Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère – Le Moustier (abri inférieur)

La station éponyme du Moustier a joué un rôle important dans la définition et la caractérisation du Moustérien à la fois dans le sud-ouest de la France et dans le monde entier. Composé de trois habitats superposés (Le Trou du Brechou, l’abri supérieur et l’abri inférieur), le gisement est situé à la confluence de la Vézère et du Vimont. Sans nul doute, notre connaissance de l’abri inférieur et de sa stratigraphie est pour l’essentiel due au travail réalisé par D. Peyrony au début du xxe s. La..

Combining quantitative approaches to differentiate between backed products from discoidal and Levallois reduction sequences

Backed flakes (core edge flakes and pseudo-Levallois points) represent special products of Middle Paleolithic centripetal flaking strategies. Their peculiarities are due to their roles as both a technological objective and in the management of core convexities to retain its geometric properties during reduction. In Middle Paleolithic contexts, these backed implements are commonly produced during Levallois and discoidal reduction sequences. Backed products from Levallois and discoidal reduction sequences often show common geometric and morphological features that complicate their attribution to one of these methods. This study examines the identification of experimentally produced discoidal and recurrent centripetal Levallois backed products (including all stages of reduction) based on their morphological features. 3D geometric morphometrics are employed to quantify morphological variability among the experimental sample. Dimensionality reduction though principal component analysis is combined with 11 machine learning models for the identification of knapping methods. A supported vector machine with polynomial kernel has been identified as the best model (with a general accuracy of 0.76 and an area under the curve [AUC] of 0.8). This indicates that combining geometric morphometrics, principal component analysis, and machine learning models succeeds in capturing the morphological differences of backed products according to the knapping methodThis research has been supported by the project SI1/PJI/2019-00488 funded by Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. FR research studies are also supported by the project ID2019-103987GBC33 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovatio

Provenance, modification and use of manganese-rich rocks at Le Moustier (Dordogne, France)

The use of colouring materials by Neanderthals has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Here we present a taphonomic, technological, chemical-mineralogical and functional analysis of fifty-four manganese rich lumps recovered during past and on-going excavations at the lower rockshelter of Le Moustier (Dordogne, France). We compare compositional data for archaeological specimens with the same information for twelve potential geological sources. Morphometric analysis shows that material from Peyrony’s excavations before the First World War provides a highly biased picture of the importance of these materials for Mousterian groups. These early excavations almost exclusively recovered large modified pieces, while Mn-rich lumps from the on-going excavations predominantly consist of small pieces, only half of which bear traces of modification. We estimate that at least 168 pieces were not recovered during early work at the site. Neanderthals developed a dedicated technology for processing Mn-rich fragments, which involved a variety of tools and motions. Processing techniques were adapted to the size and density of the raw material, and evidence exists for the successive or alternating use of different techniques. Morphological, textural and chemical differences between geological and archaeological samples suggest that Neanderthals did not collect Mn-rich lumps at the outcrops we sampled. The association and variability in Mn, Ni, As, Ba content, compared to that observed at the sampled outcrops, suggests that either the Le Moustier lumps come from a unique source with a broad variation in composition, associating Mn, Ni, As, Ba, or that they were collected at different sources, characterized either by Mn-Ni-As or Mn-Ba. In the latter case, changes in raw material composition across the stratigraphy support the idea that Neanderthal populations bearing different stone tool technologies collected Mn fragments from different outcrops. Our results favour a use of these materials for multiple utilitarian and symbolic purposes.publishedVersio

La grotte Castaigne (Commune de Torsac, Charente) : un site oublié riche en vestiges humains du Pléistocène

Au sein de PACEA, nous développons une dynamique scientifique sur la diversité techno-économique et les restes humains associés au Moustérien. En 2019-2020 nous avons ainsi entrepris la révision des collections de la grotte Castaigne (Torsac, Charente). Fouillée par L. Duport dans les années soixante, le matériel issu de ces recherches avait échappé à l’attention de la communauté malgré l’existence d’au moins deux néandertaliens différents identifiables dans les documents écrits. Nos recherch..

Analyse techno-économique d'un assemblage Discoïde du Moustérien récent de l'abri inférieur du Moustier (Dordogne, France)

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MTA-B or not to be ? Recycled bifaces and shifting hunting strategies at Le Moustier and their implication for the late Middle Palaeolithic in southwestern France

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MTA-B or not to be ? Recycled bifaces and shifting hunting strategies at Le Moustier and their implication for the late Middle Palaeolithic in southwestern France

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Le Moustier: a century of research

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MTA B or not to 'B', that is the question? Ongoing work concerning unpublished lithic and faunal material from Le Moustier

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Les derniers moustériens du Sud-Ouest

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