The new 14C chronology for the Palaeolithic site of La Ferrassie, France: the disappearance of Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in France
Aldeias, V.
Goldberg, P.
Chiotti, L.
Dibble, H. L.
Guérin, G.
Hublin, J.‐J.
Madelaine, S.
Maria, R.
Sandgathe, D.
Steele, T. E.
Turq, A.
Mcpherron, S. J. P.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3236
Persistent URL: http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/8486
Goldberg, P.; 4 CAS, SEALS, University of Wollongong Northfields Avenue Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia
Chiotti, L.; 6 Département Homme et Environnement Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194 du CNRS Abri Pataud, 24620 Les Eyzies‐de‐Tayac France
Dibble, H. L.; 1 Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig 04103 Germany
Guérin, G.; 9 IRAMAT‐CRP2A, UMR 5060 CNRS ‐ Université Bordeaux Montaigne e Maison de l'archéologie Esplanade des Antilles Pessac 33600 France
Hublin, J.‐J.; 1 Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig 04103 Germany
Madelaine, S.; 11 Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication PACEA UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint‐Hilaire, FR‐ Pessac 33615 France
Maria, R.; 1 Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig 04103 Germany
Sandgathe, D.; 14 Department of Archaeology Simon Fraser University Burnaby Canada
Steele, T. E.; 1 Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig 04103 Germany
Turq, A.; 11 Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication PACEA UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint‐Hilaire, FR‐ Pessac 33615 France
Mcpherron, S. J. P.; 1 Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig 04103 Germany
Abstract
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.