Economies of Symbolism: Procurement and Production with ‘Precious’ Materials in the French Upper Paleolithic

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since the Lower Paleolithic, the collections and/or minimal modification of rare or unusual materials – ‘precious’ materials – such as amber, lignite, soapstone, has been a part of the human behavioral suite (Moncel et al. 2012). During the Upper Paleolithic, this behavior intensified as these materials were routinely incorporated into symbolic systems through the production of beads, contours découpés as well as animal and so-called ‘Venus’ figurines. Due to the enigmatic nature of the subject matter of objects rendered in these materials, there has traditionally been a morphological focus in their study. But, by examining the patterns of raw material procurement and object production based on the choice of ‘precious’ material, certain regional and site-specific patterns emerge concerning the organization of craft production in the Upper Paleolithic as well as potential implications for the different societal roles of these materials between regions based on sites of local (<5-10km from source) production and objects whose final disposition reflects a practice of down the line exchange. This will be explored through case studies presenting novel data from sites in the Dordogne and French Pyrenees.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25431