The Azilian, also known as Federmesser period and sometimes called the Arch-Backed Point Techno-complex, refers to the transitional period in Europe between the late Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian and the establishment of the Mesolithic. Settlements dated to this culture have been documented on many of the Magdalenian sites in central Europe at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
Federmesser means "penknife" in German, and the term refers to the period's characteristic arch-backed arrow points. The Federmesser/Azilian lasted between about 13,000-11,000 RCYBP (14,000-12,700 calendar years before the present [cal BP]), and during this time, enormous economic and cultural change occurred, believed to have been driven by climate change.
Climate Change and Federmesser
The transition of Magdalenian Upper Paleolithic to Federmesser (sometimes called 'azilianization') corresponds to a major climatic shift known as the Alleröd of the Late Pleistocene, when the environment of Europe began warming. What had been cold steppe tundra in Europe became birch and pine forest, forcing the people who had been living there to adapt 30,000 years worth of cultural practices in the space of a few hundred years in order to survive.
Available animals shifted from steppe species such as large bodied auroch and reindeer, to temperate forest species dominated by moose, ibex, chamois and red deer. As a result, profound economic changes were required in hunting and processing strategies, evidenced by the development of large curved backed points, and the loss of old technologies.
Chronology
The Azilian took place during the Alleröd oscillation, the first warm and moist period after the end of the LGM, and the names of its cultural stages refer to the Alleröd.
- pre-Alleröd, 14,000-13,700 cal BP
- Early Alleröd 13,700-13,200 cal BP
- Late Alleröd 13,200-12,700 cal BP
- (Laacher See Volcanic eruption, ca 12,890 cal BP)
- Younger Dryas, 12,700-11,500 cal BP
Pre-Alleröd: The change in technology and diet began gradually, and during the pre-Alleröd, some characteristics of the Magdalenian persist, in particular, a regional strategy for obtaining raw stone materials (essentially, trading with other groups), and a persistence of knapping techniques. About 100 different tool types have been identified at pre-Alleröd sites, with burins (chisels) representing the largest percentage. Retouching, backed blades, truncated blades, curved points, all are present. Some evidence of population decrease is apparent, however, and a gradual loss of sophistication in technology over the Upper Paleolithic has also been detected.
Early Alleröd: At the onset of the Alleröd, a consistent warming pattern was established. The floodplains become dominated by birch forest, and steppe animals disappeared and aurochs and deer became abundant. During the early part of this trend, the lithic industry became sparser, with only about 40 shaped tools, and even they decreased in number and complexity over time. Raw materials were primarily (but not exclusively) from local sources, and the technology to make those tools is unskilled in comparison with earlier periods. Federmesser points, small arrow points with regularly arched backs made on small blades, represent almost 40% of the assemblages. Backed knives are common.
Late Alleröd: The final Alleröd has evidence of a rebound in population: a large number of settlements have been found in the floodplains, with multiple occupations. The landscape shifted to birch (southern Europe) or pine (northern) woodland. Tools increased in complexity, although Federmesser points still make up 40% of the late Alleröd toolkits. A few drill bits, burins and scrapers are seen in the assemblages, and backed knives are still fairly common. The primary change in technology was a shift away from soft hammer to hard hammer percussion.
Post-Alleröd (Younger Dryas): The sudden temporary return of cold conditions to Europe defining the Younger Dryas brought a new steep drop in population. The remaining people were in small, very mobile groups who were extremely adaptable, and those people make up the Mesolithic period populations.
Art and the Federmesser
One significant change identified in Federmesser/Azilian cultural trends, especially compared to the Magdalenian, is the alteration in artistic styles. Cave painting ceases completely, and decorative techniques on tools and portable art changed from naturalistic to geometrical: figurative portable and cave art had almost completely disappeared by the end of the Alleröd.
A graphic example of the transition of Federmesser art is an elk cow figurine made of amber, illustrated in the image above. Fragments of the were discovered in the surface expression of the Weitsche site, a Federmesser culture occupation located in the Elbe Valley between Hamburg and Berlin, Germany. Systematic sieving of the soil over the next several years recovered a total of 49 pieces, several concentrations of flint debitage and calcined bone were recovered from Weitsche. AMS dating of two bone fragments returned dates of 11,980 and 11,755 RCYBP, or between 11,800-11,680 cal BC.
Reassembled, the figurine measures 90x60x16 mm, and it consists of the head and most of the body of a long-legged elk cow lowering its head to the ground. The body surface is plain, but the mane is represented by cross-hatching, and while the eyes, ear holes and mouth are represented by drilled holes, the earlaps, nose and dewlaps are carefully and naturalistically carved. A ring shaped residual bridge joins the legs, protecting the legs from breaking.
The Weitsche figurine is the oldest elk representation found north of the Alps, and scholars believe it represents cultural evidence for the in-migration of elk into the region at the end of the last ice age. In addition, say scholars, it represents the glimmers of a cultural transition in Federmesser, from the Late Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian naturalistic traditions to the geometrical designs that mark Mesolithic artistic traditions.
- Read more about Baltic amber
Living Federmesser
Most Federmesser sites in the Somme basin of northern France and Belgium are open air sites, situated on river terraces and at the base of slopes. As a result, many of them are deeply buried in tightly sealed alluvial deposits and exhibit excellent preservation.
The sites represent single, temporary occupations of single households, with both domestic activities (scrapers and burins representing butchering and food processing) and hunting activities represented by projectile points and bladelets. The human groups are highly mobile, with a clearly decreased population in the early Alleröd. Raw material sources were primarily local during the early part of the Federmesser, and then towards the end, exotic materials show up, probably the result of a rebound in population and reconnection with other groups.
Azilian/Federmesser sites: Le Clouseau, Pincevent, Belloy-sur-Somme, Gouy, Conty, Klein-Nordende, Saleux, La Chaussée-Tirancourt, Mas d'Azil, Hangest-sur-Somme, (all in France); Los Azules, El Mirón, Balma Guilanyà, El Castillo, Horno Cave (Spain); Andernach, Weitsche (Germany), Rekem (Belgium), Howburn (Scotland).
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Bodu P. 1995. Un Gisement à Federmesser sur les bords de la Seine: Le "Closeau" à Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-De-Seine). Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 92(4):425-455.
Bodu P, and Valentin B. 1997. Groupes à Federmesser ou Aziliens dans le sud et l'ouest du bassin Parisien. Propositions pour un nouveau modèle d'évolution. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 94(3):341-347.
Burdukiewicz JM. 2011. Late Glacial hunter-gatherer reactions to the Younger Dryas cooling event in the southern and eastern Baltic regions of Europe. Quaternary International 242(2):302-312.
Coudret P, and Fagnart J-P. 1997. Les Industries à Federmesser dans le bassin de la Somme: Chronologie et Identité des groupes culturels. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 94(3):349-359.
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Straus LG. 2005. The upper paleolithic of cantabrian Spain. Evolutionary Anthropology 14(4):145-158.
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Veil S, Breest K, Grootes P, Nadeau M-J, and Hüís M. 2012. A 14 000-year-old amber elk and the origins of northern European art. Antiquity 86(333):660-673.
