Abstract

Courbet cave is a landmark Magdalenian site of the Aveyron valley. From early explorations in the 19th century, the discovery of human remains and a wealth of portable art in association with Magdalenian industry and fauna contributed to the fame of the deposit. Beside renowned artworks, the overall content of the industry remained poorly known apart from succinct comments in early publications, leaving a grey area when considering the place of Courbet cave within Magdalenian settlements of south-western France. A recent review of the osseous industry and portable art curated at the British Museum (over 1300 pieces) corroborated the attribution of most of the collection to the Upper Magdalenian and yielded new evidence of contacts with surrounding areas, setting up a framework for future research. In particular, the unexpected identification of twenty-three additional portable art pieces, some of which support close connections to the Pyrenean area, and two artefacts made of whale bones imported from the Atlantic coast clearly show the Magdalenian inhabitants of the Aveyron valley were part of wider networks.