Neanderthal cranial remains from Baume Moula‐Guercy (Soyons, Ardèche, France)

Abstract

Objectives We provide the first comparative description of the Guercy 1 cranium and isolated cranial fragments from Baume Moula‐Guercy and examine their affinities to European Preneanderthals, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens. Materials and Methods The Moula‐Guercy hominins derive from deposits chronostratigraphically and biostratigraphically dated to the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e). For comparisons we compiled a sample of European and Southwest Asian subadult‐adult Middle‐to‐Late Pleistocene hominins (≈MIS 14–MIS 2; N = 184). This sample represents a Preneanderthal–Neanderthal group and a H. sapiens group, both of which were further divided into three time‐successive subgroups defined by associated marine isotope stages (MIS). Metric and morphological observations were made on the original fossils and a virtual reconstruction of Guercy 1. Developmental age and sex and the minimum–maximum number of individuals were assessed. Results Guercy 1 represents the remains of a late stage adolescent (≈15–16.0 years) female. Morphological and metric data combine to associate the total morphological pattern expressed in Guercy 1 with our MIS 7–MIS 5e (“Early Neanderthal”) subgroup. Some features, especially those related to the frontal, suggest linkage to a paleodeme comprising the Moula‐Guercy, Artenac, La Chaise Abri Suard and, possibly, the Biache‐Saint‐Vaast samples. Discussion Remains of MIS 7–MIS 5e Neanderthals are rare and fragmentary, especially those dated to the Last Interglacial. The Baume Moula‐Guercy sample provides new insights into the total morphological pattern expressed in MIS 5e Neanderthals. Further, our results support earlier suggestions that MIS 7–MIS 5e European hominins represent a morphotype that is distinct from both earlier and later members of the Preneanderthal–Neanderthal group.

Neanderthal child's occipital from Baume Moula‐Guercy (Soyons, Ardèche, France)

“…In general, the convexity of the upper occipital scale begins to increase in MIS 11-MIS 9 adult hominins, but it is not until MIS 7-MIS 5e that the occipitals of some individuals show convexity of the entire upper scale in association with the development of an occipital bun (Caspari, 2006;Condemi, 2001;Dean et al, 1998;Gorjanovi c-Kramberger, 1906). The strong convexity of the superior portion of the upper scale of M-S-41/M-S-61 may be associated with a low cranial height, as observed in Guercy 1 (Richards et al, 2021), and the lack of a substantial posterior expansion of the occipital lobes associated with bunning. This posterior expansion of the cerebral fossae is seen in Late Neanderthals but is absent or less apparent in Early Neanderthals.…”

“…Dutour, Defleur et al, 1999;Hlusko et al, 2013;Mersey, Jabbour, et al, 2013;Defleur et al, 2020, Richards et al, 2021. Expanding the geographic range to Southwestern and South-Central France adds significantly to the Early Neanderthal craniodental sample by the inclusion of Biache-Saint-Vaast (N = 2), La Chaise Abri Suard (N = 52), and La Chaise Bourgeois-Delaunay (N = 23: Piveteau et al, 1982;Vandermeersch, 1982;Condemi, 2001;Rougier, 2003;Guipert et al, 2011).…”

“…Further, chronometric dates deriving from laser ablation U‐series dating (hominin teeth) and CSUS/ESR dating (faunal teeth) provide further support for correlating Layer XV with MIS 5e (Willmes et al, 2016). Further details of the site history—artifactual, faunal, and floral components—and dating are available in Defleur and Desclaux (2019), Defleur et al (2020), and Richards et al (2021).…”

“…At least two extrasutural bones (≈10 Â 10 mm) were located adjacent to one another in the right lambdoidal suture of M-S-41 while M-S-61 possessed a lambdoidal ossicle on the right side (Figure 1). The Guercy 1 cranium (Richards et al, 2021) Piveteau, 1970;Smith, 1976;Thompson & Bilsborough, 2005;Caspari, 2006) and modern humans.…”

“…Then the developmental ages of M-S-41 and M-S-61 were assessed by placing them into the developmental sequence based on morphology. Published age assessments for the comparative fossil series are listed in Supplemental TablesS1 and S2, while their literature sources are referenced in the Supplemental Data.A complete assessment of individuals and developmental ages represented in the Moula-Guercy sample can be found inRichards et al (2021).…”