La Micoque
La Micoque is a prehistoric reference in the area of Les Eyzies , a municipality in the French department of Dordogne . Numerous remains from the Middle Paleolithic were discovered in it. These finds made La Micoque the type locality for the archaeological stages Micoquien and Tayacien .
Geographical location
The La Micoque site was named after a derelict homestead of the same name. It is located on the left bank of the Manaurie , 500 meters before its confluence with the Vézère , a little upstream from Laugerie-Haute . The site is not an abri , but lies at 75 to 85 meters above sea level in the open air at the foot of a small limestone wall, 20 meters higher than the river 200 meters away.
History
La Micoque was discovered by E. Rivière in 1895 after being notified by a farmer who noticed several flint wedges while plowing. Then Émile Cartailhac and Otto Hauser carried out some very unsystematic excavations. The term Micoquien also goes back to Hauser's investigations between 1906 and 1914 to denote the site-specific stone tool industry. After the French state bought the site, Denis Peyrony, acting on behalf of the state, subjected La Micoque to a thorough investigation between 1929 and 1932. In his detailed stratigraphic study he was able to identify 15 horizons, including 6 horizons with archaeological finds. In 1956, François Bordes undertook a control excavation in which he turned his attention to the stone tools. In the early 1970s, H. Laville and J. Ph. Rigaud subjected the site to another revision, followed by further work by J. Ph. Rigaud and A. Debénath in the period from 1989 to 1997. J.-P. Texier and P. Bertran published a revision of the sedimentology of the site in 1993 .
Digs
- Chauvet and Rivière 1896
- Capitan 1896
- Harlé 1897
- Peyrony 1898
- Coutil 1903-1905
- Cartailhac 1905
- Hauser 1906–1907
- Peyrony 1929-1932
- Bordes 1956
- Debénath and Rigaud 1983–1996
Stratigraphic sequence
According to the latter study by Texier and Bertran, La Micoque can be divided into three interlocking sedimentary sequences:
- a 2.50 meter thick lower sequence consisting of boulders and gravel. It contains no archaeological remains and corresponds to the layers I to XII identified by Laville and Rigaud.
- an 8 meter thick middle sequence (layers 1 to 5, correspond to layers A to M Peyronys). It contains a 1 meter thick clayey base layer (layer A), followed by 7 meters of scree and grain size-regulated limestone gravel alternating with red, sandy-clay areas (layers E, H and L from Peyrony). Practically all archaeologically relevant levels are in this middle sequence, especially that of the Tayacia.
- a 2 meter thick, sandy-clayey upper sequence . At its base, the finds from the Micoquia are likely to have been made, the more recent follow-up examinations, however, all came out empty-handed (this upper sequence is no longer available directly at the type locality).
Sedimentological interpretation
The lower and middle sequence had previously been considered kryoklastisches phenomenon (i. E. Deposits by glacial conditional slope creep caused). This view is no longer upheld, rather the boulders and gravel show all signs of an alluvium , so they were set off by a river , very likely part of an intertwined river system . Gastropod finds at the base of the middle sequence indicate moderate temperature conditions for the beginning of the middle sequence. The red intermediate layers represent landslides that originated from the elevations above the site. These are not eroded paleo soils , as was previously assumed.
Age
Geomorphological considerations (altitude of the terrace at the base of the middle sequence) as well as numerous more recent age dating (using ESR and uranium-thorium dating ) indicate an age between the oxygen isotope level 12 (between 470,000 and 440,000 years) for the lower and middle sequence. and isotope level 10 (between 370,000 and 350,000 years) to be entirely acceptable. The clayey, gastropod-rich layers at the base of the middle sequence should correspond to an interglacial , logically the OIS (isotope level) 11. The lower and middle sequence were consequently already deposited during the Mindel glacial period .
The upper sequence is likely to have been sedimented during the Holocene .
Stone tools
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Since the archaeological horizons of the middle sequence were affected by significant sorting and relocation processes after their deposition, great care should be taken in their interpretation. In layers 4 and 5, they contain the Tayacien defined by Henri Breuil . This is characterized by relatively coarse, poorly crafted cuts and the accompanying stone tools are reminiscent of the Moustérien with numerous scrapers, knives and very rare, atypical hand axes . However, due to its characteristics and age, François Bordes regards it as a preliminary stage of the Moustérien ("Pre-Moustérien").
The micoquia at the base of the upper sequence (layer 6 / layer N according to Peyrony) is defined as belonging to the outgoing Acheuléen . The corresponding elongated hand axes are very neatly worked with slightly concave edges, a thick base and a fine tip. A revision of this level is underway.
The stone tools found in La Micoque are among the oldest in the Périgord and are therefore of fundamental importance for understanding the historical development in this region and beyond.
UNESCO world heritage
Since 1979, La Micoque has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other important sites in the Vézère Valley .
Web links
- Exploration history and brief description of La Micoque
- Texier, J.-P., Kervazo, B., Lenoble, A. & Nespoulet, R. Sédimentogenèse des sites préhistoriques du Périgord. Contains an article about La Micoque (PDF; 3.5 MB)
literature
- Texier, J.-P., Kervazo, B., Lenoble, A. & Nespoulet, R .: Sédimentogenèse des sites préhistoriques du Périgord . In: Association des Sédimentologues Français, excursion from April 23 to 24, 2004 . ISBN 2-907205-43-9 .
- Farizy, C .: La Micoque . In: Dictionnaire de la Préhistoire, under the direction of A. Leroi-Gourhan . Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1988.
Coordinates: 44 ° 57 ′ 27.6 ″ N , 1 ° 0 ′ 22.2 ″ E
