Towards high Late Gravettian diversity in Central Europe – Microlithic assemblage from Pod Oknem Cave, Poland

Late Gravettian occupations north of the Carpathians remain rare and poorly understood, limiting current interpretations of hunter-gatherer diversity in Central Europe before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary research conducted at Pod Oknem Cave in southern Poland, where two episodes of Upper Palaeolithic human activity were identified within a well-preserved Pleistocene stratigraphic sequence. The most important assemblage, dated to 27–29 ka calBP, consists of a small but distinctive set of lithic artefacts including microlithic lunates and a carinated piece. Despite its limited size, the assemblage displays technological and typological features previously unknown in Late Gravettian contexts north of the Carpathians. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the Pod Oknem assemblage has no close parallels among currently known Central European Late Gravettian industries. However, partial analogies may be observed with microlithic industries from Moravany-Žakovská in Slovakia and with younger Epiaurignacian assemblages of LGM chronology known from the north Pontic region and Central Europe, where retouched microliths are associated with carinated cores. The results expand the known variability of Late Gravettian technological adaptations and raise new questions concerning mobility, innovation, and cultural interactions among hunter-gatherer groups immediately preceding the Last Glacial Maximum, while also demonstrating the importance of high-resolution excavation and recovery methods for identifying ephemeral archaeological occupations. It also raises the question of the extent to which the specific site function might determine the morphology of the assemblage.