The 'Gravettian' was an
industry of the
European
Upper Palaeolithic. It is named after the type site of
La Gravette in the
Dordogne region of
France. It dates from between 28,000 and 22,000 years ago and succeeded the
Aurignacian.
The diagnostic
artefact from the industry is a small pointed
blade with a blunt but straight back, known as a
Gravette Point. Artistic achievements included the
Venus figurines. The industry had counterparts across central Europe and into
Russia.
Gravettian culture A phase (c.28,000–23,000 ya) of the European Upper Paleolithic that is characterized by a stone-tool industry with small pointed blades used for big-game hunting (bison, horse, reindeer and mammoth). It is divided into two regional groups: the western Gravettian, mostly known from cave sites in France, and the eastern Gravettian, with open sites of specialized mammoth hunters on the plains of central Europe and Russia. Some early examples of cave art and the famous 'Venus' figurines were made by Gravettian artists.
Cave sites in France: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/index-cussac.htm
See also
★
Upper Paleolithic
★
Perigordian
★
Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures
★
Solutrean
★
Venus figurines