Space and time in the Upper Palaeolithic: a mixed traditions approach to the study of prehistory

The goal of archaeological research throughout the “history of prehistory” was chronology. While the construction of refined culture histories in any study area is necessary, it confines us to a diachronic vision that limits the construction of synchronic, and ultimately human, interpretations. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s two figures, Binford in North America and Leroi-Gourhan in France, turned archaeology on its side rather than on its head; diachronic process was not forgotten, but horizontal surface excavation, spatial analysis and palethnographic interpretation, as well as experimental and ethnoarchaeological research, removed the blinders from prehistory. This allowed archaeologists to start synchronically investigating prehistoric cultures rather than prehistoric timelines. The time has come to combine synchrony and diachrony and investigate the evolution of behaviours throughout the entirety of the Upper Palaeolithic. This symposium will thus highlight horizontal approaches to the Upper Palaeolithic, which often use spatial analysis at local and regional scales. This will allow us to evaluate progress made since Binford and Leroi-Gourhan, and highlight international research and projects integrating spatial, experimental, and ethnoarchaeological data. It will provide a first sketch of a synchronic and diachronic Upper Palaeolithic, and present ways for advancing in the marriage of these two concepts of time.