Alternative Interpretations of the Late Upper Paleolithic in Central Europe Anta Montet-White Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 23. (1994), pp. 483-508. Stable URL hitp://links.jstor-org/sicisici=0084-6570% 281994%292%3A23%3C483%3A AIOTLU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q Annual Review of Anthropology is currently published by Annual Reviews. Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at hup:/www,jstororglabout/terms.hml. ISTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at hupulwww.jstor-org/journals/annrevs. html, ch copy of any part of'a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the sereen or printed page of such transmission, ISTOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support @ jstor.org. hupulwww jstor.org/ Tue Mar 7 04:24:28 2006‘Corn yA Rees Al igh rex ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE LATE UPPER PALEOLITHIC IN CENTRAL EUROPE Anta Montet-White Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 KEY WORDS: Gravetian, Epigravetian, Last Glacial Maximum INTRODUCTION ‘The sector of Central Europe considered in this review extends from southern Poland to the Balkans and encompasses the Carpathian Basin, the Middle Danube, and its tributaries (Figure 1). The region corresponds in size to the ‘Atlantic provinces from the Loire to the Pyrenees. It is vast enough to permit, the discussion of faunal distribution and hunting strategies, as well a territoriality, population shift, and settlement organization (4, 8, 27, 28, 36). The Upper Paleolithic history of this sector of Central Europe derived originally from a few classic sites. Willendorf, for its long stratigraphic sequence broadly com- parable to that of Pataud, and Dolni Vestonice, Predmosti, and Pavlov, for the abundance and variety of the materials they contained, dominated research in the region much as the rock shelters of Les Eyzies did in Western Europe. The series of meetings held since 1976 helped promote a change of perspective and contributed to the development of regional and interregional studies (44, 45, 53, 55). The broader approach has shown the pitfalls of interpretations based fn classic sites and, as research continues to expand in neighboring areas, the Gravettian of the Pavlov hills no longer appears as the only significant cultural ‘manifestation in the region between 28,000 and 20,000 8.P. (26, 44). It is better understood as a chapter, albeit an important one, in the complex and long (0084-6570/94/1015-0483$085.00 od484. MONTET-WHITE 1. Mamutova 13. Kasov 25. Szeged 2. Spadzista 14, Moravany 26. Zebegeny 8. Wojice 18. Nira 27. eka 4, Wolonice 46. Grubraben 28. Bodrogkorestur 5. D. Vestenice 17, Willendort 29. Hidasnemet 6. Kuna 18, Dios 30. Luplanska 7. Mllovioe 19. Domos 231. Ova Jama, 8. Paviov 20. Dunatoldavar 82. Zupanov Spodrot 9. Pod Hradem 21. Madaras 38, Vetemica 10, Stranska Skala 22. Pilsmarot 34, Ving 11, Vedroviee 23. Plsszanto 35, Temata 12, Colkov 24. Sagvar 936. Kadar 37. Zobiste Figure 1 Msp of Central Europe showing the location of major sites discussed inthe text 1 “Mamtov, 2 Spades, 3. Woes, nd 4. Wolowice, orth ofthe Carpathian mounts: . Dla Vestonice and f, Pavlov, near the Pavow hls; 18, Dios, 19. Domes, 22, Pilsmarc, and 26. Zebegeny, st the Danube bend: 27, Ark, 28, Bodrgkerestr, and 29. Hidssnemet, south of the Carpathian mountains, 33 Veena and 34, Vin, nthe Croatian Karst and 30 pans, 31 (Ovea Jama, and 32. Zupanov Spodmol, inthe Slovenian Kast,‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 485 history of hunter-gatherer settlements of Central Europe at the end of the Pleistocene. And, in a somewhat similar way, the extension of research in adjacent provinces helps place Les Eyzies rock shelters in a broader perspe tive 49), ‘The processes of adaptation and change undergone by human populations between 28,000 and 15,000 years ago have been the focus of discussions (55) and field research (45) in recent years. New understandings of the nature and impact of the climatic changes of this period have emerged. The Last Glacial Maximum is understood to have had profound effects on animal populations, which in tum forced the displacement of human settlements Moreover, recent finds (13, 14, 35, 40, 57) have challenged the com- ‘monly accepted view thatthe glacial advance forced human populations out of north Central Europe into more favorable niches (eg. the Perigord and Cant- abria to the west, the Russian uplands to the cast). This review focuses on a ‘complex situation marked by a series of climatic ameliorations during which animal and other natural resources were sufficient to support human