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The use of space, both at the landscape and the site level, is considered an important aspect of hominin adaptations that changed through time. At the site level, spatial analyses are typically conducted on deposits thought to have a high degree of temporal resolution. Sites with highly time-averaged deposits are viewed as inferior for these analyses because repeated site visits obscure individual behavioral events. To the contrary, here, we take the view that behaviors that repeat themselves in a spatially structured way through time are exactly the kinds of behaviors that are potentially significant at an evolutionary timescale. In this framework, time averaging is seen not as a hindrance but rather as a necessary condition for viewing meaningful behavior. To test whether such patterning is visible in time-averaged deposits, we use spatial statistics to analyze a number of indices designed to measure lithic production, use and discard behaviors in a multi-layer, late Neandertal cave site in southwest France. We find that indeed some such patterning does exist, and thus sites with highly time-averaged deposits have the potential to contribute to our understanding of how hominin use of space varied through time. This is useful because a great many archaeological sites have highly time-average deposits. Interpreting the spatial patterning will likely require modeling to create expectations in time-averaged and likely emergent contexts such as these. US National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [09177739, 0551927] Leakey Foundation University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation Service Regional de l'Archeologie d'AquitaineRegion Nouvelle-Aquitaine Conseil General de la DordogneRegion Nouvelle-Aquitaine Max Planck SocietyMax Planck SocietyFoundation CELLEX Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology at George Washington University info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

7 fig., 3 tab.; International audience; The Mousterian locus at Pradayrol (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot, France) produced an important lithic assemblage, composed primarily of quartz, alongside a varied flint component. Our technological analysis reveals the presence of several chaînes opératoires adapted to the morphology and mechanical properties of different raw materials. This is especially evident in the use of the bipolar on-anvil technique on quartz cobbles and discoidal flaking methods on both quartz and relatively local flints. Flint from the Périgord region provides evidence for a fragmented and ramified Levallois chaîne opératoire, different from that observed with local raw materials. These techno-economic features are similar to those documented formany late Middle Palaeolithic assemblages in the Quercy. The Neanderthal occupation of Pradayrol seems to reflect a balance between technical know-how and adaptations to the raw material constraints.; Le locus moustérien de Pradayrol (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot, France) a livré une importante série lithique essentiellement composée de quartz et de matériaux apparentés, associés à une composante de silex constituée d’une large gamme de types différents. L’étude technologique de ce matériel met en évidence la présence de plusieurs chaînes opératoires. Des schémas de débitage de conception discoïde sont mis en œuvre sur quartz comme sur silex, d’origine locale ou proche. On remarque cependant une adaptation des méthodes de production aux morphologies et aux propriétés mécaniques des matériaux locaux, notamment avec l’utilisation du débitage bipolaire sur enclume aux dépens de galets de quartz. Un échantillon de silex importé du Périgord atteste une chaîne opératoire de conception Levallois, fractionnée et ramifiée, différente de celle mise en évidence sur les silex locaux. Ces données techno-économiques rapprochent cette série des assemblages quercynois datés du Paléolithique moyen récent. Comme plusieurs autres assemblages moustériens régionaux, Pradayrol livre donc une série où la diversité des choix opérés relève, dans le cadre des modalités d’occupation du site, d’une composition entre savoir-faire techniques et adaptations de l’Homme à son environnement.

Exploring the role of changing climates in human evolution is currently impeded by a scarcity of climatic information at the same temporal scale as the human behaviors documented in archaeological sites. This is mainly caused by high uncertainties in the chronometric dates used to correlate long-term climatic records with archaeological deposits. One solution is to generate climatic data directly from archaeological materials representing human behavior. Here we use oxygen isotope measurements of Bos/Bison tooth enamel to reconstruct summer and winter temperatures in the Late Pleistocene when Neandertals were using the site of La Ferrassie. Our results indicate that, despite the generally cold conditions of the broader period and despite direct evidence for cold features in certain sediments at the site, Neandertals used the site predominantly when climatic conditions were mild, similar to conditions in modern day France. We suggest that due to millennial scale climate variability, the periods of human activity and their climatic characteristics may not be representative of average conditions inferred from chronological correlations with long-term climatic records. These results highlight the importance of using direct routes, such as the high-resolution archives in tooth enamel from anthropogenically accumulated faunal assemblages, to establish climatic conditions at a human scale.

