I also extend thanks to Dominique Henry-Gambier, Jacques Pelegrin and Randall White for giving me the possibility to study material from their excavations in the Grotte des Hyènes (financed by SRA Aquitaine, Ministère de la Culture and Conseil général des Landes) and Abri Castanet (funded by the National Science Foundation, DRAC-Aquitaine, L. I wish to thank Randall White, Raphaëlle Bourrillon and François Bon for inviting me to participate in this symposium. The evolution of osseous production during the course of the first phases of the Auri gnacian provides evidence of profound techno-economic changes, which, backed up by data from lithic stu dies, reveals powerful sociological changes during the transition between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. The emergence of this new technical domain seems to result from the transfer of wood working tech niques to osseous materials, undoubtedly partly linked to a sudden shift in environmental conditions in Europe around 40000 BP. It developed gradually in Europe and based on currently available knowledge, appears to have emerged in the Protoaurignacian societies of Western Europe. The production of the different materials was already well structured and centered around three main spheres: reindeer antlers were mainly used for weapons, bone for the fabrication of domestic equipment and ivory was mostly reserved for ornaments.Ī lthough osseous technology was identified in some 'transitional' groups, it spread and was durably integrated into techno-economical systems during the Aurignacian.

Renewed studies of Aurignacian osseous technology in Western Europe contribute to the ongoing redefinition of the mechanisms behind the construction of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe.Įarly Aurignacian osseous production was by no means limited to split-based points, and involved a wide variety of activities.

Since then, several factors have contributed to undermining this model. The concept of the Aurignacian, as defined by Abbé Breuil, was used for a long time as a strong argument in favor of a cognitive revolution: its 'sudden' appearance was linked to the rapid and systematic diffusion of the Aurignacian culture and the widespread distribution of split-based points in Eu rope, and upheld the idea of a clear biological and conceptual rupture with the Middle Paleolithic. The exploitation of osseous materials is one of the main innovations associated with the advent of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe.

Aurignacian tool industry