North-Western Europe during the Gravettian
Contributions of recent research to the understanding of the societies and their environments

University of Liege, 12-13 April 2018

The study of Early Upper Palaeolithic societies of North-Western Europe is remarkably dynamic today. It is powered by the discovery of important new sites and by the thorough and interdisciplinary re-examination of old collections. Building on the major syntheses of the 1970s and the 1980s, the symposium in Sens in 2009 (Bodu et al., 2013) and the Prehistoric Congress of France in Amiens in 2016 successfully demonstrated the vitality of this research. These meetings also proved that the data that are currently being collected on the Early Upper Palaeolithic societies and their environment is rich and diverse enough to increase the chronological resolution and discuss the different EUP periods separately.

The Gravettian societies have remained poorly known in North-West Europe. This is partly due to limitations imposed by old excavations, but also due to the low development of certain research areas. This symposium aims at a first synthesis of the data on environmental conditions and human behaviour during the Gravettian in North-Western Europe. We welcome oral presentations focusing on the acquisition of mineral and animal resources, the integration of these resources into technical (lithic industry, osseous industry) and symbolic (ornaments, mobile art) systems, or on the spatial organization of human groups (site function, settlement systems, land use). Multi- and interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome. Chrono-stratigraphic and chrono-cultural syntheses, as well as contributions dealing with territories situated on the margins of North-Western Europe, are also encouraged to allow comparisons between different regional sequences.

Abstract submission:
please send your proposal (title and abstract of maximum 300 words, in English or in French) by January 31.

Registration:
open until February 28 (a supplementary fee will be added after that date). Please find more information in the circular.

Contact:
nwgravettian2018@uliege.be

Organizers:
Pierre Noiret (ULiège), Olivier Touzé (FNRS, ULiège, Univ. Paris 1, UMR 7041), Hélène Salomon (CNRS – UMR 5204), Nejma Goutas (CNRS – UMR 7041)

Scientific committee:
Pierre Bodu (CNRS – UMR 7041), Nejma Goutas (CNRS – UMR 7041), Laurent Klaric (CNRS – UMR 7055), Jessica Lacarrière (UMR 7041), Pierre Noiret (ULiège), Veerle Rots (FNRS, ULiège), Hélène Salomon (CNRS – UMR 5204), Olivier Touzé (FNRS, ULiège, Univ. Paris 1, UMR 7041)