Integrity is Key. Reconstructing possible site formation processes that could have affected the Châtelperronian layer of Les Cottés, France, by performing a fabric analysis

Neanderthal behaviour has formed a popular and debated field of research over the past decades. Within this debate the extent to which Neanderthals show symbolic behaviour, comparable to that of the Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH), has been an important subject. Artefacts associated with symbolic behaviour have been found within the Châtelperronian layer (authored by Neanderthals) at Grotte du Renne (France). However, the validity to interpret these as indicative of symbolic behaviour amongst Neanderthals is debated: post depositional processes are believed to have transported these artefacts from the superior Protoaurignacien layer (authored by AMH) into that of the Châtelperronian, and could also have transported Neanderthal skeletal remains from the underlying Mousterian layer. As the integrity of the Châtelperronian is generally challenged, and as at the site of Les Cottés, France, a Protoaurignacien, Châtelperronian and Mousterian layer are present, this thesis reconstructs...Show moreNeanderthal behaviour has formed a popular and debated field of research over the past decades. Within this debate the extent to which Neanderthals show symbolic behaviour, comparable to that of the Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH), has been an important subject. Artefacts associated with symbolic behaviour have been found within the Châtelperronian layer (authored by Neanderthals) at Grotte du Renne (France). However, the validity to interpret these as indicative of symbolic behaviour amongst Neanderthals is debated: post depositional processes are believed to have transported these artefacts from the superior Protoaurignacien layer (authored by AMH) into that of the Châtelperronian, and could also have transported Neanderthal skeletal remains from the underlying Mousterian layer. As the integrity of the Châtelperronian is generally challenged, and as at the site of Les Cottés, France, a Protoaurignacien, Châtelperronian and Mousterian layer are present, this thesis reconstructs what site formation processes might have taken place at Les Cottés, and how these site formation processes may have influenced the degree of integrity of the Châtelperronian layer. This is done by performing a fabric analysis on the Châtelperronian layer of Les Cottés. Within this analysis, the orientations of all elongated artefacts are used as indicators of the site formation processes that took place. Patterning within the orientations are used to distinguish between different types of site formation processes.Show less

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Integrity is Key. Reconstructing possible site formation processes that could have affected the Châtelperronian layer of Les Cottés, France, by performing a fabric analysis