The Early Upper Palaeolithic occupations of Willendorf II (Lower Austria): a contribution to the chronostratigraphic and cultural context of the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in Central Europe

Abstract

International audienceWillendorf II is one of the rare sites to offer a good chronostratigraphic framework for the period between 45,000 and 25,000 B.P. in Central Europe. Located in the Wachau on a lower terrace of the Danube, it has yielded 9 archaeological layers classically ascribed to the early Upper Palaeolithic, the Aurignacian and the Gravettian. This paper deals with the chronostratigraphic and cultural background of the lowest layers 1-4 of the Willendorf sequence. With good 14C datings and chronostratigraphic observations, it is now possible to better document this key-period for the understanding of the appearance of Upper Palaeolithic industries in Central Europe