http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=1776 Entrées d’index fr 0 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6108 The stability of settlement is characterized by the link of Palaeolithic populations either to a given microregion or to one site – both within a single cultural-chronological phase and during a long period of time including various techno-typological complexes. Evidence of such behaviour can be more easily found in regions outside western Europe, whose occupation density was, in the course of the Upper Pleistocene, considerably high and where the same sites had always been repeatedly settled. Moreover, the links to a given microregion or site are much more obvious in the open countryside than in regions with frequent caves which provided natural shelters.The Aurignacian settlement of central Moravia can be quoted as an example of the link of a technocomplex to a given microregion. There, on an area of no more than 10 × 10 kilometers, several scores of sites have been discovered, some of them qualified as huge ones with hundreds and even thousands of artifacts – despite the fact that there is no important source of raw material in this region. On the contrary, the principal material used there was flint-stone imported from a minimum of 100 kilometers. The most interesting concentration of settlements is, however, in Kostienki on the Don river, where eight settlements have been discovered in the lower part of the small valley called Pokrovskij Log, most of them being multilayered and in some cases situated in close proximity of each other. Although they represent different technocomplexes, all of them had originated during a relatively brief period of time. A striking phenomenon is the link of various populations during longer periods of time to certain locations, quite banal within the countryside and with no outstanding features. Willendorf on the Danube river, Moldova V on the Dniester or Mitoc on the Prut can be quoted here. Also some “abri”, located in hardly accessible or otherwise unfavourable areas, belong to this group. Let us remind here the “abri” Fumane in the Italian Dolomites or the “abri” Crvena stijena in Montenegro, settled from the interglacial till the Mesolithic. These examples document certain stability in the links of Palaeolithic populations to settlement regions and even to individual sites. However, the motifs of such behaviour can hardly be explained. Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:17:53 +0100 Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:18:02 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6108 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6015 By far the most important species in the faunal assemblages of many Upper Palaeolithic sites in Central Eruope are reindeer and horse. In contrast to previous therories of long-distance reindeer following and loose-herding (reindeer), a territorial model of animal exploitation is proposed. As for the reindeer, the possibilities of a close and controlled exploitative relationship with the horse are discussed. The archaeological data do not confinn the hypothesis of a close relationship between man and horse. New evidence of the taming of wolves in the Gravettian is presented and the earliest finds of domestic dog are reviewed. Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:29:08 +0100 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:29:15 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6015 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6008 Under the conditions of the ultimate glacial, i.e. the Weichselian respectively Vistulian in the northern part of Central Europe and the Würmian of the Alpine area in the southern part the range of territory that was accessible and utilizable to man has been narrowly confined. The narrowing was on either side - by inland glaciation in the lowlands adjoining the Baltic Sea and by Alpine glaciers in the southern belt. On the other hand the glacial sea lowering has provided expansion of land, especially in the present North Sea, enabling a land connection to the British Islands. Above all the environmental record within the interposing belt between the glaciated areas can be based on palaeontological observations. Suitable findings are available due to the preservation of skeletal remains evidencing fossil mammals and of mollusc shells in calcareous sediments. Frequently they occur as in the basin areas in the northern foreland of the Central European highlands. They permit, moreover, correlations to the manifold and differentiated evidences of regional loess stratigraphy. The deposition of Central European loess covers took place under the conditions of glacial cold steppes, and the report circulates that actually no equivalent ecosystem can be found. However, detailed investigations prove a suitable actualistic model of the glacial environmental conditions in the non‑glaciated belt of Central Europe, deduced from present Central Asia. Such comparison may be enabled by the well‑known and intensively studied ecology of recent animals comparable with species recorded by Central European loess sequences. The actualistic model of glacial environmental conditions in Central Europe may be connected with a chronological resolution by means of mollusc shells reflecting changing of faunal assemblages due to the variations of environment in the course of glacial periods as recorded by loess stratigraphy. There, alternating loess covers and buried soils record climatic oscillations analogous to those during the Holocene. However, a superordinated trend of increasing continentality as a rule has effected and increasing inclemency of mean climatic conditions in a comparison of consecutive stadial phases or interstadial ones. The most extreme continentality took place immediately before the transition from the ultimate glacial to the Holocene warming. Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:24:34 +0100 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:24:41 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6008 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=4263 Les nouvelles découvertes effectuées en Haute-Silésie attestent la présence d'occupations micoquiennes antérieurement à l'Eémien, à Dzierzyslaw 1, à Pietraszyn 49, et probablement à Cyprzanów 3. Elles témoignent de ce fait d'une continuité de l'évolution du Micoquien entre l'avant-dernière glaciation et le Vistulien ancien. Dans le cadre de cet article, nous développons plus particulièrement les données relatives au site de Pietraszyn 49, dont l'industrie est attribuée au stade de Warta (O.I.S. 6). L'analyse technologique de l'industrie témoigne d'un ensemble où le débitage est dominé par le façonnage. Les outils bifaciaux comprennent des bifaces (biface à dos du type "Faustkeilblatt", biface foliacé), des couteaux-racloirs asymétriques (des types Prondnik, Bockstein et bifaciaux), et des racloirs bifaciaux. L'outillage sur éclat comporte des racloirs simples convexes et convergents, et des éclats retouchés. The evolution of the Micoquian in Central Europe: new discoveries of the Micoquian in Upper Silesia (Poland) : The new discoveries in Upper Silesia demonstrate the occurrence of Micoquian settlements before the Eemian at Dzierzyslaw 1, at Pietraszyn 49 and probably at Cyprzanow 3. They testify that there was a continuity of the evolution of the Micoquian between the penultimate glaciation and the Early Vistulian. We present here particularly the data concerning the Pietraszyn 49 site whose industry is attributed to the Warta stage (O.I.S. 6.) The technological analysis demonstrates an assemblage with a predominantly core technique over debitage. The bifacial tools comprise bifaces (bifaces with a Faustkeilblatt type back, leafe shaped handaxes); knife-scrapers which are asymetric (Prondnik type, Bockstein type and bifacial) and bifacial scrapers. The tools on flakes comprise simple convex scrapers, convergent scrapers and retouched flakes. Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:08:36 +0200 Fri, 25 Jul 2025 14:17:22 +0200 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=4263 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=4243 Le Micoquien est une tradition autonome, propre à l'Europe centrale, et datant du Paléolithique moyen. Il n'existe aucun rapport phylétique avec l'Acheuléen, plus ancien et typiquement occidental. The Micoquian and its by-products : The Micoquian is an autonomous tradition in Central Europe, dating to the Middle Palaeolithic. There is no phyletic connection with the older and typically western Acheulean Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:05:03 +0200 Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:05:10 +0200 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=4243 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=1774 This paper gives an actual summary of obsidian studies in Central Europe, related to the so-called Carpathian sources. History of research for the geological sources and the archaeological distribution data are presented together with summary information on instrumental analysis. The survey is necessarily biased and incomplete but storing information in a widely accessible interactive database, planned in the framework of the National Scientific Fund (OTKA-100385) may help to promote research. Collecting distribution data based on archaeological lithic research and instrumental characterisation of comparative material and archaeological obsidian artefacts allow us to delineate main distribution features and possible interacting supply zones. The historical importance of Carpathian obsidians is especially evident in the Palaeolithic period, when C1-C2-C3 obsidian sources were the only available mainland obsidian sources known and utilised by prehistoric people in Europe (apart from sources in Georgia and Armenia). It is to be remembered that data collection is far from completed, especially to the East of the obsidian sources. Source characterisation of Carpathian obsidians is feasible using several methods. Recently an essential advance was brought about using non-destructive methods that is imperative in the study of long distance trade connections. Ce document donne un résumé actualisé des études sur l’obsidienne en Europe centrale, en rapport avec les sources dites des Carpates. L’histoire de la recherche pour les sources géologiques et les données de distribution archéologiques sont présentées accompagnées des informations sommaires sur l'analyse instrumentale. L'enquête est nécessairement biaisée et incomplète, mais le stockage d'informations dans une base de données interactive largement accessible, prévu dans le cadre du Fonds national de recherche scientifique (OTKA-100385) peut aider à promouvoir la recherche. La collecte de données de distribution fondée sur une recherche archéologique lithique et une caractérisation instrumentale du matériau comparatif et des artefacts d'obsidienne archéologiques nous permet de délimiter les principales caractéristiques de distribution et les zones d'approvisionnement en interactions possibles. L'importance historique des obsidiennes des Carpates est particulièrement remarquable au cours de la période paléolithique, où les sources d'obsidienne C1-C2-C3 ont été les sources d'obsidienne uniquement disponibles, connues et utilisées par les hommes préhistoriques sur le continent européen (sans compter les sources en Géorgie et en Arménie). Il est nécessaire de rappeler que la collecte des données est loin d'être achevée, notamment en région orientale des sources d'obsidiennes. La caractérisation des sources d’obsidiennes des Carpates est faisable en utilisant plusieurs méthodes. Récemment, un progrès essentiel a été apporté par l'utilisation de méthodes non destructives, ce qui est impératif dans l'étude des relations commerciales de longue distance. Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:55:16 +0100 Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:55:24 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=1774