The technology of the European Upper Palaeolithic yielded abundant evidence of the use of composite projectile heads, in the form of osseous points on the side of which one or several (micro)lithic elements are attached. Yet, little experimental work has been devoted to testing and assessing the parameters of use of this type of composite tips. In this paper we present a pilot experiment with replicas of Magdalenian composite spear tips, made of an antler point with one or two rows of flint backed bladelets. Two series of replicas were manufactured after the lithic and osseous record of, respectively, the Lower Magdalenian from southwest France (c. 20-18 Ky cal BP) and the Upper Magdalenian of Pincevent in the Paris Basin (c. 15-14 Ky cal BP). The 34 experimental composite heads were hafted to spears that were then shot with a spearthrower at the carcasses of two young deer. The results provide some insight into the performance characteristics of the osseous and lithic components, both in efficiency and durability. Finally, possible improvements of the experimental protocol are discussed, as well as the implications of our results for the understanding of projectile point variability in the Upper Palaeolithic

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.

Palaeoethnographic studies of Late Glacial hunter-gatherers in the Paris Basin have for many years focused on dwelling practices at the level of both occupation units and camps. A parallel research orientation has attempted to identify the authors of lithic and bone/ antler production. This approach has been particularly fruitful in the context of Magdalenian sites, but was not applied to an Azilian site until 1994, in the context of excavations at Le Closeau. In the earliest level of this site, classic studies allowed the identification of highly structured dwelling units, while the relations between them were determined through lithic refitting. Recent analyses associating data concerning seasonality, the utilisation of space and quantities of abandoned artefacts open new perspectives for understanding the economic and social organisation of Azilian territory.

Dans le Bassin parisien, le Badegoulien a été identifié pour la première fois il y a 70 ans mais ne reste connu qu’au travers d’un nombre limité de sites. Grâce à la fouille de deux gisements clés, le Bois des Beauregards (Seine-et-Marne) et l’abri Fritsch (Indre), certains pans de sa culture matérielle ont pu être décrits dès les années soixante-dix - quatre-vingt. Il aura néanmoins fallu attendre les récentes fouilles réalisées sur le site de Oisy (Nièvre) à partir des années 2000 pour que de nouvelles découvertes viennent enrichir la connaissance de cette période. Exploré depuis cinq ans, ce site fournit en effet une importante documentation qui complète amplement celle recueillie jusqu’à présent. Les analyses actuelles qui visent une meilleure caractérisation technologique des méthodes de fabrication des outils et des armatures en silex y ont d’ores et déjà montré quelques caractères inédits qui ouvrent la voie à de nouvelles discussions. La mise en évidence de ces particularités nous a par ailleurs conduit à effectuer des observations supplémentaires sur le matériel des deux autres gisements principaux, mais aussi sur plusieurs industries régionales présumées badegouliennes. Ainsi, vingt ans après la dernière publication majeure sur le sujet, il est désormais possible de dresser une nouvelle synthèse des connaissances sur le peuplement badegoulien de la moitié nord de la France et d’évoquer les problématiques qui devront être prochainement développées.

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