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Home , Aterian, Bohunician, Paglicci Cave

EARLY OCCUPATIONS AT DOLNÍ VĚSTONICE – PAVLOV. COMMENTS ON THE GRAVETTIAN ORIGIN

Jiří Svoboda 1,2, Martin Novák 2, Sandra Sázelová 1, 2

1 - Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno CZ- 611 37, [email protected]; [email protected]

2 - Institute of , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Brno, Královopolská 147, Brno CZ- 612 00, Czech Republic [email protected]

Traditionally, the process to Gravettian origins in has in the Mediterranean, the Paglicci is also dated around been considered only one of the many continuous changes 28 ky uncal BP (Delpech and Texier 2007; Noiret 2011). In within the complex development of the Upper . Danubian Europe, early Gravettian follows the Here we place the Gravettian in the context of early modern in cave stratigraphies of the Suabian Jura around 29-27 ky un- human migrations into Europe and interpret it as the final cal BP and at Willendorf (Conard and Moreau 2006; Jöris et stage of the Middle-to- transition process. al. 2010; Haesaerts et al. 2010). In western Europe, the majority of dated Gravettian sequenc- offers a complex record of the Evolved Gravettian es start around 28 ky uncal BP, but an earlier with (Pavlovian) between 27-25 ky uncal BP (Svoboda et al. 2000) micro-gravettes was probably present at Sire (31-30 ky uncal but the evidence for an earlier Gravettian has been weak until BP), and the Noaillian facies is documented at Gargas (29-28 recently. Here we add the new excavation records from the ky uncal BP) and in the Basque countries (30-28 ky uncal BP); Dolní Věstonice – Pavlov area (Tables 1 and 2).

Sample Location/Depth Date BP Deviation Date cal BP Probability % Beta 359288 A7/275 25,810 130 30,495-29,564 95.4 Beta 359287 A4d/335 26,400 140 30,983-30,392 95.4 Beta 359285 A3b/390 27,520 150 31,563-31,088 95.4 Beta 359286 A3b/397 28,860 170 33,561-32,524 95.4 Beta 359289 B5a/388 27,050 130 31,271-30,872 95.4 Beta 359291 D2c/330 26,340 140 30,952-30,321 95.4 Beta 359292 D7/270 28,630 170 33,307-31,972 95.4 Beta 359293 D7/290 28,560 160 33,155-31,874 95.4 Beta 359294 D7/310 32,540 240 37,303-35,876 95.4

Table 1. Pavlov I – Southwest. Review of AMS dates. Calibration after OxCal 4.2.3 Bronk Ramsey (2013); r:5 IntCal13 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al. 2013).

Sample Horizon/Depth Date BP Deviation Date cal BP Probability % GrN-15134 3a / 100 cm 25,670 370 30,737-29,017 95.4 GrN-15132 3b / l20 cm 26,190 390 31,050-29,540 95.4 OxA-27331 3c / 100 cm 28,380 210 32,964-31,594 95.4 OxA-27332 3d / 110 cm 28,750 220 33,544-32,073 95.4 OxA-27255 3e / 120 cm 29,060 280 33,855-32,517 95.4 OxA-27333 4 / 130 cm 31,650 280 36,159-34,940 95.4

Table 2. Dolní Věstonice IIa, AMS data from the surrounding area (1-2), from three microlayers of the central hearth (5-7) and from its subsoil. All from char- coal. Calibration after OxCal 4.2.3 Bronk Ramsey (2013); r:5 IntCal13 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al. 2013).

The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014 73 J. Svoboda – M. Novák – S. Sázelová

Figure 1. Pavlov I, II, VI – general view of the recently excavated sites (photo P. Pokorný).

Pavlov I (2013 excavation) we excavated four additional trenches (A-D) in the hitherto unexplored Southwest sector (Fig. 1). All trenches touched The Pavlov I site represents one of three large Gravettian (Pav- the edges of the previous excavation which can, therefore, lovian) settlement agglomerations, until now excavated exclu- now be more precisely located within the general site plan. sively by Bohuslav Klíma between 1952-1972, in two sectors Stratigraphically, the trenches showed that the uppermost – the Southeast and Northwest. Between August 5-23 2013, loess reaches maximal depths of 3-5m (and even more in the

Figure 2. Pavlov I, trench A, Gravettian microstratigraphy (above) and vertical distribution of objects (below).

