The Archaeological and Botanical Park of Solutre (“Parc archéologique et botanique de Solutré” in French) (13,000 m²) is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site and

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

maintained by the Musée départemental de Préhistoire,

Solutré-Pouilly Solutré-Pouilly (; frp, Selutrié-Polyié) is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is known for a local geological feature, the Rock of Solutré. Wine The vineyards of Sol ...

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

Bourgogne Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is open daily but closed in December. The park preserves one of the richest

sites of

prehistoric Europe Prehistoric Europe is Europe with human presence but before the start of recorded history, beginning in the Lower Paleolithic. As history progresses, considerable regional irregularities of cultural development emerge and increase. The region o ...

: a hunting site used for more than 25,000 years during the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

period, where hunters came to hunt and butcher thousands of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

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 start fir ...

tools from this site have been termed ''

Solutrean The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal. Details T ...

style''. It was first excavated in 1866, classified as a historic monument in 1942, transferred to the management of the Conseil général de Saône-et-Loire in 1993, and opened to the public in 2006. The park contains a marked trail through the former hunting site, with eight information areas describing the natural environment, its plant species, and results of archaeological research to date. Described are geology, animals in prehistoric times, hunting techniques, the landscape in prehistoric times, the site's discovery and initial excavation, and contemporary excavations. Many regional trees, shrubs, and plants are labeled, including ''

Acer campestre ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

'', ''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

'', ''

Juglans regia ''Juglans regia'', the Persian walnut, English walnut, Carpathian walnut, Madeira walnut, or especially in Great Britain, common walnut, is an Old World walnut tree species native to the region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himalay ...

'', ''

Prunus mahaleb ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter almo ...

'', ''

Pyrus communis ''Pyrus communis'', the common pear, is a species of pear native plant, native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia. It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars ...

'', ''

Quercus pubescens ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

'', and ''

Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States, ...

''; ''

Cornus sanguinea ''Cornus sanguinea'', the common dogwood or bloody dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to most of Europe and western Asia, from England and central Scotland east to the Caspian Sea. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant. Description It ...

'', ''

Hippocrepis emerus ''Hippocrepis emerus'', the scorpion senna, is a species of perennial plant belonging to the genus '' Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description ''Hippocrepis emerus'' reaches on average of height, with a maximum of . The plant has a li ...

'', ''

Ligustrum vulgare ''Ligustrum vulgare'' (wild privet, also sometimes known as common privet or European privet) is a species of ''Ligustrum'' native to central and southern Europe, north Africa and southwestern Asia, from Ireland and southwestern Sweden south to M ...

'', ''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

'', ''

Ribes uva-crispa ''Ribes uva-crispa'', known as gooseberry or European gooseberry, is a species of flowering shrub in the currant family, Grossulariaceae. It is native to Europe, the Caucasus and northern Africa. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and ar ...

'', ''

Rosa canina ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...

'', and ''

Sambucus nigra ''Sambucus nigra'' is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, European black elderberry and tramman (Isle ...

''; ''

Aceras anthropophorum ''Orchis anthropophora'' (formerly ''Aceras anthropophorum''), the man orchid, is a European species of orchid whose flowers resemble a human figure. The head is formed by the petals and sepals, and the suspended torso and limbs by the lobes of ...

'', ''

Campanula rotundifolia ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...

'', ''

Clematis vitalba ''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family Ranunculaceae. Description ''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flo ...

'', ''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...

'', ''

Fragaria vesca ''Fragaria vesca'', commonly called the wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry or European strawberry, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the rose family that grows naturally throughout much of the Northe ...

'', ''

Geranium dissectum ''Geranium dissectum'' or Cut-leaved Crane's-bill is a plant species of the genus ''Geranium''. It is native to Europe. It can be found on other continents as well, in some instances as an introduced species. It can be found in North America, wh ...

'', ''

Geranium molle Geranium molle, the dove's-foot crane's-bill or dovesfoot geranium, is an annual herbaceous plant of the family Geraniaceae. Description ''Geranium molle'' is a small plant reaching on average in height.Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagri ...

'', ''

Geranium robertianum ''Geranium robertianum'', commonly known as herb-Robert, or (in North America) Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill native to Europe and parts of Asia, and North Africa. The plant has many vernacular names, including red robin, de ...

'', ''

Helleborus foetidus ''Helleborus foetidus'', known variously as stinking hellebore , dungwort, setterwort and bear's foot, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe and Asi ...

'', ''

Himantoglossum hircinum ''Himantoglossum hircinum'', the lizard orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Himantoglossum'' found in Europe and North Africa. Description ''Himantoglossum hircinum'' is a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching a height of . It pe ...

'', ''

Hypericum perforatum ''Hypericum perforatum'', known as St. John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae and the type species of the genus ''Hypericum''. Possibly a hybrid between '' H. maculatum'' and '' H. attenuatum'', the species can be found a ...

'', ''

Rubia peregrina ''Rubia peregrina'', the common wild madder, is a herbaceous perennial plant species belonging to the bedstraw and coffee family Rubiaceae. Etymology The genus name ''Rubia'' derives from the Latin ' meaning "red", as the roots of some species ...

'', ''

Rumex scutatus ''Rumex scutatus'' (syn. ''Rumex alpestris'') is a plant in the buckwheat family, used as a culinary herb. Its common names include French sorrel, buckler sorrel, shield-leaf sorrel, and sometimes the culinary name "green-sauce". As a culinary ...

'', ''

Sanguisorba minor ''Sanguisorba minor'', the salad burnet, garden burnet, small burnet, burnet (also used for ''Sanguisorba'' generally), pimpernelle, Toper's plant, and burnet-bloodwort, is an edible perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae. It has fe ...

'', ''

Saponaria officinalis ''Saponaria officinalis'' is a common perennial plant from the family Caryophyllaceae. This plant has many common names, including common soapwort, bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild sweet William, and soapweed. There are about 20 species of soapwor ...

'', ''

Seseli montanum ''Seseli'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Apiaceae. They are sometimes woody at base with a conic taproot. Leaf blades are 1–3-pinnate or pinnately decompound. Umbels are compound, with bracts few or absent. Petals are w ...

'', ''

Sedum album ''Sedum album'', the white stonecrop, is a flowering plant of the genus ''Sedum'' in the family Crassulaceae. It is found in the northern temperate regions of the world, often growing in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. As a long-day plant ...

'', '' Sedum reflexum'', and ''

Verbascum thapsus ''Verbascum thapsus'', the great mullein, greater mullein or common mullein is a species of mullein native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia. It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tal ...

''.

References

Parc archéologique et botanique de Solutré

Musées de Bourgogne entry (French)

Office de Coopération et d’Information Muséographiques (French)

Culture.fr entry (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parc archeologique et botanique de Solutre Solutre, Parc archeologique et botanique de Solutre, Parc archeologique et botanique de Prehistoric sites in France Museums in Saône-et-Loire Archaeological museums in France Upper Paleolithic

See also

References