Looking for the Individual: An Examination of Personal Adornment in the European Upper Palaeolithic by Tamara Lynn Trupp B.A., University of Manitoba, 2003 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in the Department of Anthropology © Tamara Trupp 2007 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Looking for the Individual: An Examination of Personal Adornment in the European Upper Palaeolithic by Tamara Lynn Trupp B.A., University of Manitoba, 2003 Dr. April Nowell, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Supervisor Dr. Yin Lam, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Hulya Demirdirek, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Michael Bisson, (Department of Anthropology, Mcgill University) External Examiner iii Supervisory Committee Dr. April Nowell, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Supervisor Dr. Yin Lam, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Hulya Demirdirek, (Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Michael Bisson, (Department of Anthropology, Mcgill University) External Examiner Abstract A new focus in Palaeolithic archaeology is to look at the possibility of the individual as a unit of analysis in the prehistoric record. This involves looking at the Palaeolithic actor as more than just an invisible entity that had a minor role in the production of long term patterns. The Palaeolithic individual was a ‘lived life’, with all aspects of agency, identity, and decision-making abilities. One area that is potentially illuminating for the examination of the individual is personal adornment, as this can lead to an understanding of the body and identity and the role of material culture in social life and self-making. A catalogue of Upper Palaeolithic sites in Europe and Siberia with evidence of items of personal adornment was recorded. From this information, patterns and sites that potentially show the individual are discussed through the categories of body, identity, and material culture. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ………………..………………………..……………………….ii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….iii Table of Contents …………………………..……………..……………………………..iv List of Tables ………………………………………….………………………………...vii List of Figures ………………………………...………..………………………………..ix Acknowledgments ……………………………...…………..…………………………….x Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Introduction………..………………………….....………………………………..1 1.2. Outline of Chapters………………………………...……..………………………2 Chapter 2: The Individual and Related Topics 2.1. Introduction………………………………..……………..……………………….6 2.2. Introduction to the Individual………..…………………………………………...6 2.2.1. Should We Look for the Individual in the Archaeological Record?..……...8 2.2.2. Examples of Previous Attempts to Include the Individual………….…….10 2.3. Introduction to Behavioural Modernity…………………...………….................12 2.3.1. What is Behavioural Modernity? ……………………………..…………..13 2.3.2. The Trait List…………………………………………..………….............13 2.3.3. The Pace of the Emergence of Modern Behaviours……..………………..15 2.3.4. The Social Basis of Behavioural Modernity………………………………17 2.3.5. Personal Adornment and Behavioural Modernity……………………...…18 2.4. Material Culture and Personal Adornment...……………..……………………..19 2.4.1. Craft as Art…………………………………………..…………………….20 2.4.2. Uses of Personal Adornment……………………………………………...21 2.5. Introduction to Style…...……………………..…………………………………23 2.5.1. Defining Style…………………………………………..…………............24 2.5.2. Stylistic Variation………………………………………….……………...25 2.6. Body and Identity…………………………………………..……………….......26 2.6.1. Some Views of the Body………………………………………………….27 2.6.2. Body as Lived Experience………………………………………………...28 2.6.3. The Connection between Body and Identity………………………………29 2.6.4. Individual Identity and the Body………………………………………….29 2.6.5. Social Identity and the Body……………………………………………....30 2.6.6. The Individual and Body and Identity…………………………………….30 2.7. Conclusion…………………………………………..…………………………..31 Chapter 3: Personal Adornment Background 3.1. Introduction…………………………………………..………………….............34 3.2. Materials…………………………………………..………………….................35 3.2.1. Teeth…………………………………………..…………………………..35 3.2.2. Bone…………………………………………..…………………………...35 3.2.3. Shells…………………………………………..…………………………..36 3.2.4. Ivory…………………………………………..…………………………...36 v 3.2.5. Bone and Antler…………………………………………..……………….37 3.2.6. Stone…………………………………………..