groups in diferent sections of the Central European Basin. The economic base went from the opportunistic foraging of a diverse local fauna (26) to more special- ized forms of horse and reindeer herd exploitation (32). The processes of adaptation and change these Central European groups underwent are in many ‘ways comparable to the ones that took place in Wester Europe. The similar ‘ies in economy and technology would be even more apparent fit were not for the resurgence of bifacial technology that produced the large leaf-shaped points characteristic of the Solutrean in the Franco-Cantabrian region. The relatively short-lived development (21,000-19,000 ne.) of large projectile points that may have been associated with a special type of spear has no equivalent in Central Europe. But, the Badgoulian, the cultural phase that follows the Solutrean at Laugerie Haute and other sites of central and south- western France, is characterized by technological innovations (56, 60) that are ‘comparable to those seen in the Epigravettian of Central Europe after 19.000 BP, Population movements and especially east-west migrations have been viewed traditionally as the mechanism explaining cultural change and the spread of new technologies into Wester Europe (26, 44, 46), whereas Central Europe is viewed alternatively as a reservoir of new inventions (46) or as a region periodically emptied of human populations (13). The latter view has ‘been reinforced by numerous gaps that still impair the Paleolithic record. A review of the material suggests that at the time of Last Glacial Maximum (20,000-15,000 fF), human groups became increasingly mobile and shifted between valley systems while maintaining their hunting territories and raw material procurement networks.486 MONTET-WHITE, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD Research Bias In Central Europe, as anywhere else, sampling bias remains a major handicap of regional studies. Blanks on Paleolithic maps often reflect a lack of system- atic research and/or publications that field programs of the 1980s and 1990s have begun to fill. Dobosi's survey (14) of loess covered areas between the Upper Tisza (sites 27 and 29 in Figure 1) and the Danube bend group (sites 18. and 19 in Figure 1) of northem Hungary, for example, brought the discovery of Epigravettian sites, which invalidates the view that extreme conditions ‘would have made the area uninhabitable to human groups during the late Pleistocene and that, if there were sites, they would be too deeply buried to be found. But the area south of Lake Balaton and north of the Drava (Figure 1) ‘remains an almost complete blank. The lack of information reinforces the view that the Carpathian Basin and the northern Balkans formed two distinct and unrelated cultural areas during the late Pleistocene and that east-west migra- tions were of greater importance than were north-south shifts. Sampling bias takes other, more insidious forms. Cave sites have been excavated at the exclusion of open-air sites in Slovenia and Croatia, whereas field work in northern Bosnia has focused on open-air hilliop sites. And known, classic sites, continue to attract attention even when they are almost exhausted, whl li attention is given to the testing of new sites. Stratigraphic Hiatus ‘The atention of quatemary geologists has tured recently fo questions relating to discontinuities in sedimentary sequences. The problems were clearly out- lined by Campy (6), who identified several disconformites inthe stratigraphic sequence at La Baume de Gigny, a cave in the French Jura, which he atibutes toa series of erosional episodes. He generalizes that as much as 70% or 80% of eave deposits were destroyed by natural processes. The amplitude of ero- sional activites during the lst stages of the Pleistocene varied from site to site and region to region. The longest hiatus is registered in the Slovenian caves ‘where Epigravettan layers directly overlay Mousterian occupations (4143), In the Croatian Karst caves, a probable gap separates layers containing early Aurignacian assemblages with Mladec points from the Gravetian and Ept- gravettin levels (33). This gap signals an erosional phase that corresponds to that described at Temnata (site 35 in Figure 1), a cave of the Karlukovo Karst in Bulgaria (29), where early Gravettian layers (dated between 28,000 and 29,000 wr) are separated, directly overlaid by a late Gravetian layer (dated between 23,000 and 21,000 np), a gap of atleast 5000 years At the Kulna Cave in Moravia (61) the remnants of a Gravettian level are found underneath‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 487 4 Magdalenian