First evidence of a whale bone industry in the western European Upper Paleolithic: Magdalenian artifacts from Isturitz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France)

International audienceRecent reexamination of osseous material from the Magdalenian layers of the Isturitz cave (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France) by the author and F. Poplin has shown that several artifacts once considered to be made of antler have now been identified deriving from cetacean bone, most probably whale bone. These artifacts demonstrate the existence of technical exploitation of whale bone, proving that the now submerged seashore was also a place where Paleolithic people gathered specific materials for producing weapons and tools