< home # store # services # articles # game # app #contact >

Named after a site in Aurignac, southwestern France. Significant discoveries have been made, tens of thousands of years ago
This period represents an important phase in human prehistory. Including the first European culture of modern humans. (1) And, the first stages of homosapien expansion out of Africa. (2)

It is characterized by several notable features:
Aurignacian proper lasted from about 37,000 to 33,000 years ago. A Late Aurignacian phase transitional with the Gravettian, dates 33-26k years ago. (3) And, proto/early 43000-47000 years ago

The main preceding period was mousterian and neanderthals

There was a levantine aurignacian that had similar blade technology, and also followed emiran, and ahmarian groups
They could be closely related. (4) Though the influence remains undetermined. (5)

One of the oldest examples of figurative art, the Venus of Hohle Felt, comes from the Aurignacian
Discovered in Sept 2008. At a cave in Schelklingen, Baden-Württemberg, western Germany. (6)(7)

Pendants, bracelets, ivory beads, as well as three-dimensional figurines were also made
These ornaments suggest the development of symbolic and aesthetic interests. The production of ivory beads for body ornamentation were important during the Aurignacian.

Many animal figurines were discovered
Tens of thousand year old horses, mammoth and other ivory figurines were found in the Vogelherd Cave in Germany. (8)

Others included now-extinct mammals: rhinoceroses, and tarpans (horses).

Providing examples of the originality of early humans, these people engage in some of the earliest known cave art
-animal engravings at Les Trois Frères; and
-paintings in Chavet in southern France.

They even had bone flutes. Perhaps the oldest undisputed musical instrument in the world (9)
Found in Germany’s Swabian Alb. A flute was made from a vulture’s wing bone. Others had been found in Abri Blanchard, SW France. (10)

Flint tools included fine blades and bladelets. Struck from prepped stone cores, rather than crude flakes (11)
It was unlike mousterian and acheulean who used stone flakes rather than blades from prepped cores. They also had a greater degree of specialization, and the use of bones and antlers for tools.

Perforated or modified throwing rods, shaft wrenches were used
Thought to improve spear throwing.

They moved with the reindeer herds. The tool industry included many bone and antler points
Based on the degree of scraper reduction and paleo environment, the early aurignacian group moved seasonally to procure reindeer herds. (12)

Scientists have determined mean populations
-42000-33000 years ago, around 1500, (or between 3300 and 800); (13) and,
-40000-30000 years ago, between 1738-28359. (14)

It believed there sophistication make them the first modern humans of Europe
Many of the above support this evidence. There were indications of art, music and many other developments of culture. There tools were well-crafted and designed for a wide range of specific purposes. Such as hunting, cutting, and carving.

Marking a transition in human prehistory during the paleolithic period. Aurignacian is characterized by a cultural and technological shift. Like its cave drawings, art, music and hunting. They are reflected in the increasing cognitive and artistic abilities that are shown. And, creative capacities of these ancient populations. That despite challenges, reflect their ability to adapt to different environments and lead on.

Sites: Europe
Cave of Aurignac
Bacho Kiro cave
Chauvet Cave
Hohle Fels
Potok Cave

Near-East
Ksar Akil
HaYonim Cave

Asia
Lebanon/Palestine/Israel
region (15)

Siberia
Lake Baikal, the Ob River valley, Minusinsk, and many others

Cite: 1) Wood, Bernard, ed. (2011). “Aurignacian” (https://books.google.com/books?id=440TmWXToLA
C&pg=PT558). Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. John Wiley.
ISBN 9781444342475.

2) Klein, Richard G. (2009). The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins (https://books.google.com/books?id=vSgCAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA610). University of Chicago Press. p. 610.
ISBN 9780226027524.

3) Hoffecker, JF (September 2009). “Out of Africa: modern human origins special feature: the spread of modern humans in Europe”(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2752585). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106 (38): 16040–5. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10616040H (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009PNAS..10616040H). doi:10.1073/pnas.0903446106 (https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.0903446106). PMC 2752585 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
MC2752585). PMID 19571003 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19571003).. Jacobi, R.M.; Higham, T.F.G.; Haesaerts, P.; Jadin, I.; Basell, L.S. (2010). “Radiocarbon chronology for the
Early Gravettian of northern Europe: new AMS determinations for Maisières-Canal, Belgium”. Antiquity. 84 (323): 26–40. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00099749 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS000
3598X00099749). S2CID 163089681 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:163089681).

