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Upper Magdalenian transition at Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France): Portable art and context-induced considerations
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 28 (2019) 102019
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The Middle/Upper Magdalenian transition at Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France): Portable art and context-induced considerations
T
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Morgane Dacharya,b, , François-Xavier Chauvièrec, Frédéric Plassardd a
Service Régional d'Archéologie, DRAC Grand-Est, site de Châlons-en-Champagne, 3 Boulevard Saint-Antoine, 51000 Châlons-en-Champagne, France UMR 5608 TRACES, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France c Office du patrimoine et de l’archéologie de Neuchâtel – Section Archéologie, Laténium, CH 2068 Hauterive, Switzerland d UMR 5199 PACEA Université de Bordeaux, France b
A R T I C LE I N FO
A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Upper Magdalenian Middle Magdalenian Pyrenees Portable art Bourrouilla cave Transition
Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France) is a Paleolithic dwelling site with occupations mostly assigned to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The archeological richness of the levels, the good preservation state and diversity of the remains, which include portable art, make it a major site of the western Pyrenees. It has been excavated meticulously with a fine recording of data for about twenty years. So far, available data for occupations older than the Upper Magdalenian are rare. However, the discovery at the back of the cave of a rib fragment decorated with a particularly detailed horse head feeds our considerations. By its style, this figuration differs much from art works assigned to the Upper Magdalenian; it has obvious connections with the Middle Magdalenian Pyrenean art. This discovery is consistent with the presence in the spoil of a clandestine excavation of half-round rods fragments decorated with spiral patterns of the Isturitz type, and of fork-based spearheads also found in stratigraphy together with truncated microliths. Based on these elements, we formulate the hypothesis that occupation level(s) documenting the middle phase of the Magdalenian and/or the transition between the Late Middle Magdalenian and the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons exist in stratigraphy inside the cave.
1. Introduction
most of the research to date has documented a series of settlements assigned to the Upper Magdalenian that features an abundant lithic industry and a bone industry with harpoons. Nevertheless, in the last excavations it has been possible to reach the levels underlying the Upper Magdalenian inside the cave. Rare remains are known for the moment including a remarkable horse head engraved on a bone fragment. Besides their intrinsic interest, they are presented here alongside a synthesis about the Upper Magdalenian of the site because of the relationship they probably have with some objects from the clandestine excavation spoil and of wider questioning about the end of the Middle Magdalenian and the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian.
Discovered in 1986 at the same time as a clandestine excavation, Bourrouilla cave site in Arancou has been subjected to almost uninterrupted archeological excavations since the early 1990s (Fig. 1). To date, the discovered archeological material can be divided into three lots: (1) remains collected during the sieving and sorting of the clandestine excavation spoil, (2) material from a test pit dug in front of the entrance porch in 1990–1991 and (3) results from the excavations undertaken since 1998. Most of the remains from the first two lots were published in 1999 (Chauchat et al., 1999) while the excavations undertaken since 1998 have been published regularly (Dachary, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009; Dachary et al., 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016; Daulny and Dachary, 2009; Aurière et al., 2013; Plassard et al., 2015, 2018; Szmidt et al., 2009). Fieldwork has highlighted Holocene, especially Mesolithic, as well as Protohistoric and Medieval occupations. However,
2. The site Bourrouilla cave is located in the municipality of Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France), 7 km south-west of the Pastou
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Corresponding author at: Service Régional d'Archéologie, DRAC Grand-Est, site de Châlons-en-Champagne, 3 Boulevard Saint-Antoine, 51000 Châlons-enChampagne, France. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Dachary), [email protected] (F.-X. Chauvière), [email protected] (F. Plassard). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102019 Received 30 April 2019; Received in revised form 2 September 2019; Accepted 30 September 2019 2352-409X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Fig. 1. Bourrouilla cave. Plan of the cave and synthetic stratigraphic section of the site. The green area on the section indicates several possibly post-Paleolithic Stratigraphic Units (SU). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Dachary et al., 2014). The underlying Ensemble B documents an Upper Magdalenian with harpoons, in which Red Deer is the main game (Chauchat et al., 1999; Dachary et al., 2008). Reached only in KL 25 in the test pit, Ensemble C is more difficult to assign: Late Middle Magdalenian or Early Upper Magdalenian? - The Vestibule, excavated in K and L 23–24. At the top of the sequence, the remains of a (medieval?) lime kiln were found. The first preserved Paleolithic levels correspond to Ensemble A, defined outside the cave. Then comes Ensemble B. The excavations of this area have not yet reached Ensemble C. - The Corridor (bands 22–18). So far, fieldwork has not identified levels in place in this part. Given the geometry of the deposits, the hypothesis of a massive sinkhole probably explains the absence of Pleistocene level in this area. The first consequence of this observation is the lack of any stratigraphic continuity between the Vestibule and the Back Chamber. Therefore, the analysis of the prehistoric occupations at the site is based on two distinct
Cliff (Sorde-l'Abbaye, Landes). It is a low-altitude site (about 60 m NGFGeneral Levelling of France) set in the hilly reliefs of the western Pyrenees foothills. The cave opens to the south-east a short distance from the Lauhirasse stream, a tributary of the right bank of the Bidouze River. It is a small cave, about twelve meters deep today. The ribbed porch was 3.50 m high in the Magdalenian and about 2 m wide. It gives access to a 6–7 m long rectilinear corridor, whose vault lowers steadily, and which leads to a small chamber, about 3 m by 4 m. Four areas were highlighted during the archeological excavations: - The Outer Zone, tested then excavated in squares J, K, L 25 to 28. The top of the sequence gave some evidence of occupations assignable to the Neolithic and/or to Protohistory. Then a thin Mesolithic level (Dachary et al., 2013) is followed by a sparse level (Ensemble A) characterized by backed points fashioned from a small blade production, by the absence of bone industry and the persistence of the Reindeer. It is described as Final Magdalenian (Dachary, 2010; 2
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Beyond this summary description of the remains, note also that the stripping of SU 2007 E on about 3 m2 has identified a layer of ocher together with a concentration of “extraordinary” remains (in the meaning of Chiotti et al., 2009) such as a pecten with ocher on its internal side (container?), a flint color crusher, and an abnormal density of bone industry and portable art remains (Dachary et al., 2016). Lastly, fieldwork has identified several nested hearths that are under study.
Table 1 Radiocarbon dating of Bourrouilla’s Magdalenian levels after Fontugne and Hatté in Chauchat et al. (1999), Szmidt et al. (2009) et Barshay-Szmidt et al. (2016). Datings are calibrated with the IntCal 13 curve (Reimer et al., 2013), the Calib 6.0.1 software (Stuiver and Reimer, 1993) and given with 2 sigma. Layer
Laboratory N°
BP age
cal BP age
Ensemble A Roe Deer (AMS) Ensemble A Red deer (AMS) Layer B2 (counting) Layer B2 (counting) Layer B3 (counting) Layer C1 (counting) Layer C2 (counting) Layer C4 (counting) SU 2007 AB, Snowy Owl (AMS) SU 2007 AB, Reindeer (AMS) SU 2007 AB, Red Deer (AMS)
OxA-29932 OxA29930-31 Gif − 9986 Gif − 10,002 Gif − 10,255 Gif – 10,234 Gif − 10,254 Gif − 10,235 OxA-19696
10940 ± 45 12013 ± 36 12395 ± 35 12260 ± 120 12780 ± 40 12700 ± 40 13220 ± 80 12710 ± 90 12 540 ± 50
12706–12932 13751–13997 14920–14110 14900–13840 15590–14910 15260–14680 16690–15390 15610–14550 15120–14410
OxA-19698 OxA-19697
12 610 ± 55 12 880 ± 50
15210–14500 15930–15000
3.2. Portable art SU 2007 and, to a lesser extent, Ensemble B are documenting a varied production of portable art works. While the clandestine excavation spoil exclusively yielded decorated objects on hard animal material, most of them fashioned on split ribs (smoothers and pendants), stratigraphic excavations of the Vestibule and of the levels in place in the Back Chamber considerably broadened the range of symbolic productions. Figurative, abstract and indeterminate decorations are visible on sandstone plaquettes, fragments of limestone identical to the bedrock and bone objects (Aurière et al., 2013; Plassard et al., 2015). A certain iconographic diversity and the production of images of varying dimensions respond to the variety of the blanks. In addition, while the most careful and better done works correspond to finished objects, more unskillful works were created on unprepared blanks (Plassard et al., 2015). A coherent picture of the Upper Magdalenian graphic productions of the site can be drawn from the obvious similarities between part of the objects from the clandestine excavation and some remains discovered during the excavations. Firstly, the series of smoothers and pendants on hemi-ribs, decorated with very small size animal figures and abstract patterns, is remarkable. These objects were published 20 years ago and made the reputation of the site. Stylistically, they fit perfectly into the range of the Magdalenian portable art of the Pyrenees and there are equivalents at Lortet or Gourdan, for example. Animal representations are both easily identifiable and often little detailed. These synthetic drawings are also found on a tube made from a Snowy Owl long bone diaphysis decorated with two horses and a crane. SU 2007 also yielded works on unprepared bone, showing less technical mastery, but with the same style conventions. Sandstone plaquettes and limestone blocks, often engraved with abstract patterns but also with animal figurations, were also discovered. In total, the figurative art of Bourrouilla is made of 32 pictures on 17 blanks. 21 images on 9 bone pieces are coming from the clandestine excavation, 8 figurations on 5 objects (4 bone pieces and one sandstone plaquette) have been found in SU 2007 while the last 3 are from Ensemble B (one bone blank and two lithic blanks).
