Hallam L. Movius

Radiocarbon Dates and Upper Palaeolithic Archaeology in Central and Western Europe

THE PRIME IMPORTANCE to archaeology of an objectiv method for counting time cannot be overstated. Sinc archaeology alone makes possible the extension of ou knowledge of mans early attempts to develop civilizo tion on this planet beyond the limits of written records it is an historical science. As such it depends on date that are as accurate as possible to serve as a basis fo the establishment of given regional chronologies. Thi is particularly true of Palaeolithic archaeology, a fiel( in which for nearly a century the fundamental prob lem has been time: how to align the hundreds of sites with their occupation layers, soils, faunal material, hu man remains, and thousands of artifacts, in an orderli

Toward a New Outline of the Soviet Central Asian Paleolithic [and Comments and Reply]

The ideas about the distribution of the earliest sites in Soviet Central Asia and the character of Paleolithic industries which have been formed by Western archaeologist through the works of Movius, Klein, and Chard are now in need of revision because of the appearance of new material. The increasing possibility of worldwide synchronization of geological and climatological events permits the comparison of the subdivisions of the Soviet Central Asian stratigraphic scheme with those of the Alpine one and the formulation of the following conception of the periodization and chronology of the Paleolithic of Central Asia: The earliest traces of Paleolithic man are from Riss times (this is not to exclude the possibility of an extension of this age with future investigations of the thick loess sections of the southern Tadzhikistan and Pri-Tashkent regions). The existence of a pebble culture resembling the Soan in the interval between 200,000 and 130,000 years B.P. has been established. After the following hiatus of approximately 60,000 years in several regions of Soviet Central Asia, developed Mousterian industries in caves and at open sites have been documented. These Mousterian industries may be divided into five variants or facies: Levallois, Levallois-Mousterian, Typical Mousterian, Mousterian of Soan Tradition, and Denticulate Mousterian. As early as the 1940s, A. P. Okladnikov focused attention on the similarity of the Levallois technique in the Near East to that of Soviet Central Asia, but this similarity is not necessarily the result of a direct migration. The Upper Paleolithic, represented by a small number of sites, by all appearances grew out of a preexisting facies of the Soviet Central Asian Mousterian. The absence of radiocarbon dates for this period, however, makes it difficult to come to final conclusions. The possibility exists of a longer persistence of the Mousterian technique in Soviet Central Asia and a correspondingly later appearance of the Upper Paleolithic modes of working stone. For the following period, the authors distinguish two groups: Mesolithic and Epi-Paleolithic. The first group is characterized by the presence of geometric microliths, predominantly lunates and backed points; in the second group these tools are not found. In general, for the entire extent of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic two technological tendencies existed, one of which can be described in terms employed in the Near East and Europe and the other of which (the pebble industry) cannot. Possible explanations of this situation are examined.

Transition From Mousterian to Perigordian: Skeletal and Industrial [and Comments and Replies]

At the terminal period of the Mousterian, the Upper Palaeolithic artifacts became more abundant in a number of beds. Some deposits present a tool assemblage dominated by small, odd, worn flakes, more or less denticulated either intentionally, through wear, or because of geological phenomenon. ost horizons, however, are marked by polymorphism and are evidence of a trend towards the longer blade. At the Audi rock-shelter, we find that the heavy Mousterian-backed knife is refined and reshaped, in a modification tending towards de Chatelperron from. The most highly evolved Mousterian standard is found at Fontmaure. We lack an evolutionary series of skeletons to match the transformation of the tool industry. The morphological transition between Neanderthal Man and Upper Palaeolithic Man is not demonstrated by the teeth from the sites at Arcy-sur-Cure or by the skeletal material from Mount Carmel. At this stage of our knowledge, we may advance 2 hypotheses. Either Neanderthal Man evolved both in France and in Palestine (the intermediate forms remain to be specified) or Homo sapiens, coming from elsewhere, progressively invaded the regions occupied by Neanderthals. Working with this 2nd hypothesis, it seems likely that the passage of man from the Mousterian to the Upper Palaeolithic would have taken place in a region with mild climate, such as that found in Asia. Unfortunately, the evidence to support this hypothesis is missing. Little Lower Perigordian material has been discovered between Asia and France or in the Near East. The challenge to us lies in the Near East.