Le gisement Castanet, Vallon de Castelmerle, commune de Sergeac (Dordogne). Aurignacicen I et II

Technologies for the Control of Heat and Light in the Vézère Valley Aurignacian

“…The hypothesis of the anchoring of skin structures within rock-shelters for purposes of heat retention, with fireplaces behind animal-skin walls, was made first in 1935 by Peyrony (1935). Our recent research supports this hypothesis.…”

“…Our experiments show that these rings withstand very little force, strain, and stress, and we also know from our analysis of site formation that the ceiling of the shelter was approximately 2 m above the occupational surface. These data and observations incline us to support Denis Peyrony's old hypothesis (Peyrony 1935) that the anneaux served to guide and suspend animal skins from the drip line of the shelter in order to retain heat, to reflect heat and light back into the shelter, and to serve as a windbreak vis-à-vis westerly and northwesterly winds entering from the front of the shelter. Moreover, new seasonal data, based on cementum annuli analysis (Naji, Gourichon, and Rendu 2015;Rendu 2007Rendu , 2010 of reindeer and horse teeth, are categorical; 4 Castanet was an exclusively cold season occupation (figs.…”

“…At Abri Castanet, as at Abri Blanchard, the Aurignacian I layer (Peyrony's layer A) sat directly on bedrock. Following the excavation of this layer, Peyrony (1935) described and illustrated precisely the same kinds of fire features dug into the bedrock as those found at Abri Blanchard (see fig. S1; figs.…”

“…9), and Pataud have all produced these. At Blanchard and Castanet, these were observed to be concentrated along the supposed original drip line of the shelter (Didon 1911;Peyrony 1935). In the last year of excavations at Castanet, we too found anneaux in the rubble of the collapsed drip line of the shelter.…”

Red deer antler technology and early modern humans in Southeast Europe: an experimental study

“…Many experiments aimed at reproducing split-based points have been undertaken (Hahn, 1988;Henri-Martin, 1930;Knecht, 1991;Leroy-Prost, 1974;Liolios, 1999;Newcomer, 1977;Peyrony, 1935). All have focused almost exclusively on one particular part of their manufacturing, which is the making of the proximal split.…”