level dated at 12,000 n.. (a gap of some 10,000 years) and overlying a series of Mousterian layers (a gap of 15,000-20,000 years). The erosion phenomena that affected karstic caves from the Jura to the Carpathians and the Dinarie Alps are in sharp contrast tothe relatively stable sedimentation processes of the Perigord rock shelters and some of the Cantabrian sites that provide an almost continuous record of human occupations. It should be noted, however, that at la Baume de Gigny, for example, the remnants of late Wurm deposits contain no traces of human occupation. Distinguishing between ar- chaeologically sterile deposits and stratigraphic gaps has obvious implications forthe interpretation and reconstruction of human settlements. Episodes of soil formation and erosions affected the loam series that cover the bluff tops along the Sava River Valley. A major erosional phase preceded the deposition of Late Glacial sediments containing Epigravettian industries and, later, an early Holocene erosion destroyed the Late Glacial deposits at Kadar, Londza, and Zobiste (38). The best preserved record is found in the loess series of the northem part of the Basin (20, 21), where sedimentation processes were more regular. Multicomponent loess sites include several se- ries of occupations within a 2000 to 3000 year period indicative of the re- peated use of a locality over prolonged periods of times. Such is the case at Vestonice (24, 58), Spadzista (25, 30), and a number of other lesser known sites like Moravany and Nitra (2). The 10,000 year time span thatthe Willen- dort sequence encompasses is an exception (17, 21). The record from open-air sites of Central Europe has some similarities to that of the Aquitaine Basin, ‘where multicomponent sites like Solvieux are few (50). Occupation layers at open-air sites are separated by sterile deposits. There- fore, in contrast to rock shelters like Laugerie Haute, where there is at least an appearance of continuity, each archaeological layer represents a moment of human presence that is not immediately related to earlier or later epi sodes of occupation. Such is the case at Willendor, although the site provides the best single series of Aurignacian and Gravettian layers in Central Europe and is still used as a mode! for the reconstruction of cultural change in the region (46). In short, natural and man-made conditions contributed to the unbal- anced perception ofthe Paleolithic settlement of the Central European Basin, As it is, the number of well documented sites remaing low. Dobosi (13) deplores that there are about 50 sites within a 93,000 km? area to reconstruct some 30,000 years of Upper Paleolithic history in northem Hungary. The ‘number is even lower in the southern section ofthe Basin. And in many areas, «record of the middle phases of the Upper Paleolithic is simply not there. The C'4 Evidence Tables of available C! dates illustrate trends in the distribution of human settlements within all sectors of Central Europe. Early Gravettian sites dated488 MONTET-WHITE around 28,000 Bare distributed in clusters scattered along the periphery of the Central European Basin from the Moravian Plateau to Willendorf on the Danube (Figure 2) and in the Upper Tisza area of northern Hungary (Bodrogkerestur, Figure 3). Between 28,000 and 24,000 we. settlements con- centrated in Moravia and the nearby stretch of the Danube Valley (Willendorf) but there is little evidence of occupation in other parts of Central Europe, especially in the souther sector, asa result of the major erosional phase noted above. Moravia continued to be occupied regularly until about 19,000 B.. ‘A 6000 year gap then separates the last Epigravettian occupation at Stranska LOWER 0 MORAVIA AUSTRIA _SLOVAKA 1 wae an 3 3 18 Fa @ e 6 8 8 8 3 2 BR 8 Figure? Cdtes from groups of Moravian sites, where a gap oecurredbetween occupation eels 14 Sansa Skala and Kuln, and sites from Avsra and Slovakia, where the are a series of| ‘occupations between 20,000 and 16,000 nv‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 489 HUNGARY POLAND BULGARIA _ BOSNIA SLOVENIA Fy 1 z + oxy C14 DATES (IN THOUSANDS) 4 a " “EG slg aleeslegag a i ie ia BG i Figure 3 Clases from other regions of Central Europe (Hungary, southern Poland, Bulgaria, Boi, and Slovenia) shoving haman occupations between 23,000 and 16,000, between 1000 and 13000, ad beeen 11,000 an 10,000 BP ‘Skala from the Magdalenian at Kuhina, But, a number of sites in Lower Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Bosnia fall within the 19,000— 16,000 Be. time period, Epigravettian phases posterior to the major erosional phase are relatively well