Papers by Laurent CHIOTTI
Paléo, 2012
Cet article présente l'exceptionnelle découverte d'un fragment de voûte ornée, en juillet 2007 su... more Cet article présente l'exceptionnelle découverte d'un fragment de voûte ornée, en juillet 2007 sur le site aurignacien ancien de l'abri Castanet (commune de Sergeac, Dordogne). Depuis la découverte, l'équipe a entrepris une vaste réflexion pluridisciplinaire destinée à l'étude et à la contextualisation du bloc au sein des remplissages de l'abri Castanet, mais aussi à une échelle beaucoup plus large, celle du vallon de Castel-Merle. Il s'agit de replacer l'expression graphique des premiers Hommes modernes d'Europe occidentale avec l'ensemble des activités humaines, quotidiennes ou non, exercées sur le site. Après une présentation générale des problématiques archéologiques inhérentes à la période et au site étudié, les objectifs initiaux ayant présidé à une relecture de la coupe laissée par D. Peyrony en 1925 seront précisés, ainsi que les circonstances exactes de la découverte du bloc et le choix de la méthode utilisée pour son extraction. Une description du bloc lui-même, des techniques utilisées pour son étude des entités graphiques qu'il possède sera ensuite proposée. Enfin, une réflexion pluridisciplinaire relative à la mise en relation de cette découverte avec le reste des données (archéologiques et environnementales) sera détaillée. Une nouvelle découverte d'art pariétal aurignacien in situ à l'abri Castanet ... PALEO, 23 | 2012 1 2-Contexte historique et de découverte L'abri Castanet est l'un des nombreux gisements sous abri du vallon de Castel-Merle, sur la commune de Sergeac, débouchant sur la rive gauche de la Vézère, entre Les Eyzies et Montignac (fig. 1). Le site fut découvert en 1911 par M. Castanet sur le versant est du vallon, alors qu'il travaillait pour L. Didon comme ouvrier de fouille à l'abri Blanchard, situé plus au nord (White et al. 2012). Les fouilles ont été entreprises alors par M. Castanet sous la supervision de D.
Paléo, 2012
This paper presents the exceptional discovery of a fragment of a ceiling block bearing graphic im... more This paper presents the exceptional discovery of a fragment of a ceiling block bearing graphic imagery at the early Aurignacian site of Abri Castanet (Sergeac commune, Dordogne) in July 2007. Since the discovery, a multidisciplinary team has studied the block and its context, not just within the Castanet infilling, but also within the context of the Castel-Merle valley. The aim of this study is to set this early modern human graphic representation in the context of all the daily and other human activities carried out at the site. After a general presentation of the archaeological issues relevant to the period and the site, we present the initial objectives of this study, as well as the exact circumstances of the discovery of the block and the chosen extraction method. We then undertake a description of the block itself, the study techniques used and the graphic entities represented. Lastly, we present a multidisciplinary reflection linking this discovery to other archaeological and environmental data.
Paléo, 2014
PALEO est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution-Pas d'Uti... more PALEO est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale-Pas de Modification 4.0 International. Élise TARTAR (1) , Randall WHITE (2) , Laurent CHIOTTI (3) , Catherine CRETIN (4) , Romain MENSAN (5) Résumé : En 1910, M. Castanet sous la direction de L. Didon entamait les fouilles de l'abri Blanchard (Sergeac, Dordogne). Deux niveaux archéologiques séparés par une couche stérile seront individualisés et attribués à l'Aurignacien moyen sensu H. Breuil (soit Aurignacien I à pointe à base fendue). L'abri Blanchard fait partie des deux ou trois sites ayant livré les plus riches ensembles en matières osseuses pour cette période. Il recèle un important potentiel informatif pour notre connaissance des premières sociétés du Paléolithique supérieur. Mais depuis plus de 50 ans, de sérieux doutes pèsent sur l'attribution chronoculturelle faite par L. Didon, plusieurs auteurs ayant émis l'hypothèse que le niveau supérieur reflète une occupation aurignacienne plus récente. Malheureusement, les fouilles ont été réalisées selon des préoccupations et des pratiques dont découle un matériel archéologique incomplet et sans précision stratigraphique et spatiale. De plus, L. Didon rassembla le matériel des deux niveaux et le vendit par lots à des acquéreurs français et étrangers. Par conséquent, aucune étude d'ensemble n'a jamais pu être entreprise sur le matériel. Parmi ces lots, ceux envoyés aux États-Unis sont les plus méconnus. Au nombre de quatre, ils sont conservés à l'American Museum of Natural History (New York), au Wilson Museum (Castine, Maine), au Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, Illinois) et au Logan Museum of Anthropology (Beloit, Wisconsin). Parce que l'industrie en matières osseuses y est particulièrement bien représentée, nous avons entrepris d'en mener une analyse approfondie. Cette étude nous a permis de relever la présence de matériel rapportable à l'Aurignacien ancien et récent. En outre, une récente opération de terrain a mis au jour un lambeau de couche, apportant la preuve incontestable de la présence d'Aurignacien récent dans l'abri. La position ainsi que la composition sédimentaire et archéologique du niveau permettent toutefois d'affirmer que ce dernier est en position secondaire. L'étude des collections a mis en lumière le caractère encore très lacunaire de nos connaissances sur l'Aurignacien récent. Il importe de reprendre l'étude des séries et d'engager de nouvelles fouilles afin de tenter de mieux caractériser les industries et reconstituer la chronologie et l'évolution interne de l'Aurignacien du sud-ouest français. Mots-clés : Abri Blanchard, Aurignacien ancien, Aurignacien récent, sondages, industrie en matières osseuses, pointes à base massive, grattoirs à museau, burins, lamelles Dufour sous-type Roc-de-Combe.