4) Shea, John J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide (https://books.google.com/books?id=Bq7NAedu4gQC&pg=PA150). Cambridge University Press. pp. 150–155. ISBN 9781107006980.

5) Williams, John K. (2006). “The Levantine Aurignacian: a closer look” (http://www.patrimoniocult
ural.gov.pt/media/uploads/trabalhosdearqueologia/45/20.pdf) (PDF). Lisbon: Instituto Português de Arqueologia (Trabalhos de Arqueologia Bar-Yosef O, Zilhão J, Editors. Towards a Definition of the Aurignacian. 45): 317–352.

6) Conard, Nicholas (2009). “A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany”. Nature. 459 (7244): 248–52. Bibcode:2009Natur.459..248C (https://ui
.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009Natur.459..248C). doi:10.1038/nature07995 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature07995). PMID 19444215 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19444215).
S2CID 205216692 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:205216692).

7) Henderson, Mark (2009-05-14). “Prehistoric female figure ‘earliest piece of erotic art uncovered’ “(http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6282102.ece). The Times. London.

8) Finds from the Vogelherd cave (http://www.ice-age-art.de/anfaenge_der_kunst/vogelherd.php)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070930140128/http://www.ice-age-art.de/anfaenge_der_kunst/vogelherd.php) 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

9) Conard, Nicholas; et al. (6 August 2009). “New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany”. Nature. 460 (7256): 737–740. Bibcode:2009Natur.460..737C (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009Natur.460..737C). doi:10.1038/nature08169 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature08169). PMID 19553935 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19553935). 1038%2Fnature08169). PMID 19553935 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19553935). S2CID 4336590 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4336590).

10) Richard Leakey & Roger Lewin, Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human (1992)

11) Mellars, P. (2006). “Archeology and the Dispersal of Modern Humans in Europe: Deconstructing the Aurignacian”. Evolutionary Anthropology. 15 (5): 167–182.
doi:10.1002/evan.20103 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fevan.20103). S2CID 85316570 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85316570).

12) Blades, B (2003). “End scraper reduction and hunter-gatherer mobility”. American Antiquity. 68
(1): 141–156. doi:10.2307/3557037 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3557037). JSTOR 3557037 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3557037). S2CID 164106990 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corpus
ID:164106990).

13) Schmidt, I.; Zimmermann, A. (2019). “Population dynamics and socio-spatial organization of the Aurignacian: Scalable quantitative demographic data for western and central Europe” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6373918). PLOS ONE. 14 (2): e0211562.Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1411562S (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019PLoSO..1411562S).
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211562(https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0211562). PMC 6373918 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6373918). PMID 30759115 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30759115). “Demographic estimates are presented for the Aurignacian techno-complex (~42,000 to 33,000 y calBP) and discussed in the context of socio-spatial organization of hunter-gatherer populations. Results of the analytical approach applied estimate a mean of 1,500 persons (upper limit: 3,300; lower limit: 800) for western and central Europe.”

14) Bocquet-Appel, J.-P.; Demars, P.-Y.; Noiret, L.; Dobrowsky, D. (2005). “Estimates of Upper Palaeolithic meta-population size in Europe from archaeological data”. Journal of Archaeological Science. 32 (11): 1656–1668. Bibcode:2005JArSc..32.1656B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005JArSc..32.1656B). doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.05.006 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jas.2005.05.006).

15) Langer, William L., ed. (1972). An Encyclopedia of World History (5th ed.). Boston, MA:Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-395-13592-1.

Bibliography:
Milisauskas, Sarunas (2012-12-06). European Prehistory: A Survey (https://books.google.com/books?id=kZG1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62). ISBN 9781461507512 Finds from the Vogelherd cave (http://www.ice-age-art.de/anfaenge_der_kunst/vogelherd.php)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070930140128/http://www.ice-age-art.de/anfaenge_der_kunst/vogelherd.php) at the Wayback Machine
Blades, B (2003). “End scraper reduction and hunter-gatherer mobility”. American Antiquity. 68 (1): 141–156. doi:10.2307/3557037 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3557037). JSTOR 3557037 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3557037). S2CID 164106990 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:164106990).