The origin of funerary practices has important implications for the emergence of so-called modern cognitive capacities and behaviour. We provide new multidisciplinary information on the archaeological context of the La Ferrassie 8 Neandertal skeleton (grand abri of La Ferrassie, Dordogne, France), including geochronological data -14C and OSL-, ZooMS and ancient DNA data, geological and stratigraphic information from the surrounding context, complete taphonomic study of the skeleton and associated remains, spatial information from the 1968–1973 excavations, and new (2014) fieldwork data. Our results show that a pit was dug in a sterile sediment layer and the corpse of a two-year-old child was laid there. A hominin bone from this context, identified through Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) and associated with Neandertal based on its mitochondrial DNA, yielded a direct 14C age of 41.7–40.8 ka cal BP (95%), younger than the 14C dates of the overlying archaeopaleontological layers and the OSL age of the surrounding sediment. This age makes the bone one of the most recent directly dated Neandertals. It is consistent with the age range for the Châtelperronian in the site and in this region and represents the third association of Neandertal taxa to Initial Upper Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex in Western Europe. A detailed multidisciplinary approach, as presented here, is essential to advance understanding of Neandertal behavior, including funerary practices.

Harold Annee apres annee, au mois de juin, Harold Dibble arrivait en Perigord, dans sa maison de Carsac, pour fouiller, experimenter ou preparer des publications. Pendant un ou deux mois, ses eclats de rire ponctuaient ses propos, son humour egayait les journees. En 2018, la maison est restee desesperement silencieuse et vide. Harold Dibble etait decede a Philadelphie, a 67 ans, quelques jours avant son depart programme pour la France. Pour ses collegues et amis, ce fut la fin des annees de...

The grand abri at La Ferrassie (France) has been a key site for Palaeolithic research since the early part of the 20th century. It became the eponymous site for one variant of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and its sequence was used to define stages of the Aurignacian, an early phase of the Upper Palaeolithic. Several Neanderthal remains, including two relatively intact skeletons, make it one of the most important sites for the study of Neanderthal morphology and one of the more important data sets when discussing the Neanderthal treatment of the dead. However, the site has remained essentially undated. Our goal here is to provide a robust chronological framework of the La Ferrassie sequence to be used for broad regional models about human behaviour during the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic periods. To achieve this goal, we used a combination of modern excavation methods, extensive geoarchaeological analyses, and radiocarbon dating. If we accept that Neanderthals were responsible for the Châtelperronian, then our results suggest an overlap of ca. 1600 years with the newly arrived Homo sapiens found elsewhere in France., Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

We report here on an isotopic study of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in Equus tooth enamel and dentine from multiple layers from the site of Combe Grenal, France, which date to between approximately 150,000 and 50,000 years BP. We found that there were significant variations in all three elemental isotope ratios through time, although the variations were not synchronous. This study shows the utility of using herbivore tooth dentine carbon and nitrogen isotope values as indicators of environmental changes, in addition to their use as dietary indicators.

Establishing and interpreting patterns of lithic assemblage variability is of great interest to archaeologists as they shed light on cultural adaptations in the deep past. Nowhere has this topic provoked more interest and debate than in the Middle Palaeolithic of southwestern France. The region's rich archaeological record has produced numerous sites, many of which have been recently excavated and thus provide a reliable dataset for better structuring Mousterian lithic variability. Researchers working with these types of datasets frequently employ the chaine operatoire concept to approach lithic assemblage variability; however, the validity of such analyses has recently been questioned. Here we present results of a combined quantitative and qualitative technological analysis of a large sample of assemblages from numerous well-contextualised sites in the northeastern Aquitaine Basin. We selected clearly identifiable diagnostic elements typical of different flake production systems that can be quantified by different analysts in a replicable fashion. Our results show strong differences in assemblage composition in terms of dominant production systems as well as a smaller number of mixed assemblages that combine two or more flake production methods. When considered together, these results provide not only a means for defining lithic technocomplexes and subsequently comparing assemblages but also for investigating elements of Neanderthal material culture variability.

Recent excavations at the cave site of Roc de Marsal (in the Dordogne region of SW France) have yielded several Mousterian assemblages rich in well-preserved faunal remains. The Layer 4 faunal assemblage, associated with a rich Quina Mousterian occupation, provides an opportunity to investigate Neandertal prey selection, transport decisions and reindeer carcass processing strategies. One of the most striking characteristics of the Roc de Marsal Layer 4 faunal assemblage is an apparent lack of spongy parts that cannot be explained by taphonomic processes or carnivore activities. Limb elements were selectively transported to the site, where they underwent considerable further processing, resulting in a notably high degree of fragmentation of almost all elements. Comparison of reindeer carcass processing strategies employed by Neandertals during the Quina Mousterian with those identified for the later periods of the Upper Palaeolithic gives rise to some unexpected interpretations of Neandertal consumption behaviours. We show that this kind of intensive fragmentation is associated with bone grease rendering in ethnographic and Upper Palaeolithic contexts, in most such cases with the aid of fire. However, evidence of fire is remarkably scarce in Roc de Marsal Layer 4. Layer 4 could reflect a systematic Neandertal practice of sucking and chewing on the spongy portions of bones in order to extract as much of the highly nutritious bone grease as possible. Additionally, Roc de Marsal Layer 4 shows examples of use of animal resources for non-alimentary purposes by Neandertals. The abundance of cutmarks on the anterior surfaces of reindeer metapodials seems to indicate the acquisition of tendons, and bones were frequently used as retouchers.

