The Early Upper Palaeolithic occupations of Willendorf II (Lower Austria): a contribution to the chronostratigraphic and cultural context of the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in Central Europe

Nicolas Teyssandier (1)

1 TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés

Willendorf II is one of the rare sites to offer a good chronostratigraphic framework for the period between 45,000 and 25,000 B.P. in Central Europe. Located in the Wachau on a lower terrace of the Danube, it has yielded 9 archaeological layers classically ascribed to the early Upper Palaeolithic, the Aurignacian and the Gravettian. This paper deals with the chronostratigraphic and cultural background of the lowest layers 1-4 of the Willendorf sequence. With good 14C datings and chronostratigraphic observations, it is now possible to better document this key-period for the understanding of the appearance of Upper Palaeolithic industries in Central Europe.

Mots clés: Aurignacian; Upper Paleolithic; central Europe; Modern Humans; lithic technology; chronostratigraphy; human evolution

Mots clés: Aurignacien; Paléolithique supérieur; Europe centrale; Homme moderne; technologie lithique

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Nicolas Teyssandier. The Early Upper Palaeolithic occupations of Willendorf II (Lower Austria): a contribution to the chronostratigraphic and cultural context of the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in Central Europe. The chronology of the Aurignacian and of the transition technocomplexes.Dating, stratigraphies, cultural implications, 2003, Liège, Belgium. pp.133-151. ⟨hal-00174673⟩