Quelle présence humaine dans l'espace rhodanien avant le stade 5 (135 ka) ?

Résumé En

After 140 years of research, no unquestionable evidence of archaic Palaeolithic (Vallonet or Soleilhac type) has been found in the palaeontological deposits of the region containing Mammuthus meridionalis and Equus stenonis (such as that of Chagny). In the north, erratic traces of early Acheulian with Levallois flakes, similar to that of the Parisian basin, exist in loessial or alluvial contexts in the Val de Saône, Dombes, Mont d'Or in the Lyonnais and in the Bas-Dauphiné (Bièvre-Valloire). The presence of middle Acheulian is only probable, without any stratigraphie or palaeontological proof. Some early Palaeolithic with no hand axes, of the sensu lato Clactonian type has been observed in caves (Azé) and can perhaps be related to certain central European facies. In the middle Rhône valley, a "southern" type of Acheulian with rare handaxes and choppers is known, and belongs to the Terra Amata-Lazaret line. An important and still unique site was discovered, identified and excavated for about ten years at Orgnac l'Aven (Ardèche). The 55,000 artifacts found were associated with a flora and a rich fauna of the middle Pleistocene (Dama clactonia, Capreolus sussenbornis, Hemitragus bonali, Equus mosbachensis, Dicerorhinus hemitoechus, Macacus sp.). Its base is dated by U-Th and ESR to isotope stage 9, interglacial (350 KA), its upper part to 280 KA, the fauna indicating the beginning of stage 8. The whole includes 10 levels of occupation. It lies on an important fill of cryoclastic gravel (with Rangifer tarandus, Microtus gregalis, Dicrostonyx torquatus), correlated to stage 10, without any trace of human presence. Located in a collapsed doline, the site produced an assembled hearth, habitation structures and places for cutting the Oligocene flint collected from the adjacent surroundings. The human remains indicate stable family groups, including children, physically close to those of Tautavel according to their teeth. An important technological reference for this Acheulian is the Levallois stone-flaking technique, which appears in the middle of the sequence, at about 325 KA.