International audience; Neanderthal material culture patterning in Western Europe has been primarily approached from retouched stone tools and associated flake production methods. While considerable effort has been devoted over the past decade to better characterize Middle Palaeolithic lithic techno-complexes (LTCs) in this region, the extent to which they reflect cultural groups still remains unclear. In this respect, integrating other forms of archaeological evidence could provide valuable insights on the cultural significance of late Middle Palaeolithic industrial variability. The site of Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France) has yielded consistent evidence of mineral pigment use throughout the upper part of the sequence. Here we explore whether mineral pigments might be embedded with an indexical meaning and if changes in pigment exploitation potentially reflect cultural changes. We combined a microscopic use-wear approach with SEM-EDS, pXRF, and XRD analyses of 73 pigment fragments from layers 26 to 11 in order to reconstruct the different stages of their acquisition and use (provenance, selection, processing, function). Our results show manganese oxides to have been used in the lower layers of the Quina LTC, while red and/or yellow iron oxide pieces were employed during the Discoid and Discoid/Levallois LTCs. This decrease in manganese oxide use correlates with a change in lithic technology and may represent some form of cultural change.

Prior to excavating Pech IV, we studied Bordes’ collection from his 8 years of excavation at the site.

Resume Les niveaux archeologiques de l’abri sous-roche Baume-Vallee (Haute-Loire), dans le Sud-Est, du Massif central, fouilles par A. Laborde (de 1966 a 1973), puis par J.-P. Raynal (de 1974 a 1996), ont livre un materiel lithique abondant attribue au Paleolithique moyen recent, avec une grande diversite de matieres premieres. L’industrie lithique des unites superieures fut tout d’abord rattachee au facies charentien lato sensu , puis ulterieurement attribuee au Mousterien de type Ferrassie. Sa revision technologique et techno-economique livre de nouvelles informations sur les concepts de debitage et le fractionnement des chaines operatoires mises en œuvre, donnees qui permettent d’inclure desormais cette serie au sein des techno-complexes Levallois a racloirs, frequemment observes au Paleolithique moyen recent dans un grand Sud-Est de la France.

Located in southwest France, Roc de Marsal is a cave with a rich Mousterian stratigraphic sequence. The lower part of the sequence (Layers 9–5) are characterized by assemblages dominated by Levallois lithic technology associated with composite faunal spectra (including red deer, roe deer and reindeer) that shows a gradual increase in the frequency of reindeer. The top of the sequence (Layers 4–2) are characterised instead by Quina lithic technology (both in terms of technology and typology) with the faunal remains dominated by reindeer. Roc de Marsal thus provides a very interesting case study to place behavioural changes in a context of changing climates and environments in western Europe during the late Pleistocene. To link the occupations at Roc de Marsal with global and regional climatic conditions known independently, a robust chronology is needed. With this aim in mind, we applied three luminescence dating methods (TL, OSL and IRSL) on different minerals (flint, quartz and K-feldspar extracts). Here the results of two of these methods are presented in detail (TL and OSL) and compared with preliminary IRSL data. At Roc de Marsal, a comparison of methods was necessary to overcome a complex sedimentary history, with very heterogeneous dose rate distributions, both at the beta (mm) and gamma (dm) dose rate scales. The results indicate that the lower Levallois layers are dated to ∼65–70 ka, while overlying Quina layers are dated to ∼49 ka. These ages for the lower layers fit well with some models that place mixed faunal assemblages in the initial MIS 4; however, while the Quina ages overlap with several other Quina assemblages from the region, they place the reindeer dominated fauna well after the peak cold of MIS 4 and suggest a more extended and complex period of contemporaneous lithic techno-complexes than posited by some current models.

