Millennial-scale change in archaeofaunas and their implications for Mousterian lithic variability in southwest France

Morin, Eugène; Delagnes, Anne; Armand, Dominique; Castel, Jean-Christophe; Hodgkins, Jamie

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2014.09.013

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…However, these assemblages are not Quina Mousterian. As a result, it seems that our newly obtained ages add variability to the MIS 3 lithic assemblages for the Middle Palaeolithic in southwest France, and contradict the strict succession models of Mellars (1967Mellars ( , 1969Mellars ( , 1996, Jaubert (2011), Discamps et al (2011), Morin et al (2014. To reconcile these issues and refine these statements, a proper chronological modelling of luminescence data, and in particular of the shared errors, would be necessary.…”

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 70%

“…At the same time, these ages conflict with chronological models recently forwarded based in large part on the fauna. Such models place reindeer dominated Quina assemblages at the end of MIS 4: 59-67 ka (Morin et al, 2014), or 60-63 ka (Heinrich Event 6: Discamps et al 2011Discamps and Royer, this issue). There are later reindeer dominated assemblages that might be correlated to Heinrich Event 5 and would be consistent with the Roc de Marsal ages, e.g.…”

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the changing terms, an emerging consensus among some researchers is that, in fact, Mellars (1967Mellars ( , 1969Mellars ( , 1996 was essentially correct in his observation that the lithic and faunal assemblages of stratified Late Pleistocene Mousterian sites in southwest France vary in a systematic fashion such that a cultural-historical framework can be constructed from the combined sequences (e.g. Jaubert, 2011;Discamps et al, 2011;Morin et al, 2014). In the 1980s, Mellars and Grün (1991) and others (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

Guérin

Frouin

Tuquoi

et al. 2017

Quaternary International

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Located in southwest France, Roc de Marsal is a cave with a rich Mousterian stratigraphic sequence. The lower part of the sequence (Layers 9-5) are characterized by assemblages dominated by Levallois lithic technology associated with composite faunal spectra (including red deer, roe deer and reindeer) that shows a gradual increase in the frequency of reindeer. The top of the sequence (Layers 4-2) are characterised instead by Quina lithic technology (both in terms of technology and typology) with the faunal remains dominated by reindeer. Roc de Marsal thus provides a very interesting case study to place behavioural changes in a context of changing climates and environments in western Europe during the late Pleistocene. To link the occupations at Roc de Marsal with global and regional climatic conditions known independently, a robust chronology is needed. With this aim in mind, we applied three luminescence dating methods (TL, OSL and IRSL) on different minerals (flint, quartz and K-feldspar extracts). Here the results of two of these methods are presented in detail (TL and OSL) and compared with preliminary IRSL data. At Roc de Marsal, a comparison of methods was necessary to overcome a complex sedimentary history, with very heterogeneous dose rate distributions, both at the beta (mm) and gamma (dm) dose rate scales. The results indicate that the lower Levallois layers are dated to ~65-70 ka, while overlying Quina layers are dated to ~49 ka. These ages for the lower layers fit well with some models that place mixed faunal assemblages in the initial MIS 4; however, while the Quina ages overlap with several other Quina assemblages from the region, they place the reindeer dominated fauna well after the peak cold of MIS 4 and suggest a more extended and complex period of contemporaneous lithic techno-complexes than posited by some current models. AbstractLocated in southwest France, Roc de Marsal is a cave with a rich Mousterian stratigraphic sequence. The lower part of the sequence (Layers 9-5) are characterized by assemblages dominated by Levallois lithic technology associated with composite faunal spectra (including red deer, roe deer and reindeer) that shows a gradual increase in the frequency of reindeer. The top of the sequence (Layers 4-2) are characterised instead by Quina lithic technology (both in terms of technology and typology) with the faunal remains dominated by reindeer. Roc de Marsal thus provides a very interesting case study to place behavioural changes in a context of changing climates and environments in western Europe during the late Pleistocene. To link the occupations at Roc de Marsal with global and regional climatic conditions known independently, a robust chronology is needed. With this aim in mind, we applied three luminescence dating methods (TL, OSL and IRSL) on different minerals (flint, quartz and K-feldspar extracts). Here the results of two of these methods are presented in detail (TL and OSL) and compared with preliminary IRSL data. At Roc de Marsal, a comparison of metho...

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Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Implications For the Mousterian In Southwest Francementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

Guérin

Frouin

Tuquoi

et al. 2017

Quaternary International

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“…4) show a pattern similar to what we had already found at the nearby sites of Roc de Marsal and Pech IV: there are substantial periods in the sequence exhibiting low percentages of heated lithics, which is evidence for less frequent fires, and, with the exception of Layer 20, the greater evidence for fire is limited to MIS 5 or earlier deposits that are associated with milder climates. Note that the Combe Grenal sequence is undated, so our climate reconstructions and chronology are based on the work of Morin et al (2014) and Discamps (2011;Discamps and Royer 2017), as well as the previously published palynological (Paquereau 1974), paleontological (Bordes et al 1966;Chase 1986;Guadelli and Laville 1988;Bouchud 1966;Delpech and Prat 1995), and geological (Laville 1975) evidence.…”

Section: How Well Does the Evidence Hold Up At Other Sites?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Were Western European Neandertals Able to Make Fire?

et al. 2018

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Significant variability has been observed in the frequency of fire use over the course of the Late Pleistocene at several Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. In particular, Neandertals appear to have used fire more frequently during warm climatic periods and very infrequently during cold periods. After reviewing several lines of evidence and alternative explanations for this variability, the null hypothesis that these Neandertals were not able to make fire still stands.

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“…Jaubert et al, 2011;Morin et al, 2014;Thi ebaut et al, 2014). This culturegroup, historical view of lithic variability has been long promoted by Mellars (1969Mellars ( , 1996 and has evolved over the years from mainly based on retouched tool types to mainly based on techniques of blank production (Delagnes and Meignen, 2006;Delagnes et al, 2007;Faivre et al, 2014).…”

Section: Recent Critiquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the local Mousterian origin of the Châtelperronian: Integrating typo-technological, chronostratigraphic and contextual data

Ruebens

McPherron

Hublin

2015

Journal of Human Evolution

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Millennial-scale change in archaeofaunas and their implications for Mousterian lithic variability in southwest France

Cited by 24 publications

References 87 publications

The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3

Were Western European Neandertals Able to Make Fire?

On the local Mousterian origin of the Châtelperronian: Integrating typo-technological, chronostratigraphic and contextual data

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