stratigraphies: the first one, described above, concerns the exterior and the Vestibule, while the second one (see below) is limited to the Back Chamber. - The Back Chamber (bands 17–14). This area was damaged by a clandestine excavation before the discovery of the site in 1986. It is therefore difficult to reconstruct the archeological filling before the contemporary interventions; however it should be noted that several stratigraphic units (SU) are clearly visible on the edge of the clandestine excavation, such as SU 2002 (pit with Mesolithic remains, Dachary et al., 2013), SU 2007 whose excavation showed Upper Magdalenian occupations, and SU 2010, previously intact, and whose archaeological material seems to document an older phase than the classical Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. Eleven radiocarbon dates (Table 1) make it possible to situate the Magdalenian occupations of the site. Six of them (Gif 9986, 10002, 10234, 10235, 10254, 10255) were obtained by counting on bone samples taken in the test pit in the Outer Zone. The other dates, obtained by AMS, document SU 2007AB in the cave (OxA 19696, 19697, 19698), and Ensemble A in the Vestibule (OxA 29930-31 and OxA 29932). These results confirm the reliability of the stratigraphy through field observations and geoarcheological and taphonomic analyses (Dachary et al., submitted). 3. The Upper Magdalenian in Arancou: review 3.1. Lithic and bone equipment
4. At the transition between Middle Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian: a working hypothesis
The Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla is known today through the excavation of Ensemble B (Outer Zone and Vestibule) and of SU 2007 (Back Chamber). The faunal range of these occupations is dominated by the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) together with the Reindeer. Note, however, the exceptional number of remains of Snowy Owl (SU 2007 AB) or Fish (SU 2007 E) in some sub-ensembles of SU 2007. The lithic industry is marked by the predominance of lamellar tools, together with the common toolkit in which burins and borers are dominating over side scrapers, which are few in number. The highly fragmentary aspect of the operative chains also indicates brief and repeated frequentations. The bone industry is showing Reindeer and Red Deer antler exploitation, with harpoons and spearheads, and a number of technical pieces. Bone was also exploited for the manufacture of needles, smoothers and, to a lesser extent, awls. The discovery of a fragment of smoother in SU 2007 E has allowed making a refit with two pieces from the clandestine excavation spoil. This is a major result at the scale of the site, as it confirms the assignment of these objects, sometimes decorated, to the Upper Magdalenian (Aurière et al. 2013). As for ornaments, sawn teeth, pierced teeth, a hematite bead and probably a shark tooth were found.
In Arancou, the presence of occupations earlier than the Upper Magdalenian (with harpoons) has been considered right from the publication of the first article (Chauchat et al., 1999), both under the porch of the cave and inside it, on the basis of stratigraphic arguments, radiocarbon dating and diagnostic remains. 4.1. Archeological context 4.1.1. The Outer Zone: Ensemble C Immediately in front of the porch, the outside test pit reached sedimentary Ensemble C, directly underlying Ensemble B. Known on about 2 m2, it is characterized at the sedimentary level by a rarefaction of the coarse fraction at the expense of a homogeneous silt-clay sediment. The excavation did not reach the base of this poor archeological ensemble (Chauchat et al., 1999), which yielded a large proportion of truncated microliths, associated with one scalene bladelet and three scalene triangles (Fig. 2, No. 2–6). These elements would indicate a 3
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Fig. 2. Ensemble C: 1 – fork-based spearhead; 2 – “grain de mil” flint backed bladelet; 3 – scalene bladelet; 4 – scalene triangle; 5 & 6 – truncated backed bladelets. SU 2007F: 7 & 8 – scalene bladelets. SU 2010: 9 – decorated half-round rod. Clandestine excavation: 10 – fragment of half-round rod of the Isturitz type; 11 to 13 – forkbased spearhead. Drawing of the bone industry: F.-X. Chauvière. Drawing of the lithic industry: Morgane Dachary. Photo: A. Roussot & F. Plassard.
Upper Magdalenian inside the cave. These are scalene microliths, four fork-based points (Fig. 2, No. 11–13), two of which bear traces of resection, and fragmentary half-round rods of the Isturitz type (Fig. 2, No. 10). The question that now arises is whether (a) stratified level(s) is/are still in place at the back of the cave with this type of remains. Originally described on the clandestine excavation sections, SU 2010 has been excavated since 2012. Immediately underlying SU 2007, it differs from it by a yellow color and the absence of ferro-manganic deposit. The coarse fraction, less abundant than in SU 2007, consists of large stones and some limestone blocks, often burned. They have blunt edges but their surface is not powdery. The excavated surface is still too small to discuss both the spatial organization of the remains and the very nature of this ensemble: flood level accumulation lens, hearth, etc. The stratigraphic position of SU 2010, the presence of a half-round decorated antler rod fragment – undocumented object category in the overlying SU 2007 or in Ensemble C-, the lack of harpoon-type barbed elements and the predominance of the Reindeer and the Horse among the hunted fauna, the virtual absence of fish fauna remains – so abundant in SU 2007 – and the quantitatively significant presence of scalene bladelets (Fig. 2, No. 7 and 8) at the base of SU 2007 (SU 2007F) are questioning the existence, in stratigraphy and inside the cave, of a phase connected to the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian
proximity of Ensemble C with assemblages assigned elsewhere to the Middle Magdalenian (Dachary in Chauchat et al., 1999). The radiocarbon dates around 12,700 BP obtained for the B3-C1-C4 layers are pointing in the same direction (Fontugne and Hatté in Chauchat et al., 1999). In the bone industry register, two categories of cervid antler objects (harpoon-type barbed elements and fork-based points) seem to be mutually exclusive within ensembles B and C (Bonnissent and Chauvière in Chauchat et al., 1999). Thus, we can note: - In Ensemble B, the presence of 9 harpoon-type barbed elements and the lack of fork-based points; - In Ensemble C (C1 and C2), the presence of two fork-based points (Fig. 2, No.1) and the lack of harpoon-type barbed elements. The fork-based point type refers to the transition between the late phase of the Middle Magdalenian and the early stages of the Upper Magdalenian (i.e. Pétillon, 2006, 2007, 2016). 4.1.2. Inside the cave: data from the clandestine excavation and SU 2010 Various archeological remains from the clandestine excavation have also allowed considering the existence of assemblages older than the 4
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or to the end of the Middle Magdalenian in Arancou. Data from the avifauna range and the lithic industry techno-typological features, highly ubiquitous, do not make it possible to decide between these two hypotheses. What about elements from the analysis of the portable art? This is what we intend to present below. 4.2. Data from portable art 4.2.1. Decoration of the half-round rod We are returning here to the description of the object we have already published (Plassard et al., 2015): “This is a mesial fragment of a half-round rod (Fig. 2, No. 9) discovered in SU 2010. The lower surface is much smoothed, concave and bears oblique parallel rectilinear incisions. The latter were intended to stick the object onto a similar volume. One of the extremities of the fragment in our possession bears a decoration consisting of two lateral patterns. They are identical on both sides and are made up of a series of short cross-hatched lines (2 mm), which are delimited at the top by a rectilinear or slightly curved line.”
