LA QUESTION DE L’EPIGRAVETTIEN ORIENTAL

he designation, under the name of Epigravettian, of all industries in Central and Eastern Europe from the last glacial maximum and up to the end of isotopic stage 2, masks the variety of industries and prevents an understanding of the adaptations of hunter-gatherer societies to climate variations. - For Eastern Europe (Dnieper, Boug and Don basins): Eastern Gravettian, Final Eastern Gravettian, Local Aurignacoid Industries (Muralovkian, Zamiatnine culture and others), Early Epigravettian of the steppe area, gap, Mezinian of the Dnieper Basin, late Epigravettian of the steppe area, - For the northeastern foothills of the Carpathians (Dniester, Prut and Bistrita basins) : Eastern Gravettian, Aurignacoid Industries, gap, Early Epigravettian (Molodovian s.s.), gap, Final Epigravettian, - For Central Europe: Eastern Gravettian, gap, Aurignacoid Industries, gap, Sagvarian, gap, Magdalenian and Late Epigravettian. The typological and technological studies of lithic and bone industries reveal large differences, due to strong changes in human systems during the last glacial maximum. And the mere presence of backed bladelets (which also exist in the Solutrean, Badegoulian and Magdalenian cultures in Western Europe) is not sufficient to cluster these industries under the same name of Epigravettian. So we propose to give different names to these different industries.