The Stone Age was a wildly innovative time period for humans across the world. Estimated lasting about 3.4 million years and ending between 6000 and 2000 BCE, there is loads about this ancient era that is widely theorized and mysterious. Since there is so much to cover within the Stone Age, it was reasoned by scholars in the 1800’s, that it be broken up chronologically, starting with the Paleolithic era and continuing with the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. The Paleolithic era, meaning “old stone”, is the earliest division of the Stone Age and covers the greatest portion of humanity’s time. Separated into three stages, Lower, Middle and Upper, the Paleolithic period is still very much unaccounted for. Archaeological digs have been going on for centuries across Europe and other important parts of the world, supporting the knowledge and theories archaeologists now know to create an understanding of our prehistoric world. The Upper Paleolithic is the last subdivision of the Paleolithic era and is known for its sudden progression of intricate stone artifacts, artistic expression and personal ornamentation. Nine major cultures have been associated with the Upper Paleolithic time period and the modern human. These cultures were some of the first to see humans using art and tools as a way of expression. They engraved animals onto their tools and used ornamentation as a way of status and heritage. Early Upper Paleolithic art originated in the Aurignacian culture of Europe around 40,000 years ago, and continued onto the Mesolithic period. The Aurignacian culture derives its name from the type site Aurignac, found in France and has the oldest known examples of figure art. These modern homo sapiens were known to have developed the Venus figures, stone statues that took on a womanly figure. The statues, archaeologists believe, were to be symbols of a mother goddess or a fertility icon and to bring good fortune for the Aurignacian tribes. From about 22,000 to 17,000 BP the Solutrean culture was thriving. This period saw the transition from flint to bone implements. The term Solutrean comes from the type site of Crot du Charneir, located at Solutré in France. The Solutrean’s were succeeded by the Magdalenian culture. The Magdalenian period, which last from 17,000 to 9,000 BP, is divided into six phases to help archaeologists record information more accurately. The Magdalenian culture was mostly found across western Europe and named after the type site La Madeline, located in France. The Magdalenian's were also known as “The Age of the Reindeer”. They were best known for their elaborate bone, antler and ivory work and represented a shift in cultural development int Europe during this time. Magdalenian personal adornments were made from a wide range of raw materials such as shells, fossil mollusks and clay. Different teeth of the many kinds of animals, bone, antler, ivory and mineral materials were also used. Personal ornaments made from ivory were rare. The most important examples of ivory are the pieces shaped into the form of animals. Jet was another common raw material for making pendants in the Magdalenian period. Central European sites have found very small beads, in various shapes made out of this rock. Magdalenian stone tools were small and geometrically shaped, probably set into bone or antler handles for use, burins, scrapers. Bone was used extensively to make wedges, hammers and spearheads with link shafts, barbed points and harpoons. Eyed needles, jewelry, and hooked rods were probably used as spear throwers. Bone tools were often engraved with animal images. Ocean mollusks found in the Mediterranean were made into beads also. There have been many sites discovered in Europe and during the Magdalenian era. Most of the European Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites were dug at the end of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. La Madeleine is a rock shelter located in France and is where the term Magdalenian is derived from. In 1926, the skeleton of a three year old child was discovered, with exquisite shell jewelry. This discovery was dated from the end of the Magdalenian period. Lascaux, a cave site also found in France, is another popular excavation from the Magdalenian period. Other Magdalenian digs include Verlaine and Trou de Chaleux among several others. Many of these digs took place in France and the surrounding area. The Goyet site in Belgium is another important finding for this culture period. Goyet was first excavated in 1868 and 1869. In the 1970s, small scale excavations were made. Most recently, Goyet's artifacts have been investigated by scholars to further examine the animal bone assemblage from the cave. Many of the animal bones in Goyet Cave show evidence of being butchered and are broken, have cut marks or red ochre stains. Archaeologists also discovered bone needles, a necklace made of 26 perforated teeth and two bone fragments. From 14000 BP and onwards, the signs of colonization by groups living in more northern territories becomes more noticeable. Preservation of human remains is mostly found in fragments and are either cranial or jaw parts. There are only around 26 primary burials discovered so far. The excavation of these sites have indicated that their funeral processes were varied. Marks on craniums also indicate different practices. One exceptional burial for the Middle Magdalenian and the Upper Paleolithic, finds a young women placed on the left side, flexed and protected by 4 stone slabs. In her grave there are red deer antlers and a rib, various flint tools, blades and burins. The body was decorated with at least 71 perforated deer canines, some of them engraved with decorations, a shell pendant and soapstone bead. There is not a lot of information of how bead making evolved over very long term time periods. The transition from earliest bead use to ornaments in more populated societies is still not well understood, although it was in this transition that stone beads became diverse, widely traded, and used as an expression of social identities. Analyzing the materials and patterns of beadwork allows archaeologists to gain insight in the production of these findings as well as their purpose. Discovery of excavated sites can also be useful for interpreting the function and use of the artifacts and how much it was used or how sacred it was. Research of beads and pendants at prehistoric sites and analyzing elements of stone tools, burials, houses and more allow them to be associated with certain activities. Most of the personal ornaments recorded at the Magdalenian sites in Central Europe come from the west, where the number of sites is greater than in the rest of the area. From the middle Magdalenian and on, the discovery of pendants in the western area makes for clear evidence of contacts with areas in Southwest Europe. The study of the Magdalenian personal ornaments found in Europe indicates the existence of a complex trading system between different groups of hunter-gatherers during this time.