Fig. 4. ARA15-US2010. Large herbivore rib decorated with a horse head after restoration (© F. Plassard).
4.2.2. The horse engraving Discovered at the base of a sediment sample taken for the study of the hearths in SU 2007, this fragment of large herbivore rib belongs to the top of SU 2010. Its state of fragmentation immediately necessitated a restoration (Fig. 3). Funded by the Ministry of Culture and conducted by Marielle Boucharat (Artemuse Association), this intervention made possible the handling and study of this exceptional piece. In its current state, this bone fragment is 90 mm long, 33 mm wide and 9 mm thick. It was identified as a rib fragment (Aude Chevalier, UMR 7041, ArScAn), based on the presence of a straight edge, a unique and regular convexity of the upper side and the partial presence of the lower side, allowing the reconstruction of part of the profile (Fig. 4). The decorated area bears no trace of scraping prior to engraving; one of the extremities has the features of a serrated break on dry bone, and the other shows a blunting of indeterminate origin (use or taphonomy). The external side (best preserved) shows the head and neck of a horse. The outline of the head, the nostril, the mouth, the eye, one ear, the forelock, the mane in hatching, the lower jaw also done in hatching and the beginning of the back and chest lines, interrupted by the fracture of the piece, can be read without difficulty (Figs. 4 and 5). A line separates the tip of the nose from the rest of the head and probably indicates a shade of coat. Detailed observation with the naked eye and under a stereo microscope makes it possible to precise the tracing of the engraved lines. Thus, the mane consists of two series of short hatchings interlocked into one another with slightly different orientations as if from dissimilar workmanships. A first series of little marked lines, slightly oblique towards the back, is intersected by other hatchings, more vertical or bent forward, and much more pronounced. Much below these hatchings, an almost straight line is probably the neck, from the base of the ear to the
Fig. 5. SU 2010. Tracing of the horse head engraved on a rib fragment (Tracing F. Plassard).
shoulder. At this level, it meets a curved line that could indicate the shoulder line (or shoulder band) and that is joining the beginning of the back line. The single ear is located in front of the mane and at the same level. The forelock is indicated in front of it, made of five slightly oblique downwards hatchings. The forehead is clearly convex, and is continued by a rectilinear chanfrin to the tip of the nose. This initially rather deep and symmetrical tracing is clearly asymmetrical in its lower part. Parasitic lines on the outside of the contour are showing the use of an irregular point. The nostril is placed quite high above the tip of the nose. It is indicated by a U-shaped line closed by its juxtaposition to the contour tracing. A line draws the upper lip and the mouth and another one the chin. From the back of the nostril to the back of the mouth, a last tracing reflects the dividing line between the short coat of the muzzle and the denser one of the rest of the head. The intermandibular region and the lower jaw are represented by a series of very regular and tight hatchings that join the throat line. A shallower line on the inside of the cheek is superimposed on the hatchings of the lower jaw and forms the upwards limit. Starting halfway between the ear and the throat, the line of the neck and chest continues to the broken edge of the blank. This line, obviously obtained by several slightly misaligned passing of the tool, contrasts with the minutia of the hatching of the lower jaw. The eye itself is simply indicated by two small opposite arcs of a circle. 4.2.3. Discussion: comparisons with the Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla and to the regional scale The decoration of the half-round rod has no equivalent to date and cannot be used to set out arguments about the chrono-cultural assignation of SU 2010. However, two types of comparisons can feed the
Fig. 3. ARA15-US2010. Large herbivore rib decorated with a horse head before restoration (© F. Plassard). 5
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the technical analysis of the tracing would indicate the work of an “intermediary level engraver.” Indeed, the highly dissymmetrical profile of the tracing of the tip of the nose as well as the inability to deepen the chest line by passing over exactly the same grove associated to a good mastery of proportions and to a high number of anatomical details would show the work of an experienced engraver but still in apprenticeship. Comparing the horse figuration described here with the regional corpus inevitably leads to the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian, even though style data do not offer a sufficiently fine resolution to decide between Late Middle Magdalenian and Early Upper Magdalenian. In other words, it is not presently possible to know if the rupture in style is synchronous with the appearance of the forked bases or of the harpoons. The factor analysis carried out by Rivero and Sauvet (2014) on a sample of 273 horse figurations from Magdalenian portable art identifies styles that are unevenly distributed over time and space. Although the analysis tools used are of a statistical nature, and therefore only indicate trends that do not exclude some exceptions, one of the three groups highlighted by PCA is strongly associated with the Middle Magdalenian of the Pyrenees. Yet, this group brings together horses figurations that share numerous stylistic common points with the one we studied: abundance of anatomical details, intensive use of hatching, indication of the coat limit at the tip of the nose (Fig. 7). But the recent discovery of highly spectacular horse figurations at Le Rocher de l’Impératrice site (Finistere area, France) shows that a realistic style persisted beyond the Middle Magdalenian until the early Azilian (Naudinot et al., 2017). This implies we must have caution. However at Le Rocher de l’Impératrice, we can note that the eye is not
Fig. 6. Top. Photograph and tracing of the unrolled decoration of a Snowy Owl bone diaphysis with two top to tail horse heads and one wading bird (crane?) (Photograph and drawing A. Roussot). Bottom. Photograph and tracing of two horses engraved on a Red Deer rib discovered in SU 2007 (Photograph F. Plassard, Drawing L. Aurière). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
debate; on the one hand with the other figurations of horses from the Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla, on the other hand with Magdalenian portable art works from other Pyrenean sites. At the scale of the site, we know of 4 horses drawn on two objects (Fig. 6). The first one comes from the clandestine excavation spoil; it is a bird bone tube (Snowy Owl) on which two top to tail horse heads are depicted with a possible crane (Fritz and Roussot, 1999). These small-size images are little detailed and mostly treated as linear contours. The second one is a Red Deer rib discovered in excavation in SU 2007, decorated with two horses following each other, one being reduced to the anterior part of the head (Aurière et al., 2013). The most complete horse is a linear contour with an absolute profile. The crested mane and the lack of hatching for the lower part of the head are remarkable. The second subject, reduced to the head due to the break of the piece, only shows the chanfrin, one eye and the beginning of the intermandibular region. It is difficult to discuss the style of such a fragmentary image, but it seems in keeping with its neighbor. These four images fit well into the stylistic canons of the Upper Magdalenian (Rivero and Sauvet, 2014: 73). On the opposite, the horse we are describing here is totally at odds with this type of representation; it features a larger subject, an increased anatomical accuracy, the use of hatching for the mane, the forelock, the intermandibular region and the jawbone. A further reading level is provided by studying the degree of technical mastery of the engravers through applying the analysis grid proposed by Rivero (2018). This author highlights three levels of technical expertise from the “highly expert engravers” up to the “beginners with little expertise”, including the “apprentice engravers” whose production shows an intermediary level. In this perspective, the Red Deer rib decorated with two horses from SU 2007 would be the work of a beginner engraver, which could be confirmed by the lack of preparation of the blank. Indeed, aside a quickly abandoned attempt at re-splitting, this piece shows no trace of scraping or shaping before engraving. The same type of analysis can be carried out on the horse studied in this article. Although it does not appear to have been prepared before engraving,
Fig. 7. Horses from the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian. 1– Isturitz, Saint-Martin Chamber (after Saint-Périer, 1930). 2– Isturitz, Layer E (after Passemard, 1924). 3– Bédeilhac (after Jauze and Sauvet, 1991). 4– Labastide (after Simonnet, 1989). 6
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indicated, and above all that the numerous hatchings are more a process of filling-in the images than a graphic solution to creating contours as observed classically in the Middle Magdalenian.
