THE VALE-COMPRIDO POINT AND THE ORIGINS OF THE SOLUTREAN

This paper presents a point type identified in a Proto-Solutrean lithic assemblage excavated at the Portuguese open air site of Vale Comprido - Encosta (Rio Maior, Portugal), which is characterized by a dorsal thinning of the platform after extraction from the core and which we have named Vale Comprido point. The analysis of other assemblages attributed to the Late Gravettian, the Aurignacian V, and the early Solutrean, dated to between ca 22 000 and ca 20 500 BP, has revealed so far undescribed reduction techniques and the existence of activity facies that might explain the current confusion in the terminology of these industries. Following the recognition of this new tool type, and based on its chronological distribution in the Portuguese sites, an attempt is made to clear up this confusion and suggest a technological model for the transition from the Gravettian to the Solutrean. Although built from observations and patterns derived from Portuguese data, this model is also in good accord with the evidence from sequences in southern France.