SAS Webinar
Saturday, November 13, 2021
2:00 p.m.
“Rondelles – Artistic Objects from the Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian Culture”
by Marlena Billings, UC Davis Anthropology Student

Rondelles are circular discs made from various materials (the most common being bone and stone) with a central hole. They have been found in sites from the Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian culture (ca. 15-13,000 BP). Many have figurative engravings on their surfaces. They are considered to be artistic objects but their use and technical stages of operation (chaine operatoire) are a subject of research and speculation. Marlena will describe these objects, discuss when and where they were found and offer comments on her experimental reproduction of these disks as well as her observations on the original artifacts.

Marlena is a student in the Department of Anthropology at UC Davis majoring in anthropology. She has been working on an experimental archaeological project with the Center of Experimental Archaeology at UC Davis where she has been
experimentally reproducing rondelle disk to understand their production and production and wear. SAS supported her research of rondelles in France this past summer.