The Noisetier Cave (french: Grotte du Noisetier, lit: Hazel cave, also Grotte de Peyrère or Grotte de Serrat de la Toue), owing its popular name to the
Hazel trees that grow in front of its entrance, is located in a mountainside atop the
Vallée d'Aure in the
Ardengost commune,
Hautes-Pyrénées department in the region
Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...
,
Southern France. During systematic excavations since 1992
Middle Paleolithic stone tools and artifacts attributed to the
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an archaeological industry of stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and to the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and West Asia. The Mousterian largely defines the l ...
culture were discovered among numerous
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...
l remains.
Location
Sheltered by the
Ardengost limestones which rise to the cave is located at above sea level on the western slopes and overlooks the
Neste d'Aure river valley, a tributary of the
Garonne
The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna
or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...
. The cave is a sub-horizontal gallery, oriented north to south and its entrance opens towards the south. It is long, in width and in height.
Geology
The Grotto is entrenched within the Pyrenean ''Primary Axial Zone'' as part of the
Ardengost limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
massif, that contains a rich microfauna of
foraminifera
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...
,
brachiopod
Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...
s and
polyps and floral (
algae) elements. The age of this formation was revised during the 2004 excavation based on this
paleontological
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...
content and re-dated within the
Carboniferous from the upper
Visean to the
Serpukhovian
The Serpukhovian is in the ICS geologic timescale the uppermost stage or youngest age of the Mississippian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Serpukhovian age lasted from Ma to Ma. It is preceded by the Visean and is followed b ...
at around 300 Million years ago. The calcareous particles of these organic components supported the formation of
micrite
Micrite is a limestone constituent formed of calcareous particles ranging in diameter up to four μm formed by the recrystallization of lime mud. Flügel, Erik, ''Microfacies of Carbonate Rocks: Analysis, Interpretation and Application,'' Springe ...
mud, a limestone constituent that enabled the development of the local karst.
[Barrère, P., Bouquet, C., Debroas, E.-J., Pélissonnier, H., Peybernès, B., Soulé, J.-C., Souquet, P. et Ternet, Y. (1984) - ''Notice explicative de la feuille Arreau à 1/50 000'', Éditions du BRGM, 63 p.]
Excavations
The presence of paleo-human remains in the cave was first suggested in 1898 by ''Armand Viré'' but only in 1985 it was visited again by
caver
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
''E. Casteret'' who reported to the ''Regional Archaeology Service'' of the
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by ar ...
department. An initial survey operation was conducted in 1987 under the direction of ''Michel Allard'' in order to investigate the extent and impact of decades of illegal levies. Two field sessions in 1992 and 1993 were undertaken to assess the archaeological significance of the site and to determine appropriate protection measures. The subsequent excavation probe of a few square meters lead to the discovery of several cultural layers, relatively rich in Mousterian
lithic vestiges and faunal remains and it was determined to permanently protect the site with a strong barred gate at the entrance. This rescue campaigns's results remained mainly unpublished. In a few brief notes the site is usually presented as a temporary occupation site or hunting camp specialized on
chamois (''Rupicapra pyrenaica'') and
ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...
(''pyrenaica pyrenaica''). In 2004, another interdisciplinary research excavation was launched at the site, that lead to a number of new discoveries, in some cases results were contrary to earlier ones. The discovery of juvenile Neanderthal teeth, for example contradicts the hunting camp hypothesis of the site.
Dating
Dates, that were obtained by the
Carbon-14 dating method indicate a range between of about 30,000 and 50,000 years ago for the entire archaeological sequence.
Biochronological data of
microfauna
Microfauna (Ancient Greek ''mikros'' "small" + New Latin ''fauna'' "animal") refers to microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities. Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g., nematodes, small arthropods) and t ...
and larger animals, similarity association with layers of the
Combe-Grenal site allow to propose an allocation of deposits during the
interglacial period between the
Würm II and Würm III ice ages. Based on
AMS radiocarbon dates and biochronological data, the archaeological levels are attributed to a temperate phase of the
Oxygen isotope stage 3.
Stone tools
The stone tool industry of local raw materials from the alluvial formations of the Neste river, such as
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
s,
lydite
Radiolarite is a siliceous, comparatively hard, fine-grained, chert-like, and homogeneous sedimentary rock that is composed predominantly of the microscopic remains of radiolarians. This term is also used for indurated radiolarian oozes and ...
s, cinerites, and
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
s is considered to be of a mediocre quality.
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
, as found in the cultural sediments is naturally absent in the immediate environment and must have been imported from several sources. The most exploited flint quarry is the ''Montagaillard flysch'', located away in the
Hibarette community of the Montgaillard region. This flysch flint is of good quality and is found in slabs of different sizes. The presence of ''Lepidorbitoid'' fossils in some flints indicates even more distant sources located in the
Béarn province, more than away. Apparently, the flint outcrops of the Petites Pyrénées to the northeast were not used
The tooling is simple and consists mainly of scrapers and denticulates, the execution is often incomplete and irregular. The main production method is the
discoid bifacial breakdown. Tools and products of full
Levallois debitage
In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic flakes and lithic blades, bu ...
, debris, by-products and retouching shards are present in large numbers, as are
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
and
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
hammering tools, although in smaller numbers. The Levallois technique is also attested on quartzite, schist or lydite cutting devices, regular parallel surface products and faceted heels. Noteworthy is the discovery of a two-sided
cleaver
A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through t ...
.
