Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire

The timing and mechanisms underlying the gradual replacement of Neanderthal populations by <i>Homo sapiens</i> groups have elicited heated debate for decades. The Châtelperronian of France and northern Spain has figured prominently in these discussions. While the Neanderthal authorship of this techno-complex is far less certain than previously thought, the Châtelperronian is now generally accepted as being among the first genuine Upper Paleolithic industries in Eurasia rather than a "transitional" stone tool technology. Here, we report the first association of shell beads with Châtelperronian artifacts from new excavations at the site of La-Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire (France), supported by a multiproxy spatial analysis that incorporates site formation processes. Similar types of personal ornaments are unknown from Middle Paleolithic contexts. Comparable examples have, however, been recovered from contexts penecontemporaneous with the Châtelperronian in south-eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean. This hitherto undocumented combination of an early Upper Paleolithic industry and shell beads provides insights into cultural variability in western Europe and raises the question as to whether the makers of the Châtelperronian were influenced by or formed part of the earliest dispersals of <i>H. sapiens</i> into the region.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2025-09-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2508014122
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
11.35
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article

Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire

Laure Dayet, Hélène Rougier, Brad Gravina, Jean‐Jacques Bahain et al.
1 citations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
11.35
article

Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire

Laure Dayet, Hélène Rougier, Brad Gravina, Jean‐Jacques Bahain, Loïc Lebreton, Édouard Bard, Isabelle Crèvecoeur, Camille Lesage, Mickaël Baillet, Eugène Morin, Damien Flas, Adrien Thibeault, Nicolas Teyssandier, Guillaume Guérin, Élise Tartar, Dominique Todisco, Thibaut Devièse, Gérald Culioli, Xavier Muth, Josserand Marot, Christophe Falguères, Lisa Garbé, François Bachellerie, Marc Thomas, Olivier Regniers, Jean-Guillaume Bordes, François Lacrampe‐Cuyaubère, Olivier Tombret, Bruno Maureille, Solange Rigaud, Cédric Beauval, Carolina Mallol, Christelle Lahaye, Alexandre Michel
article en
1 citations

Abstract

The timing and mechanisms underlying the gradual replacement of Neanderthal populations by <i>Homo sapiens</i> groups have elicited heated debate for decades. The Châtelperronian of France and northern Spain has figured prominently in these discussions. While the Neanderthal authorship of this techno-complex is far less certain than previously thought, the Châtelperronian is now generally accepted as being among the first genuine Upper Paleolithic industries in Eurasia rather than a "transitional" stone tool technology. Here, we report the first association of shell beads with Châtelperronian artifacts from new excavations at the site of La-Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire (France), supported by a multiproxy spatial analysis that incorporates site formation processes. Similar types of personal ornaments are unknown from Middle Paleolithic contexts. Comparable examples have, however, been recovered from contexts penecontemporaneous with the Châtelperronian in south-eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean. This hitherto undocumented combination of an early Upper Paleolithic industry and shell beads provides insights into cultural variability in western Europe and raises the question as to whether the makers of the Châtelperronian were influenced by or formed part of the earliest dispersals of <i>H. sapiens</i> into the region.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 122(39)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Université de Bordeaux (FR), California State University, Northridge (US), University of Liège (BE), Universidad de La Laguna (ES), Gemalto (Israel) (IL), Université Bordeaux Montaigne (FR), Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques (FR), Géosciences Rennes (FR), Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique (FR), Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (FR), Instituto de Historia (ES), Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (ES), De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (FR), Musée Cantonal d'Archéologie et d'Histoire (CH), I-Sea (Norway) (NO), Computer Emergency Response Team (FR), Institute of Archeology (UA), Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Économie et de la Société (FR), Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Marine et Continentale (FR), Institute of Archaeology (CN), Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés (FR), Identités et Différenciation de l'Environnement des Espaces et des Sociétés (FR), Université de Rouen Normandie (FR), Trent University (CA), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (FR), Zhejiang University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
11.35
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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