Châtelperronian was the earliest
industryAn archaeological industry is the name given to a consistent range of assemblages connected with a single product, such as the Langdale axe industry...
of the Upper Palaeolithic in central and south western
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, extending also into Northern
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. It derives its name from the site of
la Grotte des Fées, in
ChâtelperronChâtelperron is a commune in the Allier department in central France.It is the location of site known as Grotte des Fées at Châtelperron.-See also:* Châtelperronian*Communes of the Allier department...
,
AllierAllier is a department in south-central France named after the Allier River.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, France.
It appears to have been derived from the earlier,
NeanderthalThe Neanderthal , or ), also spelled Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia. Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies of humans or as a separate species...
,
MousterianMousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age....
industry as it made use of
LevalloisThe Levallois technique is a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping developed by humans during the Palaeolithic period.It is named after nineteenth century finds of flint tools in the Levallois-Perret suburb of Paris in France...
cores and represents the period when Neanderthals and modern humans occupied
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
together.
Châtelperronian was the earliest
industryAn archaeological industry is the name given to a consistent range of assemblages connected with a single product, such as the Langdale axe industry...
of the Upper Palaeolithic in central and south western
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, extending also into Northern
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. It derives its name from the site of
la Grotte des Fées, in
ChâtelperronChâtelperron is a commune in the Allier department in central France.It is the location of site known as Grotte des Fées at Châtelperron.-See also:* Châtelperronian*Communes of the Allier department...
,
AllierAllier is a department in south-central France named after the Allier River.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, France.
It appears to have been derived from the earlier,
NeanderthalThe Neanderthal , or ), also spelled Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia. Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies of humans or as a separate species...
,
MousterianMousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age....
industry as it made use of
LevalloisThe Levallois technique is a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping developed by humans during the Palaeolithic period.It is named after nineteenth century finds of flint tools in the Levallois-Perret suburb of Paris in France...
cores and represents the period when Neanderthals and modern humans occupied
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
together. It lasted from between c. 35,000 and c. 29,000 BP. The industry produced
denticulateIn archeology, a denticulate tool is a stone tool that displays one or more edges that are worked into multiple notched shapes, much like the toothed edge of a saw. Indeed, these tools might have been used as saws, more likely for meat processing than for wood. It is possible, however, that some...
, or toothed, stone tools and also a distinctive flint knife with a single cutting edge and a blunt, curved back. It may also have produced
jewelleryJewellery or jewelry is an item of personal adornment, such as a necklace, ring, brooch or bracelet, that is worn by a person. It may be made from gemstones or precious metals, but may be from any other material, and may be appreciated because of geometric or other patterns, or meaningful symbols...
which has been used to support theories regarding the sophistication of the Neanderthals. The use of ivory at Châtelperronian sites tends to be more frequent than that of the later Aurignacian, while antler tools appear to be absent.
It was superseded by the
AurignacianThe Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It begins around 40,000 to 36,000 years ago, and lasts until 28,000 to 26,000 years ago. The name originates from the type site of Aurignac in the Haute Garonne area of France...
industry around 29,000 BP. In spite of being archaeologically associated with Neanderthal people, some suspect Châtelperronian to be at the origins of the very similar
Gravettianthumb|right|Burins similar to these are characteristic diagnostic artifacts typical of the digs attributed to the Gravettian culture.The Gravettian toolmaking culture was a specific archaeological industry of the European Upper Palaeolithic era prevalent before the last glacial epoch...
culture. Traditionally (French school) both cultures have been classified together under the name
PérigordianPérigordian is a term for several distinct but related Upper Upper Palaeolithic cultures which are thought by some archaeologists to represent a contiguous tradition. It existed between c.35,000 BP and c.20,000 BP....
, being
Early Perigordian equivalent to Châtelperronian and all the other phases corresponding to Gravettian.
Lithic production and associations
Large thick flakes/small blocks were used for cores, and were prepared with a crest over a long smooth surface. Using one or two striking points, long thin blades were detached. Direct percussion with a soft hammer was likely used for accuracy. Thicker blades made in this process were often converted into side scrapers, burins were often created in the same manner from debitage as well.
The quality of tools produced is uncharacteristic of the earlier Mousterian industries that are associated with Neanderthals, this industry is more "modern" than other industries in the Middle Paleolithic. However, the manner of production is a solid continuation of the Mousterian, the ivory adornments found in association seem to be a more clear connection to Aurignacian peoples, who are often argued to be the earliest introduction of
H. sapiens sapiens into Europe. The technological refinement of the Châtelperronian and neighboring Uluzzian in Central-Southern Italy is often argued to be the product of cultural influence from
H. sapiens sapiens that lived nearby, but these predate both the Aurignacian and the earliest presence of
H. sapiens sapiens in Europe.
Dispute over disruption of the site
João Zilhão and colleagues argue that the findings are complicated by disturbance of the site in the 19th century, and conclude that the apparent pattern of Aurignacian/Châtelperronian inter-stratification is an artifact of disturbance.
Paul MellarsPaul Anthony Mellars is Professor of Pre-History and Human Evolution in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.- Academic career:...
and colleagues have criticized Zilhão et al.'s analysis, and argue that the original excavation by Delporte was not affected by disturbance.
In popular culture
Author
Jared DiamondJared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and nonfiction author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
argues in his 1991 non-fiction book,
The Third ChimpanzeeThe Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal is a wide-ranging book by Jared Diamond, which applies insights from biology, anthropology, and linguistics to questions such as why one species of big mammal came to dominate its closest relatives, such as chimpanzees, and why...
, that Châtelperron may represent a community of Neanderthals who had to some extent adopted the culture of the modern Homo sapiens that had established themselves in the surrounding area, which would account for the signs of a hybrid culture found at the site. Diamond compares these hypothetical Neanderthal hold-outs to more recent Native Americans in North and South America who adopted European technologies such as firearms or domestication of horses in order to survive in an environment dominated by technologically more-advanced competitors.
The most recent of Jean Auel's
Earth's ChildrenEarth's Children is a series of speculative alternative historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel set circa 25,000 years before present. There are five novels in the series so far and a sixth is in progress. Auel has mentioned in recent interviews that she now believes she will write a...
series,
The Shelters of StoneThe Shelters of Stone is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel published in April 2002. It is the sequel to The Plains of Passage – published 12 years earlier – and fifth in the Earth's Children series...
, 2002, is set in this region of modern day France, during this period.
See also
External links