represented. However, when the region is taken as a whole, there is evidence of continued human presence before and during the Last Glacial Maximum between 28,000 and 15,000 B»., with indica- tions of shift in settlement location through time. Questions concerning the nature of these shifts, and their economic or cultural bases, generated a num- ber of research programs in the region in the last ten years.490. MONTET-WHITE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES According to Valoch (62), the climatic oscillations that preceded the Glacial ‘Maximum between 33,000 and 25,000 B.P. were well represented at the Pod Hradem Cave and several open-air sites around Brno including Bohunice, Stranska Skala II, and Vedrovice II and V, where faunal remains include mostly horse and mammoth, Charcoal and pollen evidence indicate thata grass steppe with local clusters of fir dominated the landscape. However, the charred wood remains recovered from these sites exhibit narrow annual rings, which Valoch attributes to overall cold temperatures. A complex of paleosols (fossil soils) was identified at Spadzista layer 7 and at Stranska Skala III layer 3, here itis dated at about 32,000 8, and at Dolni Vestonice and Milovice (21, 40), where itis dated at 30,000 8. Valoch estimates the beginning of the glacial advance at around 27,000 8. Its earliest phases are marked in central Moravia by a steppe vegetation that ‘supported a broad range of animal populations. Pine and fir charcoal fragments and the remains ofa relatively temperate, forest-steppe, faunal assemblage are associated with the Kulna Cave Gravettian (61). The level is interpreted as representing a mild oscillation between 23,000 and 22,000 ap. A paleosol ‘evidenced at Spadzista corresponds to the main phase of occupation atthe site dated around 23,000 8. (25). Conditions in the Lower Vistula Basin were cold and humid, supporting mammoth, arctic fox, wolf, aretic hare, and some reindeer. A similar environment marked the lower Vah and Nitra Basins, where a concentration of sites indicates an area of major settlement (2). The Willendorf sequence of 5 Gravettian levels dated between 28,000 and 23,000 1p. indicate that the Wachau, a section of the Danube Valley, was occupied by a variety of animal species including bovids, horse, mammoth, cervids, but also ibex (wild mountain goats), fox, and hare during most of the Gravettian. ‘The site occupied an ecotone between plain, valley, and uplands, which gave it strategic advantage as a hunting camp. ‘The lower loess series at Grubgraben that underlies and therefore antedates| the humic horizon dated between 19,000 and 18,500 B.. is associated with relatively humid conditions and a steppe vegetation as indicated by both the ‘mollusc (20) and pollen (A Leroi-Gourhan, personal communication) records. ‘A soil horizon dated between 19,000 and 18,000 Be. is associated with the lower archaeological level at Sagvar near Lake Balaton in the west-central section of the Central European Basin (18, 19). The soil horizon at Pilismarot (10, 16), a loess site near the Danube bend, and the lower humic horizon at Grubgraben, which contained pollens of pine, juniper, sedges, and grass (A Leroi-Gourhan personal communication), are attributed to the same episode that appears to have affected the whole northwest sector of the Basin. A soil horizon of the same date was recorded at Madaras in southern Hungary (11).‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 491 ‘And the episodes of sediment alteration that affected level 2 at Kadar, where the pollen spectrum included grass, sedges, and small percentages of linden, pine, and juniper, show that similar climatic conditions extended to the Sava River (38). Charcoal fragments of pine, linden, beech, birch, and ash were recovered from the two Epigravettian levels at Zupanov Spodmol (41). The climatic episode that corresponds to the Laugerie episode in the west affected the sediments, vegetation, and fauna of the whole region from north to south. ‘A second humic horizon dated between 17,500 and 17,000 BP. was re- corded at Sagvar, where itis associated with the upper archacological level, ‘and with level 2 at Grubgraben. The degree of soil formation during that second phase varies from site to site, suggesting variability in the relative intensity of the climatic fluctuation that corresponds to the Lascaux episode in the west, Pine, beech, and ash are still present in Slovenia around 17,000 ae. 37), The situation in the whole Pannonian Basin between 16,000 and 14,000 BP. appears to have been one of localized and shifting, relatively humid niches within a generally drier region, More