Cro-Magnon personal ornaments revisited

The Cro-Magnon rock-shelter hosted the first discovered and certainly one of most important Gravettian burial sites in Europe. However, copious ornament collection found among human skeletons was not analysed with modern techniques. After proposing a synthesis complex curatorial history material, we submitted large proportion personal ornaments at site, five conservation institutions, to taxonomic study as well taphonomic, morphometric microscopic analyses. studied assemblage encompasses shell beads belonging six species (L. littorea, N. lapillus, Turritella sp., L. obtusata, lurida, C. jeffreysianus), two perforated teeth - Red Deer canine bovid incisor three shaped pendants, made ivory displaying no diagnostic features allowing clear identification raw material. Shell were compared reference collections identify selection criteria. people used marine shells coming from both Atlantic possibly Mediterranean coasts ornaments. distance these indicates that may have been acquired via exchange or during seasonal migration. Very few originated closer fossil outcrops. Conversely, available locally. No size preference is observed represented beads. vast majority by puncturing them through aperture. All bear traces indicating they worn individuals’ lives, suggesting belong beadwork buried deceased. pendants feature differences technology, shape, decoration different agency for each. Re-examination single radiocarbon age obtained littorea leads us propose, light more up-to-date calibration curves nature sample, additional dating should be performed order refine chronological attribution burials.