Fossils
Fauna
Noisetier Cave has yielded more than 10,000 fossils of large animals and an additional 80,000 determinable remains of small rodents. Dominant are mountain species, especially chamois (''Rupicapra pyrenaica'') and ibex (''Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica'') followed by deer and large
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwe ...
s. Moderate amounts of carnivore fossils of
cave bear
The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...
(''Ursus spelaeus''), red fox (''Vulpes vulpes''), leopard and dhole (''Cuon alpinus'') are documented.
A
taphonomic
Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record. The term ''taphonomy'' (from Greek , 'burial' and , 'law') was introduced to paleontology in 1940 by Soviet scientist Ivan Efremov t ...
survey concluded distinct types of large animal bone accumulations by different agents. Red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') and bovine fossils with butchery marks are extremely abundant while carnivore marks are rare. No deer bone is digested while nearly half of the bones show human interference. Neanderthals account for most of the deer and the
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwe ...
s and a sizable portion of the chamois and ibex fossils, some of them were secondly scavenged by carnivores. The survey also allows to favor the hypothesis of extraction by Neanderthals of the fat contained in the spongy tissues of deer bones. In chamois
assemblages, 482 fossils were investigated and the non-human predation marks interpreted.
Bearded vulture
The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate mi ...
s (''Gypaetus barbatus''), that must have occupied the site during Neanderthal's absence accumulated a high percentage of the chamois bones and to a lower degree those of ibex. Dhole (''Cuon alpinus'') teeth and bones are the most numerous among carnivores. Milk teeth suggest that ''Cuon alpinus'' sheltered its offspring at the site. A 2013 study concluded that dholes contributed to the present composition of animal fossils, to which extent remains debated.
Microfauna
Studies on microfauna, that was very abundant and relatively homogeneous over the entire sequence have, apart from confirming the interglacial climate during the
stratigraphic
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostra ...
sequence, delivered an independent set of discoveries. From the more than 80,000 remains of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
species identified, among others were: ''Arvicola terrestris'', ''Mimomys pyrenaicus'', ''Mimomys pyrenaicus november. sp.'', ''Mimomys salpetrierensis'', and the
Pyrenean desman
The Pyrenean desman also called Iberian desman (''Galemys pyrenaicus'') is a small semiaquatic, globally threatened mammal related to moles and shrews, and, along with the Russian desman (''Desmana moschata''), is one of the two extant members ...
or muskrat (''Galemys pyrenaïcus'').
With the discovery of ''Mimomys salpetrierensis'', the former hypothesis of defining the Lower Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene through the disappearance of ''Mimomys'' has been called into question. This also applies to other species, such as ''Pliomys'' and ''Allocricetus'', which were thought to have become extinct during the
Eemian. Another example is the European adder (''Vipera berus'') which evolved towards the Baskian viper and now occupies the Cantabrian region and the
Pyrenean desman
The Pyrenean desman also called Iberian desman (''Galemys pyrenaicus'') is a small semiaquatic, globally threatened mammal related to moles and shrews, and, along with the Russian desman (''Desmana moschata''), is one of the two extant members ...
(''Galemys pyrenaïcus''), found in fossil form at the site. The
European water vole
The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep br ...
(Arvicola terrestris) retained a local enclave whereas the rest of the population turned towards Asia.
Further studies suggested that the Nemausia genus, a
nomen nudum is identic with the Mimomys genus. ''Mimomys pyrenaicus november. sp.'' was identified as a new species, that supplements the Mimomys lineage between Mimomys salpetrierensis and Mimomys blanci and it also confirms that the Pyrenees served as a refuge for species that are endemic today.
Human remains
The site has delivered three dental relics. According to morphological and metric traits, these teeth fit in the variability of Neanderthal. The teeth have a significant attrition of the crown and incomplete roots as those of a 5 to 10-year-old child. Depending on the current variability and the fact that they have been discovered in the same sector and in the same level, they could correspond to the same individual.
Character of the site
Questions relating to the function of the site are at the heart of the research carried out since 2004. What were the reasons why the Neanderthal groups wanted to frequent the mountain environment? Marked climatic contrasts and important differences in altitude, the mountain environment is generally regarded as constraining for Paleolithic hunter-gatherers groups. The initial hypothesis of a site linked to a hunting camp for mountain game was put into question. Deer is preferentially being hunted, although this species is not typical for a mountain environment. The presence of human juvenile incisors indicates that the site was not exclusively frequented by groups of adult hunters. The questioning of classical interpretation as a halt of hunting poses more questions than it solves and, in the present state of research, the Mousterian occupation of the grotto finds no simple explanation either. It could have served as a temporary habitat site or stage site to travel to the southern slopes of the Pyrenees or for the exploitation of specific mineral resources, but all that remains difficult to demonstrate. In the current state of research, only hypothesis can be proposed to explain the Mousterian occupation of the Noisetier cave.
[Bernard-Guelle, S. (2002) - ''Le Paléolithique moyen du massif du Vercors (Préalpes du Nord) - Étude des systèmes techniques en milieu de moyenne montagne'', BAR international Séries 1033, 233 p.]
Notes
; Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* ^ Jamie L. Clark; John D. Speth (11 July 2013). Zooarchaeology and Modern Human Origins: Human Hunting Behavior during the Later Pleistocene. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 220–. .
* Aldemaro Romero Díaz (23 July 2009). Cave Biology: Life in Darkness. Cambridge University Press. pp. 50–. .
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