humid conditions were reestablished on a regional scale between 14,000 and 13,000 2. as indicated in the stratigraphic sequence at Arka in northem Hungary (63), Kulna in Moravia (61), and Lupljanska in Slovenia (43). In short, the region was affected by a series of climatic fluctuations that correlate in broad terms with the mild oscillations noted in the west. The Laugerie, Lascaux, and Angles episodes are well marked in the sedimentological record of Central Europe. Vegetation maps derived from pollen sequences forthe time period around 13,000 8.P, show the Pannonian Basin west of the Danube as a large bioclimatic region (23). ‘There is, however, a notable scarcity of record for the colder periods of the Pleniglacial. The fact is largely attributable to stratigraphic hiatuses in cave sites. Small scatters of artifacts occur in loess series, in level 5 at Spadzista, for example, which indicates that human groups frequented the region, but there ‘were no major sites. The hiatuses mean that the understanding of buman adaptations to cold episodes of the final Pleistocene remains incomplete. There again, the rock shelters of Wester Europe encapsulate a unique record of human occupations during cold episodes, with no direct parallel in Central Europe. ‘Mammoth herds were well established in Moravia between 28,000 and 25,000 BP, and in Slovakia, in the Vah and Nitra area between 25,000 and 23,000 BP. They are found again in Moravia around 23,000 8. The signifi- ‘cant reduction in body size noted at Spadzista (69) suggests that between 24,000 and 23,000 8.P. conditions north of the Carpathians became less favor- able and, as a result, mammoth herds were subjected to stress. The Glacial Maximum was marked by the arrival of northern fauna in the southem sector ‘of Central Europe. The presence of mammoth was recorded at loess sites in the Vojvodina and as far as the southern Morava Valley (3) that is attributed to the492. MONTET-WHITE Gravettian sensu lato. The hypothesis of a migration along the Danube-Tisza interfluve at the time of the Glacial Maximam may explain the presence of ‘mammoth in the southern region, The Glacial Maximum was also a period of ‘expansion for horse and reindeer hers, which spread west ofthe Danube from Hungary to Croatia, Slovenia, and into the north Adriatic Basin, Marmots hilbernated in the karstic caves of Slovenia and Croatia and were easy prey to camivores and humans (34). The faunal assemblage at Temnata (Bulgaria) was not affected by the intrusion of cold-adapted species during the final stages of the Pleistocene (29), when there was a marked difference between the eastern and western sectors of the southern Central European Basin, Re- gional variation in faunal assemblages may in turn account for variability in Epigravettian hunting toolkits (37). ECONOMY AND SETTLEMENTS Kozlowski (26) categorizes Gravettian hunting strategies on the basis of the relative proportion of mammoth bones in the total faunal assemblage. He identifies a first group where mammoth accounts for 80-90% of the total ‘faunal count, a second group where the proportion is down to about 20%, and third group where mammoth is absent or scarce. Spadzista (25, 68, 69) and Milovice (40) fall into the first group. Both sites belong to a late Gravettian phase dated between 24,000 and 22,000 8p. When new excavations are com- pleted, other sites of the late Gravettian phase including the Nitra and ‘Moravany stations may prove to belong to the same group. ‘The earlier Gravettian sites, Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice, belong to the second group, where a wide variety of game including bovids, deer and elk, and horse and reindeer complemented the resource base.-Mammoth meat and fat may have contributed the greater proportion of the food supply at these sites, but the addtional resources may have allowed human groups to remain for longer periods of time at a single site, accountng forthe relative stability of these settlements, Willendorf levels 5 t0 8 and the Kulna Cave fall within the thitd group, which is marked by a variety of game. “The contrast between Middle Upper Paleolithic and Late Upper Paleolithic faunal assemblages is well illustrated at the Kulna Cave. Bovids, elk, deer, and horse dominated the Gravettian faunal assemblage at this ste (dated between 21,000 and 23,000 B1), with only 8% reindeer, whereas the Magdalenian assemblage included 70% reindeer and 17% horse. Faunal evidence from Sagvar (65), Pilisszanto (15), Plismarot-Palet (16), and Grubgraben (32) indicates that the change to specialized reindeer hunting was in place at the beginning ofthe Epigravettian. The