Flint Wealth versus Scarcity

Abstract

The open-air sites occupied by reindeer and horse hunters during the late Magdalenian of the Paris Basin in France are located in an area rich in good quality flint that was mostly collected on the river banks and knapped in the camps' flint workshops. In contrast, Magdalenians from the Swiss settlements of Champréveyres and Monruz came to hunt horses in the Lake Neuchâtel area where flint is scarce. In the first case, the strong norms that organize the late Magdalenian operational sequences in knapping as well as the abundance of the raw material allow for the identification of the transmission of the knapping skill. Several levels of competence achieved by learners of different stages are identifiable—from beginners to trained apprentices. These different levels can be related to different age groups. On the Swiss sites, such evidence is very scarce in comparison with the Paris Basin.