Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau

Jean Claude Marquet; Jean Jacques Macaire; Grégory Bayle; Jean Baptiste Peyrouse; Émilie Guillaud; Thierry Aubry; Morgane Liard; Jean Gabriel Bréhéret; Kristina Jørkov Thomsen; Trine Holm Freiesleben; Édit Thamóné-Bozsó; Guillaume Guérin; Andrew S. Murray

doi:10.4000/quaternaire.11746

Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau

Translated title of the contribution: The prehistoric site of la Roche-Cotard IV (Indre-et-Loire, France): A middle and upper Pleistocene sequence, reference for the Val-de-Loire in Touraine

Jean Claude Marquet, Jean Jacques Macaire, Grégory Bayle, Jean Baptiste Peyrouse, Émilie Guillaud, Thierry Aubry, Morgane Liard, Jean Gabriel Bréhéret, Kristina Jørkov Thomsen, Trine Holm Freiesleben, Édit Thamóné-Bozsó, Guillaume Guérin, Andrew S. Murray

Department of Geoscience - Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Review › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The prehistoric site of La Roche-Cotard (LRC) is located on the right bank slope of the Loire Valley, a little upstream of Langeais in Indre-et-Loire. The site was made accessible by extensive material collection in 1846. The main cave, LRC I, was excavated in 1912: it contained a middle Paleolithic industry and digital traces were discovered in 1975 and validated in 2008. The resumption of excavations on the site since 2008 has highlighted a powerful 11 meter section with 22 distinct layers, the lower part of which fills a shelter: locus LRC IV, very close to LRC I. The stratigraphy combines from the bottom to the top, karstic inputs, fluvial and eolian sands from the Loire valley and slope deposits. Indices of anthropic occupation (lithic industry, burned bones) attest to the occupation of this space. Numerous radiocarbon and OSL ages make it possible to chronologically constrains this filling between the limit of the isotopic stages 7 and 6 (layer 22 - 169 ka) and the end of stage 3 (layer 2 - 25 ka). The locus has given rise to a multidisciplinary study as complete as possible (sedimentology and micromorphology, small and large vertebrate faunas, lithic industry...). These data provide new information on the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the region, which is poorly known in this time range. The geometry and the age of the deposits lead to the hypothesis that the main cave LRC I was impenetrable by Homo sapiens at least starting from the beginning of the isotopic stage 3 (60 ka) and thus that the parietal productions with symbolic character of the cave are most likely to be attributed to Neanderthal man.

Translated title of the contribution	The prehistoric site of la Roche-Cotard IV (Indre-et-Loire, France): A middle and upper Pleistocene sequence, reference for the Val-de-Loire in Touraine
Original language	French
Journal	Quaternaire
Volume	30
Issue	2
Pages (from-to)	185-209
Number of pages	25
ISSN	1142-2904
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4000/quaternaire.11746
Publication status	Published - Jun 2019

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Marquet, J. C., Macaire, J. J., Bayle, G., Peyrouse, J. B., Guillaud, É., Aubry, T., Liard, M., Bréhéret, J. G., Jørkov Thomsen, K., Holm Freiesleben, T., Thamóné-Bozsó, É., Guérin, G., & Murray, A. S. (2019). Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau. Quaternaire, 30(2), 185-209. https://doi.org/10.4000/quaternaire.11746

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title = "Le site pr{\'e}historique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une s{\'e}quence du pl{\'e}istocene moyen et sup{\'e}rieur, r{\'e}f{\'e}rence pour le val de Loire tourangeau",

abstract = "The prehistoric site of La Roche-Cotard (LRC) is located on the right bank slope of the Loire Valley, a little upstream of Langeais in Indre-et-Loire. The site was made accessible by extensive material collection in 1846. The main cave, LRC I, was excavated in 1912: it contained a middle Paleolithic industry and digital traces were discovered in 1975 and validated in 2008. The resumption of excavations on the site since 2008 has highlighted a powerful 11 meter section with 22 distinct layers, the lower part of which fills a shelter: locus LRC IV, very close to LRC I. The stratigraphy combines from the bottom to the top, karstic inputs, fluvial and eolian sands from the Loire valley and slope deposits. Indices of anthropic occupation (lithic industry, burned bones) attest to the occupation of this space. Numerous radiocarbon and OSL ages make it possible to chronologically constrains this filling between the limit of the isotopic stages 7 and 6 (layer 22 - 169 ka) and the end of stage 3 (layer 2 - 25 ka). The locus has given rise to a multidisciplinary study as complete as possible (sedimentology and micromorphology, small and large vertebrate faunas, lithic industry...). These data provide new information on the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the region, which is poorly known in this time range. The geometry and the age of the deposits lead to the hypothesis that the main cave LRC I was impenetrable by Homo sapiens at least starting from the beginning of the isotopic stage 3 (60 ka) and thus that the parietal productions with symbolic character of the cave are most likely to be attributed to Neanderthal man.",

keywords = "Archaeozoology, Lithic industry, Loire river, Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthal, Palaeoenvironment, Upper Pleistocene",