74 The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014 Early Gravettian Occupations at Dolní Věstonice – Pavlov deepest trench C); the thickness of the cultural deposits be- includes an Early Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) industry, low, formed by several horizons interstratified by loess, are dated 32.5 ky uncal BP, marked by a radical change in raw ma- 0.5-0.7 m; and the base is formed by limestone scree and by terial (spongolites) and typology (endscrapers). This evidence Tertiary clays (Fig. 2-4). demonstrates that here the Early Gravettian intervenes as a The sedimentary content of the cultural deposits was wet- new phenomenon in a different cultural background. sieved and a large volume of paleobotanical, malacozoologi- cal, osteological, and artifactual material is still being sorted and recorded. A sequence of eight C14 dates taken from sec- Dolní Věstonice IIa (2012 excavation) tions in trenches A, B, and D demonstrate that the Gravet- tian cultural deposits formed gradually, within the time-span Until now, the only secure date connected with earliest Gra- of 28.9-25.8 ky uncal BP. This sequence covers not only the vettian industry in south Moravia was available from earlier Evolved Gravettian (Pavlovian) excavated from large surfaces sampling in the Dolní Věstonice II brickyard (Klíma et al. by Klíma, but also earlier, hitherto unknown Early Gravettian 1962). The 2012 excavation at Dolní Věstonice unearthed a occupations below. In trench D (Fig. 4), the basal layer also complex microstratigraphy of space-limited charcoal lenses,

Figure 3. Pavlov I, trench B, Gravettian microstratigraphy (above) and vertical distribution of objects (below).

Figure 4. Pavlov I, trench D, EUP/Gravettian microstratigraphy (above) and vertical distribution of objects (below).

The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014 75 J. Svoboda – M. Novák – S. Sázelová

Figure 5. Dolní Věstonice IIa, Gravettian microstratigraphy (above) and vertical distribution of objects (below).

the center of which provided a sequence of AMS dates from Technologies on the move: the individual microlayers between 28.4-31.7 ky uncal BP and The blades/bladelets expansion a peripheral zone with slightly more recent dates (Fig. 5; Svo- boda et al. n.d.). The analyses of associated pollen, charcoal, Two major streams of technological expansion may be traced faunal remains and artifacts add to our understanding of the from and the Mediterranean into northern Eurasia structure of this particular situation, and complete the pic- between 50-40 ky cal BP (i.e., prior to the Aurignacian and ture of a MIS 3 landscape, chronology and microchronology. Gravettian): the Levallois-leptolithic and a backed blade/mi- Generally, climatic development through the six horizons was croblade technology. Wide literary attention has already been relatively stable. The charcoal analysis documents a picture of paid to expansion of the first stream over vast areas of North a cold and dry landscape with coniferous trees, and the pollen Africa (MSA, ), Near East (Emirian), Danubian Eu- analysis of horizon 3c confirms rather a parkland character rope (), and central and North Asia (Kara Bom). to the landscape with the scattered presence of some climati- However (with the possible exception of fragmented human cally demanding broadleaf trees. Nevertheless, the presence of fossil from the western Aterian in the Maghreb), the Eurasian certain snail and small mammal species, associated with frag- record never tells us who the producers of this unique tech- ments of red deer (Cervus elaphus) axis, documents an epi- nology were, anatomically, so that the association with the sode of a restricted forest formation in the 3c horizon, around modern humans remains a hypothesis. 28.4 ky uncal BP. The second line of evidence, the backed blade technologies The environmental development runs parallel with cultural with lunates, may be traced back to the MSA of South and changes starting with an undiagnostic Upper Paleolithic in- East Africa and several streams of the backed blade/bladelet dustry at the base of the site towards the early and evolved industries are later evidenced through southern Asia and the Gravettian (Pavlovian) lithic industries above. In contrast to Mediterranean. In Europe, the first evidence is blade-and- other hearths discovered in the Dolní Věstonice – Pavlov – flake industries such as the and Châtelperronian; the Milovice area, we found neither boiling pits nor other types second is the evolved blade/bladelet industries of the eastern of depressions in the vicinity. Finally, an important contribu- Mediterranean such as , Dabba, and others (where, tion of the DV IIa excavation was the burnt clay pellets found typically, the Ahmarian occurs superposed over the Levallois- in the central hearth context. These items predate by about leptolithic); and, third, the so-called Protoaurignacian/Fuma- 2,000 years all hitherto known finds of this kind in Moravia nian stream with finer blades and Aurignacian elements. Al- and (dated to the Evolved Pavlovian stage, 27-25 ky though the latter stream has received much attention in recent uncal BP). European literature, its spatio-temporal definition against the

76 The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014 Early Gravettian Occupations at Dolní Věstonice – Pavlov

Figure 6. Pavlov – Dolní Věstonice, review of AMS dates. Calibration after OxCal 4.2.3 Bronk Ramsey (2013); r:5 IntCal13 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al 2013).