PLoS ONE, 2022
Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence a... more Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence and, consequently, to our evolution. Due to the allegedly central role of projectile weapons in the food-getting strategies of Upper Palaeolithic people, typo-technological changes in the European lithic record have often been linked to supposed developments in hunting weaponry. Yet, relatively little reliable functional data is currently available that would aid the detailed reconstruction of past weapon designs. In this paper, we take a use-wear approach to the backed tool assemblages from the Recent and Final Gravettian layers (Levels 3 and 2) of Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France). Our use of strict projectile identification criteria relying on combinations of low and high magnification features and our critical view of the overlap between production and use-related fractures permitted us to confidently identify a large number of used armatures in both collections. By isolating lithic proj...
Paléo, 2007
I n t r o d u c t i o n A magnetic study has been carried out on the sedimentary deposit of the p... more I n t r o d u c t i o n A magnetic study has been carried out on the sedimentary deposit of the prehistoric site of Abri Pataud, situated in the south east of the French department of Dordogne, on the banks of the Vézère valley at an altitude of around 76m. This Upper Pleistocene site (dated between around 34 000 and 20 400 BP), having revealed human bones and an abundant lithic industry, has been studied by numerous authors since the beginning of the twentieth century. This present investigation complements many other previous studies at this site covering diff e r ent domains: sedimentology, study of tools, fauna, as well as palynology. The stratigraphy of the site, as well as the dates of the principal layers are presented in table 1, whilst a list of the magnetic parameters used is given in table 2 (along with an explanation of their utility and significance, whenever possible). Two diff e r ent methods were used; firstly direct measurements in the
Lars Anderson∗1, Nicolas Teyssandier∗1, Jean-Guillaume Bordes, Laurent Chiotti, Damien Flas, Alex... more Lars Anderson∗1, Nicolas Teyssandier∗1, Jean-Guillaume Bordes, Laurent Chiotti, Damien Flas, Alexandre Michel, Christian Normand, Marie-Cécile Soulier, and Elise Tartar Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (TRACES) – Université Toulouse 2, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique : UMR5608 – Maison de la Recherche, 5 allée Antonio Machado 31058 TOULOUSE Cedex 9, France PACEA (de la Préhistoire à l’Actuel : Culture, Environnement, Anthropologie) – Université de Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), CNRS : UMR5199, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication – UMR 5199 PACEA Université de Bordeaux Bâtiment B8 Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire CS 50023 33615 PESSAC CEDEX, France Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) – Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, Ministère de l’écologie de l’Energie, du Développement durable et de l’Aménagement du territoire – abri Pataud 20 rue du Moyen-Âge 24620 Les Eyzies-de-Tayac...
Journal of Human Evolution, 2020
Abri Pataud (France) is the type site in studies focusing on the appearance of modern humans and ... more Abri Pataud (France) is the type site in studies focusing on the appearance of modern humans and the development of classic Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes in Europe. It contains important evidence of successful adaptation strategies of modern humans to new territories and in response to sharply changing climatic conditions that characterized Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2. Despite being for decades one of the best excavated and most studied Paleolithic sites, the chronology of Abri Pataud has lacked precision and revealed large discrepancies. The chronology of the lowermost part of the sequence (Levels 14e5) was refined in 2011 with the publication of 32 new radiocarbon determinations, mainly from the Aurignacian levels. In contrast, the Gravettian levels (Levels 5e2) remained poorly dated until now. Here, we present 18 new radiocarbon dates on cut-marked animal bones from the Gravettian part of the site, which complete the dating of this important sequence. The determinations are analyzed using Bayesian statistical modeling, and the results allow us to place the start of the Gravettian at the site betweeñ 33,000 and 32,000 cal BP (~29,000e28,000 BP). We discuss the succession of the Gravettian facies across the sequence (Bayacian, Noaillian, Rayssian), as well as the likely duration of each archaeological level. With a total of more than 50 radiocarbon determinations, Abri Pataud offers secure information for the appearance and development of the technocomplexes linked with early modern humans and their establishment in western Europe. Based on published genetic data, it appears that it is the Gravettian hunter-gatherers and subsequent human groups, rather than the earlier Aurignacian and pre-Aurignacian groups, that contributed to the genetic signature of later and living Europeans. Hence, elucidating the precise timing of the Gravettian appearance has broad implications in our understanding of late human evolution across Europe.
