Biology:Montgaudier Cave

From HandWiki
Short description: Prehistoric cave in Montbron, Charente, France
Montgaudier Cave
Interior of the cave
Map showing the location of Montgaudier Cave
Map showing the location of Montgaudier Cave
Location of Montgaudier Cave in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
<mapframe zoom="10" frameless="1" align="center" longitude="0.469722" latitude="45.6675" height="200" width="270">{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"coordinates":[0.469722,45.6675],"type":"Point"},"properties":{"title":"Montgaudier Cave","marker-color":"#5E74F3"}}</mapframe>
LocationMontbron, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 45°40′03″N 0°28′11″E / 45.667500°N 0.469722°E / 45.667500; 0.469722
Elevation100 metres (330 ft)
GeologyLimestone
FeaturesNeanderthal and Homo sapiens remains, parietal and portable art, lithic and bone artifacts
ValleyTardoire
ProtectionClassified site since 1942

The Montgaudier Cave is a prehistoric site in Montbron, Charente, France, occupied from the Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic) to the Magdalenian (Upper Paleolithic). It has yielded Neanderthal and Homo sapiens remains, ancient faunal bones, extensive lithic and bone artifacts, and significant examples of parietal art and portable art.[1]

Location

Located in western Montbron, 27 kilometres (17 mi) east of Angoulême in Charente, the Montgaudier Cave is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Dordogne and 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Haute-Vienne. It opens into a cliff overlooking the Tardoire River, upstream from the Placard Cave, beneath a northeast-facing concave bank supporting Montgaudier Castle.[2]

The cave entrance at the valley level.

History

Excavations at Montgaudier began before 1850 with Édouard Lartet, followed by the Marquis de Vibraye, Tremeau de Rochebrune, Abbé Bourgeois, Abbé Delaunay, Fermond, and Albert Gaudry from 1867 to 1886. Further digs continued until 1959.[3] In 1966, Louis Duport, at Jean Piveteau's request, resumed excavations, systematizing prior findings and discovering a Neanderthal jawbone (12–14½ years old) in 1974. The site has been a classified site since 1942.[4]

Schematic plan of the Montgaudier Cave.

Topography

The cave comprises a complex system of shelters and cavities, accessed via 13 metres (43 ft)-wide, 10 metres (33 ft)-high porch leading to 20 metres (66 ft)-long cavity. Key areas include the Lartet Shelter (west) and the Tardoire section (east), encompassing the Gaudry and Paignon Shelters. Locus 12, excavated by Duport in 1983–1984, revealed a Magdalenian layer after test pits.[5] Locus 11, 3 metres (9.8 ft) in front of the porch, indicates a post-Magdalenian vault collapse and an ancient Tardoire riverbed.[6]

Stratigraphy

The Great Porch contains approximately 30 sedimentary levels, dated to about 80,000 years ago, corresponding to loci 1–3, 5–6. The Lartet Shelter (locus 4) has six layers with an intact Mousterian level. The Gaudry Shelter (loci 8–9) includes nine layers, with Upper Magdalenian (layers 1–2) and possible Aurignacian (layer 5). A Quina-type Mousterian hearth exists in the Tardoire section. Locus 12 has four levels, including Magdalenian (layer 2) and possibly Gravettian (layer 4). The complex stratigraphy reflects extensive human activity across multiple periods.[7]

Ancient fauna

Locus 12 yielded bones of herbivores (horse, wild boar, deer, roe deer, fallow deer) and carnivores (cave lion, gray wolf, spotted hyena, cave bear, Arctic fox), radiocarbon-dated to 12,820 years BP (Magdalenian). Saiga antelope remains were also found.[8] Layer 13 contains archaic fauna: Ursus deningeri (ancestor of Ursus spelaeus), Crocuta crocuta intermedia, and steppe rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus hemitoechus). These findings suggest a diverse paleoenvironment.[9]

Steppe rhinoceros

Human presence

The cave was occupied from the Mousterian to Magdalenian, with possible brief Upper Solutrean use of the Paignon Shelter. In 1974, a Neanderthal jawbone (12–14½ years old, likely Riss glaciation) was found, possibly from the Lartet Shelter. In 1988, a child's molar (8 years ±2, Middle Magdalenian) was discovered in locus 12. In 1968, two Homo sapiens skulls (young adult and child, 8–12 years) from the Gaudry Shelter were dated to Magdalenian V–VI, with a skull fragment from the Paignon Shelter's Magdalenian layer.[10]

