Reconstructing flexible pathways of Aurignacian blade and bladelet production at Vogelherd

The beginning of the Upper Paleolithic represents a key period in human history. At this time, we can grasp the technological concepts that Homo sapiens used in the early Upper Paleolithic. The age of the Aurignacian in combination with the three-dimensional ivory artworks, musical instruments and personal ornaments in the Swabian Jura sites emphasize the importance of this region for understanding and defining the Upper Paleolithic. During that time blade and bladelet production became the central interest of lithic production. The study of these lithic reduction sequences is essential for understanding technological inventions and socio-economic behaviors of early anatomically modern humans in Central Europe. So far, however, the lithic technology from the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura has only been studied in detail at the site of Geißenklösterle. In this paper, we provide an exhaustive study based on the rich lithic assemblage from Vogelherd Cave combining both the chaîne opératoire approach and attribute analysis. This work highlights the importance of carefully sorting minimal raw material units and engaging in systematic refitting. These observations allow us to reconstruct entire reduction sequences including the biographies of both cores and tools. The source and physical characteristics of lithic raw materials greatly influenced decision-making during the reduction process. As in many other Paleolithic contexts, Aurignacian knappers thoroughly exploited imported raw materials while exhausting low quality local material to a lesser degree. Comparisons with other assemblages from the region help to facilitate the characterization of the Swabian Aurignacian. This comparison allows us to separate regional adaptations from more site-specific behaviors.