Gravettian

An Upper Palaeolithic industry named after the site La Gravette in the Dordogne of southwest France and characterized by well-developed blade tools of flint and female figurines of ivory. This advanced industry succeeded the Aurignacian and preceded the Solutrean, c 28,000-20,000BP. In France it is known as the Upper Périgordian (Périgordian IV) and the Gravettian appears to have developed in central Europe, expanding to the east and west. The small, pointed blades with straight blunted backs are called Gravette points. Most of the French sites are caves, but possibly related industries, known as Eastern Gravettian, are distributed through the loess lands of central Europe and Russia at the camp sites of mammoth-hunters; other sites are in Spain, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Italy. The Gravettians invented the bow and arrow, blunted-back knives of flint, and the tanged arrowheads. They are famous, too, for their cave paintings. Other artifacts include bone or ivory spears and, in eastern Europe, numerous other bone tools incised with an elaborate geometric pattern.

Named after the site of La Gravette (in the Dordogne, southwest France), the Gravettian was formerly called Upper or later Aurignacian. In France it is equivalent to the later Perigordian cultures, which date from approximately 28,000 to 20,000 years ago. A group of central European sites has been attributed to an east Gravettian, but although they are of similar age it is not clear whether they are related or not. Russian sites attributed to the Gravettian are now known to date mainly to the latest part of the Upper Palaeolithic, later than 20,000 years ago. The presence of backed blades or backed points is usually regarded as typical of the Gravettian, but the venus figurines have also been regarded as characteristic.