Ancient Magdalenian of the French Massif Central revisited : a reappraisal of unit F2 of the Rond du Barry cave (Polignac, Haute-Loire, France)

Audrey Lafarge (1) , Vincent Delvigne (2) , Delphine Rémy (1) , Paul Fernandes (2, 3) , Jean-Paul Raynal (2, 4)

1 ASM - Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes
2 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie
3 Paléotime
4 Department of Human Evolution [Leipzig]

Located in Velay within the high plateau of the South-eastern Massif Central, the cave known as the Rond du Barry is the largest Magdalenian stratified site in the Auvergne. The assemblage from archaeo-stratigraphic Unit F2 was initially considered to be Ancient Magdalenian and a large part of the lithic material was considered to consist mostly of imports from the margins of the Paris basin. The finds are currently being re-examined in a collaborative research project covering raw material procurement, lithic technology and the utilization of reindeer antlers and also bone material. Extra-regional affinities of the Rond du Barry Magdalenian fascies and adaptation strategies in the context of its mid-moutain location are discussed and compared with contemporary open-air sites of the lowland Auvergne.

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Environnement et Société

Audrey Lafarge, Vincent Delvigne, Delphine Rémy, Paul Fernandes, Jean-Paul Raynal. Ancient Magdalenian of the French Massif Central revisited : a reappraisal of unit F2 of the Rond du Barry cave (Polignac, Haute-Loire, France). Unravelling the Palaeolithic: 10 years of research at the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins (CAHO, University of Southampton, UK), Jan 2011, Southampton, United Kingdom. pp.53-72. ⟨hal-00654569⟩