Another bone in the wall: towards a characterisation of the objects placed in wall fissures at Isturitz cave (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France) (original) (raw)
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The cave of Isturitz is one of the most important archaeological sites of the prehistory of Western Europe. Human occupations followed each other in the cavity from at least the Middle Paleolithic to the Roman age. In 1913, Passermard started archaeological excavations there, and a calcite pillar was discovered next to the original entrance that was sculpted with a dozen of animal representations. In this excavation, the Magdalenian levels yielded a considerable quantity of portable art objects. In the last few years, several workers have resumed the study of those pieces. Since 2011, we have created a research team for the study of the parietal figures of the cave, as well as other elements, for example the objects embedded in the walls. We present here our first results, which improve in the understanding of the artistic activities of Upper Palaeolithic peoples by shedding light at the art analyzed in Isturitz.
Anthropozoologica, 2017
ABSTRACT The excavation of the Abri des Autours, a rock-shelter located in southern Belgium, enabled the discovery of three human burials, two dated to the Early Mesolithic and a third dated to the Middle Neolithic. In addition to the human bones, more than 200 faunal remains were uncovered. A taphonomic analysis was undertaken to determine whether their presence resulted from anthropogenic activities and whether they are linked to the burials. Two assemblages were distinguished. The majority of the fauna corresponds to remains of animals found scattered throughout the cave, including in the Mesolithic levels. These are mainly portions of carcasses brought in to the rockshelter by scavengers or predators. Therefore, their deposition did not result from human activity. Thus far, no animal bone had been found in direct association with Mesolithic burials in Belgium, and this site conforms to that pattern. Moreover, this interpretation corroborates the archaeological study, which did not uncover any traces of domestic activity in the cave, during either the Mesolithic or the Neolithic. On the other hand, several bone artefacts, including various tools and a pendant, were also identified. With the exception of an isolated artefact, all of these were clearly associated with the Middle Neolithic burial (Michelsberg culture). This is only the fourth Neolithic cave burial to have yielded animal bone artefacts in Belgium. A preliminary micro-wear analysis has confirmed that these objects had been used before being deposited and has allowed us to propose several hypotheses concerning their original use. RÉSUMÉ Industrie osseuse et faune intrusive dans les sépultures préhistoriques de l'Abri des Autours. La fouille de l'Abri des Autours, un abri-sous-roche situé dans le sud de la Belgique, a permis la découverte de trois sépultures humaines, dont deux attribuées au Mésolithique ancien et une au Néolithique moyen. Outre les ossements humains, plus de 200 restes fauniques ont été mis au jour. Une analyse taphonomique a été entreprise afin de déterminer si leur présence résulte d'activités anthropiques et s'ils sont liés aux sépultures. Deux ensembles ont ainsi été distingués. La majorité de la faune correspond en realite a des restes d'animaux retrouves eparpilles dans la grotte, y compris dans les niveaux mesolithiques. Il s'agit principalement d'elements de carcasses d'animaux apportes dans l'abri-sous-roche par des animaux charognards ou predateurs. Leur depot ne resulte donc pas d'activites humaines. Jusqu'a present, aucun reste animal n'a ete retrouve en association directe avec des sepultures mesolithiques en Belgique, ce que ce site confirme. Par ailleurs, cette interpretation corrobore l'etude archeologique qui n'a pas mis en evidence de temoins d'activites domestiques dans la grotte, que ce soit pour le Mesolithique ou le Neolithique. D'autre part, plusieurs objets en matiere animale comprenant divers outils et un pendentif ont ete identifies. A l'exception d'un artefact hors contexte, tous etaient clairement associes a la sepulture du Neolithique moyen (culture Michelsberg). Ce n'est que la quatrieme sepulture neolithique en grotte ayant livre des depots d'artefacts en matiere animale en Belgique. Une etude traceologique preliminaire a confirme que ces objets avaient ete utilises avant leur depot et a permis de proposer quelques hypotheses quant a leur utilisation originelle.
The Cave of Isturitz (West Pyrenees, France): One Century of Research in Paleolithic Parietal Art
Arts, 2013
The cave of Isturitz is one of the most important archaeological sites of the prehistory of Western Europe. Human occupations followed each other in the cavity from at least the Middle Paleolithic to the Roman age. In 1913, Passermard started archaeological excavations there, and a calcite pillar was discovered next to the original entrance that was sculpted with a dozen of animal representations. In this excavation, the Magdalenian levels yielded a considerable quantity of portable art objects. In the last few years, several workers have resumed the study of those pieces. Since 2011, we have created a research team for the study of the parietal figures of the cave, as well as other elements, for example the objects embedded in the walls. We present here our first results, which improve in the understanding of the artistic activities of Upper Palaeolithic peoples by shedding light at the art analyzed in Isturitz.
