Upper Palaeolithic by Jean-Marc Petillon
Bulletin de la société préhistorique française, 107-1 : 5-51., 2010
The excavations by R. and S. de Saint-Périer at the Grotte des Scilles (Lespugue, Haute-Garonne, ... more The excavations by R. and S. de Saint-Périer at the Grotte des Scilles (Lespugue, Haute-Garonne, France) in 1923-1924 yielded archaeological material attributed to the Magdalenian. The re-examination of this old collection now allows a more precise characterization of it, in the light of recent research on this period. This article presents the different artefact types found (lithic and bone tools, faunal remains, personal ornaments, portable art items and one sandstone lamp) in order to consider all activi-ties documented on the site. Particular attention is given to typological and technological data, the analyses of which point to a Lower Magdalenian chronological attribution. An SMA 14C date shows that occupation of the Grotte des Scilles took place around 16000 BP (19400 cal. BP). The iden-tification, for the first time, of a Lower Magdalenian presence in the Pyre-nees raises new questions concerning Magdalenian occupation at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum in southwestern France and northern Spain.
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Upper Palaeolithic by Jean-Marc Petillon