The Rescoundudou Site (Aveyron)

The Rescoundudou site (Sébazac-Concourès, Aveyron), is a rare example of a Middle Palaeolithic chrono-stratigraphic context in the Grands Causses region. Occupations in the main level appear to be contemporary with MIS 5 (5c or 5a) and provide valuable data for this otherwise poorly represented period in the Eastern Aquitaine Basin and bordering areas, in this case the southern Massif Central. The rich lithic industry is dominated by unipolar and bipolar recurrent Levallois debitage, alongside significant autonomous laminar and lamellar productions. Group mobility seems to focus on the west and the Lot valley, as shown by evidence of human presence in the Cantal and the Agenais. These data, in parallel with identified raw material circulation, are consistent with findings from Levallois techno-complexes in the northern Aquitaine Basin, at the end of MIS 5 and the beginning of MIS 4. Our study thus links the Rescoundudou site to a North Aquitaine Mousterian macro-territory. It appears to form the easternmost limit of this territory and is a chronological milestone for the beginning of the late Middle Palaeolithic.