Question

Star-shaped borer is a characteristic tool of \underline{\hspace{2cm} culture.}

• A. Abbevillian
• B. Magdalenian
• C. Solutrean
• D. Perigordian

Hint:

For European Upper Palaeolithic cultures, associate them with their most famous artifacts: Aurignacian (split-base bone points), Gravettian/Perigordian (small backed blades, "Venus" figurines), Solutrean (beautiful leaf-points), and Magdalenian (harpoons and star-shaped borers).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the Upper Palaeolithic culture in Europe that is known for a specific and highly distinctive stone tool called a "star-shaped borer" (in French, bec étoilé).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Abbevillian: This is an early Lower Palaeolithic industry characterized by crude hand-axes, much older and technologically simpler than the tool in question.
- Magdalenian: This is the final culture of the Upper Palaeolithic in Western Europe (c. 17,000 to 12,000 years ago). It is famous for its sophisticated bone, antler, and ivory work (e.g., barbed harpoons) and a diverse lithic toolkit. A highly specialized and diagnostic tool from the Late Magdalenian period is the star-shaped borer, a multiple borer or drill with several radiating points. It is a hallmark of this culture's advanced flint-knapping skills.
- Solutrean: This culture predates the Magdalenian and is renowned for its masterfully crafted, thin, bifacial leaf-shaped points (laurel-leaf and willow-leaf points), made using pressure flaking. Their toolkit does not include the star-shaped borer.
- Perigordian: This is an older classification for a sequence of Upper Palaeolithic cultures in France, contemporary with the Aurignacian and preceding the Solutrean. It is known for backed blades and Gravette points, not star-shaped borers.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The star-shaped borer is a unique and diagnostic tool of the Magdalenian culture.