Contributions of the 2004 Preventive Excavation
to Understanding the Aurignacian Occupations
at Solutré (Saône-et-Loire, France)
Grégory BAYLE, Céline BÉMILLI, Nelly CONNET
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Abstract
The Aurignacian levels of Crôt-du-Charnier at Solutré (Saône-et-Loire) were the object of a preventive excavation in 2004. This work yielded a considerable amount of faunal remains and thus confirmed the significant role of hunting and its associated technical activities at this site, such as butchery, hide working and the collection of bone materials.
The nature of the lithic industry, composed of a small number of pieces, indicates that human groups came to the site with a toolkit that was manufactured in large part elsewhere. The abundance of bone remains and the scarcity of lithic artifacts raises the following question: does this site, whose topography favored the passage of animals and thus would have made it an attractive location for hunting, correspond to a specialized occupation complementary to a more long-term occupation elsewhere?
In other words, how can we define the Aurignacian occupations of this site? Can we qualify them as “stops” or “camps”? The complexity of these definitions of the nature and function of prehistoric sites is discussed in the case study that we present here.
To cite this article
Bayle G., Bémilli C., Connet N., 2011 – Contributions of the 2004 Preventive Excavation to Understanding the Aurignacian Occupations at Solutré (Saône-et-Loire, France), in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 169-181.
Taphonomic implications of the use
of bone as fuel
Eugène MORIN
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Abstract
This paper explores the effects of the use of bone as fuel on archaeological skeletal part representation. Faunal data from the Paleolithic site of Saint-Césaire show that this activity may present an archaeological signature similar to that of differential preservation. The bones most frequently burned at Saint-Césaire are also those that are the least dense and that contain the most grease. The analysis of faunal remains from Saint-Césaire also suggests that spongy bone fragments from small-bodied and large-bodied taxa are subject to differential identification.
To cite this article
Morin E., 2010 – Taphonomic Implications of the Use of Bone as Fuel, in Théry-Parisot I., Chabal L., Costamagno S., The taphonomy of Burned Organic Residues and Combustion Features in Archaeological Contexts, Proceedings of the round table, May 27-29 2008, CEPAM, P@lethnology, 2, 209-217.
Archéologie et Sciences humaines
