Frick & Floss (2015) - Abstract HOT, Grotte de la Verpillière II, a Late Middle Paleolithic reference site in southern Burgundy, France (original) (raw)

Detailed, cutting-edge studies of late Middle Paleolithic sites are rare in Eastern France. Ongoing research at the Grotte de la Verpillière II has the potential to fill in this gap, along with concurrent work at the sites of Germolles-en-Roche and Saint-Sulpice (Germolles, France) and Château Beau and La Roche (Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu, France). In this paper, we give an overview of the geomorphological context of the archaeological layers at the site. Although it is called a cave (fr. grotte), the site is better described as a cave-like karst tunnel that forms a rock shelter (fr. abri) that was filled with sediments during Middle Paleo- lithic occupation and collapsed very soon after these occupations. The sediment deposits just above the rock collapse (likely derived from the overlying plateau) contain archaeo- logical material attributable to the Middle Paleolithic, Early Upper Paleolithic (Chatelper- ronian and Aurignacian), the Neolithic, modern material (medieval to 21st-century) as well as notable bioturbation in the form of rodent and badger dens. A team led by H. Floss discovered the site in 2006 during excavation at the Grotte de la Verpillière I (50 m to the south) and intact sediments were identified in 2009 beneath the talus and roof collapse blocks. Excavation has continued annually since that time. The area of excavated intact sediments includes 25 m2, but several lines of evidence, including GPR sur-vey, the size of the rock collapse, small test pits, and geomorphological analysis suggest that the cavity actually holds around 100 m2 of intact sediments. Analyses of archeological finds are ongoing, and suggest spatial differentiation of site use during the Middle Paleo- lithic occu-pations. Up to this point, we have not been able to identify specific hearths or fireplaces, however more than 8700 charcoal fragments and 200 burnt lithics confirm the presence of fire in the stratified, intact sediments. In the near future, detailed lithic analyses of the intact assemblages (Levallois reduction strategies with the presence of bifacial elements) will be presented. At this time, we focus on the stratigraphic sequence of the cave, and the regional context of this rich and promising site. Work at this site and at the other sites listed above is part of international collaborative research projects in the region (PCR „Le Paleolithic superieur ancien en Bourgogne méridiona-le“; DFG project FL 244/5-1 „Die Côte Chalonnaise (Burgund) im späten Mittel- und frühen Jungpaläo- lithikum als Schnittstelle zwischen West- und Mitteleuropa: Diachrone und räumliche Analysen neu erschlossener archäologischer und umweltgeschichtlicher Archive des Oxygen Iso-tope Stage 3“ and SFB 1070 B01 „Variabilität der Ressourcennutzung. Raumerschließung durch späte Neandertaler und frühe anatomisch moderne Menschen in Europa“).