Saisonnalité d'accumulation des carcasses dans l'Igue du Gral: résultats cémentochronologiques

Seasonality of Carcass Accumulation at Igue du Gral: first cementochronological results.- This preliminary analysis at l’Igue du Gral had for objectives to test the preservation of dental cementum prior to a large scale study. Our long-term objectives are to discuss the seasonality of the presence of reindeer and bison on the plateau and the period of the year when the Igue du Gral was working as an animal trap. Five teeth of bison and reindeer from Igue du Gral’s Ensemble 3 and 4 (ca 15.5-26 cal kBP) were sampled. Our preliminary results, although limited, attest of the relatively good preservation of the cementum and the death of all analyzed individuals during the warm season. The comparison of our results with previous analyses helps to better understand how the Igue functioned during the end of the Late Pleistocene.