Abstract
Summary. This contribution is a synthesis on the development of the Aurignacian at a European scale. First, it focuses on Southwestern France to establish an evolutionary model in two successive phases: the Protoaurignacian and the Early Aurignacian. Once defined based on archaeological data (lithic and bone technologies, and when available, ornaments and graphic representations), the model is then confronted with other macro-regions of Europe in order to test its pan-European significance. The results suggest that the Protoaurignacian/Early Aurignacian chrono-cultural succession is not restricted to France and occurs at a continental scale. Moving forward, we propose new avenues to investigate the meaning of this pattern by integrating paleoanthropological and paleogenomic data, and by considering the role of settlement dynamics. We also address the relevance of the so-called ‘transitional industries’ which strictly precede the emergence of the Protoaurignacian in the regions considered.