Aurignacian

[ awr-in-yey-shuh n ]

/ ˌɔr ɪnˈyeɪ ʃən /

adjective

of, belonging to, or typical of an Upper Paleolithic industry with characteristic stone and bone artifacts that is distributed from western France to eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Origin of Aurignacian

First recorded in 1910–15; Aurignac + -ian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aurignacian

In the Aurignacian level is found the vast accumulation of the bones of horses already described.
Men of the Old Stone Age|Henry Fairfield Osborn
In the upper Aurignacian layer Lalanne discovered two bas-reliefs representing the figures of a man and of a woman.
Men of the Old Stone Age|Henry Fairfield Osborn
From middle Aurignacian on through Solutrean times these denizens of the extreme north disappear from this region of Europe.
Men of the Old Stone Age|Henry Fairfield Osborn
But the cave continued to be occupied until at the close of the Aurignacian period a fall of rock sealed up the entrance.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth

The remarkable method of blood-letting by chopping off part of a finger seems to have been practised even in Aurignacian times.
The Evolution of the Dragon|G. Elliot Smith

British Dictionary definitions for aurignacian

Aurignacian

/ (ˌɔːrɪɡˈneɪʃən) /

adjective

of, relating to, or produced during a flint culture of the Upper Palaeolithic type characterized by the use of bone and antler tools, pins, awls, etc, and also by cave art and evidence of the beginnings of religion

Word Origin for Aurignacian

C20: from French Aurignacien, after Aurignac, France, in the Pyrenees, near which is the cave where remains were discovered

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for aurignacian

Aurignacian

[ ôr′ĭg-nā′shən, ôr′ēn-yā′- ]

Relating to an Upper Paleolithic culture in Europe between the Mousterian and Solutrean cultures, dating from around 32,000 to 25,000 years ago and characterized by flaked stone, bone, and antler tools such as scrapers, awls, and burins (engraving tools). Aurignacian culture is associated with Cro-Magnon populations and is especially noted for its well-developed art tradition, including engraved and sculpted animal forms and female figurines thought to be fertility objects. The earliest fully developed cave art, such as the painted animals in the Lascaux cave in southwest France, dates from this period.