The Magdalenian, also spelt Magdalénien, refers to one of the later culture of the Upper Palaeolithic in western Europe. It is named after the type site of La Madelaine in the Dordogne region of France. Originally termed "L'Age du Renne" (the age of the reindeer) by Lartet and Christy, the Magdalenian is synonymous in many people's minds with reindeer hunters, although Magdalenian sites also contain extensive evidence for the hunting of red deer, horse and other large mammals present in Europe towards the end of the last ice age. The culture was geographically widespread, and later Magdalenian sites have been found from Portugal in the west to Poland in the east. In archaeology, culture refers to either of two separate but allied concepts: An archaeological culture is a pattern of similar artefacts and features found within a specific area over a limited period of time. ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic – lit. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... In archaeology a type site (also known as a type-site or typesite) is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture. ... Dordogne is a département in central France named after the Dordogne River. ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ...

The culture spans the period between c. 18,000 and 10,000 BP, towards the end of the last ice age. The Magdalenien is characterised by regular blade industries struck from carinated cores. Typologically the Magdalenian is divided into 6 phases which are generally agreed to have chronological significance. The earliest phases are recognised by the varying proportion of blades and specific varieties of scrapers, the middle phases marked by the emergence of a microlithic component (particularly the distinctive denticulated microliths) and the later phases by the presence of uniserial (phase 5) and biserial 'harpoons' (phase 6) made of bone, antler and ivory. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... For other uses of the word blade, see Blade (disambiguation) This article needs to be wikified. ...

There is extensive debate about the precise nature of the earliest Magdalenian assemblages, and it remains questionable whether the Badegoulian culture is in fact the earliest phase of the Magdalenian. Similarly finds from the forest of Beauregard near Paris have often been suggested as belonging to the earliest Magdalenian (see Martin Hemmingway's published PhD thesis for further details). The earliest Magdalenian sites are all found in France.

The later phases of the Magdalenian are also synonymous with the human re-settlement of north-western Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum. Extensive research in Switzerland, southern Germany and Belgium has provided detailed AMS radiocarbon dating to support this (see research papers published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society for 1996 and 1997).

By the end of the Magdalenian, the lithic technology shows a pronounced trend towards increased microlithisation. The bone harpoons and points are the most distinctive chronological markers within the typological sequence. As well as flint tools, the Magdalenians are best known for their elaborate worked bone, antler and ivory which served both functional and aesthetic purposes including bâtons de commandement. Examples of Magdalenian mobile art include figurines and intrically engraved projectile points, as well as items of personal adornment including sea shells, perforated carnivore teeth (presumably necklaces) and fossils. Ivory is a hard, white, opaque substance that is the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth, etc. ... A bâton de commandement or bâton percé is a name given by archaeologists to a particular prehistoric artefact of uncertain function. ... A rare Dresden porcelain figurine Figurine is a diminutive form of the word figure, and generally refers to a small, human-made object that represents some sort of being. ... Carnivores are animals that eat a diet consisting only of meat, whether it comes from live animals or dead (scavenging). ...

The sea shells and fossils found in Magdalenian sites can be sourced to relatively precise areas of origin, and so have been used to support hypothesis of Magdalenian hunter-gatherer seasonal ranges, and perhaps trade routes. Cave sites such as the world famous Lascaux contain the best known examples of Magdalenian cave art. The site of Altimira in Spain, with its extensive and varied forms of Magdalenian mobillary art has been suggested to be an agglomeration site where multiple small groups of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers congregated (see Margaret Conkey's seminal paper in Current Anthropology for 1980). The caves of Lascaux, in France, contain some of the earliest known art, dating back to somewhere between 13,000 and 15,000 BC. The Paleolithic cave paintings consist mostly of realistic images of large animals, including aurochs, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in... Cave, or rock, paintings are paintings painted on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to pre_historic times. ...

In northern Spain and south west France it was superseded by the Azilian culture. In northern Europe we see a slightly different picture, with different variants of the Tjongerian techno-complex following it. It has been suggested that key Late Glacial sites in south-western Britain can also be attributed to the Magdalenian, including the famous site of Kent's Cavern, although this remains open to debate. The Azilian is a name given by archaeologists to an industry of the terminal Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic in northern Spain and south western France. ...