redistribution of animal herds during the Glacial Maximum, as mammoth and bovids moved out of the Carpathian Basin and horse and reindeer herds expanded in the area, probably triggered‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 493 the change in hunting tactics. A different situation prevailed south of the Drava, where reindeer was added (0 the varied local fauna. Available faunal lists from Slovenian and Croatian caves suggest that the diversified procure- ‘ment pattern that existed in the Gravettian of north Central Europe remained in practice in the southern region during the more recent Epigravettian, Gravet- tian groups of the Perigord relied on the exploitation of red deer, reindeer, horse, ibex, and chamois, Elaborate scheduling of hunting parties and selection ‘of best animals allowed occupants of Pataud and other shelters to remain atthe site from early fall to late spring (5, 48). The stable settlements of the Late Perigordian were supported by the high concentration of medium-sized game (Geer) in the Vezere Valley, and high-yield game (mammoth and bovids) supported the prolonged occupation of sites in Moravia during the Gravettian. In contrast, the strategy used by Epigravettian groups in north Central Europe is better adapted to the low density of medium-sized game that resulted from the redistribution of animal resources after 22,000 8. Comparable situations may have existed in other areas of the French Massif Central, where game density may have been much lower than in the lower Vezere Valley (e.g. at the Abri Fritch; 60). Animal Use ‘Most of the available data comes from sites of the northem sector. Lite information has come from the southern section of Central Europe. IBEX When present, ibex is no more than an occasional addition tothe diet, represented by one individual ata number of sites and no more than four or five individuals at afew sites (Figure 4, top). The pattem is constant regardless of the total MNI (minimum numberof individuals) at the sites. Ibex were hunted for their meat and coats, and their long, lower limb bones, especially metapodi- als, were used for weapon manufacture. A split metapodial, a partially worked splinter, and a spear point were the only faunal elements attributed to ibex at Grubgraben AL1 (70). The specialized and limited nature of the elements present suggests thatthe metapodials were resieved from animals killed and butchered elsewhere and carried into the ste as raw materials for tool manufac- ture FURBEARING ANIMALS Hunting of fur-bearing animals was more commonly practiced in the early and later phases of the Gravettian, Foxes were well represented at Dolni Vestonice (24), but they were the predominant game at Willendorf level 9 (59). The total of 29 individuals of red and arctic fox recovered at that level exceeds by far the number of individuals from other sites of the Carpathian Basin and identifies Willendorf 9 as a specialized fur procure- ‘ment site, Spadzista is an interesting case. In most areas of the site, fox is eithere.vesToMCE 1 encvan 10 g x sf ¢ é ’ 7 2 epee ree iy L 124 Oo Zz 3 3T | = “9 2F ¢ Z z x 6 2 Zz = & . ig 150 4 3 Z © 100- i 4 Z : J w Sr oe g Pata . 9 fie Fy 0 50 700 150 TOTAL MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) Figure + Fawal disibation of Gravetian and Epigravetan sts, Horse and reindeer are the main sources of fod at Epigraveltian ils as wel a the Abi isc, as shown by the diagonal line formed shen hore and reinder MNI are pte aga total faunal assemblage. Tis snot he ‘ase at Willndor 9 and Doln Vestoice. The distbaion of fx, wol, anditex low peor tems) is independent of the ttl numberof vidas a shown bythe harzontl pater displayed on ‘he raph. Willndo 9s an exception.‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 495 absent or represented by a few bone elements, but a concentration of 14 individuals was found in one area, West (68) has argued that fox elements from this area were typical of carcasses processed for fur. The list of elements included in the Willendorf 9 assemblage (59) could be interpreted in the same manner. Fur animals are rare in Epigravettian assemblages except for Pitisszanto, where they account for 5% of the assemblage (15). MAMMOTH Hunting, scavenging, and bone collecting were practiced in tum by Gravettian groups. The number of mammoths killed at Spadzista was frst estimated at 60 (25). Soffer (55) questioned whether all the mammoth bones at Spadzista were the result of kills, and she suggested that the accumulation of young and sub-adult bones was procured from natural death sites. Haynes (22a) ‘came to a similar conclusion. West (68, 69) concluded from