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In: Langlais, M. et Straus, L.-G., Magdalenian Phases in Cantabria and Aquitaine: What are we talking about. XVIII° CONGRES UISPP JUIN 2018. Session XVII-2. Mémoire de la Société Préhistorique Française. Dachary, M., Merlet, J.-Cl., Miqueou, M., Mallye, J.-B., Le Gall, O., Eastham, A., 2013. Les occupations mésolithiques de Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Paléo 24, 79–102. Dachary, M., 2006. 25 années de recherches sur le Magdalénien dans les Pyrénées occidentales. Catalogue de l’exposition «25 ans d’archéologie en Béarn et Bigorre (1979–2004), pp. 21–28. Dachary, M., 2009. Les Magdaléniens des Pyrénées occidentales. Réflexions sur l’exploitation d’un territoire. In: Djindjian, F., Oosterbeek, L., Symbolic Spaces in Prehistoric Art, Territories, travels and site locations. Proceedings of the XV. Congress of the U.I. S.P.P., Session C28. Archaeopress, pp. 39–45. Dachary, M., 2010. Une perception affinée du Magdalénien des Pyrénées occidentales à partir des travaux récents. Acte du Colloque International d’Archéologie de Puigcerdà, «les Pyrénées et leurs marges durant le Tardiglaciaire; mutations et filiations techno-culturelles, évolutions paléo-environnentales» les 10-11 novembre 2006, pp. 423–459. Daulny, L., Dachary M., 2009. Approche comportementale du Magdalénien d’après l’étude techno-fonctionnelle de l’outillage hors silex. La grotte de Bourrouilla (Arancou, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France). In: Sternke, F., L. J. Costa, L. Eigeland (Eds. ), Non-flint Raw Material Use in Prehistory: Old Prejudices and New Directions. Proceedings of the XV. Congress of the U.I.S.P.P. Archaeopress, pp. 21–28. Fritz, C., Roussot, A., 1999. L’Art mobilier. In: Chauchat, Cl. (dir.), L’habitat Magdalénien de la grotte Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées- Atlantiques). Gallia Préhistoire 41, pp. 54–97. Jauze, B., Sauvet, G., 1991. Art mobilier magdalénien de la Grotte de Bédeilhac (Ariège). (Fouilles Jauze-Mandement 1927–1929). Préhistoire Ariégeoise XLVI, 19–57. Naudinot, N., Bourdier, C., Laforg, M., Paris, C., Bellot-Gurlet, L., Beyries, S., ThéryParisot, I., Le Goffic, M., 2017. Divergence in the evolution of Paleolithic symbolic and the technological systems: the shining bull and engraved tablets of Rocher de l'Impératrice. PLOS ONE 12 (3) e0173037. Passemard E., 1924. Les stations paléolithiques du Pays Basque et leurs relations avec les terrasses d’alluvions. Thèse de la faculté des sciences de l’Université de Strasbourg. Bayonne, Imp. L. Bodiou. 218 p. Pétillon, J.-M., 2016. Technological evolution of hunting implements among Pleistocene hunter-gatherers: Osseous projectile points in the middle and upper Magdalenian (19–14 ka cal BP). Quat. Int. 414 (1), 108–134. Pétillon J.-M. 2006. Des Magdaléniens en armes. Technologie des armatures de projectile en bois de Cervidé du Magdalénien supérieur de la grotte d'Isturitz (PyrénéesAtlantiques), Artefact 10, CEDARC, Treignes. Pétillon J.-M., 2007. Les pointes à base fourchue de la zone pyrénéo-cantabrique: un objet à la charnière entre Magdalénien moyen et Magdalénien supérieur? Frontières naturelles et frontières culturelles dans les Pyrénées préhistoriques, At Tarascon-surAriège, Volume: Frontières naturelles et frontières culturelles dans les Pyrénées préhistoriques, N. Cazals, J. González Urquijo, X. Terradas eds., PubliCan, pp. 245–264. Plassard, F., Dachary, M., 2019. L’art mobilier d’Arancou: drôle de choix! In: Cretin, C., Madelaine, S. (dir.), Animaux rares, Gibiers inattendus. Reflets de la biodiversité. Musée National de Préhistoire, Les Eyzies, pp. 102–109. Plassard, F., Aurière, L., Chauvière, F.-X., Fritz, C., Dachary, M., 2015. Nouvelles découvertes d’art mobilier dans le Magdalénien de Bourrouilla (Arancou, PyrénéesAtlantiques). Paleo 26, 215–224. Plassard, F., Danger, M., Dachary, M., 2018. Images, vertèbres et arêtes: quelques remarques sur les poissons des niveaux magdaléniens de la grotte de Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France). In: Averbouh, A., Bonnet-Jacquement, P., Cleyet-Merle, J.-J. (dirs.), L’Aquitaine à la fin des temps glaciaires. Les sociétés de la transition du Paléolithique final au début du Mésolithique dans l’espace Nord aquitain, actes de la table ronde organisée en hommage à Guy Célérier (Les Eyzies-deTayac, 24–26 juin 2015). Paleo, (n° spécial), pp. 227–232. Rivero, O., Sauvet, G., 2014. Defining Magdalenian cultural groups in Franco-Cantabria by the formal analysis of portable artworks. Antiquity 88 (339), 64–80. Rivero, O., 2018. Eléments pour l’identification de l’apprentissage artistique au Magdalénien moyen. In: L. Klaric (Ed.), L'apprenti préhistorique. Appréhender l'apprentissage, les savoir-faire et l'expertise à travers les productions techniques des sociétés préhistoriques. The Dolni Vestonice Studies, 24, pp. 281–294. Saint-Périer, R. (de), 1930. La grotte d’Isturitz. I – Le Magdalénien de la salle SaintMartin. Archives de l’Institut de Paléontologie Humaine. Masson et Cie Editeur, Paris. 125 p., 12 pl. Simonnet, G., Simonnet L., Simonnet, R., 1989. Art mobilier et art pariétal à Labastide, in J. Clottes (Ed.), L’Art des objets au Paléolithique. I: l’art mobilier et son contexte, Ministère de la Culture, Paris, pp. 173–187. Szmidt, C., Laroulandie, V., Dachary, M., Langlais, M., Costamagno, S., 2009. Harfang, Renne et Cerf: nouvelles dates 14C par SMA du Magdalénien supérieur du Bassin aquitain au Morin (Gironde) et Bourrouilla (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique française 106 (3), 583–587.
