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(disputed) Pliocene / Pleistocene
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Châtelperronian was the earliest industry of the Upper Palaeolithic in central and south western France, extending also into Northern Spain. It derives its name from the site of la Grotte des Fées, in Châtelperron, Allier, France.
It appears to have been derived from the earlier, Neanderthal, Mousterian industry as it made use of Levallois cores and represents the period when Neanderthals and modern humans occupied Europe together. It lasted from between c. 35,000 and c. 29,000 BP. The industry produced denticulate, or toothed, stone tools and also a distinctive flint knife with a single cutting edge and a blunt, curved back. It may also have produced jewellery which has been used to support theories regarding the sophistication of the Neanderthals. The use of ivory at Châtelperronian sites tends to be more frequent than that of the later Aurignacian1, while antler tools appear to be absent.
It was superseded by the human Aurignacian industry around 29,000 BP. Nevertheless both cultures shared the region for some time. Indeed, evidence has been collected showing that the very site of la Grotte des Fées has been successively occupied by Neanderthals, modern Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals again2. In Cantabria (Spain), two caves (Morín and El Pendo) show opposite stratigraphies: while in Morín early Aurignacian remains are directly above Châtelperronian, in nearby El Pendo it is the opposite case: Châtelperronian is above (more recent) than Aurignacian, what is interpreted as an exchange of dwelling site by two different groups. C-14 dates for these changes are of c. 28,500 BP3
In spite of being archaeologically associated with Neanderthal people, some suspect Châtelperronian to be at the origins of the very similar Gravettian culture. Traditionally (French school) both cultures have been classified together under the name Perigordian, being Early Perigordian equivalent to Châtelperronian and all the other phases corresponding to Gravettian3.45
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Lithic Production and Associations
Large thick flakes/small blocks were used for cores, and were prepared with a crest over a long smooth surface. Using one or two striking points, long thin blades were detached. Direct percussion with a soft hammer was likely used for accuracy. Thicker blades made in this process were often converted into side scrapers, burins were often created in the same manner from debitage as well.
The quality of tools produced is uncharacteristic of the earlier Mousterian industries that are associated with Neanderthals, this industry is just as if not more "modern" than other industries in the Middle Paleolithic. However, the manner of production is a solid continuation of the Mousterian, the ivory adornments found in association seem to be a more clear connection to Aurignacian peoples6, who are often argued to be the earliest introduction of H. sapiens sapiens into Europe. The technological refinement of the Châtelperronian and neighboring Uluzzian in Central-Southern Italy is often argued to be the product of cultural influence from H. sapiens sapiens that lived nearby, but these predate both the Aurignacian and the earliest presence of H. sapiens sapiens in Europe.
in popular culture
Author Jared Diamond argues in his 1991 non-fiction book, The Third Chimpanzee, that Châtelperron may represent a community of Neanderthals who had to some extent adopted the culture of the modern Homo sapiens that had established themselves in the surrounding area, which would account for the signs of a hybrid culture found at the site. Diamond compares these hypothetical Neanderthal hold-outs to more recent Native Americans in North and South America who adopted European technologies such as firearms or domestication of horses in order to survive in an environment dominated by technologically more-advanced competitors. 7
See also
- Upper Paleolithic
- Gravettian
- Périgordian
- Neanderthal
- Franco-Cantabrian region
- Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures
References
- ^ d'Errico, F.D., Zilhao, J., Julien, M., Baffier, D. and Pelerin, J. 1998. Neanderthal Acculturation in Western Europe? A Critical Review of the Evidence and it's Interpretation. Current Anthropology Supplement to 39: S1-S44
- ^ Mellars, Paul; Brad Gravina and Christopher Bronk Ramsey (February 2007). "Confirmation of Neanderthal/modern human interstratification at the Chatelperronian type-site". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (9): 3657–62. doi:. PMID 17360698.
- ^ a b F. Jordá Cerdá et al., Historia de España 1. Prehistoria. Gredos ed. 1986. ISBN 84-249-1015-X
- ^ X. Peñalver, Euskal Herria en la Prehistoria. Orain ed. 1996. ISBN 84-89077-58-4
- ^ M.H. Alimen and M.J. Steve, Prehistoria. Siglo XXI ed. 1970. ISBN 84-323-0118-3
- ^ d'Errico, F.D., Zilhao, J., Julien, M., Baffier, D. and Pelerin, J. 1998. Neanderthal Acculturation in Western Europe? A Critical Review of the Evidence and it's Interpretation. Current Anthropology Supplement to 39: S1-S44
- ^ F. Jared Diamond, The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal Harper Perennial. 2006. ISBN 978-0060845506
External links
- Picture Gallery of the Paleolithic (reconstructional palaeoethnology), Libor Balák at the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology in Brno, The Center for Paleolithic and Paleoethnological Research
