Knowra Aurignacian Aurignacian The Aurignacian is an early Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture of Europe, associated with blade tools, personal ornaments, and some of the earliest figurative art.
Upper Paleolithic : The later phase of the Paleolithic, marked by diverse stone and bone technologies and the spread of modern humans across Eurasia. The Aurignacian is among the earliest archaeological cultures assigned to this period.
Lithic technology : The study and practice of making tools from stone through processes such as flaking, grinding, and polishing. Aurignacian stone tools were produced through specialized flake and blade reduction.
Abri Castanet : A rockshelter in southwestern France with Aurignacian deposits and engraved limestone blocks. Its decorated blocks provide evidence for early symbolic activity in an everyday setting.
Châtelperronian : A transitional archaeological industry of western Europe, associated with Neanderthals and distinctive stone tools and ornaments. Its overlap with early Aurignacian evidence raises questions about contact and independent innovation.
Initial Upper Paleolithic : A set of early Upper Paleolithic archaeological industries found across western Eurasia, preceding or overlapping regional traditions. Its relationship to the earliest Aurignacian remains unsettled.
Homo sapiens in Europe : The history of modern human populations in Europe, including their arrival and expansion during the Late Pleistocene. Aurignacian assemblages are widely associated with early modern human presence in Europe.
Blade technology : Stone-tool production that removes elongated flakes at least twice as long as they are wide. Long blades supplied versatile blanks for many Aurignacian implements.
Hohle Fels : A cave in southwestern Germany with archaeological deposits from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Its Aurignacian layers yielded a carved mammoth-ivory female figurine.
Gravettian : A later Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture of Europe, known for backed blades, figurines, and diverse hunting tools. It followed the Aurignacian in much of Europe and had a different material repertoire.
Ust'-Ishim man : A roughly 45,000-year-old modern human fossil from Siberia whose genome is among the oldest sequenced. Its age provides a comparison point for the spread of modern humans near the Aurignacian's emergence.
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