author = "Marquet, {Jean Claude} and Macaire, {Jean Jacques} and Gr{\'e}gory Bayle and Peyrouse, {Jean Baptiste} and {\'E}milie Guillaud and Thierry Aubry and Morgane Liard and Br{\'e}h{\'e}ret, {Jean Gabriel} and {J{\o}rkov Thomsen}, Kristina and {Holm Freiesleben}, Trine and {\'E}dit Tham{\'o}n{\'e}-Bozs{\'o} and Guillaume Gu{\'e}rin and Murray, {Andrew S.}",

year = "2019",

month = jun,

doi = "10.4000/quaternaire.11746",

language = "Fransk",

volume = "30",

pages = "185--209",

journal = "Quaternaire",

issn = "1142-2904",

publisher = "Association Francaise pour l'Etude du Quaternaire",

number = "2",

}

Marquet, JC, Macaire, JJ, Bayle, G, Peyrouse, JB, Guillaud, É, Aubry, T, Liard, M, Bréhéret, JG, Jørkov Thomsen, K, Holm Freiesleben, T, Thamóné-Bozsó, É, Guérin, G & Murray, AS 2019, 'Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau', Quaternaire, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 185-209. https://doi.org/10.4000/quaternaire.11746

Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau. / Marquet, Jean Claude; Macaire, Jean Jacques; Bayle, Grégory et al.
In: Quaternaire, Vol. 30, No. 2, 06.2019, p. 185-209.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Review › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France)

T2 - Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau

AU - Marquet, Jean Claude

AU - Macaire, Jean Jacques

AU - Bayle, Grégory

AU - Peyrouse, Jean Baptiste

AU - Guillaud, Émilie

AU - Aubry, Thierry

AU - Liard, Morgane

AU - Bréhéret, Jean Gabriel

AU - Jørkov Thomsen, Kristina

AU - Holm Freiesleben, Trine

AU - Thamóné-Bozsó, Édit

AU - Guérin, Guillaume

AU - Murray, Andrew S.

PY - 2019/6

Y1 - 2019/6

N2 - The prehistoric site of La Roche-Cotard (LRC) is located on the right bank slope of the Loire Valley, a little upstream of Langeais in Indre-et-Loire. The site was made accessible by extensive material collection in 1846. The main cave, LRC I, was excavated in 1912: it contained a middle Paleolithic industry and digital traces were discovered in 1975 and validated in 2008. The resumption of excavations on the site since 2008 has highlighted a powerful 11 meter section with 22 distinct layers, the lower part of which fills a shelter: locus LRC IV, very close to LRC I. The stratigraphy combines from the bottom to the top, karstic inputs, fluvial and eolian sands from the Loire valley and slope deposits. Indices of anthropic occupation (lithic industry, burned bones) attest to the occupation of this space. Numerous radiocarbon and OSL ages make it possible to chronologically constrains this filling between the limit of the isotopic stages 7 and 6 (layer 22 - 169 ka) and the end of stage 3 (layer 2 - 25 ka). The locus has given rise to a multidisciplinary study as complete as possible (sedimentology and micromorphology, small and large vertebrate faunas, lithic industry...). These data provide new information on the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the region, which is poorly known in this time range. The geometry and the age of the deposits lead to the hypothesis that the main cave LRC I was impenetrable by Homo sapiens at least starting from the beginning of the isotopic stage 3 (60 ka) and thus that the parietal productions with symbolic character of the cave are most likely to be attributed to Neanderthal man.

AB - The prehistoric site of La Roche-Cotard (LRC) is located on the right bank slope of the Loire Valley, a little upstream of Langeais in Indre-et-Loire. The site was made accessible by extensive material collection in 1846. The main cave, LRC I, was excavated in 1912: it contained a middle Paleolithic industry and digital traces were discovered in 1975 and validated in 2008. The resumption of excavations on the site since 2008 has highlighted a powerful 11 meter section with 22 distinct layers, the lower part of which fills a shelter: locus LRC IV, very close to LRC I. The stratigraphy combines from the bottom to the top, karstic inputs, fluvial and eolian sands from the Loire valley and slope deposits. Indices of anthropic occupation (lithic industry, burned bones) attest to the occupation of this space. Numerous radiocarbon and OSL ages make it possible to chronologically constrains this filling between the limit of the isotopic stages 7 and 6 (layer 22 - 169 ka) and the end of stage 3 (layer 2 - 25 ka). The locus has given rise to a multidisciplinary study as complete as possible (sedimentology and micromorphology, small and large vertebrate faunas, lithic industry...). These data provide new information on the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the region, which is poorly known in this time range. The geometry and the age of the deposits lead to the hypothesis that the main cave LRC I was impenetrable by Homo sapiens at least starting from the beginning of the isotopic stage 3 (60 ka) and thus that the parietal productions with symbolic character of the cave are most likely to be attributed to Neanderthal man.

KW - Archaeozoology

KW - Lithic industry

KW - Loire river

KW - Middle Paleolithic

KW - Neanderthal

KW - Palaeoenvironment

KW - Upper Pleistocene

U2 - 10.4000/quaternaire.11746

DO - 10.4000/quaternaire.11746

M3 - Review

AN - SCOPUS:85074492159

SN - 1142-2904

VL - 30

SP - 185

EP - 209

JO - Quaternaire

JF - Quaternaire

IS - 2

ER -

Le site préhistorique de la Roche-Cotard IV (Indreet-Loire, France): Une séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur, référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau

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