부산대학교 도서관

The recent resumption of excavations at Isturitz by one of us (Ch. N.) did not identify the Chatelperronian occupation (SIII base level) described by R. and S. de Saint-Perier in their work on this site. This chrono-cultural attribution was, moreover, sometimes disputed. Faced with this, a critical review of the lithic material from SIII base level (Saint-Perier excavations) was necessary. We propose here to reconsider the cultural attribution of the assemblage, in the light of our knowledge regarding the Chatelperronian and the first data obtained from the recent excavations in the cave. A typotechnological diagnosis allowed the fact that the assemblage does not comprises any element formally attributable to the Chatelperronian to be highlighted. It consists of two cultural components that can be attributed to the Mousterian and, probably, the Aurignacian. The observation of the surface condition, and the nature of the sediments still visible on the artefacts, allows the mixture of these components within the same level to be confirmed, probably due to the action of run-off, associated with factors linked to the excavation conditions.
La reprise récente des fouilles à Isturitz par l’un d’entre nous (Ch. N.) n’a pas permis d’identifier l’occupation châtelperronienne (niveau SIII base) décrite par R. et S. de Saint-Périer lors de leurs travaux sur ce site, attribution chronoculturelle qui, par ailleurs, fut parfois contredite. Face à ce constat, une révision critique du matériel lithique issu du niveau SIII base (fouilles Saint-Périer) s’imposait. Nous proposons ici de réexaminer l’attribution culturelle de cet assemblage, à la lumière de nos connaissances sur le Châtelperronien et des premières données issues des fouilles récentes de la cavité.