…………………………..37 3.3. Qualities of Materials……………………………………………………………38 3.3.1. Hardness…………………………………………………………………...38 3.3.2. Colour……………………………………………………………………..38 3.3.3. Sheen/Luster………………………………………………………………39 3.3.4. Texture…………………………………………………………………….39 3.3.5. Size and Shape…………………………………………………………….39 3.4. Availability- exotic vs. local………………………………………….................40 3.4.1. Shell……………………………………………………………………….41 3.4.2. Stone………………………………………………………………………42 3.4.3. Ivory, Bone, and Teeth……………………………………………………42 3.5. Techniques……………………………………………………………...............43 3.5.1. Preparation…………………………………………………………..........43 3.5.2. Perforation………………………………………………………………..44 3.5.3. Segmenting………………………………………………………….........46 3.5.4. Enhancements…………………………………………………………….47 3.5.5. Replication/Imitation…………………………..…………………………49 3.5.6. Standardization………………………….………………………………..50 3.6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………51 Chapter 4: Geographical and Temporal Background 4.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………...................52 4.2. Geographical Background………………………………………………………53 4.2.1. Western Europe……………………………………………………………53 4.2.2. Central Europe…………………………………………………………….54 4.2.3. Eastern Europe and Siberia…………………………………………..........55 4.3. Time Periods/Cultural Entities Background…………………………………….55 4.4. Transitional Industries…………………………………………………………..57 4.4.1. Western Europe…………………………………………………...............57 4.4.2. Central Europe ………………………………………………...………….58 4.4.3. Eastern Europe ……………………...……………………..……………...59 4.5. Upper Palaeolithic Industries…………………………………………................59 4.5.1. Aurignacian (40,000-28,000 years BP) …………………………………..59 4.5.2. Gravettian (28,000-22,000 years BP) …………………………………….61 4.5.3. Solutrean (22,000-18,000 years BP) ……………………………………...62 4.5.4. Epigravettian (21,000- 10,000 years BP) …………………………………62 4.5.5. Magdalenian (18,000-11,000 years BP) ………………………………….63 4.6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………64 Chapter 5: Methods, Analysis, and Results 5.1. Introduction……………………………………………………….......................65 5.2. Limitations………………………………………………………........................65 5.2.1. Availability………………………………………….………….................66 5.2.2. Excavation Bias and Taphonomic Consideration…………………………67 5.3. Description of Catalogue………………………..………………………………67 vi 5.3.1. Basic Site Information…………………………………………………….68 5.3.2. Archaeological Culture…………………………………………................68 5.3.3. Artifact Information……………………………………………………….71 5.4. Analysis of Body, Identity, and Actions through Personal Adornment………...72 5.5. Body…………………………………………..…………………………………72 5.5.1. General Discussion…………………………………..………………........73 5.5.2. Basic Patterns in Burials……………………………………..……………74 5.5.3. Who is Buried? ………………………………………………..………….77 5.5.4. Grave Goods……………………………………..……………………......81 5.5.5. Time and Labour…………………………………..………………………82 5.6. Identity…………………………………………..………………………………84 5.6.1. General Discussion…………………………………..………………........84 5.6.2. Ivory……………………………………………………………….………85 5.6.3. Shells……………………………….……………………………………...87 5.6.4. Bone and Stone…………………………………..…………………..........89 5.6.5. Teeth………………………………..……………………………………..91 5.6.6. Unique Materials…………………………………..………………………96 5.6.7. Unique Forms………………………………..…………………………….98 5.6.8. Style…………………………………..…………………………………...99 5.7. Actions…………………………………………..……………………………..100 5.7.1. Workshops and Craftsmanship…………………………………………..101 5.7.2. Time and Labour……………………………………………………........104 5.7.3. Individual Actions………………………………….…………………….105 5.8. Conclusion……………………………………..………………………………107 Chapter 6: Conclusion 6.1. Discussion...………………………………..…………………………………..110 6.2. Is the Individual There?……………………………………..…………………112 6.3. Further Research………………………………………..……………………...113 6.4. Final Conclusion………………………………………..……………………...114 Literature Cited …………………………………………..…………………………...116 Appendices Appendix A: Site Catalogue…………………………………..………………..135 Appendix B: Transitional and Dateless Sites…………………………………...163 Appendix C: Aurignacian Sites…………………………………..…………….165 Appendix D: Gravettian Sites…………………………………………………..172 Appendix E: Solutrean Sites…………………………………..………………..180 Appendix F: Epigravettian Sites…………………………………..……………182 Appendix G: Magdalenian Sites…………………………………..……………185 vii List of Tables Table 1: Table of the cultural entities within the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe………....56 Table 2: Table of the total number of sites sorted by archaeological culture (N/A signifies that it is not an applicable industry to the area, / signifies that there are no recorded sites in that country or industry)………………………….68 Table 3: Number of sites that have burials with ornaments as grave goods (Number in parantheses is the total number of sites, N/A signifies that it is not an applicable industry to the area, / signifies no recorded sites in that time period, 0 signifies that there are no recorded sites with burials).…...…………...75 Table 4: Number of sites that specify ivory as a medium for personal