Aurignacian tradition

The term Aurignacian tradition refers to the earliest known modern human culture in Europe. It dates back to between thirty-four thousand and twenty-three thousand years ago. Details about this period and about Aurignacian culture have been identified from the objects they left behind, such as tools and cave art. Archaeologists and anthropologists have learned very little about their culture, language, beliefs, and so on. However, the Aurignacian tradition represents an important bridge between the cultures of prehistoric humans and those of contemporary humans.

Background

Archaeologists and anthropologists have determined that the first beings that could physically and culturally be connected to modern humans developed about sixty thousand years ago. For a time, multiple human ancestors, including Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, gradually evolved. By about thirty thousand years ago, the various species of pre-human life disappeared until only Homo sapiens remained. This occurred during the Upper Paleolithic period.

The Upper Paleolithic period began about forty thousand years ago and ended about ten thousand years ago. During the Upper Paleolithic period, early humans developed more sophisticated and specialized tools. The earliest indications of cultural developments such as art, music, mythology, and early religion also emerged during this time.

Overview

The earliest European culture to develop sophisticated tools was the Aurignacian culture. The Aurignacians were named for the Grotte d'Aurignac, a cave in the Pyrenees in southwestern France where the first evidence of the culture was found. The discovery occurred in 1852 when a quarry worker named Jean Baptiste-Bonnemaison uncovered a shelter while looking for some rocks. The shelter was obscured by rocks and vegetation, but when Bonnemaison reached inside, he found bones, some skeletons, and large animal teeth.

The materials Bonnemaison found were given to French geologist and paleontologist Edouard Lartet. In 1860, with financial support from English banker Henry Christy, Lartet began digging in the area and discovered that it was a shelter that contained a number of relics from its last occupants. These included evidence of a fire pit, some tools, wood and antlers that showed signs of having been carved and shaped by humans, and bones of extinct animals. Lartet determined that the handmade items represented the oldest items displaying such sophistication and skill.

In 1867, Lartet presented his findings to a group of academics, which increased interest in and excitement about the Aurignac shelter. The findings were significant enough that the name of the site became identified with the Aurignacian culture. The French government recognized its significance by naming the Aurignac shelter a national historic site in 1921. Additional excavations were performed in the area in the early twentieth century. These excavations determined that the site had been used by a later group of humans as well.

Over time, evidence of similarly advanced humans were found in other areas throughout Europe and parts of Asia. Scientists used human bone fragments and teeth to determine that the people who lived there were, anatomically speaking, far closer to modern humans than they had previously believed. The more paleontologists and anthropologists studied the remains and relics from the Aurignacian tradition, the more they understood how sophisticated these early humans had become.

For instance, tools that were carbon-dated to this period were more sophisticated than the simple items, such as wooden spears, that had been used previously. These humans had created a spear-thrower called an atlatl, which was capable of throwing a spear farther and more accurately than a hand-thrown weapon. These early humans also were creating knives and other sharp instruments that showed a greater degree of design and sophistication than earlier weapons. The weapons included intentional holes and splits to make them easier to attach to handles, and they had more efficient and precise shapes. Some of the weapons exhibited signs that the people who made them cared not only about their functionality but also about their appearance. For instance, the arrow tips were carefully shaped, but they also were polished. Polishing the arrow tips was an unnecessary step when creating a purely functional weapon.

Scientists saw other signs of the increasingly sophisticated thought processes of the Aurignacian culture, too. They found carved items with holes bored in them to allow them to be worn as ornamentation. They found bones, shells, wood, stone, and animal antlers carved into sculptures representing human and animal forms. These items may have been for decoration, or they could have been used to identify members of a clan, tribe, or family group. They may have had had some significance to early religious beliefs.

Some caves and rock slabs include carvings depicting animals that were alive at the time. These are often depicted in careful detail and a recognizable style. Early musical instruments, including some primitive flutes formed from bones, were discovered. These discoveries gave rise to the idea that some sort of ceremonial music and dance rituals may have developed at that time as well.

This surge in thinking ability and creativity exhibited itself in another way in the Aurignacian culture: diet. Paleontologists studying the bones and other remains of these people have determined that during this time, they shifted from eating easier-to-catch food, such as deer, wild cattle, and shellfish, to eating more birds and rabbits, which are smaller and harder to catch. The ability to do this indicates a more advanced level of reasoning and improved skills in designing and fashioning weapons.

Researchers are not sure what prompted the surge of creative thinking, reasoning, and crafting skills that led to the developments evidenced by the Aurignacian tradition. However, they do know that this culture represents the earliest modern humans known to exist in Europe. The advancements these early modern humans made likely gave them the edge they needed to form mutually beneficial groups, communicate with each other, and overcome adversities, leading them to become the dominant form of human life on Earth.

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