The Late Glacial, that is the period from the first pronounced warming after the Last GlacialMaximum to the beginning of the Holocene (c. 16,000–11,700 calBP), is traditionally viewed as atime when northern Europe was being recolonized and Late Palaeolithic cultures diversified. Thesecultures are characterized by particular artefact types, or the co-occurrence or specific relative frequenciesof these. In north-eastern Europe, numerous cultures have been proposed on the basis of supposedlydifferent tanged points. This practice of naming new cultural units based on these perceived differenceshas been repeatedly critiqued, but robust alternatives have rarely been offered. Here, we review thetaxonomic landscape of Late Palaeolithic large tanged point cultures in eastern Europe as currentlyenvisaged, which leads us to be cautious about the epistemological validity of many of the constituentgroups. This, in turn, motivates us to investigate the key artefact class, the large tanged point, usinggeometric morphometric methods. Using these methods, we show that distinct groups are difficult torecognize, with major implications for our understanding of patterns and processes of culture change inthis period in north-eastern Europe and perhaps elsewhere.