Magdalenian
Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: Magdalénien) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago.[lower-alpha 1] It is named after the type site of La Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley, commune of Tursac, in France's Dordogne department.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2021) |
Geographical range | Western Europe |
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Period | Upper Paleolithic Mesolithic |
Dates | c. 17,000 – c. 12,000 BP[lower-alpha 1] |
Type site | Abri de la Madeleine |
Major sites | Cave of Altamira, Kents Cavern, Lascaux |
Preceded by | Solutrean |
Followed by | Azilian, Ahrensburg culture |
Édouard Lartet and Henry Christy originally termed the period L'âge du renne (the Age of the Reindeer). They conducted the first systematic excavations of the type site, publishing in 1875. The Magdalenian epoch is associated with reindeer hunters, although Magdalenian sites contain extensive evidence for the hunting of red deer, horses, and other large mammals present in Europe toward the end of the last glacial period. The culture was geographically widespread, and later Magdalenian sites stretched from Portugal in the west to Poland in the east, and as far north as France, the Channel Islands, England, and Wales. It is the third epoch of Gabriel de Mortillet's cave chronology system, corresponding roughly to the Late Pleistocene. Besides La Madeleine, the chief stations of the epoch are Les Eyzies, Laugerie-Basse, and Gorges d'Enfer in the Dordogne; Grotte du Placard in Charente and others in south-west France.