Tools and artifacts

Acheulean

Layer 13 yielded flint and pebble tools predating the Riss glaciation, resembling worked pebbles.[11]

Mousterian

The Lartet Shelter produced 3,144 objects, including 402 tools (80% scrapers, Charentian Mousterian, Ferrassie/Quina types). A paved floor (~30 square metres (320 sq ft)) and hearth were found, with another Quina-type hearth in the Tardoire section.[6]

Aurignacian

Layer 5 (Tardoire section) contains a busked burin and sparse artifacts, indicating limited Aurignacian presence.[12]

Drawing of a dihedral burin

Gravettian

Locus 6 (layer 4) yielded 650 objects, including 72 tools (scrapers, burins, awls) and a bone spear point. Middle Gravettian Noailles burins suggest Noaillian/Rayssian facies.[12]

Solutrean

Sparse notched points, similar to those at Placard Cave, provide insufficient evidence for Solutrean occupation.[12]

Magdalenian

Artifacts include scrapers, knives, bone awls, ivory smoothers, and a barbed harpoon (locus 12).[13] The Paignon Shelter contains a hearth with engraved plaques.[14]

Neolithic

A Neolithic axe blade, bowl, and Bell Beaker vessel with hatched bands were found.[15]

Parietal art

In 1978, a bovid engraving with signs, attributed to Magdalenian Style III, was uncovered on a collapsed block, reflecting symbolic or ritualistic expression.[14]

Portable art

Middle Magdalenian

The Paignon Shelter yielded an engraved sandstone (reindeer, bison, feline, salmon) and ornaments, including a bone pendant (13,320 years BP) and a pierced horse incisor with triangle engravings.[14]

Final Magdalenian

In 1886, Eugène Paignon found a bâton percé (reindeer antler, 30 centimetres (12 in)) engraved with seals, salmon, and eels.[16] Other artifacts include engraved ivory, a bone with a horse frieze, and ibex-decorated antler. Perforated shells and antler pieces served as ornaments. These objects suggest advanced artistic and symbolic practices.[16]

Drawing of the engraved bâton percé.

See also

References

  1. ↑ (Debénath 2006)
  2. ↑ (David Pintaud)
  3. ↑ (Airvaux Duport)
  4. ↑ "Liste des protections patrimoniales, Montbron" (in fr). Service départemental de l'architecture et du patrimoine Charente. http://www.sdap-poitou-charentes.culture.gouv.fr/protections/immeubles/index.php?dep=16&initiale=M&commune=16223&part=&NumSr=301. 
  5. ↑ Duport, Louis (1994). "Grotte de Montgaudier, commune de Montbron, Charente, locus 12" (in fr). Bulletins et mémoires de la Société Archéologique de Charente 150 (4): 166–167, 178–181. https://ccbmn.culture.gouv.fr/PIC/doc/SYRACUSE/987710/grotte-de-montgaudier-commune-de-montbron-charente-locus-12-par-duport-louis. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 (Debénath 2006)
  7. ↑ (Debénath 2006)
  8. ↑ Dujardin, Véronique. "Commentaire sur les antilopes saïga en Poitou-Charentes et en France" (in fr). http://vdujardin.com/paleo/14Csaiga.html. 
  9. ↑ (Airvaux Duport)
  10. ↑ (Duport 1977)
  11. ↑ (Debénath 2006)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 (Debénath 2006)
  13. ↑ (Nadaillac 1887)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 (Airvaux 2002)
  15. ↑ Patte, Étienne (1977). "Le vase campaniforme de la grotte de Montgaudier à Montbron (Charente)" (in fr). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 74 (6): 190–192. https://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1977_num_74_6_8504. Retrieved 23 June 2025. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Delporte, Henri (1990) (in fr). L'image des animaux dans l'art préhistorique. Paris: Picard. p. 38. ISBN 9782708404045. https://books.google.com/books?id=2uIxAQAAIAAJ. 

Bibliography



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Biology:Montgaudier_Cave&oldid=4073799"