Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.

Lapidary artifacts show an impressive abundance and diversity during the Ceramic period in the Caribbean islands, especially at the beginning of this period. Most of the raw materials used in this production do not exist naturally on the islands of the Lesser Antilles, nevertheless, many archaeological sites have yielded such artifacts on these islands. In the framework of a four-years-long project, we created a database by combining first hand observations and analysis, as well as a thorough literature survey. The result is a database including more than 100 sites and almost 5000 beads, pendants, blanks and raw material fragments.

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taphonomic, petroarchaeological, technoeconomic, and technofunctional approaches to the lithic industry. The site of Brignol provides a new archaeological assemblage attributable to the quite particular grattoir Caminade facies of the Recent Aurignacian. Identified in relatively important quantities on only eight sites to date, the role of this facies within the recent phase of the Aurignacian macro-cultural phenomenon remains quite enigmatic. Is it a functional facies, complimentary with other variants during this period, or can it be considered its own separate chronological and/or regional entity? Several factors impede our ability to provide an adequate answer to this question at this juncture. Firstly, taphonomic issues in stratified sites render our comprehension of the relationship between grattoirs Caminade and other chronological markers of the Recent Aurignacian less than clear, while the absence of refits on such a series to date has made it impossible to complete the existing description the grattoir Caminade operational sequence, which is in turn necessary to evaluate its compatibility with other modes of production present during this phase. The technoeconomical study of the lithic assemblage from Brignol, systematic refits, combined with technofunctional, petroarchaeological, and taphonomic analyses, provide a new milestone for the comprehension of this particular archaeological facies. While Brignol cannot provide answers to all of our questions, the description of the operative schema of grattoir Caminade production, data from micro-wear analyses, as well as possible site functions, allow us to evoke novel hypotheses to explore regarding how these particular objets functioned and what the role of this facies is within the larger Recent Aurignacian period.

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