly from cave sites in France, Spain
and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture,
were specialized mammoth hunters,[8] whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites.

Gravettian culture thrived on their ability to hunt animals. They utilized a variety of tools and hunting strategies. Compared to
theorized hunting techniques of Neanderthals and earlier human groups, Gravettian hunting culture appears much more mobile and
complex. They lived in caves or semi-subterranean or rounded dwellings which were typically arranged in small "villages".
Gravettians are thought to have been innovative in the development of tools such as blunted-back knives, tanged arrowheads and
boomerangs.[8] Other innovations include the use of woven nets and oil lamps made of stone.[9] Blades and bladelets were used to
make decorations and bone tools from animal remains.

Gravettian culture extends across a large geographic region, as far as Estremadura in Portugal.[10] but is relatively homogeneous until
about 27,000 BN.[11] They developed burial rites,[9] which included the inclusion of simple, purpose built, offerings and/or personal
ornaments owned by the deceased, placed within the grave or tomb.[12] Surviving Gravettian art includes numerous cave paintings
and small, portable Venus figurines made from clay or ivory, as well as jewelry objects. The fertility deities mostly date from the
early period; there are over 100 known surviving examples. They conform to a very specific physical type, with large breasts, broad
 hips and prominent posteriors. The
statuettes tend to lack facial details,
and their limbs that are often
broken off.[11]

During the post glacial period,

evidence of the culture begins to
disappear from northern Europe but
was continued in areas around the
Mediterranean.[11]

Diet A replica of the GravettianVenus of

Lespugue. The Gravettians produced
Animals were a primary food
a large number of Venus figurines
source for early humans of the
Moravianska Venus Gravettian period.[13] Since Europe
was extremely cold during this period, food sources needed to be high in energy and
fat content. Testing comparisons among various human remains reveal that
populations at higher latitudes placed greater dietary emphasis on meat. A defining trait distinguishing Gravettian people was their
ease of mobility compared to their Neanderthal counterparts. Modern humans developed the technology and social organization that
enabled them to migrate with their food source whereas Neanderthals were not adept at travelling, even with relatively sedentary
herds.[14]

With their ability to move with the herds, Gravettian diets incorporated a huge variety of animal prey. The main factors were the
animal's age and size. For example, first year deer offered hides most suitable for clothing, while fourth year deer contained far more
meat.[15] Gravettian diet included larger animals such as mammoths, hyenas, wolves, reindeer killed with stone or bone tools, as well
as hares and foxes captured with nets.[16] This time period is classified by the strong emphasis on meat consumption because
[13]
agriculture had not been fully introduced nor utilized. In addition, the climate was not favorable to stable crop cultivation.

Coastal Gravettians were able to avail of marine protein. From remains found in Italy and Wales, carbon dating reveals that 20-30%
[17][18] Populations of lower latitudes relied more on shell fish and fish
of Gravettian diets of coastal peoples consisted of sea animals.
while higher latitudes' diets consisted of seals.[18]

Hunting
Clubs, stones and sticks were the primary hunting tools during the Upper Paleolithic
period. Bone, antler and ivory points have all been found at sites in France; but
proper stone arrowheads and throwing spears did not appear until the Solutrean
period (~20,000 Before Present). Due to the primitive tools, many animals were
hunted at close range.[19] The typical artefact of Gravettian industry, once
considered diagnostic, is the small pointed blade with a straight blunt back. They are
today known as the Gravette point,[20] and were used to hunt big game. Gravettians
used nets to hunt small game, and are credited with inventing thebow and arrow.[8]

Gravettian settlers tended towards the valleys that pooled migrating prey.[19]
Examples found through discoveries in Gr. La Gala, a site in Southern Italy, show a
strategic settlement based in a small valley.[21] As the settlers became more aware of
the migration patterns of animals likered deer, they learned that prey herd in valleys,
thereby allowing the hunters to avoid travelling long distances for food. Specifically Gravettian burin
in Gr. La Gala, the glacial topography forced the deer to pass through the areas in the valley occupied by humans.[21] Additional
.[15]
evidence of strategically positioned settlements include sites like Klithi in Greece, also placed to intercept migrating prey

Discoveries in the Czech Republic suggest that nets were used to capture large numbers of smaller prey, thus offering a quick and
consistent food supply and thus an alternative to the feast/famine pattern of large game hunters. Evidence comes in the form of 4 mm
thick rope preserved on clay imprints.[16] Research suggests that although no larger net imprints have been discovered, there would
be little reason for them not to be made as no further knowledge would be required for their creation.[16] The weaving of nets was
[16]
likely a communal task, relying on the work of both women and children.