International audience; The Middle Palaeolithic of southwestern France has long been a testing ground for models of Nean-derthal lithic assemblage variability and mobility strategies. Advances in our understanding of the lithological structure of the northern Aquitaine Basin combined with numerous raw material studies allows connections between different areas of the region to be revealed based on the movement of particular 'tracer' materials. By comparing technological data with raw material transport patterns elements of Late Neanderthal techno-economic behaviour emerge. Raw materials were transferred over longer distances in both the Levallois and Quina techno-complexes compared to the Discoid techno-complexes, where evidence for similar movements are almost entirely absent. Comparing these patterns of raw material provisioning and transfer against the distribution of key Middle Palaeolithic sites forms the basis of a new model for the territorial organisation of Late Neandertal groups in the Aquitaine Basin to be built.

The question of intentional Neanderthal interment continues to be debated in paleoanthropology. Among the criteria that can be used to investigate the intentionality of a burial, many of them rely on geoarchaeological data that speak to the context of the human remains. In this paper, we revisit the original attribution of the Roc de Marsal Neandertal infant as an intentional burial by evaluating the sedimentary context, pit structure, and taphonomical aspects of the remains and their integration with data from the most recent excavations at the site. From a geoarchaeological point of view, no clear anthropogenic ritual signature was found. On the contrary, all the available evidence points towards natural formation processes associated with the initial deposition and subsequent burial of the Roc de Marsal Neandertal infant.

The importance of the transport of stone artefacts in structuring Neandertal lithic assemblages has often been addressed, but the degree to which this led to fragmentation of lithic reduction over Middle Palaeolithic landscapes has not been explicitly studied thus far. Large-scale excavations of Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites and refitting studies of the retrieved assemblages have yielded new, high-resolution data on the mobile aspects of Neandertal stone tool technology. In this paper, we integrate lithic technology and raw material data from recent studies of Middle Palaeolithic open-air and rock shelter sites in Western Europe. We demonstrate that the results of a variety of typological, technological (especially refitting), and lithological studies have important consequences for our knowledge of the acquisition of raw materials and subsequent production, usage and discard of stone artefacts in the Middle Palaeolithic. Neandertal production and use of stone tools was fragmented in three domains: the spatial, the temporal and the social domain. We show that this versatile segmentation of stone artefact handling strategies is a main determinant of the character of the Neandertal archaeological record. Our data testify to ubiquitous and continuous transport of stone artefacts of a wide variety of forms, picked by Neandertals using selection criteria that were sometimes far removed from what archaeologists have traditionally considered, and to some degree still consider, to be desired end products of knapping activities. The data presented here testify to the variability and versatility of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool technology, whose fragmented character created very heterogeneous archaeological assemblages, usually the product of a wide variety of independent import, use, discard and/or subsequent transport events.

In a reply to our paper presenting new evidence supporting an intentional Neanderthal burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints (Correze, France), Dibble et al. (2015) reviewed our data in relation to the original Bouyssonie publications. They conclude that alternative hypotheses can account for the preservation of the human remains within a pit. Here we present new data from our recent excavations and highlight several misinterpretations of the Bouyssonie publications, which, when taken together refute most of their arguments. Moreover, we show that the different hypotheses proposed by Dibble et al. cannot work together and fail to provide a credible explanation for the deposit, reinforcing our demonstration that the burial hypothesis remains the most parsimonious explanation for the preservation of the Neanderthal skeletal material at La Chapelle-aux-Saints.

International audience; The nature of the Lower-Middle Palaeolithic transition has been one of the most debated questions in early Prehistory since the mid-20th century. The root of these debates lies primarily in how early prehistorians constructed chronological models, relying heavily upon index fossils. Such models have "artificial boundaries designed to provide structure to a complex record and, rather than being conceived of as permanent or real, should be frequently examined and revised (Corbey and Roebroeks, 2001)" (Monnier, 2006). In this paper, we will not focus our efforts on issues relating to nomenclature and systems of classification. Instead, we will focus on a time frame within which rapid behavioural and technological changes have been documented: the period between MIS 9 to 6. Working on a large scale, and taking account of all of north-western Europe and its southern fringes, a group of researchers working on the main sites from this period propose an assessment of current research on the emergence of the "Middle Palaeolithic". Using a rich corpus of archaeological sites, we discuss how humans occupied north-western Europe and its southern margins between MIS 9 to 6, focusing particularly on questions of taphonomy, conservation, chronology and environment, as well as reviewing the pattern of technological change within lithic assemblages. This overview of current research into the emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic will help to define future research paths and advance our understanding of this key period of human evolution.

