The Cave of Fontéchevade Recent Excavations and Their Paleoanthropological Implications

About this book

Summary of the discoveries made during the course of excavations at the Paleolithic cave site of Fontéchevade, France, between 1994 and 1998. The excavation team address major problems raised by earlier excavations at the site from 1937 to 1954. These earlier excavations produced two sets of problematic data : first, the Lower Paleolithic stone tool industry, the Tayacian, that differs in fundamental ways from other contemporary industries, second, the human skull fragment that has been interpreted as modern in nature but that apparently dates from the last interglacial, long before there is any evidence for humans from any other site in Europe. By applying modern stratigraphic, lithic, faunal, geological, geophysical, and radiometric analyses, the interdisciplinary team demonstrates that the Tayacian 'industry' is a product of site formation processes and that the actual age of the Fontéchevade I fossil is compatible with other evidence for the arrival of modern humans in Europe.

Contents

Part I. Introduction, Background, and Methodology Philip G. Chase, Andre Debenath, Harold L. Dibble and Shannon P. McPherron
1. Introduction and background
2. Introduction to the 1994-8 excavations

Part II. Specialized Analyses
3. Sedimentology and stratigraphy at Fontéchevade William R. Farrand
4. Paleoclimate delineation using magnetic susceptibility data Brooks B. Ellwood
5. Electrical resistivity survey of Fontéchevade Shannon P. McPherron and Brooks B. Ellwood
6. The fossil human remains Philip G. Chase and Virginie Teilhol
7. Radiometric dates Philip G. Chase, Henry P. Schwarcz and Thomas W. Stafford, Jr
8. Faunal taphonomy Philip G. Chase and Jean-Francois Tournepiche
9. The fauna from Henri-Martin's excavation of bed Jean-Francois Tournepiche
10. The Upper Paleolithic of Fontéchevade Laurent Chiotti
11. Description of the lithic industries Harold L. Dibble and Shannon P. McPherron

Part III. Analysis and Conclusions Philip G. Chase, Andre Debenath, Harold L. Dibble and Shannon P. McPherron
12. Processes of site formation and their implications
13. Summary and conclusions

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Biography

Philip G. Chase is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He is the author of The Emergence of Culture and The Hunters of Combe Grenal, as well as numerous articles and chapters on Paleolithic archaeology, zooarchaeology, and the origins and evolution of symbolism and culture.

André Debénath is Professor and Director of Research at the University of Rabat and Professor Emeritus at the University of Perpignan. He specializes in the Paleolithic of the Charente River Basin, France, and of Morocco. He has excavated numerous sites in both countries, and has published more than 200 articles and several books.

Harold L. Dibble is professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and curator in charge at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. Editor of the journal PaleoAnthropology, he is the author of twelve books and has directed excavations in France, Morocco, and Egypt for over twenty-five years.

Shannon McPherson is an archaeologist in the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute. He has published on aspects of Paleolithic archaeology, lithic analysis, and the use of computers in archaeology. He is co-author, with Harold Dibble, of Using Computers in Archaeology: A Practical Guide.


Contributors:
- Philip G. Chase
- André Debénath
- Harold L. Dibble
- Laurent Chiotti
- Brooks B. Ellwood
- William R. Farrand
- Shannon P. McPherron
- Henry P. Schwarcz
- Thomas W. Stafford, Jr.
- Jean-François Tournepiche
- Virginie Teilhol