The University of Chicago Press, Journal of Anthropological Research, 4(71), p. 523-544, 2015
DOI: 10.3998/jar.0521004.0071.404
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Solutrean culture has been interpreted as a response to the Last Glacial Maximum in western Europe. However, to establish a link depends on our knowledge of the impact of global climatic changes at a local level and on the differential preservation and signifi cance of the record. The identifi cation of lithic sources, technology, function, and place of discard is an effective way to mitigate some of these biases and to improve our understanding of hunter-gatherer societies. We present the results of a study of fl int materials found in several rockshelters and open-air sites preserving Upper Solutrean lithic assemblages from France and Portugal, using a Geographic Information System. The network defi ned by a leastcost algorithm is considered a proxy for social and territorial reconstruction. Our goal is to identify recurrences and differences in Solutrean raw material network and management as compared with Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic assemblages in the same areas, considering environmental changes.