her taphonomic study of postcranial elements that about 17 animals were deliberately ambushed and killed at or near the site while another 30 or so skulls were collected as construction material. She noted the presence of knee caps and small toe bones, ‘which because of their size are not likely to have been used as construction ‘material, but they could have been taken back tothe ste still attached tothe long leg bones. Green bone fracture and spalling of limb bones indicated to her the somsmpals ——amsaopo Lee sosey, aeszpeds To2wosoy ——paagesamisy — somory ausog scx xen ——"g popuarta‘THE LUPOF CENTRAL EUROPE 499 Longer bone points with quadrangular cross-sections and double bevelled bases appeared at Grubgraben level 1, which has an estimated date of 16,500 BP. These bone points were later found in middle Magdalenian assemblages dated between 15,000 and 14,000 BP. The Epigravettian appears to have been period of economic adjustment and a time of experimentation with new technologies. Recent analyses of Upper Paleolithic armatures from the Perigord show patterns of association between weaponry and hunting strate~ ‘gies (47) that are comparable 10 what is seen in Central Europe. In the Carpa- thian Basin, there appears to be a clearer association between armature types and hunting strategies. Larger points were replaced by lighter weapons armed ‘with small-backed elements and finely retouched bladelets as the subsistence base switched from broad-based foraging to the mote specialized forms of reindeer and horse hunting. The mode of propulsion for the lighter weapons is still unknown, The scarcity of atlatl and harpoons in Central Europe may reflect an early appearance of the bow in association with the development of the lighter armatures (47). SETTLEMENT TYPES Attempts to identify patterning in settlement varia of site size, faunal data, and the presence of hearths and other remnants of site architecture (22, 66, 67), but they rely primarily on tool and artifact counts, ‘hich remain the most commonly available measure of site use. A survey of Gravettian and Epigravettan sites from Central Europe uncovered 18 sites ‘with less than 50 tools, including 13 with ess that 25 tools: 8 sites with 100-150 tools; 12 with 150300 tools; and 6 with 400 or more tools. Addi- tional information is obtained when the level of processing activities as meas- ured by tool counts is compared to flint knapping and artifact production as ‘measured by total artifact counts. Such a comparison provides a measure of intensity of artifact use in relation to level of artifact manufacture (Table 1). A series of small sites characterized by low tool and artifact counts belong to the Epigravettian. Cave occurrences from the Slovenian Karst and open-air localities from the Danube-Tisza interfluve and the Danube Valley signal the presence of small groups within a large teritory. These small artifact scatters, often associated with hearths and some faunal material are the remnants of a limited range of tasks performed during single, brief stays at a locality. At Parska Golobina, the assemblage contained used or retouched blades and backed points (i.e. the knives and armatures of a hunting-butchering tool ki). Burins, the chisel-like tools used to make or repair spear shafts and bone artifacts, were found together with knives and armatures at Dunafoldvar, Szeged, and Zebegeny (18). And a different tool kit made of blades and serapers, perhaps used for hide working, came from te ste at Sz0b, associated500. MONTET-WHITE ‘with an unusually large number of fossil shells. Tool clusters of blades-arma- tures, burins-blades-armatures, and blades-scrapers(-perforators) were found spatially segregated at Kadar (38), Grubgraben 1 (39), and other camp sites ‘where a wider range of tasks were performed during longer stays. The repeated ‘occurrence of tool clusters at single occupation sites strengthens their interpre- tation as tool kits associated with the performance of specific tasks. Low (ool counts and high density of tool-making debris characterize the ‘workshop-camps at Wojeice and Spadzista (28), Hidasnemeti and Korlat (51), and Kasov (1). These sites were located near raw material sources, which in Central Europe tended to occur at the periphery of territories occupied by Paleolithic groups, Camp sites exhibit a relatively high level of tool use and a constant level of proportion between the numbers of tools and flaking debris. Detailed compari- sons between Gravettian and Epigravettian camps are still lacking. Tool fre- ‘quency tables suggest thatthe larger sites belong to the Gravettian. Gravettian camp sites like Dolni Vestonive, which