Pech-de-l'Azé I (Dordogne, France) : nouveau regard sur un gisement moustérien de tradition acheuléenne connu depuis le XIXe siècle. - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Accéder directement au contenu
Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2008

Pech-de-l'Azé I (Dordogne, France) : nouveau regard sur un gisement moustérien de tradition acheuléenne connu depuis le XIXe siècle.

Résumé

Pech-de-l'Azé I is part of a complex of Paleolithic sites (Pech I to V) located in the Perigord noir, in the Enea valley, a small tributary to the Dordogne river. Pech I is located at the entrance of a karstic tube, at the other extremity of which was found Pech-de-l'Aze II (containing “Acheuléen méridional” and middle Paleolithic deposits). Pech IV is located at the bottom of the same cliff as Pech I, 80 meters away toward the East, and preserved Middle Paleolithic deposits recently excavated by H. Dibble and S. Mc Pherron. Pech-de-l'Azé I is one of the two type-sites for the Mousterian of Acheulian tradition. Only Mousterian of acheulian tradition (MTA) occupations were recognized by R. Vaufrey, F. Bordes and us: one complex of MTA type A occupations at the bottom (layer 4), and then several MTA type B occupations. A juvenile Neandertal skull and mandible was recovered early in twenty century in one of the higher layers. In 1999, we undertook the curation (washing, labeling and organizing by layer) and the analysis of the unpublished material collected during the last excavation done in 1970-1971 by F. Bordes (14 942 coordinated remains). We also started limited excavation at the site in 2004 and 2005. We present here the first results of our inter-disciplinary research focusing on site formation processes, zooarcheology, cémentochronologie, lithic and pigment technology, as well as on use-wear analysis. Artefacts, bones and ashes from fire-places had been preserved by numerous blocks fallen from the limestone walls and roof overhang in a clayish sand matrix transported in by run-off. In consequence, and probably also because of a very fast rate of sedimentation at the site, the archaeological remains and features had been quickly fossilized and preservation is good. The size of the shelter was considerably reduced from the first and to the last occupations. Pech I sequence is shorter than the one of Pech II, not because of a massive draining of Pech I as suggested by previous authors, but because of the speed of the backward movement of the shelter higher at Pech I than at Pech II. If they were older occupations at Pech I, they've been redeposited on the hillside. ESR, U/Th and AMS C14 measurements indicate than the site was occupied right before the arrival of anatomical modern humans in this area of Western Europe, around 45 to 40 000 years ago. Combustions features and possible in-situ fire places with a circular shape covering about 50 cm2 had been found in the MTA type A layer (layer 4) during 2004 excavation and are under analyses. Micromammals, fish and reptiles remains are well preserved; they were probably mostly accumulated by bird of prey. The density of micromammals remains is not correlated with the density of archaeological material and might be a testimony of longest occupations of the site by hominids at the bottom of the sequence. Preservation of larger bone is also good: less than 30 % of the bones were affected by surface weathering, and less than 8 % of them were rounded. Large mammal remains are dominated by red deer, followed by bison and aurochs, suggesting a forested environment with open grassland during a temperate phase of IOS 3. They were clearly accumulated at the site by hominids as there is an almost complete absence of carnivore bones (except for one red fox tooth), and the number of bones showing carnivore damage is very low (less than 1 %). Additionally, 30 % of the bones show evidence of human activity (including cut-marks, burning, and percussion marks (several quartz and quartzite hammer suitable for bone breakage had been found), which is consistent with an anthropogenic assemblage that was undisturbed by carnivores before deposition. Skinning, dismembering, filleting (?) and marrow extraction (several hammer had been recovered) were done at the site in every layer. Cement analyses had been done on more than 70% of the NMI of large mammals recovered by Bordes and by us. Going up through the sequence, the season of hunting red-deer and bison got more and more precise: from all around the year in layer 4 to the end of good season only during layer 7. Most of bird bones were accumulated at the site by natural agencies, with the exception of two golden eagle phalanges which show evidence of cut-marks which produced the segmentation of the eagle finger. This is one of the very rare evidence of use of bird bone by Neandertals. Cut-marks were also found on a few beaver bones, behaviour barely documented until now for Neandertals. In 2004, a new Neandertal tooth belonging to another juvenile individual had been receovered. The lithic industry is characterised by scrapers, denticulates, cordiform and triangular bifaces, backed knifes, and elongated blanks. The manufacture of the bifaces is highly standardized