Neandertals disappeared from Europe just after 40,000 years ago. Some hypotheses ascribe this to numerous population crashes associated with glacial cycles in the late Pleistocene. The goal of this paper is to test the hypothesis that glacial periods stressed Neandertal populations. If cold climates stressed Neandertals, their subsistence behaviors may have changed-requiring intensified use of prey through more extensive nutrient extraction from faunal carcasses. To test this, an analysis of Neandertal butchering was conducted on medium sized bovid/cervid remains composed of predominately red deer (Cervus elaphus), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), and roe deer (Capreolus caprelous) deposited during global warm and cold phases from two French sites: Pech de l'Aze IV (Pech IV, Bordes' excavation) and Roc de Marsal (RDM). Analysis of surface modification on high survival long bones and proximal and middle phalanges demonstrates that skeletal elements excavated from the cold levels (RDM Level 4, Pech IV Level I2) at each cave have more cut marks and percussion marks than elements from the warm levels (RDM Level 9, Pech IV Level Y-Z) after controlling for fragment size. At both sites, epiphyseal fragments are rare, and although this pattern can result from carnivore consumption, carnivore tooth marks are almost nonexistent (

The archaeological site of Les Fieux (Miers, Lot) has been investigated and studied since 1966. In addition to Upper Palaeolithic (namely Aurignacian, Solutrean and Gravettian) and Sauveterrian levels, the site has yielded an important Mousterian sequence that can be correlated with part of the Last Glacial (OIS 3) on the basis of biochronological data. The Mousterian layer K of Les Fieux was explored over more than 25 m2, under the direction of F. Champagne and J. Jaubert. The lithic industry of this layer was first studied by J. Jaubert in 1984 and was related to the Denticulate Mousterian. This industry is studied anew here, including the unpublished material unearthed since then and favouring an approach based on recent advances in lithic technology. The layer K lithic industry was produced using varied raw materials locally available within a radius of about a dozen kilometres around the site. Of the five varieties of identified flint, the Bajocian is the most frequent. The quartz and quarzites group dominates the series. They were picked up as pebbles in the alluvial formations of the Dordogne river and/ or within Tertiary deposits on the plateau. Some pebbles or pebble fragments of various eruptive or metamorphic rocks were also collected. The various raw materials were exploited using several operative schemes : unifacial discoid flaking on quartz without striking platform preparation, aimed at the production of flakes with peripheral sharp cutting edges, unifacial and bifacial discoid flaking with striking platform preparation, aimed at the production of débordant backed flakes and pseudo-Levallois points on flint and quartzite, multidirectional flaking on quartzite, rare Levallois flaking on flint and negligible Kombewalike flake production, also on flint. Small retouched tools are relatively scarce and are dominated by the denticulates and notches group, often made out of fully knapped flakes, or cortical backed or débordant flakes. While the kind of raw materials economy depicted here is a result of the great capacity of the Palaeolithic groups to adapt to local materials, it also shows that they were occasionally able to override the mechanical limits of these materials, for instance by producing quartzite pseudo-Levallois points. The layer K lithic industry is related to the previously defined group 2 of the Denticulate Mousterian. It shares technical features identified in the industries at Mauran, La Borde, and level E of Abri Romani. In the context of the Quercy area’s Middle Palaeolithic, the layer K lithic industry bears witness to the diversity of technical behaviour in a well-defined geographic area., Le site archéologique des Fieux (Miers, Lot) fait l’objet de recherches et d’études depuis 1966. Outre des niveaux attribués au Paléolithique supérieur (Aurignacien, Solutréen, Gravettien) et au Sauveterrien, il a livré une importante séquence moustérienne qui, sur la base de données biochronologiques, peut être corrélée à une partie du Dernier Glaciaire et principalement à la fin de l’OIS 3. La couche K a été explorée sur une surface de plus de 25 m2, sous la direction de F. Champagne et J. Jaubert. L’industrie lithique de cette couche, étudiée par J. Jaubert en 1984 et attribuée au Moustérien à denticulés, fait ici l’objet d’une nouvelle étude globale, incluant le matériel mis au jour après cette date et privilégiant une approche basée sur les acquis récents de la technologie lithique. L’industrie lithique de la couche K est produite aux dépens de matériaux variés, disponibles localement dans un rayon d’une douzaine de kilomètres autour du site. Des cinq variétés de silex identifiées, les silex du Bajocien sont les plus fréquents. La série est dominée par le groupe des quartz et quartzites, prélevés sous forme de galets dans les formations alluviales de la Dordogne et/ ou au sein d’épandages relictuels sur le causse. Quelques galets ou fragments de galets en roches éruptives ou métamorphiques diverses ont également été recueillis. Les différents matériaux ont été exploités selon plusieurs schémas de productions : débitage discoïde unifacial sur quartz sans aménagement des plans de frappe, orienté vers la production d’éclats à tranchants périphériques, débitage discoïde unifacial et bifacial avec un aménagement des plans de frappe, produisant des éclats à dos débordant et des pointes pseudo-Levallois sur silex et quartzite, débitage multidirectionnel sur quartzite, un débitage Levallois assez rare sur silex et un débitage sur face inférieure d’éclat anecdotique, également sur silex. Le petit outillage retouché est relativement peu abondant et dominé par les éclats à retouche courte et le groupe des denticulés et des encoches, souvent réalisés sur des supports de plein débitage ou à dos cortical ou débordant. Si la forme d’économie des matières premières mise en évidence traduit une grande capacité d’adaptation des groupes paléolithiques aux matériaux locaux, elle montre aussi qu’ils ont su à l’occasion aller à l’encontre des propriétés mécaniques de ces matériaux en produisant par exemple des pointes pseudo-Levallois en quartzite. La série de la couche K des Fieux est rapportée au groupe 2 du Moustérien à denticulés et comporte certains éléments techniques reconnus au sein des industries de Mauran, de la Borde et du niveau E de l’abri Romani. Replacée dans le contexte du Paléolithique moyen quercinois, l’industrie lithique de la couche K témoigne de la diversité des comportements techniques au sein d’une aire géographique bien délimitée., Thiébaut Céline, Mourre Vincent, Turq Alain. Diversité des matériaux et diversité des schémas de production au sein de l’industrie moustérienne de la couche K des Fieux (Miers, Lot). In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 106, n°2, 2009. pp. 239-256.

