Ivory Ornaments of the Aurignacian in Western Europe: Case studies from France and Germany.

Here we present an overview of the personal ornaments of the Swabian Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian sites of south-western France made from mammoth ivory. The production sequences for the serial manufacture of beads from these sites are quite similar. While the Swabian sites have yielded numerous different types of beads with a focus of the double-perforated bead, the nearly exclusive use of one bead-type, the perle en forme de panier , is striking at the sites of south-western France. Following the presentation of major inventories of ivory ornaments in the two regions concerned, we discuss potential factors underlying both the differences and the similarities we observe in these assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]