contain thousands of artifacts as a result of recurring episodes of site use over long periods of time, attest to the stability of settlement patterns during the early phase of the Gravettian. Recent excavations at Dolni Vestonice II revealed discrete clusters of artifacts, bones, and features assumed to represent single or a series of single occupations (58). Similar patterns continued into the later Gravettian phase at Nitra and Moravany. Epigravettian sites like Grubgraben, Sagvar, or Kadar represent similar pattems of recurring occupations, although the smaller quantity of materials they contain indicates shorter stays and/or smaller group size. Smaller seasonal camps and briefly occupied hunting camps signal the creased mobility of Epigravettian groups. A comparable change in settlement size and organization may have taken place in the Perigord. A sharp drop in artifact and tool frequencies distinguishes the early Magdalenian (Badgoulian) from the Solutreau levels at Laugerie Haute. RAW MATERIAL PROCUREMENT NETWORKS ‘The study of lithic raw materials has met with considerable success in Central Europe. More importantly, the subject has been investigated from both ends of the sequence: the extraction points and workshops from which materials origi- nated and the camp sites where materials were expanded, Raw Material Sources ‘The systematic identification of raw material sources is a major research “objective in Moravia, Poland (28), and Hungary (4). The Lithoteka located at Budapest contains the most extensive series of well documented samples from sources exploited in prehistoric times. So far no quarrying pit has been se-‘THE LUP OF CENTRAL EUROPE 501 ccurely attributed to Gravettian or Epigravettian context. Workshops were iden- tified at Piekary, Wojeice, and Spadzista (28). The Spadzista workshops are the most informative to date. A series of anifact clusters characterized by an abundance of trimming flakes, pre-cores, and core preparation flakes, as well asa few blades and tools, surrounded the main camp and the fox hide process- ing area. But there is no evidence of extraction pits. Presumably, nodules were collected with minimal efforts from the detritic clay visible at several spots along the blu, ‘The earlier evidence of quarry pits found in the Krakow Jura is associated with the Swiderian and perhaps the final Magdalenian at Wolowice (52). The ‘Wolowice quarry was used over a long period with a first phase of exploitation dated at about 12,000 B.P. and a second phase around 11,000 #.P. The extrac- tion pits and piles of debris are assumed to be the work of groups who ‘occupied camps at some distance along the Vistula River (52). The evidence from the Krakow Jura suggests that the use of quarries located at some dis- {ance from the camp sites began in the final stages of the Paleolithic. ‘The emergence of quasries marks a major transformation of raw material economy resulting from population expansion and increased demand for raw ‘materials. To date there is no evidence that the density of human populations and the demand for raw materials were sufficient during the Gravettian and Epigravettian to necessitate the expenditure of time and energy that the Wolowice quarry represents or to support the kind of social organization that craft specialization demands. Examples of Epigravettian workshops were found at Kasov where Carpathian obsidian was the main material to be proc- cessed (1). The site consists of a series of artifact scatters centered around a hearth forming features 2-3 m in diameter. Intensive flint knapping activities \were reported at Arka (63) and other sites (12). But as at Gravettian sites, lithic ‘procurement and tool making were done along with other tasks at these Epi gravettian camps. Gravettian groups frequented Spadzista to obtain flint, ivory, fox pelts, and meat. The Kasov clusters were both workshops and camp sites. In contrast, flint extraction and initial core preparation were the only activities recorded at Wolowice Many late Magdalenian workshops have been identified in the Perigord (8), in the Paris Basin (La), and in the French Jura (7), which, like Wolowice, were located at some distance from the camp sites. In addition, detailed analysis of ‘workshop debris demonstrated the high level of skill achieved by some flint knappers in late Magdalenian camp sites (Ia). But there is no evidence of deep quarry pits in the final Paleolithic of Western Europe. It appears that lithic procurement remained an embedded activity until the LUP and developed into ‘specialized form of economic activity during the Magdalenian in northem as well as in Western Europe,