The bouffia Bonneval at La Chapelle-aux-Saints is well known for the discovery of the first secure Neandertal burial in the early 20th century. However, the intentionality of the burial remains an issue of some debate. Here, we present the results of a 12-y fieldwork project, along with a taphonomic analysis of the human remains, designed to assess the funerary context of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal. We have established the anthropogenic nature of the burial pit and underlined the taphonomic evidence of a rapid burial of the body. These multiple lines of evidence support the hypothesis of an intentional burial. Finally, the discovery of skeletal elements belonging to the original La Chapelle aux Saints 1 individual, two additional young individuals, and a second adult in the bouffia Bonneval highlights a more complex site-formation history than previously proposed.

International audience; Disentangling the relative contribution of the various factors underlying Middle Palaeolithic industrial variability remains one of the foremost problems for researchers interested in Neandertal technological and behavioural adaptations. The site of Combe-Grenal (Dordogne) has figured prominently in these discussions given its long stratigraphic sequence and rich archaeological record that extends from MIS 6 to MIS 3 and contains all of F. Bordes' Mousterian facies. Departing from a strict typological approach, we provide a revised vision of the site's sequence focused on individualising lithic production systems. We investigate to what extent typologically different industries, beyond their separation imposed by the very idea of discrete Mousterian facies, nevertheless portray comparable production systems. By eschewing a chronology of the traditional Mousterian facies, our technological approach to the Combe-Grenal assemblages succeeded in identifying a clear stratigraphic succession where strictly typological approaches had previously failed. Moreover, comparison with other regional sequences shows the succession of Mousterian technological systems identified at Combe-Grenal not to be an exception in south-western France. We propose a revised chronology for the site's sequence based on a correlation of changes in the structure of regional faunal communities with independent palaeo-environmental data. Finally, comparing technological data with raw material provisioning strategies and elements of faunal exploitation, such as prey availability, provides insights concerning the interpretation of Mousterian variability and the investigation of changing patterns of Neandertal landscape use.

The relative and numerical chronological position of the technological and typological variants of the Mousterian in southwest France has been the subject of debate for over fifty years. Since the advent of both ESR and TL dating methods in the 1980s, a database of chronometric dates for a growing number of sites has been steadily accumulating. A recent summary by Guibert et al. appears to show a complex pattern of broadly overlapping Mousterian variants in the late Middle Palaeolithic and has led some to conclude that Bordes' initial interpretation of these variants, as distinct cultural groups, was essentially correct. This paper adds to this database with new thermoluminescence dates from Pech de l'Aze IV. This site, originally excavated by Bordes in the 1970s, contains a deep sequence of Mousterian assemblages, which express considerable technological and typological variability and which are associated with well-preserved faunal remains. Excavations were undertaken from 2000 to 2003, in part to gain a better understanding of the geological context of the assemblages and also to obtain chronometric data. In this paper, new TL dates for the levels 3B, 4C, 5A and 8 are presented. The deepest of these, the Typical Mousterian of Layer 8, is placed in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5c. Another Typical Mousterian industry from level 5A dates to the transition from MIS 5 to MIS 4. Level 4C, which is rich in scrapers, is placed in MIS 4, while the Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition is attributed to MIS 3. At a local scale, these new dates allow for the integration of the Pech de l'Aze IV sequence with chronometric dates available for the nearby sites of Pech de l'Aze I and II, and at a more regional scale they provide additional data points from the more poorly dated late interglacial and early MIS 4 period. These dates are in line with the emerging pattern suggesting that the Mousterian variants, as they are defined, overlap considerably in time, and call into question their interpretation as a succession of chronological units, while a correlation with climate change of the technological units is not clear either.

