Isturitz and Oxocelhaya caves
| Isturitz and Oxocelhaya caves
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 The entrance to the Isturitz and Oxocelhaya Caves |
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| Location: | Pyrénées-Atlantiques department , France | |
| Height : | 209 m | |
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Geographic location: |
43 ° 21 '10 " N , 1 ° 12' 22" W | |
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| Show cave since: | Yes | |
| Overall length: | each 100 m | |
| Particularities: | Archaeological site | |
| Website: | www.grottes-isturitz.com | |
The caves of Isturitz and Oxocelhaya ( French : Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya or Grottes d'Oxocelhaya et d'Isturits ) are located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in France and belong to the Basque communities of Isturits (also Isturitz ) and Saint -Martin-d'Arberoue in the canton of Pays de Bidache, Amikuze et Ostibarre . They are about 12 km from the town of Hasparren . The show caves are part of a karst cave system , the entrance is 209 m above sea level. The caves contain layers of settlements from the Moustérien to the end of the Upper Paleolithic and, with their small works of art and artefacts, are among the most famous sites of the Paleolithic in southern France .
The cave system
The caves, which were originally washed out by the Arbéroue River , form a cave system that is spread over several levels. The "Grotte d'Isturitz" is the top, followed by the cave with the Basque name Oxocelhaya-Hariztoya, which is known for its gleaming white stalagmites and some cave paintings and rock carvings . Both caves can be visited. The lowest cave, Grotte d'Erberua, is filled with water and therefore only accessible with diving equipment. This cave was also visited by the Ice Age people. The uppermost cave consists of two cave rooms, each about 100 m long, which are connected by corridors and occupy an area of approx. 2,500 m². The northern area was named Salle d'Isturitz or Grande Salle, as this area with its northern entrance is in the municipality of Isturitz. The southern cave space was named Salle de Saint-Martin and is in the commune of Saint-Martin-d'Arberoue. The uppermost cave was named Isturitz due to the fact that only the northern entrance was known until 1912. The entrance, located in the commune of Saint-Martin-d'Arberoue, now serves as the main entrance.
Research history
From 1895 to 1898 phosphate was mined in the northeastern area of the cave . The few artifacts that were recovered at this time cannot be found today or were partially destroyed during the work. It was not until 1912 that the cave was recognized as an official site and systematically excavated by Eduard Pessamard. His results, which he had collected by 1922, were published in several articles and finally in a monograph in 1944. Between 1928 and 1950 René de Saint-Périer took over the management and finally published three volumes with all excavated artefacts from the layers of the Moustérien to the Magdalenian .
stratigraphy
Great Hall : The lowest archaeological horizon consists of a brown, very dense layer of clay with coarse rubble. The artefacts found were attributed to the Aurignacia (layer V). The layer above is clearly different. This consists largely of organic material with sunken fireplaces and charcoal residues that were used for the C14 dating . The stone artifacts allowed an attribution to Gravettia (layer IV). The next very thick and bright layer III, also to be ascribed to the Gravettian, is clear from the Solutréen , the layer III.a. discontinued. Subsequently, a 0.1 to 1.0 m thick layer of Magdalénien moyen was found in the Salle d'Isturitz, on which another Magdalenian layer follows, which can be dated to a later date, as the harpoons and bullet tips found are from the layer below distinguish. Another archaeological horizon of Azilien (Ia) was dug up.
Salle de Saint-Martin : Here two horizons of the Moustérien were discovered, which are separated from the younger Aurignacien by a stalagmite layer. This layer does not exist in the Salle d'Isturitz. Over the next horizon, also called Protoaurignacia, follows the layer S II, also Aurignacia, which is clearly separated from the one below by a stalagmite layer . Saint-Périer found only a few traces of the Solutréen in the Salle de Saint-Martin. Above that follows a layer of the middle Magdalenian, which was completed by another layer of stalagmites and can be connected to the Magdalenian II from the Salle d'Isturitz.
Correlation of the stratigraphies : The stratigraphic findings provide information about the use of the cave: The Neanderthals probably only stayed in the Salle de Saint-Martin. In the Aurignacien the entire area was used, but this did not happen at the same time. The grotto was probably first completely "settled" by people of the Magdalenian moyen. Few traces of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman use were found. The stratigraphy by Passemard and von Saint show differences in the dimensions of the individual horizons, but this may indicate different excavation methods used by the two researchers.
Dating
The Aurignacien, which in Isturitz can be divided into approx. Three phases, was dated using the AMS and the C14 methods:
- Protoaurignacia: 36,510 BP (AMS)
- early Aurignacia : 35,000–32,000 BP (C14)
- late Aurignacia: 32,000–30,000 BP (C14)
C14 data are available for the Gravettien , which prove a use between 27,000 and 20,000 BP for the Isturitz cave.
Fauna and climate
The excavated fauna finds of the Upper Paleolithic are dominated by horse bones . This is followed by Ren and Hirsch .
The climate, which could be reconstructed with the help of pollen analysis, shows a clear cooling since the Aurignacien. The Solutréen had a more humid and less cold climate, which changed only slightly in the Magdalenian.
literature
- Paul G. Bahn: Cave Art. A guide to the decorated Ice Age Caves of Europe (London 2007)
- Christine Brade: The Prehistoric Flute - Did It Exist? In: Galpin Society Journal 35, 1982, 138-150
- Ingmar M. Braun, Wolfgang Zessin: Paleolithic bear representations and an attempt at a zoological-ethological interpretation , in: Ursus. Bulletin of the Zooverein and Schwerin Zoo 14/1, 2008, 19–39
- Francesco d'Errico, Christopher Henshilwood, Graeme Lawson, Marian Vanhaeren, Anne-Marie Tillier, Marie Soressi, Frédérique Bresson, Bruno Maureille, April Nowell, Joseba Lakarra, Lucinda Blackwell, Michèle Julien: Archaeological Evidence for the Emergence of Language, Symbolism, and Music. An Alternative Multidisciplinary Perspective. In: Journal of World Prehistory 17/1, 2003, 1-70
- Xabier Esparza San Juan: La cueva de Isturitz. Su yacimiento y sus relaciones con la Cornisa Cantábrica durante el Paleolítico superior (Madrid 1995)
- Xabier Esparza San Juan: La cueva de Isturitz en el Pirineo occidental. In: Pyrénées préhistoriques 118, 1996, 73-86
- Joachim Hahn : Recognition and determination of stone artifacts (Tübingen 1991)
- André Leroi-Gourhan : Prehistoric Art. The origins of art in Europe (Freiburg 1971)
- Emmanuel Passemard: Fouilles à Isturitz (Basses-Pyrénées) , in: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique 10, 1913, 647-649
- Emmanuel Passemard: La caverne d'Isturitz en Pays Basque. In: Prehistoire 9, 1944, 1-95
- René de Saint-Périer: La grotte d'Isturitz , 3 vols. (Paris 1930, 1936, 1952)
- João Zilhão , Francesco d'Errico: The Chronology of the Aurignacian and of the Transitional Technocomplexes. Dating, Stratigraphies, Cultural Implications. (Liège 2001)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The circumstances of the finds are not always clear or the state of preservation of the bones is poor, so that in the case of the skulls and mandibles from the French caves La Quina, Le Petit-Puy-Moyen, La Chaise Gourdan, Marlanaud, Estelas, Aubert, Isturitz and Salleles-Carbardes a dumping of a ritual character can only be vaguely assumed. MM Rind: Menschenopfer 1998 p. 101