The Slow Revolution: Chronological and Geographic Variability in Ornament Assemblages of the Early Upper Paleolithic in France

Summary

The gradual, mosaic nature of the development of symbolic material culture has become increasingly apparent due to discoveries outside of the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic. Even so, much remains unclear about the mechanisms and circumstances surrounding the production and use of personal ornaments in early societies. The idea that the intensification of symbolic behavior was the result of some sudden cognitive/behavioral shift is not well supported by current evidence, and finding more complex explanations requires a close re-examination of objects of adornment and the contexts (social, environmental, economic) of their production and use. Such examination reveals that, even in the Early Upper Paleolithic, artifacts of personal adornment (ranging from perforated teeth and shells to meticulously-carved beads in ivory and soapstone) are not universal, but subject to substantial chronological and geographic variation and to a more gradual and mosaic trajectory of development than is often acknowledged. Drawing on data from Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian sites in France, this paper presents patterns of chronological and geographic variation in the intensity and nature of ornament-production in these contexts and examines their implications for explanations of the emergence and intensification of systems of personal adornment on a broader scale.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

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