ABSTRACT
The Younger Dryas in Europe has long been recognized as a period of significant environmental and cultural changes. During the Younger Dryas, Europe was characterized by a profound temperature gradient from north to south. An examination of the paleoenvironmental and archaeological records of southern Germany and parts of Switzerland will explore the nature of these changes and their impact on cultural behavior. The relative continuity of the vegetation cover in this region during the Younger Dryas is reflected by a relative continuity in the archaeological record as well. In the traditional chronological scheme of the area's culture history, the reindeer and horse economies of the upper Paleolithic Magdalenian develops into the forest-adapted late Paleolithic culture during the llerd period, which persisted through the Younger Dryas. In contrast to the preceding Magdalenian, when most sites are caves and rockshelters in valleys flanked by limestone hills, the vast majority of late Paleolithic sites are open-air in the lowlands.