ABSTRACT What is the status of the human remains from the Level 2 of the Abri Pataud? This is the... more ABSTRACT What is the status of the human remains from the Level 2 of the Abri Pataud? This is the question that a multidisciplinary team has tried to answer with a threefold approach: new excavations, detailed review of the collections and detailed historiographical analysis of the former excavations (HL Movius). The Level 2 of the Abri Pataud, which is a reference site for the French Upper Palaeolithic, is dated to -22 000 years. It is attributed to the final Gravettian. This book, through the contributions of 18 authors, presents the results gathered during the first five years of excavation and study (2005-2009) placing it in a the broader context of the final Gravettian in France. It brings new elements of interpretation concerning the human occupation and examines the original burial behavior observed in the Level 2.
Paléo, 2011
Revue d'archéologie préhistorique 22 | 2011 Varia Les mises en forme de grattoirs carénés / nuclé... more Revue d'archéologie préhistorique 22 | 2011 Varia Les mises en forme de grattoirs carénés / nucléus de l'aurignacien ancien de l'abri Castanet (Sergeac, Dordogne)
Paléo, 2014
the Fyssen Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation. Much of this research (particularly the study... more the Fyssen Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation. Much of this research (particularly the study of the collections held in the US) was carried out under the French-American research program "Aurignacian Genius: Art, daily life and social identity of the first modern humans of Europe "UMI-3199 CNRS-UMR & NYU 5608-TRACES, funded by the Partner University Fund and the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Paléo, 2013
An Early Gravettian cultural attribution for the human fossils from the Cro-Magnon rock shelter (... more An Early Gravettian cultural attribution for the human fossils from the Cro-Magnon rock shelter (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Dordogne
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2019
Western Europe is often used as the basis from which to understand the Aurignacian of other regio... more Western Europe is often used as the basis from which to understand the Aurignacian of other regions. For some there is good inter-regional chronocultural agreement, whereas others see significant difference. One region frequently argued to differ is the Swabian Jura (southern Germany). In a recent contribution to this issue Bataille and Conard (2018) describe the Aurignacian assemblage from Layer IV of Hohle Fels. They convincingly outline important similarities with the Western European Late Aurignacian. However, they also argue that it is older than, and different from, the most comparable Western European assemblages, and therefore that it contradicts an Aurignacian chronocultural framework built on Western European evidence. Here we assess this claim, focusing on the sites used by Bataille and Conard in their comparison. Radiocarbon dates for Hohle Fels IV of 33–30,000 uncalbpare no older than dates for Western European Late Aurignacian assemblages. Most of the features of Hohle...
Palethnologie, 2015
La reprise des fouilles dans deux abris aurignaciens du vallon des Roches (Sergeac, Dordogne, Fra... more La reprise des fouilles dans deux abris aurignaciens du vallon des Roches (Sergeac, Dordogne, France), les abris Castanet (2005-2012) et Blanchard (2011-2012), sous la direction de R. White a permis d’obtenir de nouvelles series fiables et de renouveler les connaissances et la reflexion sur l’Aurignacien de ces deux sites de reference. L’abri Castanet, fouille sur une surface de plusieurs metres carres a livre un niveau unique, directement sur le substrat rocheux. L’abri Blanchard, bien que vide en quasi-totalite par les fouilles anciennes, presentait deux lambeaux archeologiques relativement riches, non superposes stratigraphiquement. Les chantiers ouverts dans ces deux abris contigus, au pied de la meme falaise, ont permis de constituer des collections suffisamment consequentes pour permettre une analyse typo-technologique fiable et une attribution culturelle reactualisee. Ainsi, l’une des series de l’abri Blanchard et celle de l’abri Castanet sont attribuables a un Aurignacien ancien, alors que la seconde serie de l’abri Blanchard correspond a un Aurignacien recent, ce qui ne pouvait etre affirme de facon certaine sur la base des anciennes collections.