5. Conclusion Bourrouilla site has so far yielded remains of occupations assignable mainly to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The richness of the levels and their stratigraphic integrity as well as the state of conservation of the remains and their diversity make it possible to characterize this chrono-cultural phase, and even to apprehend its internal evolution (Dachary et al., submitted). The presence of hearths, still under study, and of at least one layer of remains stripped on a sufficient surface, also allow addressing the question of the activities carried out at the site and of their spatial distribution in the cave. The portable art, mainly done on bone, is remarkable by its quality and its iconographic diversity (Plassard and Dachary, 2019). In Arancou, the occupations of the site during the Upper Magdalenian are well documented, both in the Outer Zone of the cave and inside, within a stratigraphy with a high level of chronological resolution. If the clues of an earlier phase are still rare, they nevertheless do exist. Indeed, the radiocarbon dates and the lithic toolkit features would point to the actual presence of the middle phase sensu lato of the Magdalenian. Being “transitional” objects, the fork-based points found in the clandestine excavation and in Ensemble C indicate even more precisely the end of the Middle Magdalenian and the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian in Arancou. Because it also fits perfectly into the stylistic canons of the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian, the engraved horse head described in this article is a significant argument for identifying this chrono-cultural phase in stratigraphy inside the cave. The continuation of the excavations should make it possible to test this hypothesis. If SU 2010 is well preserved and as rich as SU 2007 (Upper Magdalenian), Bourrouilla site will probably shed new light on the transition between the Middle Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian. The issue is all the greater since few sites benefiting from modern excavations seem able to document this chrono-cultural phase. Acknowledgements We wish to thank Estelle Bougard for the English translation of this text as well as the reviewers working with the publisher of this volume. Their constructive critics led us to precise some points of this article and to add figures. References Aurière, L., Chauvière, F.X., Plassard, F., Fritz, C., Dachary, M., 2013. Art mobilier inédit du gisement de Bourrouilla à Arancou: données techno-stylistiques et chrono-culturelles. Paléo 24, 195–218. Chauchat, Cl. (dir.), Fontugne, M., Hatte, Ch., Dachary, M., Bonnissent, D., Chauvière, F.X., Roussot, A., Fritz, C., Fosse, Ph., Eastham, A., Martin, H., Le Gall, O., Gambier, D., 1999. L’habitat Magdalénien de la grotte Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées Atlantiques). Gallia Préhistoire 41, 1–151. Chiotti, L., Nespoulet, R., Henry-Gambier, D., Morala, A., Vercoutère, C., Agsous, S., Lenoble, A., Marquer, L., Grimaud-Hervé, D., 2009. Statut des objets «extra-ordinaires» du Gravettien final de Pataud (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Dordogne): objets abandonnés dans l’habitat ou dépôt intentionnel? In: Bonnardin, S., Hamon, C., Lauwers, M., Quillec, B. (dir.), Du matériel au spirituel: réalités archéologiques et historiques des « dépôts » de la Préhistoire à nos jours: actes des Rencontres, 16-18 octobre 2008.Éditions APDCA, Antibes, pp. 29–46. Dachary, M., 2005. La grotte de Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): bilan des fouilles 2002 à 2004. Archéologie des Pyrénées occidentales et des Landes 24, 7–18. Dachary, M., Chauvière, F.-X., Costamagno S., Daulny L., Eastham A., Ferrier C., Fritz C., 2008. La grotte Bourrouilla à Arancou: une puissante stratigraphie au service de la perception de la fin du Magdalénien pyrénéo-cantabrique. Acte de la Table Ronde SPF «Les sociétés Paléolithiques d’un grand Sud-Ouest: nouveaux gisements, nouvelle méthodes, nouveaux résultats» les 24-25 novembre 2006 à Bordeaux, pp. 355–370. Dachary, M., Plassard, F., Merlet, J.-Cl., Bonnet-Jacquement, P., Chauvière, F.X., 2014. L’Azilien des Pyrénées occidentales: Vers une révision de l’attribution chrono-culturelle des séries archéologiques. In: Cretin, C., Ferullo, O., Castel, J.-Ch., «Deuxième moitié et fin du Paléolithique supérieur. Pour une confrontation entre le modèle
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep
The Middle/Upper Magdalenian transition at Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France): Portable art and context-induced considerations
T
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Morgane Dacharya,b, , François-Xavier Chauvièrec, Frédéric Plassardd a
Service Régional d'Archéologie, DRAC Grand-Est, site de Châlons-en-Champagne, 3 Boulevard Saint-Antoine, 51000 Châlons-en-Champagne, France UMR 5608 TRACES, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France c Office du patrimoine et de l’archéologie de Neuchâtel – Section Archéologie, Laténium, CH 2068 Hauterive, Switzerland d UMR 5199 PACEA Université de Bordeaux, France b
A R T I C LE I N FO
A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Upper Magdalenian Middle Magdalenian Pyrenees Portable art Bourrouilla cave Transition
Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France) is a Paleolithic dwelling site with occupations mostly assigned to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The archeological richness of the levels, the good preservation state and diversity of the remains, which include portable art, make it a major site of the western Pyrenees. It has been excavated meticulously with a fine recording of data for about twenty years. So far, available data for occupations older than the Upper Magdalenian are rare. However, the discovery at the back of the cave of a rib fragment decorated with a particularly detailed horse head feeds our considerations. By its style, this figuration differs much from art works assigned to the Upper Magdalenian; it has obvious connections with the Middle Magdalenian Pyrenean art. This discovery is consistent with the presence in the spoil of a clandestine excavation of half-round rods fragments decorated with spiral patterns of the Isturitz type, and of fork-based spearheads also found in stratigraphy together with truncated microliths. Based on these elements, we formulate the hypothesis that occupation level(s) documenting the middle phase of the Magdalenian and/or the transition between the Late Middle Magdalenian and the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons exist in stratigraphy inside the cave.
1. Introduction
most of the research to date has documented a series of settlements assigned to the Upper Magdalenian that features an abundant lithic industry and a bone industry with harpoons. Nevertheless, in the last excavations it has been possible to reach the levels underlying the Upper Magdalenian inside the cave. Rare remains are known for the moment including a remarkable horse head engraved on a bone fragment. Besides their intrinsic interest, they are presented here alongside a synthesis about the Upper Magdalenian of the site because of the relationship they probably have with some objects from the clandestine excavation spoil and of wider questioning about the end of the Middle Magdalenian and the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian.
Discovered in 1986 at the same time as a clandestine excavation, Bourrouilla cave site in Arancou has been subjected to almost uninterrupted archeological excavations since the early 1990s (Fig. 1). To date, the discovered archeological material can be divided into three lots: (1) remains collected during the sieving and sorting of the clandestine excavation spoil, (2) material from a test pit dug in front of the entrance porch in 1990–1991 and (3) results from the excavations undertaken since 1998. Most of the remains from the first two lots were published in 1999 (Chauchat et al., 1999) while the excavations undertaken since 1998 have been published regularly (Dachary, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009; Dachary et al., 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016; Daulny and Dachary, 2009; Aurière et al., 2013; Plassard et al., 2015, 2018; Szmidt et al., 2009). Fieldwork has highlighted Holocene, especially Mesolithic, as well as Protohistoric and Medieval occupations. However,
2. The site Bourrouilla cave is located in the municipality of Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France), 7 km south-west of the Pastou
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Corresponding author at: Service Régional d'Archéologie, DRAC Grand-Est, site de Châlons-en-Champagne, 3 Boulevard Saint-Antoine, 51000 Châlons-enChampagne, France. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Dachary), [email protected] (F.-X. Chauvière), [email protected] (F. Plassard). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102019 Received 30 April 2019; Received in revised form 2 September 2019; Accepted 30 September 2019 2352-409X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Fig. 1. Bourrouilla cave. Plan of the cave and synthetic stratigraphic section of the site. The green area on the section indicates several possibly post-Paleolithic Stratigraphic Units (SU). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Dachary et al., 2014). The underlying Ensemble B documents an Upper Magdalenian with harpoons, in which Red Deer is the main game (Chauchat et al., 1999; Dachary et al., 2008). Reached only in KL 25 in the test pit, Ensemble C is more difficult to assign: Late Middle Magdalenian or Early Upper Magdalenian? - The Vestibule, excavated in K and L 23–24. At the top of the sequence, the remains of a (medieval?) lime kiln were found. The first preserved Paleolithic levels correspond to Ensemble A, defined outside the cave. Then comes Ensemble B. The excavations of this area have not yet reached Ensemble C. - The Corridor (bands 22–18). So far, fieldwork has not identified levels in place in this part. Given the geometry of the deposits, the hypothesis of a massive sinkhole probably explains the absence of Pleistocene level in this area. The first consequence of this observation is the lack of any stratigraphic continuity between the Vestibule and the Back Chamber. Therefore, the analysis of the prehistoric occupations at the site is based on two distinct
Cliff (Sorde-l'Abbaye, Landes). It is a low-altitude site (about 60 m NGFGeneral Levelling of France) set in the hilly reliefs of the western Pyrenees foothills. The cave opens to the south-east a short distance from the Lauhirasse stream, a tributary of the right bank of the Bidouze River. It is a small cave, about twelve meters deep today. The ribbed porch was 3.50 m high in the Magdalenian and about 2 m wide. It gives access to a 6–7 m long rectilinear corridor, whose vault lowers steadily, and which leads to a small chamber, about 3 m by 4 m. Four areas were highlighted during the archeological excavations: - The Outer Zone, tested then excavated in squares J, K, L 25 to 28. The top of the sequence gave some evidence of occupations assignable to the Neolithic and/or to Protohistory. Then a thin Mesolithic level (Dachary et al., 2013) is followed by a sparse level (Ensemble A) characterized by backed points fashioned from a small blade production, by the absence of bone industry and the persistence of the Reindeer. It is described as Final Magdalenian (Dachary, 2010; 2
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Beyond this summary description of the remains, note also that the stripping of SU 2007 E on about 3 m2 has identified a layer of ocher together with a concentration of “extraordinary” remains (in the meaning of Chiotti et al., 2009) such as a pecten with ocher on its internal side (container?), a flint color crusher, and an abnormal density of bone industry and portable art remains (Dachary et al., 2016). Lastly, fieldwork has identified several nested hearths that are under study.