Use of animal remains

Decorations and tools

The Gravettian era landscape is most closely related to the landscape of present-day Moravia. Pavlov I in southern Moravia is the
most complete and complex Gravettian site to date, and a perfect model for a general understanding of Gravettian culture. In many
instances, animal remains indicate both decorative and utilitarian purposes. In the case of, for example, Arctic foxes, incisors and
canines were used for decoration, while their humeri and radii bones were used as tools. Similarly, the skeletons of some red foxes
contain decorative incisors and canines as well asulnas used for awls and barbs.[22]

Some animal bones were only used to create tools. Due to their shape, the ribs, fibulas, and metapodia of horses were good for awl
and barb creation. In addition, the ribs were also implemented to create different types of smoothers for pelt preparation. The shapes
of hare bones are also unique, and as a result, the ulnas were commonly used as awls and barbs. Reindeer antlers, ulnas, ribs, tibias
and teeth were utilised in addition to a rare documented case of a phalanx.[22] Mammoth remnants are among the most common bone
remnants of the culture, while long bones andmolars are also documented. Some mammoth bones were used for decorative purposes.
[22]
Wolf remains were often used for tool production and decoration.

See also
Art of the Upper Paleolithic
Haplogroup I-M170
Aurignacian culture
Epigravettian
Solutrean
Perigordian
Use of animals during the Gravettian period
Earth's Children series
Last Glacial Maximum
List of Stone Age art
Upper Paleolithic
Venus figurines

Gravettian
Preceded by Succeeded by
33,000–24,000 cal
Aurignacian Solutrean
BP

Note
a. The transition to the Epigravettian is not well-defined, and the Gravettian may be extended down to 17,000 years
ago with the most inclusive definition, based on anything that may be considered Gravettian (burials, venus statues,
lithics)[2]
References
1. Jacobi, R.M.; Higham, T.F.G.; Haesaerts, P.; Jadin, I.; Basell, L.S. (2015). "Radiocarbon h
c ronology for the Early
Gravettian of northern Europe: New AMS determinations for Maisières-Canal, Belgium". Antiquity. 84 (323): 26–40.
doi:10.1017/S0003598X00099749(https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003598X00099749) .
2. Pesesse, Damien (2013). "Le Gravettien existe-t-il? Le prisme du système technique lithique" [Does the Gravettian
exist? The prism of the lithic technical system].In Marcel Otte. Les Gravettiens. Civilisations et cultures (in French).
Paris: Éditions errance. pp. 66–104.ISBN 978-2877725095. "D'ailleurs selon les auteurs et les thèmes abordés, la
définition et donc les contours du Gravettien varient, parfois considérablement.antôt
T certains ensembles de la
plaine russe seront intégrés sur la base des témoignages funéraires, tantôt les statuettes féminines serviront
d'argument pour annexer les rives du lac Baïkal à cette supra-entité. De même, le Gravettien débuterait vers 31,000
BP ou 27,000 BP selon les régions pour finir parfois à 22,000 BP , parfois à 17,000 BP. Ce ne sont pas là de menues
différences. [Besides, depending on the authors and the subjects at hand, the definition and therefore the borders of
the Gravettian vary, sometimes considerably. Sometimes, certain assemblages of the Russian plains are integrated
on the basis of funerary customs, other times feminine statuettes are used to annex the shores of Lake Baikal to this
supra-entity. Likewise, the Gravettian would start around 31,000 or 27,000 BP depending on the regions and finish
sometimes at 22,000 BP, sometimes at 17,000 BP. These are not small differences.]"
3. Garrod, D. A. E. (2014). "The Upper Palaeolithic in the Light of Recent Discovery".
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tps://doi.org/10.2307%2F530244). JSTOR 530244 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/530244).
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16. Pringle, H (1997). "Ice Age Communities May Be Earliest Known Net Hunters".
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new evidence for his age and diet".Antiquity. 77: 10–20.
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.B. & Stringer, C.B. Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine
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A window into the gravettian lifestyles. Brno, Czech Republic: Academy of the Sciences of the Czech Republic,
Institute of Archaeology. pp. 247–251.

External links
Picture Gallery of the Paleolithic (reconstructional palaeoethnology)
, Libor Balák at the Czech Academy of Sciences,
the Institute of Archaeology in Brno, The Center for Paleolithic and Paleoethnological Research
Cave sites in France
20,000-year-old Gravettian stone pendant found in Piatra Neamţ, Romania

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