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Neue Einblicke in das Gravettien von Willendorf II: Die Steinartefakte der Grabung 1993 (New insights into the gravettian of willendorf II. The lithic artefacts of the 1993 excavation)

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Schmid, Viola 
Bosch, Marjolein D 
Brandl, Michael 
Götzinger, Michael 
Nigst, Philip R 

Abstract

The well-dated stratigraphic sequence of Willendorf II is a reference site for the Upper Palaeolithic in general and the Gravettian in particular. In 1993, a joint team of the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique (Brussels, Belgium) and the University of Vienna carried out excavations at this loess site in the Danube valley known since the end of the 19th century. During the excavation season, the team recovered 391 artefacts. The majority attributed to AH 6 and 8. We performed a technological study based on an attribute analysis of the lithic artefacts. This study demonstrates that the assemblages of AH 6 and 8 differ significantly in terms of technology and techno-economy. AH 6 has a high proportion of non-local erratic flint. The unidirectional reduction strategy aimed at the production of bladelets, especially on high-quality raw materials, to further modify them into backed elements that could be used as projectiles. In addition to the unidirectional, volumetric reduction strategy, burins were also exploited as bladelet cores. Apart from the manufacture of backed elements, the tool spectrum contains burins, end scrapers and pieces with edge retouch. AH 8 is dominated by local raw materials, such as quartzite and siliceous limestone. The unidirectional reduction strategy aimed at the production of blades. The toolkit includes a range of different tool types. Splintered pieces occur most frequently. Furthermore, pointed blades, burins, end scrapers, edge retouches, truncations, a borer with edge retouch, and a notched piece are among the tools. The differences between AH 6 and AH 8 and the similarities of AH 6 to AH 5 and AH 6 of the old excavations highlight that the AH 6 and AH 8 of the 1993 excavations do not belong to the same phase of the Gravettian technocomplex. The hunter-gatherers of AH 6 show technological, techno-economic and socio-technological behaviours more likely to correspond to an early Gravettian, while AH 8 shows diagnostic features of the Pavlovian and thereby confirming the dominant view of researchers that AH 8 of Willendorf II belongs to the Pavlovian.

Description

Keywords

Journal Title

Archaeologia Austriaca: Beitraege zur Ur- und Fruehgeschichte Mitteleuropas

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1816-2959
1816-2959

Volume Title

103

Publisher

Austrian Academy of Sciences
Sponsorship
Leakey Foundation (unknown)
European Commission (322261)
Isaac Newton Trust (Minute 1238(b))
British Academy (SG151431)
P. R. Nigsts Forschungen wurden durch Fördermittel von folgenden Institutionen finanziert: Leakey Foundation, Europäische Kommission (EC FP7 Career Integration Grant, Projekt „NEMO-ADAP“, Nr. 322261), Sir Isaac Newton Trust, British Academy (British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Universität Wien, Hugo Obermaier Preis 2006, und Hochschuljubiläumsfonds der Stadt Wien. M. D. Boschs Forschungen wurden durch Fördermittel von der Europäische Kommission (EC H2020 Marie Skłodowska Curie program EF, Projekt „EU-Beads”, Nr. 656325) finanziert.