Deciphering Hominin-Carnivore alternations at Les Auzières (Méthamis, Vaucluse), a Middle Palaeolithic site in south-eastern France

Abstract

Known since the 1970s, the archaeological and palaeontological site known as Les Auzières (Méthamis, Vaucluse, south-eastern France) presents a sequence from the Middle Palaeolithic attesting to successive occupations and interactions between Neanderthal communities and large fossil carnivores. The first excavations carried out at this site revealed a natural occupation recognized as a hyena den dating around 60 ka BP; human presence was limited to the discovery of a reduced lithic assemblage, most likely in a secondary position. Following successive field operations carried out between the 1970s and the late 1990s until 2005, we undertook new studies aimed at clarifying the chronological framework and environmental context of Les Auzières. At the end of the initial campaigns, we identified a new archaeological assemblage, Unit 7, whose archaeological (lithic industry) and faunal components attest to occupation patterns and accumulation agents distinct from those of the overlying hyena den belonging to Units 4, 5 and 6. U/Th dating indicates that this new level dates back to before 100 ka BP, during a temperate phase (Isotopic Stage 5). This publication summarises seven years of research (2014-2021) and presents data relating to these two distinct groups, carnivores on the one hand (Units 4, 5 and 6) and humans on the other (Unit 7). Accordingly, Les Auzières appears to be a rare case of a Middle Palaeolithic deposit in south-eastern France showing a succession of occupation by humans and carnivores.