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2026-08-23 15:22:02 • ID: 2420
Teyjat Point from the Champ Parel (Bergeracois)
Situated close to high-quality sources of raw materials, diagnostic Mousterian, Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian artefacts have been found there.
Although an undisturbed Aurignacian workshop has been excavated (Champ Parel 3) during the 1980ies most surface collections of the last 120 years consist of semi-finished pieces, broken artefacts and lithic waste. However, occasionally, very high-quality finished pieces, such as the Teyjat point shown in Figures 1–3, are also found.
In this blog post, I will attempt to contextualise this rare artefact.
Following the resettlement of the Aquitaine plains in the early Upper Magdalenian period (15,0–14,5 k.a. cal. BP), the uniformity of the Magdalenian interaction sphere in the Aquitaine basin and the Pyrenees finally broke down.
Besides artistic expression, which will not be discussed here, lithic production is divided geographically (the Aquitaine Basin versus the Pyrenees).
Directly comparing the lithic strategies in the Aquitaine Basin and the Pyrenees during the early Upper Magdalenian reveals distinct adaptations to regional geography and resource availability.
Although both regions date to the same timeframe in the early Upper Magdalenian period, their lithic production diverge significantly.
While the Aquitaine strategy focuses on producing standardised blades and bladelets, the Pyrenean assemblage is characterised by non-standardised, small bladelets.
In terms of lithic fossil directeurs, the Aquitaine region is characterised by shouldered points, Laugerie-Basse points, and geometric shapes, whereas the Pyrenees show a high frequency of simple backed bladelet inserts.
This reflects different hafting concepts. The Aquitaine strategy favours an axial projectile point solution, whereas the Pyrenean strategy is dominated by lateral insets designed for a barbed effect.
During the late Magdalenian (14,5,0–12 k.a. cal. BP) this trend is still evident and one expression is the appearance of tanged Points (Teyjat Points) in the greater Aquitaine, which were never observed in the Pyrenees.
The Teyjat site: In 1907, fine engravings of aurochs, horses, reindeer, and bears were were discovered in the entrance area of the small La Mairie cave in the heart of the village of Teyjat (Dordogne).
The cave contains more than 40 wall engravings dating from the late Magdalenian. These remarkable realistic engravings were partially covered by the archaeological layers and therefore could be securely dated by classical Archeaological methods.
The total lithic assemblage excavated from the Grotte de la Mairie includes thousands of pieces that reflect a highly organized domestic and hunting economy. The flint knapping style focused heavily on a blade-bladelet continuum. Alongside Teyjat points (see below), the upper layers yielded many Burins bec-de-perroquet.
As discussed in an earlier Blog-entry-see here: 2400 their hook-shaped, heavily reinforced tips were specifically utilized to carve the incredibly precise rock art (such as the famous stylized aurochs and reindeer) discovered on the cave walls and stone tablets.
The rest of the ensemble was dominated by daily processing tools including classic Upper Paleolithic end scrapers, borers/becs and retouched blades. Geological analyses of the flints indicate that while local stone was heavily utilized for daily domestic tasks, the prehistoric inhabitants practiced structured mobility.
High-quality allochthonous flints (imported from surrounding areas like the Charente region) were deliberately conserved for weapon tips like the Teyjat points, ensuring optimal material durability upon high impact.
Teyjat Points: A Teyjat point is a polymorphic tanged point made from a pointed blade. The point, displayed here, a surface finding from Camp Parail in the Bergerac vicinity and made from the typical local high quality flint, is rather large (9 cm).
The blade blank was either already pointed, or one or both edges were sharpened to create the point. A Teyjat point always has a short stem. This stem is formed by abrupt retouching, either direct or inverse.
These points were first described in an article about the Grotte de la Mairie in Teyjat by L. Capitan and others. They described two examples of this type as 'silk points' (Capitan et al., 1908). In 1912, H. Breuil used an illustration of these points to demonstrate their characteristic status in the Late Magdalenian period (Breuil, 1912).
D. de Sonneville-Bordes and J. Perrot used the term 'Teyjat point' in their publication on Upper Palaeolithic typology to refer to this artefact (Sonneville-Bordes & Perrot, 1956, p. 545).
This type is very similar to the Hamburgian point, but has one key difference: a tang instead of a notch.
In the northern Aquitaine basin, Teyjat points were used alongside other specialised hunting weapons, such as Laugerie points. They replaced earlier designs from the Upper Magdalenian period, particularly the shouldered and Gravettian like backed points.
This evolution can be clearly documented through modern re-evaluation, for example at sites such as Le Morin A, Faustin, Laugerie-Basse, Chancelade, the uppermost layers of La Madeleine, Rochereil and Pont d’Ambon layer 5. These sites demonstrate a regional technological adaptation towards highly precise hunting ballistics, most likely in the context of dart-based hunting.
Although they are always found in small numbers, they remain one of the most important index fossils of the Late Magdalenian in this area.
References:
Fasser, N. (2022): Lithic armatures manufacture during the Late Glacial and the beginning of the Early Holocene between North-Eastern Italy and South-Western France: Production methods and techniques. Dissertation, Université Toulouse II – Le Mirail / Università degli Studi di Ferrara.
Langlais, M. (2009): Chronology and Territories in the Magdalenian Between the Rhône and Ebro Rivers: The Example of Lithic Points. Palethnologie 1.
Langlais, M., Sécher, A., Caux, S., Delvigne, V., Gourc, L., Normand, C. & Sánchez de la Torre, M. (2016): Lithic tool kits: A metronome of the evolution of the Magdalenian in southwest France (19,000–14,000 cal BP). Quaternary International 414, 92–107.
Paillet, P. et al. (2016): L’art de la grotte de la Mairie (Teyjat, Dordogne) dans son contexte magdalénien. In: Symbols in the Landscape: Rock Art and its Context. ARKEOS 37.
Sécher, A., Caux, S. & Langlais, M. (2018): Traditions techniques du Magdalénien moyen ancien. Apport de la série lithique de Combe-Cullier, Lacave, Lot, France (couches 11 à 13). PALEO 29.