Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France
Jacques Jaubert
,
Sophie Verheyden
,
Dominique Genty
(1, 2)
,
Michel Soulier
,
Hai Cheng
,
Dominique Blamart
(1, 3)
,
Christian Burlet
,
Hubert Camus
,
Serge Delaby
,
Damien Deldicque
,
R. Lawrence Edwards
,
Catherine Ferrier
,
François Lacrampe-Cuyaubère
,
Francois Leveque
(4)
,
Frédéric Maksud
,
Pascal Mora
,
Xavier Muth
,
Édouard Régnier
(1, 5, 2)
,
Frédéric Santos
,
Jean-Noël Rouzaud
Jacques Jaubert
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 848344
Sophie Verheyden
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1231130
- IdHAL : verheyden-s
Dominique Genty
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 742237
- IdHAL : dominique-genty
- IdRef : 115102620
Michel Soulier
- Fonction : Auteur
Hai Cheng
- Fonction : Auteur
Dominique Blamart
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 756649
- IdRef : 132440954
Christian Burlet
- Fonction : Auteur
Hubert Camus
- Fonction : Auteur
Serge Delaby
- Fonction : Auteur
Damien Deldicque
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1224527
- IdHAL : damien-deldicque
- ORCID : 0000-0003-0422-8849
R. Lawrence Edwards
- Fonction : Auteur
Catherine Ferrier
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 935702
François Lacrampe-Cuyaubère
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 861683
Francois Leveque
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 6222
- IdHAL : leveque-francois
- ORCID : 0000-0003-0090-9110
- IdRef : 07787000X
Frédéric Maksud
- Fonction : Auteur
Xavier Muth
- Fonction : Auteur
Frédéric Santos
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 174924
- IdHAL : frederic-santos
- ORCID : 0000-0003-1445-3871
- IdRef : 236625209
Jean-Noël Rouzaud
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 912750
Résumé
Very little is known about Neanderthal cultures1, particularly early ones. Other than lithic implements and exceptional bone tools2, very few artefacts have been preserved. While those that do remain include red and black pigments3 and burial sites4, these indications of modernity are extremely sparse and few have been precisely dated, thus greatly limiting our knowledge of these predecessors of modern humans5. Here we report the dating of annular constructions made of broken stalagmites found deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwest France. The regular geometry of the stalagmite circles, the arrangement of broken stalagmites and several traces of fire demonstrate the anthropogenic origin of these constructions.Uranium-series dating of stalagmite regrowths on the structures and on burnt bone, combined with the dating of stalagmite tips in the structures, give a reliable and replicated age of 176.5 thousand years (±2.1 thousand years), making these edifices among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans. Their presence at 336 metres from the entrance of the cave indicates that humans from this period had already mastered the underground environment, which can be considered a major step in human modernity.
Domaines
Archéologie et PréhistoireFormat du dépôt | Notice |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Titre |
en
Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France
|
Résumé |
en
Very little is known about Neanderthal cultures1, particularly early ones. Other than lithic implements and exceptional bone tools2, very few artefacts have been preserved. While those that do remain include red and black pigments3 and burial sites4, these indications of modernity are extremely sparse and few have been precisely dated, thus greatly limiting our knowledge of these predecessors of modern humans5. Here we report the dating of annular constructions made of broken stalagmites found deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwest France. The regular geometry of the stalagmite circles, the arrangement of broken stalagmites and several traces of fire demonstrate the anthropogenic origin of these constructions.Uranium-series dating of stalagmite regrowths on the structures and on burnt bone, combined with the dating of stalagmite tips in the structures, give a reliable and replicated age of 176.5 thousand years (±2.1 thousand years), making these edifices among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans. Their presence at 336 metres from the entrance of the cave indicates that humans from this period had already mastered the underground environment, which can be considered a major step in human modernity.
|
Auteur(s) |
Jacques Jaubert
, Sophie Verheyden
, Dominique Genty
1, 2
, Michel Soulier
, Hai Cheng
, Dominique Blamart
1, 3
, Christian Burlet
, Hubert Camus
, Serge Delaby
, Damien Deldicque
, R. Lawrence Edwards
, Catherine Ferrier
, François Lacrampe-Cuyaubère
, Francois Leveque
4
, Frédéric Maksud
, Pascal Mora
, Xavier Muth
, Édouard Régnier
1, 5, 2
, Frédéric Santos
, Jean-Noël Rouzaud
1
LSCE -
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
( 518 )
- Bât. 12,
avenue de la Terrasse,
F-91198 GIF-SUR-YVETTE CEDEX
- France
2
GLACCIOS -
Glaces et Continents, Climats et Isotopes Stables
( 1007944 )
- LSCE. CEA Paris-Saclay. Orme des merisiers. 91190 Saint-Aubin.
- France
3
PALEOCEAN -
Paléocéanographie
( 1007946 )
-
LSCE. CEA Paris-Saclay. Orme des merisiers. 91190 Saint-Aubin.
- France
4
LIENSs -
LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
( 154635 )
- Bâtiment Marie Curie Avenue Michel Crépeau 17 042 La Rochelle cx1 - Bâtiment ILE 2, rue Olympe de Gouges 17 000 La Rochelle
- France
5
GEOTRAC -
Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
( 578523 )
- LSCE. CEA Paris-Saclay. Orme des merisiers. 91190 Saint-Aubin.
- France
|
URL éditeur |
nature.com
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Date de production/écriture |
2016-06-02
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Audience |
Internationale
|
Date de publication |
2016-06-02
|
Date de publication électronique |
2016-05-26
|
Volume |
534
|
Numéro |
7605
|
Page/Identifiant |
43-44
|
Domaine(s) |
|
Mots-clés |
en
Neanderthal, construction, fire, cave
|
DOI | 10.1038/nature18291 |
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