Table 1 Radiocarbon dating of Bourrouilla’s Magdalenian levels after Fontugne and Hatté in Chauchat et al. (1999), Szmidt et al. (2009) et Barshay-Szmidt et al. (2016). Datings are calibrated with the IntCal 13 curve (Reimer et al., 2013), the Calib 6.0.1 software (Stuiver and Reimer, 1993) and given with 2 sigma. Layer
Laboratory N°
BP age
cal BP age
Ensemble A Roe Deer (AMS) Ensemble A Red deer (AMS) Layer B2 (counting) Layer B2 (counting) Layer B3 (counting) Layer C1 (counting) Layer C2 (counting) Layer C4 (counting) SU 2007 AB, Snowy Owl (AMS) SU 2007 AB, Reindeer (AMS) SU 2007 AB, Red Deer (AMS)
OxA-29932 OxA29930-31 Gif − 9986 Gif − 10,002 Gif − 10,255 Gif – 10,234 Gif − 10,254 Gif − 10,235 OxA-19696
10940 ± 45 12013 ± 36 12395 ± 35 12260 ± 120 12780 ± 40 12700 ± 40 13220 ± 80 12710 ± 90 12 540 ± 50
12706–12932 13751–13997 14920–14110 14900–13840 15590–14910 15260–14680 16690–15390 15610–14550 15120–14410
OxA-19698 OxA-19697
12 610 ± 55 12 880 ± 50
15210–14500 15930–15000
3.2. Portable art SU 2007 and, to a lesser extent, Ensemble B are documenting a varied production of portable art works. While the clandestine excavation spoil exclusively yielded decorated objects on hard animal material, most of them fashioned on split ribs (smoothers and pendants), stratigraphic excavations of the Vestibule and of the levels in place in the Back Chamber considerably broadened the range of symbolic productions. Figurative, abstract and indeterminate decorations are visible on sandstone plaquettes, fragments of limestone identical to the bedrock and bone objects (Aurière et al., 2013; Plassard et al., 2015). A certain iconographic diversity and the production of images of varying dimensions respond to the variety of the blanks. In addition, while the most careful and better done works correspond to finished objects, more unskillful works were created on unprepared blanks (Plassard et al., 2015). A coherent picture of the Upper Magdalenian graphic productions of the site can be drawn from the obvious similarities between part of the objects from the clandestine excavation and some remains discovered during the excavations. Firstly, the series of smoothers and pendants on hemi-ribs, decorated with very small size animal figures and abstract patterns, is remarkable. These objects were published 20 years ago and made the reputation of the site. Stylistically, they fit perfectly into the range of the Magdalenian portable art of the Pyrenees and there are equivalents at Lortet or Gourdan, for example. Animal representations are both easily identifiable and often little detailed. These synthetic drawings are also found on a tube made from a Snowy Owl long bone diaphysis decorated with two horses and a crane. SU 2007 also yielded works on unprepared bone, showing less technical mastery, but with the same style conventions. Sandstone plaquettes and limestone blocks, often engraved with abstract patterns but also with animal figurations, were also discovered. In total, the figurative art of Bourrouilla is made of 32 pictures on 17 blanks. 21 images on 9 bone pieces are coming from the clandestine excavation, 8 figurations on 5 objects (4 bone pieces and one sandstone plaquette) have been found in SU 2007 while the last 3 are from Ensemble B (one bone blank and two lithic blanks).
stratigraphies: the first one, described above, concerns the exterior and the Vestibule, while the second one (see below) is limited to the Back Chamber. - The Back Chamber (bands 17–14). This area was damaged by a clandestine excavation before the discovery of the site in 1986. It is therefore difficult to reconstruct the archeological filling before the contemporary interventions; however it should be noted that several stratigraphic units (SU) are clearly visible on the edge of the clandestine excavation, such as SU 2002 (pit with Mesolithic remains, Dachary et al., 2013), SU 2007 whose excavation showed Upper Magdalenian occupations, and SU 2010, previously intact, and whose archaeological material seems to document an older phase than the classical Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. Eleven radiocarbon dates (Table 1) make it possible to situate the Magdalenian occupations of the site. Six of them (Gif 9986, 10002, 10234, 10235, 10254, 10255) were obtained by counting on bone samples taken in the test pit in the Outer Zone. The other dates, obtained by AMS, document SU 2007AB in the cave (OxA 19696, 19697, 19698), and Ensemble A in the Vestibule (OxA 29930-31 and OxA 29932). These results confirm the reliability of the stratigraphy through field observations and geoarcheological and taphonomic analyses (Dachary et al., submitted). 3. The Upper Magdalenian in Arancou: review 3.1. Lithic and bone equipment
4. At the transition between Middle Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian: a working hypothesis
The Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla is known today through the excavation of Ensemble B (Outer Zone and Vestibule) and of SU 2007 (Back Chamber). The faunal range of these occupations is dominated by the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) together with the Reindeer. Note, however, the exceptional number of remains of Snowy Owl (SU 2007 AB) or Fish (SU 2007 E) in some sub-ensembles of SU 2007. The lithic industry is marked by the predominance of lamellar tools, together with the common toolkit in which burins and borers are dominating over side scrapers, which are few in number. The highly fragmentary aspect of the operative chains also indicates brief and repeated frequentations. The bone industry is showing Reindeer and Red Deer antler exploitation, with harpoons and spearheads, and a number of technical pieces. Bone was also exploited for the manufacture of needles, smoothers and, to a lesser extent, awls. The discovery of a fragment of smoother in SU 2007 E has allowed making a refit with two pieces from the clandestine excavation spoil. This is a major result at the scale of the site, as it confirms the assignment of these objects, sometimes decorated, to the Upper Magdalenian (Aurière et al. 2013). As for ornaments, sawn teeth, pierced teeth, a hematite bead and probably a shark tooth were found.
In Arancou, the presence of occupations earlier than the Upper Magdalenian (with harpoons) has been considered right from the publication of the first article (Chauchat et al., 1999), both under the porch of the cave and inside it, on the basis of stratigraphic arguments, radiocarbon dating and diagnostic remains. 4.1. Archeological context 4.1.1. The Outer Zone: Ensemble C Immediately in front of the porch, the outside test pit reached sedimentary Ensemble C, directly underlying Ensemble B. Known on about 2 m2, it is characterized at the sedimentary level by a rarefaction of the coarse fraction at the expense of a homogeneous silt-clay sediment. The excavation did not reach the base of this poor archeological ensemble (Chauchat et al., 1999), which yielded a large proportion of truncated microliths, associated with one scalene bladelet and three scalene triangles (Fig. 2, No. 2–6). These elements would indicate a 3
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Fig. 2. Ensemble C: 1 – fork-based spearhead; 2 – “grain de mil” flint backed bladelet; 3 – scalene bladelet; 4 – scalene triangle; 5 & 6 – truncated backed bladelets. SU 2007F: 7 & 8 – scalene bladelets. SU 2010: 9 – decorated half-round rod. Clandestine excavation: 10 – fragment of half-round rod of the Isturitz type; 11 to 13 – forkbased spearhead. Drawing of the bone industry: F.-X. Chauvière. Drawing of the lithic industry: Morgane Dachary. Photo: A. Roussot & F. Plassard.
