Transition or Replacement?

Radiocarbon Dates from Hohle Fels Cave (Alb-Donau-Kreis / D) and the Passage from Aurignacian to Gravettian

Abstract

The Upper Palaeolithic record of Hohle Fels Cave (Swabian Jura, near Schelklingen) provides an excellent record of the transition from the Aurignacian to the Gravettian. The Gravettian of Hohle Fels dates among the oldest Middle Upper Palaeolithic sites known with earliest ages between 35 and 34 ka cal BP. The radiocarbon dates from Geißenklösterle confirm the early age for the Swabian Gravettian. The lithic assemblages from Hohle Fels and those from other Swabian sites in the vicinity (Geißenklösterle, Brillenhöhle) indicate an early Gravettian with artefacts such as Gravette points, Microgravette points, Font-Robert points and fléchettes. In Hohle Fels we see no significant hiatus in the settlement, and the dates from the Upper Aurignacian and oldest Gravettian are in deed chronologically very close and do in part overlap. Here, we discuss existing as well as new AMS¹⁴C radiocarbon dates from the Gravettian and their significance for the evolution of this Upper Palaeolithic entity. We then contextualise the results both with existing data on the regional and European palaeo-environment as well as the early Gravettian landscape of sites in Central Europe with occupations such as the Weinberghöhlen in Bavaria or Willendorf II/5 in Lower Austria. The dates also shed light on the relationship of the different Gravettian layers of Hohle Fels and thus contribute to understanding the stratigraphic context of these four horizons.