Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Magdalenians (c. 18,000-10,000
B.C.
):
Thesehunter-gatherersoftheUpperPa-
leolithic period (40,000-10,000
B.C.
) were driven south by the Second Ice Age. (Histori-
ans named them after the Madeleine archaeological site near Les Eyzies-de-Tayac.) The
Magdalenians flourished in southern France and northern Spain for eight millennia—long
enough to chronicle the evolution and extinction of several animal species. (Think: Egypt
lasted a mere 3,000 years; Rome lasted 1,000; America fewer than 250 so far.)
Physically, the people were Cro-Magnons. Unlike hulking, beetle-browed Neander-
thals,Cro-Magnonswerefullydeveloped
Homosapiens
whocouldblendintoourmodern
population. We know these people by the possessions found in their settlements: stone
axes,flintarrowheads,boneneedlesformakingclothes,musicalinstruments,greaselamps
(without their juniper wicks), and cave paintings and sculpture. Many objects are beauti-
fully decorated.
