Périgordian

Périgordien
Geographical rangeEurope
PeriodUpper Paleolithic
Dates35,000 BP – 20,000 BP
Preceded byMousterian[1]
Followed byMesolithic cultures
Defined byDenis Peyrony [fr], 1933
Antiquated byDenise de Sonneville-Bordes [fr], 1990s
The Paleolithic
↑ Pliocene (before Homo)
Lower Paleolithic
 (c. 3.3 Ma – 300 ka)
Middle Paleolithic
 (c. 300–50 ka)
Upper Paleolithic
 (c. 50–12 ka)

Fertile Crescent:

Europe:

Africa:

Siberia:

↓ Mesolithic

Périgordian is a term for several distinct but related Upper Palaeolithic cultures which are thought by some archaeologists to represent a contiguous tradition. Thought to have existed between c.35,000 BP and c.20,000 BP[2] the Perigordian was theorized by prehistorians (namely Denis Peyrony [fr]).[3]

The earliest culture in the tradition is the Châtelperronian[4] which is thought to have produced denticulate tools and flint knives. It is argued that this was superseded by the Gravettian with its Font Robert points and Noailles burins. The tradition culminated in the proto-Magdalenian.[1]

Critics have pointed out that no continuous sequence of Périgordian occupation has yet been found, and that the tradition requires it to have co-existed separately from the Aurignacian industry rather than being differing industries that existed before and afterwards.[5]

Sites

  • Font-Robert - (Jalón). Périgordia V.
  • Gorge d'Enfer - (Dordogne). Lower and Upper Périgordia.
  • La Ferrassie - (Dordogne).
  • La Gravette - (Dordogne). Périgordia IV.
  • Labattut (Abri) - (Dordogne). Périgordia IV-VI.
  • Laugerie Haute - (Dordogne).
  • Laussel - (Dordogne) Périgordia IV.
  • Le Moustier - (Dordogne).
  • Noailles - (Corrèze). Périgord V.
  • Oreille d'Enfer - (Dordogne). Périgord V.
  • Abri Pataud - (Dordogne). Périgord IV-VII.
  • Vignaud (Abri) - (Dordogne). Périgord V.

References

  1. ^ a b "Perigordian industry". Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ To Pesesse (2013)
  3. ^ Pesesse, Damien (2013). "Le Gravettien existe-t-il? Le prisme du système technique lithique" [Does the Gravettian exist? The prism of the lithic technical system]. In Marcel Otte (ed.). Les Gravettiens. Civilisations et cultures (in French). Paris: Éditions errance. pp. 66–104. ISBN 978-2877725095. Les études sur le Gravettien se sont systématiquement heurtées à un problème : d'importantes différences ont très tôt été reconnues entre ces ensembles. Dès lors, comment appréhender et expliquer cette diversité? Les réponses à cette question ont fortement varié. L'exemple le plus éloquent est fourni par le modèle Périgordien (Peyrony, 1933, 1936, 1946), l'une des constructions préhistoriennes les plus éloignées des données archéologiques. [Studies on the Gravettian have systematically encountered a problem: important differences were recognised early among its different parts. So how is one to explain this diversity? Answers to this question have varied enormously. The most eloquent example was given for the Perigordian model (Peyrony, 1933, 1936, 1946), one of the prehistorian construction furthest away from archaeological data.
  4. ^ Delson, Eric (Ed.). "Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory: Second Edition". Routledge, 23 Nov 2004. p. 717
  5. ^ Blades, Brooke S. "Aurignacian Lithic Economy: Ecological Perspectives from Southwestern France". Springer Science & Business Media, 2006. p. 44

Further reading

  • Aubarbier, Jean-Luc; Binet, Michel; Guichard, Genevieve. Aimer la Préhistoire en Périgord. Éditions Ouest-France, Rennes 1991. ISBN 2-7373-0786-4
  • Delluc, Brigitte; Delluc, Gilles; Roussot, Alain; Roussot-Larroque, Julia. Connaître la préhistoire en Périgord. Éditions Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux, 1990. ISBN 2-87901-048-9