Roc de Marsal has yielded numerous remains of Mousterian occupations, including lithics, fauna and combustion features. It was made famous by the discovery of the skeleton of a Neanderthal child. Given the need to date the sequence, TL and OSL were applied on heated flints and quartz, and OSL on unheated quartz. Chronological results combined with palaeoenvironmental data – faunal remains and micromorphological features in the sediments from the cave, pollen proxies and faunal remains from the region – allowed us to place climate variations in southwest France on a numerical time scale. Denticulate Mousterian occupations were dated to the middle of MIS 4 (65–70 ka) and Quina layers either to the very end of MIS 4 or to MIS 3. Interestingly, a faunal pattern showing a mix of red deer, roe deer and reindeer was found to have occurred during MIS 4, which was shown to be consistent with data from other similar sites in southwest France.

This paper reports a series of radiocarbon dates on bone samples coming from the Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition (MTA) Layer 3 at the top of the Pech de l'Azé IV (Pech IV, France) Middle Palaeolithic sequence. All of these samples showed evidence of human impact, and they were prepared using current pre-treatment techniques to remove or identify contamination. The results indicate that the MTA at Pech IV started prior to the current limit of radiocarbon calibration (circa 50 ka BP) and ended by 45 ka cal. BP. These dates are supported by additional TL and ESR dates from the sequence, confirm previously suggested correlations between Pech I and IV, and generally fit within the known age range for the MTA. The oldest dates reported here may also lend support to still older TL dates for the MTA that taken together suggest that the MTA extended from late MIS 4 or early OIS 3 through to the end of the Middle Palaeolithic in southwest France. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

International audience; Signalé dès les années cinquante, le gisement quercinois du Petit Cloup Barrat a été redécouvert au milieu des années 90. Cette doline, située à 800 mètres de l'entrée préhistorique de la grotte de Pech Merle, a fait l'objet de fouilles programmées entre 2004 et 2008. Menée aux abords d'une grotte-abri localisée à l'extrémité ouest de la doline, cette opération a permis la mise en évidence de plusieurs niveaux d'occupations datant de la seconde moitié du Paléolithique supérieur. Deux secteurs ont été distingués, à partir des différentes signatures sédimentaires de la séquence stratigraphique : la zone avant, qui correspond à la partie " ouverte " de l'espace fouillé, et la zone du fond, située sous le porche. Dans la grotte, affectée par des phénomènes de soutirage karstique, le remplissage mis au jour documente une succession d'au moins trois techno-complexes distincts : la couche10N, dont l'attribution reste à confirmer, fait suite à l'ensemble 8 où se succèdent Solutréen supérieur, Badegoulien à raclettes et Magdalénien inférieur. Dans la zone avant, le Magdalénien moyen de la couche 3, remanié par la mise en culture de la doline, coiffe la couche 4, ensemble le mieux documenté à ce jour et qui fait l'objet de cet article. Riche de plusieurs milliers de vestiges, cet ensemble présente certaines particularités : si la mauvaise préservation de la faune limite l'approche archéozoologique, les données acquises lors de l'analyse des productions lithiques et osseuses apportent en revanche de nombreux éléments de discussion. La composante lithique, à travers la nature de certaines armatures et de leurs modalités de production, fait clairement écho à certaines industries du Magdalénien inférieur. Néanmoins, tandis que la plus grande part de la composante osseuse s'accorde pleinement avec cette proposition (type de pointe, extraction par rainurage longitudinal), une série de pièces témoigne de la mise en oeuvre d'un débitage du bois de renne par percussion habituellement exclu de ces ensembles. Cette " mixité " technique - qu'il conviendra de confirmer par le biais de datations directes - vient alimenter les débats actuels sur la transition badegoulo-magdalénienne. Enfin, la découverte de plusieurs incisives d'herbivores sciées et d'une ébauche d'anneau ouvert en bois de renne renforce l'originalité de l'assemblage, ouvrant de nouveaux horizons de recherches.