The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014 77 J. Svoboda – M. Novák – S. Sázelová previously mentioned entities remains unclear (Tsanova et al. References 2012; Banks et al. 2013; Dauka et al. 2014). Mapping the early backed blade expansion during the still Banks, W. E., D´Errico, F. and Zilhao, J. 2013: Human-climate interaction insufficiently understood 45-35 ky cal BP period becomes during the Early Upper Paleolithic: testing the hypothesis of an adaptive important if we search for the roots of Gravettian unity after shift between the Proto-Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian. Journal of Human Evolution 64: 39-55. 35 ky cal BP, and particularly of the Pavlovian associated di- Conard, N. and Moreau, L. 2006: Current research on the Gravettian of the rectly with modern human fossils after 30 ky cal BP (Trinkaus Swabian Jura. Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte 13: 29-59. and Svoboda, eds. 2006). In these earlier stages the anthropo- Dauka, K., Higham, T., Wood, R., Boscato, P., Gambassini, P., Karkanas, logical context is still controversial: whereas the early backed P., Peresani, M. and Ronchitelli, A. M. 2014: On the chronology of the Uluzzian. Journal of Human Evolution, in press: 1-18. http://dx.doi. points in southern and eastern Africa, and the Uluzzian in org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.007. southern Europe appear to be products of modern humans, Delpech, F. and Texier, J. P. 2007: Approche stratigraphique des temps gravet- the Châtelperronian of western Europe occurs in context with tiens: L´éclairage aquitan. PALEO 19: 15-30. the late (regardless of the discussion such as- Haesaerts, P., Bachner, M., Borziac, I., Chirica, V., Damblon, F., Drozdov, N., Koulakovska, L. and Pirson, S. 2010: New insight on the environmental sociations may evoke). In this case, the effect of technological background and the chronology of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in cen- acculturation should be considered. tral Europe. In: Ch. Neugebauer Maresch and L. Owen (eds.) New aspects of the Central and Eastern European Upper Paleolithic – methods, chronol- ogy, technology and subsistence. OAW, Wien, pp. 9-25. Jöris, O., Neugebauer-Maresch, Ch., Weninger, B. and Street, M. 2010: The C onclusion radiocarbon chronology of the Aurignacian to Mid-Upper Palaeolithic transition along the Upper and Middle Danube. In: Ch. Neugebauer In sum, technological evidence shows the penetration to and Maresch and L. Owen, L. (eds.) New aspects of the Central and Eastern local development of behavioral trends of African origin in European Upper Paleolithic – methods, chronology, technology and subsis- tence. OAW, Wien, pp. 101-137. Europe after 50 ky cal BP, but the scarcity of anthropological Klíma, B., Kukla, J., Ložek, V. and de Vries, H. 1962: Stratigraphie des Pleisto- fossil finds poses difficulties for identifying them with ana- zäns und Alter des paläolithischen Rastplatzes in der Ziegelei von Dolní tomically discrete human populations. Migration, diffusion Věstonice (Unter–Wisternitz). Anthropozoikum 11: 93-145. and acculturation models should be considered and tested Noiret, P. 2011: En guise de conclusion: chronologie, technologies et faciès culturels du Gravettien français. Mémoire de la Société préhistorique fran- separately, from case to case. çaise 52: 389-395. As regards the earliest Gravettian industries, from the two Svoboda, J., Klíma, B., Jarošová, L. and Škrdla, P. 2000: The Gravettian in findspots at Dolní Věstonice II (Brickyard, site IIa) and Pav- Moravia: climate, behaviour and technological complexity. In: W. Roe- lov I (Southwest), dated 35-30 ky cal BP (Fig. 6), the first broeks, M. Mussi, J. Svoboda and K. Fennema (eds.) Hunters of the Gold- en Age. The mid Upper Palaeolithic of Eurasia, 30,000-20,000 B.P. Leiden general characteristics are as follows: these are simple blade University Press, pp. 197-217. and bladelet industries, rarely retouched, with simple burins Svoboda, J., Hladilová, Š., Horáček, I., Kaiser, J., Králík, M., Novák, J., Novák, (mostly on breakage), and chisels as the most common tool M., Pokorný, P., Sázelová, S., Smolíková, L. and Zikmund, T. 2014: Multi- types; baked clay pellets also occur in this context. In South phased hearths, Gravettian chronology, and the origin of baked clay pro- duction in Moravia. The case of Dolní Věstonice IIa. Quaternary Inter- Moravia, these industries clearly intervene as a new element national, in press. in the preceding EUP/Aurignacian background. Their further Trinkaus, E. and Svoboda, J. (eds.) 2006: Evolution development into the Evolved Pavlovian stage (after 30 ky cal in Central Europe. The People of Dolní Věstonice and Pavlov. The Dolní BP) can be assumed and will be further investigated. Věstonice Studies 12. Oxford University Press, Oxford – New York. Tsanova, T., Zwyns, N., Eizenberg, L., Teyssandier, N., Le Brun-Ricalens, F. and Otte, M. 2012: Les plus petit dénominateur commun: réflexions sur la variabilité des ensembles lamellaires du Paléolithique supérieur ancien Acknowledgements d´Eurasie. Un bilan autour des exemples de (Est de Balkans) et (Zagros central). L´Anthropologie 116: 469-509. This research is part of the EU program FITEAMP CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0181 (Formation of International Team on Evolutionary Anthropology of the Moravian Populations).

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