One other thought on the art work, Dig. Again, sheer speculation but perhaps we are dealing with one gifted individual with a talent who was able to teach others that art?
Logic would dictate that that was how it began. The art work continued for some 1000s of yrs, this makes it a cultural thing.
The study of pre-history is the study of different cultures, and those cultures are defined by the typical artifacts of that culture, Clovis for example.
And the defining characteristic of each is that it is unique in its time and that it is indigenous. The Giza Pyramids, the Easter Island statues, even the Igloo.
This also applies to the art of cave complex of France and Spain, it is as defining as any form of stone tool.
Thus unless we wish to plead 'special case' the art is representative of a certain culture. The problem is, which culture?
The art started, ran for many years, then ceased. The normal conclusion when applied to stone tools vanishing from the stratigraphy is that the people went extinct. This argument is used in relation to HSN and Clovis.
And it is rubbish!
Apply it to the stone tools etc of the Native American and he became extinct some time during the 19C !
Actually what happens when cultures meet is that the technically superior culture absorbs the lesser. Anybody scalped by a NA after about 1830 lost his hair to a blade that was in all probability stamped. 'Made in Sheffield!'
Now if what we are discussing was a stone tool assemblage the club would accept it as evidence of a definite culture, so why the problem?
If, Min, you accept ...
The study of pre-history is the study of different cultures, and those cultures are defined by the typical artifacts of that culture, Clovis for example.
And the defining characteristic of each is that it is unique in its time and that it is indigenous.
.... the only people that we can fit into the picture is HSN!
Science has a nasty habit of tying itself in knots.
Take the calculations of the number of HSN that existed in Europe. Now we know that at some stage HSN buried his dead, thus the few examples available to us are those whose burials survived or my some michance were not buried, and any attempt to calculate numbers from that is as accurate as attempting a head count from the number of Cattle that die of natural causes!
There is actually not one piece of evidence that Clovis or HSN went extinct, there is evidence of a meeting with a new people.
The merging of people is so ignored you can even obtain copies of learned papers demonstrating how HSS wiped out HSN. It has taken over a 100 yrs for any alternative to be considered, and the alternative is staring you in the face when you look in a mirror.
What I have suggested may turn out to be incorrect, but at our current level of understanding it fits!
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
