Early evidence of Acheulean settlement in northwestern Europe--la Noira site, a 700,000 year-old occupation in the center of France

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 20;8(11):e75529. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075529. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

The human settlement of Europe during Pleistocene times was sporadic and several stages have been recognized, both from paleaoanthropological and archaeological records. If the first phase of hominin occupation (as early as 1.4 Ma) seems mainly restricted to the southern part of the continent, the second phase, characterized by specific lithic tools (handaxes), is linked to Acheulean settlements and to the emergence of Homo heidelbergensis, the ancestor of Neanderthals. This phase reached northwestern Europe and is documented in numerous sites in Germany, Great Britain and northern France, generally after 600 ka. At la Noira (Brinay, Central France), the Middle Pleistocene alluvial formation of the Cher River covers an archaeological level associated with a slope deposit (diamicton). The lithic assemblage from this level includes Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), flakes and cores, associated with numerous millstone slabs. The lithic series is classified as Acheulean on the basis of both technological and typological analyses. Cryoturbation features indicate that the slope deposits and associated archaeological level were strongly frozen and disturbed after hominin occupation and before fluvial deposition. Eight sediment samples were dated by the electron spin resonance (ESR) method and the weighted average age obtained for the fluvial sands overlying the slope deposits is 665±55 ka. This age is older than previous chronological data placing the first European Acheulean assemblages north of 45(th) parallel north at around 500 ka and modifies our current vision of the initial peopling of northern Europe. Acheulean settlements are older than previously assumed and the oldest evidences are not only located in southern Europe. La Noira is the oldest evidence of Acheulean presence in north-western Europe and attests to the possibility of pioneering phases of Acheulean settlement which would have taken place on a Mode 1-type substratum as early as 700 ka. The lithic assemblage from la Noira thus provides behavioral and technological data on early Acheulean occupation in Europe and contributes to our understanding of the diffusion of this tradition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Archaeology*
  • Europe
  • Fossils
  • France
  • Humans
  • Paleontology

Grants and funding

This study has been financially supported by a French ANR project (Agence Nationale pour la Recherche) PremSeptAcheu (BLAN 2006 01) directed by M-H. Moncel, a Collective Research Project for study the first occupations of the Middle Loire Basin directed by J. Despriee, the Centre Region, the Department of Prehistory of the National Museum of National History and the Ministry of Culture. The authors also wish to thank the Conseil Régional d'Ile-de-France and the Ministère de la Culture, Sous-direction de l'Archéologie, Service Régional de l'Archéologie of the Region Centre (France) for their assistance in the acquisition of an ESR spectrometer and a portable gamma spectrometer, respectively. The English version has been corrected by an official translator Louise Byrne. The funders have no role in the study, data collections and analyses, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript and illustrations.