Laurent Chiotti

Le Gravettien Final De L'abri Pataud (Dordogne, France): Fouilles et Etudes 2005-2009 (Bar International) (English and French Edition) Laurent Chiotti English And French edition

The aim of this volume it to report recent research and draw up as exhaustive an inventory as possible of all the archaeological documentation since 1958 from layer 2 of Abri Pataud, located in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac in Dordogne, an ancient rock-shelter known since the end of the 19th century. From 1958 to 1964, excavations conducted by H. L. Movius and his team revealed 14 major archaeological levels: Aurignacian, Gravettian and Solutrian, which contain very important scientific archives, including a series of human remains. These excavations were followed by a period of site abandon and deterioration, until 1985 when a team from the Museum national d?histoire naturelle took renewed interest in the site. Layer 2 was excavated over a surface of 60 square metres, between the back of the shelter and an alignment of collapsed roof blocks in front of the shelter. There was a 5 year interval between the excavation of the central zone in 1958 and the north extension in 1963. This layer was considered to be a succession of Final Gravettian seasonal occupations, about 22,000 years old.