Upper Magdalenian inside the cave. These are scalene microliths, four fork-based points (Fig. 2, No. 11–13), two of which bear traces of resection, and fragmentary half-round rods of the Isturitz type (Fig. 2, No. 10). The question that now arises is whether (a) stratified level(s) is/are still in place at the back of the cave with this type of remains. Originally described on the clandestine excavation sections, SU 2010 has been excavated since 2012. Immediately underlying SU 2007, it differs from it by a yellow color and the absence of ferro-manganic deposit. The coarse fraction, less abundant than in SU 2007, consists of large stones and some limestone blocks, often burned. They have blunt edges but their surface is not powdery. The excavated surface is still too small to discuss both the spatial organization of the remains and the very nature of this ensemble: flood level accumulation lens, hearth, etc. The stratigraphic position of SU 2010, the presence of a half-round decorated antler rod fragment – undocumented object category in the overlying SU 2007 or in Ensemble C-, the lack of harpoon-type barbed elements and the predominance of the Reindeer and the Horse among the hunted fauna, the virtual absence of fish fauna remains – so abundant in SU 2007 – and the quantitatively significant presence of scalene bladelets (Fig. 2, No. 7 and 8) at the base of SU 2007 (SU 2007F) are questioning the existence, in stratigraphy and inside the cave, of a phase connected to the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian
proximity of Ensemble C with assemblages assigned elsewhere to the Middle Magdalenian (Dachary in Chauchat et al., 1999). The radiocarbon dates around 12,700 BP obtained for the B3-C1-C4 layers are pointing in the same direction (Fontugne and Hatté in Chauchat et al., 1999). In the bone industry register, two categories of cervid antler objects (harpoon-type barbed elements and fork-based points) seem to be mutually exclusive within ensembles B and C (Bonnissent and Chauvière in Chauchat et al., 1999). Thus, we can note: - In Ensemble B, the presence of 9 harpoon-type barbed elements and the lack of fork-based points; - In Ensemble C (C1 and C2), the presence of two fork-based points (Fig. 2, No.1) and the lack of harpoon-type barbed elements. The fork-based point type refers to the transition between the late phase of the Middle Magdalenian and the early stages of the Upper Magdalenian (i.e. Pétillon, 2006, 2007, 2016). 4.1.2. Inside the cave: data from the clandestine excavation and SU 2010 Various archeological remains from the clandestine excavation have also allowed considering the existence of assemblages older than the 4
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or to the end of the Middle Magdalenian in Arancou. Data from the avifauna range and the lithic industry techno-typological features, highly ubiquitous, do not make it possible to decide between these two hypotheses. What about elements from the analysis of the portable art? This is what we intend to present below. 4.2. Data from portable art 4.2.1. Decoration of the half-round rod We are returning here to the description of the object we have already published (Plassard et al., 2015): “This is a mesial fragment of a half-round rod (Fig. 2, No. 9) discovered in SU 2010. The lower surface is much smoothed, concave and bears oblique parallel rectilinear incisions. The latter were intended to stick the object onto a similar volume. One of the extremities of the fragment in our possession bears a decoration consisting of two lateral patterns. They are identical on both sides and are made up of a series of short cross-hatched lines (2 mm), which are delimited at the top by a rectilinear or slightly curved line.”
Fig. 4. ARA15-US2010. Large herbivore rib decorated with a horse head after restoration (© F. Plassard).
4.2.2. The horse engraving Discovered at the base of a sediment sample taken for the study of the hearths in SU 2007, this fragment of large herbivore rib belongs to the top of SU 2010. Its state of fragmentation immediately necessitated a restoration (Fig. 3). Funded by the Ministry of Culture and conducted by Marielle Boucharat (Artemuse Association), this intervention made possible the handling and study of this exceptional piece. In its current state, this bone fragment is 90 mm long, 33 mm wide and 9 mm thick. It was identified as a rib fragment (Aude Chevalier, UMR 7041, ArScAn), based on the presence of a straight edge, a unique and regular convexity of the upper side and the partial presence of the lower side, allowing the reconstruction of part of the profile (Fig. 4). The decorated area bears no trace of scraping prior to engraving; one of the extremities has the features of a serrated break on dry bone, and the other shows a blunting of indeterminate origin (use or taphonomy). The external side (best preserved) shows the head and neck of a horse. The outline of the head, the nostril, the mouth, the eye, one ear, the forelock, the mane in hatching, the lower jaw also done in hatching and the beginning of the back and chest lines, interrupted by the fracture of the piece, can be read without difficulty (Figs. 4 and 5). A line separates the tip of the nose from the rest of the head and probably indicates a shade of coat. Detailed observation with the naked eye and under a stereo microscope makes it possible to precise the tracing of the engraved lines. Thus, the mane consists of two series of short hatchings interlocked into one another with slightly different orientations as if from dissimilar workmanships. A first series of little marked lines, slightly oblique towards the back, is intersected by other hatchings, more vertical or bent forward, and much more pronounced. Much below these hatchings, an almost straight line is probably the neck, from the base of the ear to the
Fig. 5. SU 2010. Tracing of the horse head engraved on a rib fragment (Tracing F. Plassard).
shoulder. At this level, it meets a curved line that could indicate the shoulder line (or shoulder band) and that is joining the beginning of the back line. The single ear is located in front of the mane and at the same level. The forelock is indicated in front of it, made of five slightly oblique downwards hatchings. The forehead is clearly convex, and is continued by a rectilinear chanfrin to the tip of the nose. This initially rather deep and symmetrical tracing is clearly asymmetrical in its lower part. Parasitic lines on the outside of the contour are showing the use of an irregular point. The nostril is placed quite high above the tip of the nose. It is indicated by a U-shaped line closed by its juxtaposition to the contour tracing. A line draws the upper lip and the mouth and another one the chin. From the back of the nostril to the back of the mouth, a last tracing reflects the dividing line between the short coat of the muzzle and the denser one of the rest of the head. The intermandibular region and the lower jaw are represented by a series of very regular and tight hatchings that join the throat line. A shallower line on the inside of the cheek is superimposed on the hatchings of the lower jaw and forms the upwards limit. Starting halfway between the ear and the throat, the line of the neck and chest continues to the broken edge of the blank. This line, obviously obtained by several slightly misaligned passing of the tool, contrasts with the minutia of the hatching of the lower jaw. The eye itself is simply indicated by two small opposite arcs of a circle. 4.2.3. Discussion: comparisons with the Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla and to the regional scale The decoration of the half-round rod has no equivalent to date and cannot be used to set out arguments about the chrono-cultural assignation of SU 2010. However, two types of comparisons can feed the
Fig. 3. ARA15-US2010. Large herbivore rib decorated with a horse head before restoration (© F. Plassard). 5
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the technical analysis of the tracing would indicate the work of an “intermediary level engraver.” Indeed, the highly dissymmetrical profile of the tracing of the tip of the nose as well as the inability to deepen the chest line by passing over exactly the same grove associated to a good mastery of proportions and to a high number of anatomical details would show the work of an experienced engraver but still in apprenticeship. Comparing the horse figuration described here with the regional corpus inevitably leads to the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian, even though style data do not offer a sufficiently fine resolution to decide between Late Middle Magdalenian and Early Upper Magdalenian. In other words, it is not presently possible to know if the rupture in style is synchronous with the appearance of the forked bases or of the harpoons. The factor analysis carried out by Rivero and Sauvet (2014) on a sample of 273 horse figurations from Magdalenian portable art identifies styles that are unevenly distributed over time and space. Although the analysis tools used are of a statistical nature, and therefore only indicate trends that do not exclude some exceptions, one of the three groups highlighted by PCA is strongly associated with the Middle Magdalenian of the Pyrenees. Yet, this group brings together horses figurations that share numerous stylistic common points with the one we studied: abundance of anatomical details, intensive use of hatching, indication of the coat limit at the tip of the nose (Fig. 7). But the recent discovery of highly spectacular horse figurations at Le Rocher de l’Impératrice site (Finistere area, France) shows that a realistic style persisted beyond the Middle Magdalenian until the early Azilian (Naudinot et al., 2017). This implies we must have caution. However at Le Rocher de l’Impératrice, we can note that the eye is not
Fig. 6. Top. Photograph and tracing of the unrolled decoration of a Snowy Owl bone diaphysis with two top to tail horse heads and one wading bird (crane?) (Photograph and drawing A. Roussot). Bottom. Photograph and tracing of two horses engraved on a Red Deer rib discovered in SU 2007 (Photograph F. Plassard, Drawing L. Aurière). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
debate; on the one hand with the other figurations of horses from the Upper Magdalenian at Bourrouilla, on the other hand with Magdalenian portable art works from other Pyrenean sites. At the scale of the site, we know of 4 horses drawn on two objects (Fig. 6). The first one comes from the clandestine excavation spoil; it is a bird bone tube (Snowy Owl) on which two top to tail horse heads are depicted with a possible crane (Fritz and Roussot, 1999). These small-size images are little detailed and mostly treated as linear contours. The second one is a Red Deer rib discovered in excavation in SU 2007, decorated with two horses following each other, one being reduced to the anterior part of the head (Aurière et al., 2013). The most complete horse is a linear contour with an absolute profile. The crested mane and the lack of hatching for the lower part of the head are remarkable. The second subject, reduced to the head due to the break of the piece, only shows the chanfrin, one eye and the beginning of the intermandibular region. It is difficult to discuss the style of such a fragmentary image, but it seems in keeping with its neighbor. These four images fit well into the stylistic canons of the Upper Magdalenian (Rivero and Sauvet, 2014: 73). On the opposite, the horse we are describing here is totally at odds with this type of representation; it features a larger subject, an increased anatomical accuracy, the use of hatching for the mane, the forelock, the intermandibular region and the jawbone. A further reading level is provided by studying the degree of technical mastery of the engravers through applying the analysis grid proposed by Rivero (2018). This author highlights three levels of technical expertise from the “highly expert engravers” up to the “beginners with little expertise”, including the “apprentice engravers” whose production shows an intermediary level. In this perspective, the Red Deer rib decorated with two horses from SU 2007 would be the work of a beginner engraver, which could be confirmed by the lack of preparation of the blank. Indeed, aside a quickly abandoned attempt at re-splitting, this piece shows no trace of scraping or shaping before engraving. The same type of analysis can be carried out on the horse studied in this article. Although it does not appear to have been prepared before engraving,
Fig. 7. Horses from the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian. 1– Isturitz, Saint-Martin Chamber (after Saint-Périer, 1930). 2– Isturitz, Layer E (after Passemard, 1924). 3– Bédeilhac (after Jauze and Sauvet, 1991). 4– Labastide (after Simonnet, 1989). 6
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indicated, and above all that the numerous hatchings are more a process of filling-in the images than a graphic solution to creating contours as observed classically in the Middle Magdalenian.
