The Epigravettian refers to a broad set of post-Gravettian cultural traditions that persisted in Southern and Eastern Europe between c. 21,000 and 11,000 BP. It is considered a regional continuation of the Gravettian, especially in areas not reached by the Solutrean or Magdalenian, such as the Italian Peninsula, the Balkans, and parts of Eastern Europe. Lithic technologies remained focused on bladelet production, and some regions exhibit continuity in symbolic behaviour, including the creation of anthropomorphic figurines. The Venus of Eliseevichi, found in western Russia, is often associated with the Eastern Epigravettian and reflects the persistence of the Venus tradition into the late Upper Palaeolithic, albeit in reduced and regionally specific forms (Svoboda, 2007; Praslov and Rogachev, 1982).