The Mousterian site of Pech de l’Azé IV is located in Carsac (Dordogne) in the Perigord region of southwest of France, very near the town of Sarlat. The site was excavated during the 1970s by F. Bordes but it was never well published. In 2000 we published a study of the lithics from Bordes’ excavations. From 2000 to 2003 we conducted new work at the site to re-study the stratigraphy in order, to better understand the site’s formation processes, and to obtain dates from the sequence. We present here some initial results on the geology, a description of the stone tool industries, and some initial ESR dates (the dating program is still in progress). A detailed micro-and macroscopic study of the eight main stratigraphic levels shows that the sandy deposits come from a vast cave system that likely includes all the sites of Pech de l’Azé (I, II, and IV). The lowest level, which is characterized by dark, organic sediments, is particularly interesting. It includes within it multiple combustion zones that show evidence of having been subsequently trampled and perhaps emptied. Though the deposits come from a temperate climate, the sediments of anthropogenic origin are nevertheless well conserved. Macroscopically, there are traces of solifluction in the sequence, but the micromorphological analysis shows practically no evidence of a cold climate. As for the lithic industries, the new collection is in general comparable to that of Bordes. Nevertheless, there are some new elements including the presence of Quina technology in the upper part of the sequence., Le gisement moustérien du Pech de l’Azé IV se situe à Carsac (Dordogne) en Périgord, près de Sarlat, dans le sud-ouest de la France. Fouillé par F. Bordes durant les années 1970, il n’a jamais été véritablement publié si l’on excepte l’étude que nous avons consacrée en 2000 au matériel issu de ses fouilles. Les travaux de terrain effectués dans ce gisement entre 2000 et 2003 avaient pour but de faire une nouvelle lecture stratigraphique, de préciser les processus de formation du site et de dater la séquence. Nous présentons ici les premiers résultats concernant la géologie, ainsi qu’une description rapide des industries et les premières dates ESR, le programme engagé étant toujours en cours. L’étude microscopique et macroscopique détaillée des huit principales couches stratigraphiques révèle que les dépôts sableux proviennent d’un même et vaste système de grottes englobant probablement l’ensemble des sites moustériens du Pech de l’Azé (I, II et IV). Le niveau inférieur, dépôt sombre et organique, est particulièrement intéressant. Il renferme de multiples surfaces de combustion souvent piétinées et peut-être des vidanges de foyers. Bien que déposés sous un climat tempéré, les sédiments d’origine anthropique sont bien conservés. Si, dans la séquence, l’observation macroscopique a permis d’identifier des phénomènes de solifluxion, l’analyse microscopique n’a montré pratiquement aucun indice d’un climat froid. En ce qui concerne les industries, les nouvelles séries sont globalement comparables aux anciennes. Toutefois, quelques nouveaux éléments sont apparus, notamment la présence d’une technologie Quina dans la partie supérieure de la séquence., Turq Alain, Dibble Harold Lewis, Goldberg Paul, McPherron Shannon P., Sandgathe Dennis M., Jones Heather L., Maddison Kerry, Maureille Bruno, Mentzer Suzanne, Rink Jack W., Steenhuyse Alexandre. Les fouilles récentes du Pech de l’Azé IV (Dordogne). In: Gallia préhistoire, tome 53, 2011. pp. 1-58.

In this study we compare different infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals for dating archaeological deposits. The IRSL and the more recently developed post-IR IRSL (pIR-IR) methods were investigated using polymineral fine grains extracted from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic western excavation area in the site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, SW France). The IRSL data measured at 50 °C (IR 50 ) are compared to those obtained with the elevated pIR-IR signals measured for two stimulation temperatures, 225 °C (pIR-IR 225 ) and 290 °C (pIR-IR 290 ). The signals are documented in terms of bleaching and fading rates. In addition, comparisons of the IR 50 ages corrected either with the H + L method (Huntley and Lamothe, 2001) or with the dose rate correction method (DRC, Lamothe et al. , 2003) are presented. Results show that the polymineral fine grains give a reasonable estimate of the burial age of the samples. The IR 50 and pIR-IR 225 provide the most reliable ages when they are corrected using the DRC method (because of saturation effects). The polymineral ages are then compared with the previously obtained ages on K-feldspar coarse grains, quartz OSL (Guerin et al. , 2015) and radiocarbon ages with the aim of accessing information on the depositional processes. It appears that further comparison of polymineral fine grains to coarse grains is beneficial to evaluate bleaching. Moreover, the polymineral results either confirm or refine the chronology of the La Ferrassie sequence proposed by Guerin et al. (2015), that is, the Mousterian layers range from marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 to the middle of MIS 3. In particular, i) the base of Layer 3 is pushed back to the end of MIS 4 or beginning MIS 3 and ii) the chronological attribution of Layers 4 and 5 is confirmed as MIS 3. Finally, the chronology of the Aurignacian layer (Layer 7) is strengthened by all the feldspars results.