classique et les perceptions interdisciplinaires actuelles sur le thème des unités, continuités et discontinuités». In: Jaubert, J., Fourment, N., Depaepe, P., Acte de la session F du XXVIIe Congrès Préhistorique de France, pp. 487–503. Dachary, M., Plassard, F., Chauvière, F.-X., Aurière, L., Fritz, C., 2016. Le contexte des œuvres d’art mobilier dans le Magdalénien supérieur de la grotte Bourrouilla (Arancou, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France). Actes du colloque «L’art au quotidien. Objets ornés du Paléolithique supérieur» Les Eyzies-de-Tayac du 16 au 20 juin 2014. Paléo Numéro spécial, pp. 425–433. Dachary, M., Merlet, J.-C., Plassard, F., Chauvière, F.-X, Ajas, A., Birouste, C., Chevallier, A., Eastham, A., Ferrier, C., Laroulandie, V., Mistrot, V. (submitted). Le magdalénien supérieur dans le sud de l’aquitaine (france): réflexion à partir des archéoséquences de la grotte Bourrouilla (Arancou, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) et du Grand Pastou (Sordel’Abbaye, Landes). 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Paleo 26, 215–224. Plassard, F., Danger, M., Dachary, M., 2018. Images, vertèbres et arêtes: quelques remarques sur les poissons des niveaux magdaléniens de la grotte de Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France). In: Averbouh, A., Bonnet-Jacquement, P., Cleyet-Merle, J.-J. (dirs.), L’Aquitaine à la fin des temps glaciaires. Les sociétés de la transition du Paléolithique final au début du Mésolithique dans l’espace Nord aquitain, actes de la table ronde organisée en hommage à Guy Célérier (Les Eyzies-deTayac, 24–26 juin 2015). Paleo, (n° spécial), pp. 227–232. Rivero, O., Sauvet, G., 2014. Defining Magdalenian cultural groups in Franco-Cantabria by the formal analysis of portable artworks. Antiquity 88 (339), 64–80. Rivero, O., 2018. Eléments pour l’identification de l’apprentissage artistique au Magdalénien moyen. In: L. Klaric (Ed.), L'apprenti préhistorique. 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5. Conclusion Bourrouilla site has so far yielded remains of occupations assignable mainly to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The richness of the levels and their stratigraphic integrity as well as the state of conservation of the remains and their diversity make it possible to characterize this chrono-cultural phase, and even to apprehend its internal evolution (Dachary et al., submitted). The presence of hearths, still under study, and of at least one layer of remains stripped on a sufficient surface, also allow addressing the question of the activities carried out at the site and of their spatial distribution in the cave. The portable art, mainly done on bone, is remarkable by its quality and its iconographic diversity (Plassard and Dachary, 2019). In Arancou, the occupations of the site during the Upper Magdalenian are well documented, both in the Outer Zone of the cave and inside, within a stratigraphy with a high level of chronological resolution. If the clues of an earlier phase are still rare, they nevertheless do exist. Indeed, the radiocarbon dates and the lithic toolkit features would point to the actual presence of the middle phase sensu lato of the Magdalenian. Being “transitional” objects, the fork-based points found in the clandestine excavation and in Ensemble C indicate even more precisely the end of the Middle Magdalenian and the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian in Arancou. Because it also fits perfectly into the stylistic canons of the Pyrenean Middle Magdalenian, the engraved horse head described in this article is a significant argument for identifying this chrono-cultural phase in stratigraphy inside the cave. The continuation of the excavations should make it possible to test this hypothesis. If SU 2010 is well preserved and as rich as SU 2007 (Upper Magdalenian), Bourrouilla site will probably shed new light on the transition between the Middle Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian. The issue is all the greater since few sites benefiting from modern excavations seem able to document this chrono-cultural phase. Acknowledgements We wish to thank Estelle Bougard for the English translation of this text as well as the reviewers working with the publisher of this volume. Their constructive critics led us to precise some points of this article and to add figures. References Aurière, L., Chauvière, F.X., Plassard, F., Fritz, C., Dachary, M., 2013. Art mobilier inédit du gisement de Bourrouilla à Arancou: données techno-stylistiques et chrono-culturelles. Paléo 24, 195–218. Chauchat, Cl. (dir.), Fontugne, M., Hatte, Ch., Dachary, M., Bonnissent, D., Chauvière, F.X., Roussot, A., Fritz, C., Fosse, Ph., Eastham, A., Martin, H., Le Gall, O., Gambier, D., 1999. L’habitat Magdalénien de la grotte Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées Atlantiques). Gallia Préhistoire 41, 1–151. Chiotti, L., Nespoulet, R., Henry-Gambier, D., Morala, A., Vercoutère, C., Agsous, S., Lenoble, A., Marquer, L., Grimaud-Hervé, D., 2009. Statut des objets «extra-ordinaires» du Gravettien final de Pataud (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Dordogne): objets abandonnés dans l’habitat ou dépôt intentionnel? In: Bonnardin, S., Hamon, C., Lauwers, M., Quillec, B. (dir.), Du matériel au spirituel: réalités archéologiques et historiques des « dépôts » de la Préhistoire à nos jours: actes des Rencontres, 16-18 octobre 2008.Éditions APDCA, Antibes, pp. 29–46. Dachary, M., 2005. La grotte de Bourrouilla à Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): bilan des fouilles 2002 à 2004. Archéologie des Pyrénées occidentales et des Landes 24, 7–18. Dachary, M., Chauvière, F.-X., Costamagno S., Daulny L., Eastham A., Ferrier C., Fritz C., 2008. La grotte Bourrouilla à Arancou: une puissante stratigraphie au service de la perception de la fin du Magdalénien pyrénéo-cantabrique. Acte de la Table Ronde SPF «Les sociétés Paléolithiques d’un grand Sud-Ouest: nouveaux gisements, nouvelle méthodes, nouveaux résultats» les 24-25 novembre 2006 à Bordeaux, pp. 355–370. Dachary, M., Plassard, F., Merlet, J.-Cl., Bonnet-Jacquement, P., Chauvière, F.X., 2014. L’Azilien des Pyrénées occidentales: Vers une révision de l’attribution chrono-culturelle des séries archéologiques. In: Cretin, C., Ferullo, O., Castel, J.-Ch., «Deuxième moitié et fin du Paléolithique supérieur. Pour une confrontation entre le modèle
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