Human figures in portable art of the European Upper Palaeolithic

ABSTRACT The Romanelli Cave in south-east Italy is an important reference point for the so-called ‘Mediterranean province’ of European Upper Palaeolithic art. Yet, the site has only recently been subject to a systematic investigation of its parietal and portable art. Starting in 2016, a project has recorded the cave's interior, discovering new parietal art. Here, the authors report on a selection of panels, featuring animal figures, geometric motifs and other marks, identifying the use of different types of tools and techniques, along with several activity phases. These panels are discussed with reference to radiocarbon dating of nearby deposits, posing questions about chronology, technology and wider connections between Upper Palaeolithic cave sites across western Eurasia.

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Upper Palaeolithic portable art objects in Central Germany and supra-regional parallels

Paléo ◽

10.4000/paleo.3756 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 55-74

Author(s):

Ingmar M. Braun

Keyword(s):

Upper Palaeolithic ◽

Central Germany ◽

Art Objects ◽

Portable Art

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Gravettian Figurative Art in the Western Pyrenees: Stratigraphy, Cultural Context, and Chronology

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1017/eaa.2018.31 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 168-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Blanca Ochoa ◽

Marcos García-Diez ◽

José-Manuel Maíllo-Fernández ◽

Álvaro Arrizabalaga ◽

Paul Pettitt

Keyword(s):

Cultural Context ◽

Western Europe ◽

Upper Palaeolithic ◽

The North ◽

Figurative Art ◽

Degree Of Confidence ◽

North Of Spain ◽

Palaeolithic Art ◽

Cave Art ◽

Portable Art

The timing and nature of the emergence of art in human evolution has been one of the more debated subjects in palaeoanthropology in the last few years, and one of the areas where archaeology has made impressive advances. Here, we discuss the first evidence of figurative art on portable materials in the north of Spain. After analysis of the stratigraphic contexts of all examples potentially of this age, which eliminated those of uncertain provenance, only three examples can be said to be Gravettian with a degree of confidence. We examine their stratigraphic provenance, the integrity of their archaeological contexts, and the absolute dates available for them. We then discuss their thematic and stylistic traits, comparing them to the wider database of material in the adjacent regions of the French Pyrenees and Mediterranean Iberia. We conclude that figurative depictions were scarce in the Gravettian of south-western Europe, in contrast to the relatively abundant examples of cave art assigned to this period in the region. If this is correct, we should nuance our discussions of ‘Palaeolithic art’ by considering that parietal and portable art had their own trajectories and functions, at least in the Early to mid-Upper Palaeolithic.

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Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Later Finds from Oxlease Farm, Romsey, Hampshire: Summary Report

Hampshire Studies ◽

10.24202/hs2018001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Chris Ellis ◽

Jacky Sommerville

Keyword(s):

Upper Palaeolithic ◽

Summary Report ◽

Archaeological Excavation ◽

Field Boundary ◽

Lithic Assemblage ◽

Late Roman

In March 2016, archaeological excavation was undertaken at four areas of land at Oxlease Farm, Cupernham Lane, Romsey, Hampshire. The fieldwork recovered a lithic assemblage from all four excavation areas, although the majority was recorded from a single flint-bearing deposit in Area 1. The assemblage included several elements that may belong to the Terminal Upper Palaeolithic Long Blade industry, as well as three flints of Mesolithic date. A small number of undated features were also uncovered, including pits and possible postholes, which may have been of a prehistoric date. A small and residual assemblage of Late Roman (3rd – 4th century AD) pottery was also recovered from probable medieval/post-medieval field boundary ditches or plough furrows.

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