Human and animal remains from three eras. New documentation methods of a vertical cave of the Northern Franconian low mountain range and its inventory. The European Archaeologist 41, 2014, 17-19., 2014
Vertical caves used by prehistoric man in the Northern Franconian low mountain range can be classed as quite common. However, until now, in no case in the history of research has it been possible to reconstruct the precise development of the many soil and rubble deposits containing human and animal bones and thus interpret the ritual deposition activities. This inability to reconstruct deposition sequences was the result of finds being excavated inexpertly or mislaid by laymen, the finds being inventoried only selectively and a lack of strict plotting of individual finds. In addition, very few representative dating sequences were done. The Kirschbaumhöhle (Cherry Tree Cave), found in November 2010 by members of the research group Fränkischer Karst e.V., now offers the ideal opportunity to reconstruct prehistoric deposition processes using new documentation methods and an interdisciplinary research approach and thus also move closer to the motives behind deposition practices. This is primarily thanks to the cave's discoverers, who left each and every bone in its place and immediately informed the Bavarian heritage management office. First surveys were achieved through a research project of the faculty for Prehistoric Archaeology of the University of Bamberg, which was mainly financed by the Oberfrankenstiftung (Upper Franconia Foundation), the administrative district office of Forchheim, the Bavarian Society for Archaeology, and the University of Bamberg. Fig. 1: Cherry Tree Cave. Generalized layout and 3D view (latter seen from the north-west). Key: 1 -Entry Shaft; 2 -Descent Tube; 3 -Dome; 4 -Sinter Chamber; 5 -Bone Chamber. The detritic cone covered with sediment in the area of the Descent Tube is marked grey. The entry gap to the Bone Chamber is green, the entry to the Sinter Chamber is dotted blue. The red points mark the bone finds.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2008
The Pêcheurs cave is a unique example of a Middle Palaeolithic site with three kinds of accumulations: (1) ibex that died in a natural trap, (2) carnivores that died within the cavity, and, (3) a series of short-term occupations by humans who left a few artifacts and a hearth area. Biological patterns of ibex remains (skeletal parts, age) show a homogeneous structure, related to natural death inside the cave. The Chassezac valley is narrow and sinuous, bordered by steep cliffs occupied by well-adapted hoofed-species (Caprinae). Moreover, Les Pêcheurs is a shallow cave, pit-like, and in its deepest part (Sector 4) provided both man and animals with shelter. The presence of a fire place (in the middle of the sequence of Sector 4) firmly indicates the presence of an in situ occupation by a small group of hominids. According to the stratigraphical patterns and the analysis of the lithic assemblages, artifacts do not seem to have been introduced into sediments. The lithic assemblages (technically homogeneous) indicate that small mobile human groups inhabited a cave that offered, by virtue of its morphology, a natural shelter against the cold winds blowing in the Chassezac valley and the plateaus of the south-eastern borders of the Massif Central Mountains. The exploitation of biotopes such as this rocky area constitutes a specific case of human subsistence behavior and settlement strategy. The deepest layer is characterized by a lithic assemblage mostly made of local raw material (quartz) implying a low investment in lithic production. Few flakes made from non-local flints attest to the mobility of the human occupants who moved across these areas and perhaps found in the valleys, short-term refuge.
Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France
Nature, 2016
Very little is known about Neanderthal cultures 1 , particularly early ones. Other than lithic implements and exceptional bone tools 2 , very few artefacts have been preserved. While those that do remain include red and black pigments 3 and burial sites 4 , these indications of modernity are extremely sparse and few have been precisely dated, thus greatly limiting our knowledge of these predecessors of modern humans 5. Here we report the dating of annular constructions made of broken stalagmites found deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwest France. The regular geometry of the stalagmite circles, the arrangement of broken stalagmites and several traces of fire demonstrate the anthropogenic origin of these constructions. Uranium-series dating of stalagmite regrowths on the structures and on burnt bone, combined with the dating of stalagmite tips in the structures, give a reliable and replicated age of 176.5 thousand years (±2.1 thousand years), making these edifices among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans. Their presence at 336 metres from the entrance of the cave indicates that humans from this period had already mastered the underground environment, which can be considered a major step in human modernity. Main Since its natural closing during the Pleistocene period and until its discovery 6 in 1990, no humans entered Bruniquel Cave, located in southwest France (44° 4′ N, 1° 41′ E, Extended Data Fig. 1a), an area already rich in Palaeolithic sites (Extended Data Fig. 1b). Local cavers then dug through the collapsed entrance, a 30-m long and narrow passage through which persons can reach the main gallery. The structures (Fig. 1 and Extended Data Fig. 2a) are located at 336 m from the entrance after an easy walk through speleothem-rich chambers (Extended Data Fig. 1c). Near the entrance, the remains of large Pleistocene fauna and Holocene micro-fauna were found 7 , and bears also left numerous traces of their presence: hibernation hollows, claw marks and a few footprints. The most notable features, however, are the strange arrangement of two annular structures made of whole and broken stalagmites (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Video 1), accompanied by numerous traces of fire (Fig. 1 and Extended Data Fig. 3). Other than these structures, signs of human activity are almost non-existent and uncertain: a stalagmite tip that seems to have been hollowed out, negative prints left by wrenching stalagmites from the ground, and a few speleothem pieces in locations other than their original ones. At present, no marks on the cave walls or footprints have been observed. A first study in the early 1990s provided a detailed plan of the structures and a single 14 C accelerator mass spectrometry dating of a burnt bone found in the main structure, giving an intriguing age of >47.6 thousand years ago (ka; ref. 6). Figure 1: Ortho-image of the Bruniquel Cave structures.
Paleo Revue D Archeologie Prehistorique, 2012
Rochefort cave, in the village of Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve, is part of the group called "les grottes de Saulges" (Saulges' caves), which are all found along a ca. 1.5 km stretchPaleoLab2013-06-18T14:22:00 of the Erve River (fig. 1). The cave, visited since Palaeolithic times, has long been known: it is presently one of two caves in the valley open for guided tours. It is one of the largest caves of the group with a total length of 250 m, divided into an upper and a lower karst. The upper level was the only one accessible in prehistoric times: it is made of a 24 m long access corridor that opens up into a large chamber. In spite of several excavations at the end of the 19 th century and in the 1930s that identified a Palaeolithic presence in the cave, the surfaces available for modern archaeological research remain significant. Since 2011, a multi-year excavation has been carried out in part of the large chamber which led to the identification of a remarkable Solutrean level (fig. 1). Indeed the Solutrean layer of Rochefort cave, with its lithic and faunal assemblages and the presence of art on plaquettes and bone has all the characteristics of a real habitation site (Hinguant and Colleter dir. 2010; Hinguant and Biard in press; Pigeaud in press). 2 For practical reasons, the excavated area presently covers only half of the chamber. The excavations clearly show that we are at the periphery of the occupation, in an area in which refuse seems important and where spatial organisation is hardly perceptible. Even so, refuse from a hearth and a structure constructed with limestone blocks, at the Middle Solutrean engraved bone artefacts from Rochefort Cave (Saint-Pierre-su...
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2004
Arago cave at Tautavel (Pyrénées-Orientales, France) is one of the earliest known Middle Pleistocene sites in the Pyrenees. The cave contains a long stratigraphic sequence including over twenty archaeological levels, which have yielded abundant bone and lithic remains, including nearly 100 hominid remains. The vast quantity of lithic material is comprised of diverse raw materials, including quartz, quartzite and flints, from both local and distant sources. This raw material diversity makes it possible to establish links between the mechanical properties of the different rock types, the distances separating the sources from the site, technological behaviour and tool types. Moreover, the long chronological sequence reflecting climatic fluctuations and different assemblage types makes Arago cave a privileged site for assessing the influence of environmental factors and assemblage types on certain aspects of prehistoric Man's behaviour during the Middle Pleistocene.
Quaternary International, 2017
In this article, we present the relationships observed between the properties of the rock support in Cussac Cave and the choices made by the Paleolithic artists: the lithology of the limestone and the speleogenesis of the cave resulted in the creation of the vast rock surfaces on which the artists realized monumental engravings. The cartography of the formation processes in the cave and the petrographic analysis of samples collected from the ground show that following a superficial dissolution of the limestone, the rock became softer, thus facilitating engraving, even with a soft tool. The analyses (X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Fluorescence, Raman Spectrometry) indicate a relative concentration of goethite, responsible for the orangish patina visible on the wall surfaces. When engraved, the lighter material under this patina is exposed in the bottom of the incised lines, creating contrasting colors that contribute to the visibility of the depictions. Finally, the alteration of the limestone created a surface that also facilitated the realization of more tenuous marks, such as finger-tracings, as well as involuntary marks made by resting hands