across time at the site and at other MTA sites, and is understood a testimony of a specific technical tradition flourishing in Périgord around 50 000 years ago. In the MTA type A layer 4, bifaces are numerous and are a testimony of the interest of these Neanderthals groups for stone-tools suitable for travel as these bifaces were multifunctional, resharpenable and flake producer tools, as evidenced by techno-functionnal and use-wear analysis. Pech I was used to manufacture stone-tools; a number of them certainly being exported out of the site. Yet, even in a setting where raw material is abundant, lithic artefacts (and especially bifaces) had been imported at the site in layer 4. Stone-tools types are numerous in layer 4, and evidence of hafting are available for some of them. Also, an incredible collection of black pigments (more than 450), among which half of them show clear traces of use, were recovered in layer 4. The density of material is much lower in the upper layers 6 and 7 (MTA type B). Only small number of lithic had been imported at the site, and evidence of fragmentation and long-term planning of lithic production are scarce, as always recorded at other MTA type B sites. Bifaces are almost absent in these MTA type B assemblages, as well as evidence for hafting and evidence of use of pigments. Every available line of evidence, including cementochronology, is then pointing toward shorted occupation of the site during the deposition of the upper MTA type B layers, layer 6 and 7, and longer occupations of the site in layer 4. This is not surprising, considering that the size of the rock-shelter is strongly reducing from the bottom layer to the upper layer. MTA type B had always been found in stratigraphy underneath MTA type A. At Pech I, climate does not seem to vary much from MTA type A to B, as fauna spectrum stays the same across the sequence. Available radiometric measurement do not allow to separate in time these two episodes. Technological analyses of other MTA sites had shown that this tendency to manufacture tool designed for travelling is strong only during the MTA type A. And, MTA type A assemblages show more evidence of long-term planning than MTA type B assemblages. Behavioural changes from MTA A to MTA B at Pech I might be related to changes in Neandertals mobility patterns, from a logistical pattern to one that is more residential in a smaller and smaller territory. Yet, change in the use of caves, the only type of setting used in our analysis, might also have played a role; caves being used as base camps during the MTA type A and no more during the MTA type B. Yet, MTA type B open air assemblages are still to be discovered. The interdisciplinary analyses of Pech I is still on going. We hope to provide in the near future a detailed analysis from as many points of view as possible to provide precise understanding of the behaviour of some of the last Neandertals group right before the arrival of anatomical modern Humans in that aera of Western Europe.
Pech-de-l'Azé I fait partie d'un complexe de gisements paléolithiques mis en valeur en particulier par les travaux de F. Bordes des années cinquante aux années soixante-dix. Ce gisement en entrée de grotte conserve plusieurs niveaux attribuables au Moustérien de tradition acheuléenne qui ont livré notamment le crâne et la mandibule d'un enfant néandertalien et un ensemble de minéraux colorants sans équivalents connus en contexte moustérien (plus de 250 blocs de dioxyde de manganèse utilisés). En 1999, nous avons entrepris l'analyse du matériel issu des fouilles menées par F. Bordes en 1970-1971 resté jusqu'à présent inédit (14 942 pièces ont ainsi été lavées, marquées, classées par niveau et inventoriées), puis nous avons repris des fouilles programmées en 2004 et 2005. Nous pouvons désormais préciser les processus de formation du gisement et le degré de préservation des témoins archéologiques. Une approche interdisciplinaire (analyse des micromammifères, archéozoologie des mammifères et des oiseaux, cémentochronologie des grands mammifères, anthropologie physique, technologie des industries lithiques en silex et autres matériaux, études fonctionnelles des silex et des colorants) nous permet dès à présent de discuter certains des comportements des Néandertaliens qui ont occupé le Pech-de-l'Azé I lors du stade isotopique 3 et leur variabilité au cours du temps.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

halshs-00432326 , version 1 (16-11-2009)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : halshs-00432326 , version 1

Citer

Marie Soressi, William Rendu, Pierre-Jean Texier, Émilie Claud, Francesco d'Errico, et al.. Pech-de-l'Azé I (Dordogne, France) : nouveau regard sur un gisement moustérien de tradition acheuléenne connu depuis le XIXe siècle.. J. Jaubert, J.-G. Bordes, I. Ortega (eds.). Les sociétés Paléolithiques d'un grand Sud-Ouest : nouveaux gisements, nouvelles méthodes, nouveaux résultats. - Actes des journées décentralisées de la SPF des 24-25 novembre 2006, Société Préhistorique française, pp.95-132., 2008, Mémoire XLVII de la Société préhistorique française. ⟨halshs-00432326⟩

Collections

INRAP CNRS
753 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More