Timing of Neanderthal occupations in the southeastern margins of the Massif Central (France): A multi-method approach

Richard, Maïlys; Pons‐Branchu, Edwige; Genuite, Kim; Jaillet, Stéphane; Joannes‐Boyau, Renaud; Ning-sheng, Wang; Genty, Dominique; Cheng, Hai; Price, Gilbert J.; Pierre, Monique; Dapoigny, Arnaud; Falguères, Christophe; Tombret, Olivier; Voinchet, Pierre; Bahain, Jean‐Jacques; Moncel, Marie‐Hélène

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107241

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…New excavations at the Abri du Maras site have focused since 2006 on the area in front of the shelter and to the east of the former R. Gilles and J. Combier excavations, in order to investigate the base of the sequence and uncover undisturbed deposits. Fieldwork has yielded a longer and older archaeological sequence than expected (Richard et al, 2021). Two phases of occupation (levels 4.1 and 4.2) with a high density of material are attributed to MIS 3.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Site settlement patterns during MIS 3 in the Southeast of France. The lithic assemblages of two phases of occupation (levels 4.1 and 4.2) at the Abri du Maras

Moncel,

Guillemot,

Chacón

et al. 2024

Preprint

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New excavations at the Abri du Maras have revealed a thick sequence over 250 ka old with evidence of recurrent human occupations, first in a vast cavity, then in a collapsed shelter. The upper part, with a high density of material, is dated to MIS 3 with two distinct phases of occupation under a shelter. The lithic component is composed mainly of flint cores, flakes and flake-tools, associated with local material in quartz, quartzite and basalt. Lithic refits and the faunal corpus indicate short-term occupations under a largely collapsed shelter. The comparison of the two occupation phases indicates common features in term of core technologies, with partial reduction sequences and a tool kit composed of large products brought to the site from a 30 km perimeter. Slight differences emerge from a statistic viewpoint, but also in terms of site activities, raw material collection and the spatial distribution of activities and material in the shelter. These include: (1) the predominance of reindeer in level 4.1 whereas there is a more diversified corpus of hunted herbivores in level 4.2, (2) the spatial distribution of the material indicates that the shelter was used in different ways, (3) the ratio of the use of Levallois core technology, of elongated products and flake-tools differs between the two levels, as does the average size of flint products. Finally, we discuss possible biases in order to define the actual status of the site.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Site settlement patterns during MIS 3 in the Southeast of France. The lithic assemblages of two phases of occupation (levels 4.1 and 4.2) at the Abri du Maras

Moncel,

Guillemot,

Chacón

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…In order to support the correlation between the stratigraphical sections, Gamma-ray spectrometry was applied in situ on fine-grained sediments. This technique is widely used in well logs for interpretation and correlation of Quaternary sedimentary facies (e.g., Nobre et al, 2020) as well as for characterising the radiative contribution of sediments for luminescence and ESR dating (e.g., Richard et al, 2021). Natural gamma-ray energy is related to the occurrence of clay minerals as major components, which are rich in 40 K and other radioactive isotopes belonging to the U series disintegration chain (Reinhardt and Herrmann, 2018).…”

Section: Gamma-ray Spectrometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Going with the flow: Sedimentary processes along karst conduits within Chalk aquifers, northern France

Ballesteros

Farrant

Sahy

et al. 2023

Sedimentary Geology

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“…One AMS radiocarbon date gave an age of 37.700 ± 1.600 BP (GIF-A-97295), which at the time was interpreted as indicating an age > 40.000 BP, beyond the limit of the method (Moncel & Michel, 2000). More recent ESR/Useries dates on teeth placed Moncel's layer 4.1 between 46 ± 3 ka and 40 ± 3 ka BP (correlated with Heinrich Event 4 and DO Event 12; Richard et al, 2015Richard et al, , 2021. Layer 4.2 can also be positioned in MIS-3 (ages range from 42 ± 3 ka to 55 ± 2 ka BP), while the top of layer 5 was dated around 90 ka BP (MIS-5; Richard et al, 2015).…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The chronology of the Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens occupation of southeast France relies on a limited number of recent radiometric dates (Barshay- Szmidt et al, 2020;Higham et al, 2014;Richard et al, 2015Richard et al, , 2021Slimak et al, 2022;Szmidt et al, 2010;Talamo et al, 2020). While there are numerous Middle Palaeolithic find spots, only few of them have radiometric dates placing them towards the end of the Mousterian phase (Table 11).…”

Section: Chronological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Late Middle Palaeolithic Occupation of Abri du Maras (Layer 1, Neronian, Southeast France): Integrating Lithic Analyses, ZooMS and Radiocarbon Dating to Reconstruct Neanderthal Hunting Behaviour

et al. 2022

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The exact strategies and technologies underlying Neanderthal hunting events remain open for debate with lithic points being sparse across the European Middle Palaeolithic. An exception is the Neronian entity in southeast France, defined by ventrally retouched Soyons points. This study contextualises one of the largest Neronian assemblages, layer 1 at Abri du Maras. Our lithic analyses focussed on attributes described as indicative of projectile use or hafting to contextualise the morphometric and technological characteristics of the pointed implements at an assemblage level. We found that retouched points were made on a variety of blank types (including Levallois, laminar and discoidal flaking techniques) and ventral retouch is present across different artefact types (including points, scrapers and denticulates). Next, these lithic data were compared to similar typo-technological data recorded on a sample from the recently excavated and well-contextualised point-rich layer 4.1 of Abri du Maras (MIS-3). Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) was applied to 280 faunal remains from layer 1 and indicated significant proportions of equids, bovids, cervids and reindeer. Carnivore remains and carnivore modifications are absent, while human bone surface modifications are present across a variety of species. Five bones had sufficient collagen for radiocarbon dating but returned dates younger than expected (ca. 41–31 ka cal BP). Finally, we place Abri du Maras layer 1 in its broader regional context and discuss its relation to other Neronian assemblages and more general problematics inherent to studying material from old excavations.

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Timing of Neanderthal occupations in the southeastern margins of the Massif Central (France): A multi-method approach

Cited by 12 publications

References 102 publications

Site settlement patterns during MIS 3 in the Southeast of France. The lithic assemblages of two phases of occupation (levels 4.1 and 4.2) at the Abri du Maras

Site settlement patterns during MIS 3 in the Southeast of France. The lithic assemblages of two phases of occupation (levels 4.1 and 4.2) at the Abri du Maras

Going with the flow: Sedimentary processes along karst conduits within Chalk aquifers, northern France

The Late Middle Palaeolithic Occupation of Abri du Maras (Layer 1, Neronian, Southeast France): Integrating Lithic Analyses, ZooMS and Radiocarbon Dating to Reconstruct Neanderthal Hunting Behaviour

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