Current Anthropology, 2017
We can trace the beginnings of our knowledge of early Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) use of fire... more We can trace the beginnings of our knowledge of early Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) use of fire to the pioneering 1910-1911 excavations at Abri Blanchard undertaken by Louis Didon and Marcel Castanet. At Blanchard, the excavators recognized and described fire structures that correspond in many ways to features excavated more recently in Western and Central Europe. Here, we address the issue of heat and light management in the early Upper Paleolithic, demonstrating a pattern that builds on these early excavations but that is refined through our recent field operations. Topics to be discussed include (1) recently excavated fire structures that suggest complex fire management and use, (2) the seemingly massive use of bone as fuel in most early Aurignacian sites, and (3) the anchoring of skin structures for purposes of heat retention with fireplaces behind animal-skin walls. Furthermore, new data on activities around fireplaces make it possible to infer social and organizational aspects of fire structures within Aurignacian living spaces. The vast majority of early Aurignacian occupations, most of them now dated to between 33,000 and 32,000 BP (uncalibrated), occurred on a previously unoccupied bedrock platform into which the occupants dug their fire features. The use of fire has long been recognized as a key innovation in human evolution as a source of light and heat, a mechanism for cooking (
Quaternary Geochronology, 2017
In this study we compare different infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals for dating arc... more In this study we compare different infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals for dating archaeological deposits. The IRSL and the more recently developed post-IR IRSL (pIR-IR) methods were investigated using polymineral fine grains extracted from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic western excavation area in the site of La Ferrassie (SW France). The IRSL data measured at 50 °C (IR 50) are compared to those obtained with the elevated pIR-IR signals measured for two stimulation temperatures, °C (pIR-IR 225 ,) and 290 °C (pIR-IR 290). The signals are documented in terms of bleaching and fading rates. In addition, comparisons of the IR 50 ages corrected either with the H+L method (Huntley and Lamothe, 2001) or with the dose rate correction method (DRC, Lamothe et al., 2003) are presented. Results show that the polymineral fine grains give a reasonable estimate of the burial age of the samples. The IR 50 and pIR-IR 225 provide the most reliable ages when they are corrected using the DRC method (because of saturation effects). The polymineral ages are then compared with the previously obtained ages of K-feldspars coarse grains, quartz OSL (Guerin et al., 2015) and radiocarbon ages with the aim of accessing information on the depositional processes. It appears that further comparison of polymineral fine grains to coarse grains is beneficial to evaluate bleaching. Moreover, the polymineral results either confirm or refine the chronology of the La Ferrassie sequence proposed by Guérin et al. (2015), that is, the Mousterian layers range from marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 to the middle of MIS 3. In particular, i) the base of Layer 3 is pushed back to the end of MIS 4 or beginning MIS 3 and ii) the chronological attribution of Layers 4 and 5 is confirmed as MIS 3. Finally, the chronology of the Aurignacian layer (Layer 7) is strengthened by all the feldspars results.
Quaternary International, 2017
The rich record of Aurignacian graphic arts from sites in the V ez ere Valley of SW France holds ... more The rich record of Aurignacian graphic arts from sites in the V ez ere Valley of SW France holds a key place in our understanding of systems of representation in the European Early Upper Paleolithic. One of the main sites yielding representational objects is Abri Cellier, which has long been on the shortlist of major art-bearing sites attributed to the European Aurignacian. Collie's 1927 excavations yielded 15 engraved and/or pierced limestone blocks that have served as a key point of reference for the study of Aurignacian art in SW France. As part of a broader re-excavation of key Aurignacian sites in the V ez ere Valley, we returned to Abri Cellier in 2014, with detailed archives in hand, in the hopes of finding intact deposits that would allow a better understanding of the archaeological sequence at the site and its relationship to other Aurignacian sites in the so-called "classic zone." While disappointingly little is left of the site, the 2014 season allowed the addition of 16 new engraved, painted or pierced blocks to the 15 already known from the 1927 excavations. We present here a brief history of excavations at the site, a stratigraphic analysis, an overview of archaeological materials recovered, a series of 14C ultrafiltration dates, a brief discussion of the peculiar characteristics of Aurignacian block art in SW France, a detailed analysis of the engraved surfaces of the blocks discovered in 1927 and in 2014 and finally a comparison of the newlyrevised Cellier block assemblage with those from other Aurignacian sites in the V ez ere.
ArchéoSciences, 2011
Les perles rectangulaires du Gravettien Final de l'abri Pataud : identifi cation de la matière pr... more Les perles rectangulaires du Gravettien Final de l'abri Pataud : identifi cation de la matière première et ses implications archéologiques
ADLFI. Archéologie de la France - Informations, 2016
Gallia Prehistoire, 2004
Chiotti Laurent. Rectification : Les productions lamellaires dans l'Aurignacien de l'abri... more Chiotti Laurent. Rectification : Les productions lamellaires dans l'Aurignacien de l'abri Pataud, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Dordogne [Rectification de l'article publié dans Gallia Préhistoire, 45, 2003, p. 113-156]. In: Gallia préhistoire, tome 46, 2004. p. 251
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Papers by Laurent CHIOTTI