The Middle Paleolithic Site Of Pech De L'azé Iv (cave And Karst Systems Of The World)
by Paul Goldberg /
2017 / English / PDF
40.7 MB Download
This book provides comprehensive information on the materials
excavated at Pech de l’Azé IV, both by the original excavator
François Bordes in the 1970s, and more recently by the authors and
their scientific team. Applying a range of new excavation and
analytical techniques, it presents detailed material on the
formation of the site, its chronology and the nature of the hominin
occupations. Pech de l’Azé IV is part of a complex of Lower and
Middle Paleolithic cave sites in the Dordogne Valley of
southwestern France. Although this region is well known for its
rich concentration of Paleolithic sites since the mid-19th century
and many of the sites have been repeatedly excavated, no detailed
studies have fully documented the stone tool technology and faunal
remains or the changes in them over time. The site was regularly
occupied by groups of Neanderthals from approximately 100,000 to
40,000 years ago, during which time global-scale changes
transformed the region from a relatively warm climate (similar to
today’s) to a very cold, glacial one. The site provides valuable
insights into changes in Neanderthal behavior that reflect, at
least in part, their adaptation to changes in the environment and
the availability of important resources, such as prey species.
This book provides comprehensive information on the materials
excavated at Pech de l’Azé IV, both by the original excavator
François Bordes in the 1970s, and more recently by the authors and
their scientific team. Applying a range of new excavation and
analytical techniques, it presents detailed material on the
formation of the site, its chronology and the nature of the hominin
occupations. Pech de l’Azé IV is part of a complex of Lower and
Middle Paleolithic cave sites in the Dordogne Valley of
southwestern France. Although this region is well known for its
rich concentration of Paleolithic sites since the mid-19th century
and many of the sites have been repeatedly excavated, no detailed
studies have fully documented the stone tool technology and faunal
remains or the changes in them over time. The site was regularly
occupied by groups of Neanderthals from approximately 100,000 to
40,000 years ago, during which time global-scale changes
transformed the region from a relatively warm climate (similar to
today’s) to a very cold, glacial one. The site provides valuable
insights into changes in Neanderthal behavior that reflect, at
least in part, their adaptation to changes in the environment and
the availability of important resources, such as prey species.