On 19 November 2022 I posted a column titled A Neanderthal Mystery – The Mask of La Roche-Cotard. This discussed a mysterious artifact from that cave, attributed to Neanderthal occupation comprising a flake of flint shaped like a face with a piece of bone shoved through a natural hole looking somewhat like eyes (Faris 2022). In this column I am presenting a study (Marquet et al. 2023) that discusses finger flutings and other marks made in La Roche-Cotard by Neanderthals dated to approximately 57,000 BCE.
“Today, the cave of La Roche-Cotard comprises four main chambers extending ESE-WNW for 33 m: the Mousterian Gallery, the Lemmings Chamber, the Pillar Chamber and the Hyena Chamber. In the back of the Hyena Chamber, collapse of the ceiling prevents the determination of the exact extent of the ancient cavity.” (Marquet et al. 2023) And now we have to wonder what might be behind the collapsed ceiling.
“The site of La Roche-Cotard is in Indre-et-Loire, in the commune of Langeais, France. Discovered in January 1912, the cave is on the south-facing slope on the right bank of the Loire. The entrance is at the back of a small rocky cirque, only a few meters above the top of the river’s modern embankment. The cave comprises a narrow gallery, a tunnel some 10 m (33 feet) long and three wider chambers, extending around 40 m (131 feet) in all.” (De Lazaro 2023)
“Following human occupation, the
cave was completely sealed by cold-period sediments, which prevented access
until its discovery in the 19th century and first excavation in
the early 20th century. - In 1846, La Roche-Cotard cave
entrance was exposed during quarrying and in 1912, the site owner François
d’Achon excavated almost all the inner sedimentary deposits. Only Mousterian
lithic artefacts were discovered within the cave; no later-period material was
found. Subsequent excavation, in the 1970s and from 2008 onwards, identified
three additional loci close to the cave.” (Marquet et al. 2023) In Europe, the Mousterian
industry is associated with Neanderthal occupation.
“The team first dated
samples of cave sediment using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, which
determines the time since sedimentary grains were last exposed to daylight.
They concluded that the cave had been sealed off by sediment brought in by the
flooding of the Loire around 57,000 years ago, well before Homo
sapiens made their way
into the region. Stratigraphic dating yielded an earlier date of around 75,000
years ago, which would make this "the oldest decorated cave in France, if
not Europe," the authors wrote. Since the only stone tools found in the
cave over the last century are those associated with Neanderthals, that provides
two lines of evidence in support of the hypothesis that Neanderthals created
the finger flutings.” (Ouellette 2023) In other words, if the only evidence of
occupation of this cave is Neanderthals, then the wall markings must be
Neanderthal as well.
“Marquet et al. also modeled the entire cave with photogrammetry to more precisely locate the engravings and to carefully distinguish between the different kinds of traces. They focused on the suspected finger flutings for further analysis, then drew reproductions of the panels and carefully noted their detailed observations. The team concluded that the marks were deliberate, organized, and intentional shapes—arch-shaped tracings, for example, or two contiguous tracings forming sinuous lines.” (Ouellette 2023) Organized and intentional shapes created before anatomically Human entrance into Europe would only be attributed to Hominin presence, in other words, Neanderthal.
“The numerous marks on the soft surface layers of the walls of have been categorized according to origin: those made by humans must be distinguished from those made by animals, as well as those arising from local geochemical alteration (surface dissolution, disintegration, dehydration), and minor chemical deposits (concretions). Animal claw marks, attributable to Ursus sp., Meles sp. and other species, can be identified by their characteristic spacing and incision angle. But alongside these numerous, randomly distributed animal scratch marks, there are also a number of elongated or dotted, spatially organized marks. These organized marks are found only on the 13 m long north-east wall of the pillar chamber (shown with a blue line in. They have distinct geometric shapes and are often grouped into panels separated by groups of smaller marks. Analysis based on the width, incision angle and depth of 116 marks revealed two statistically distinct groups: 32 with features consistent with claw marks, and 84 most likely of anthropogenic origin. Those identified as claw marks are thinner, deeper and have a V-shaped cross-section, whereas the presumed ancient spatially organized marks are mostly wider, shallower, and U-shaped, consistent with the morphology of a fingertip or similarly shaped tool. However, the rectangular panel is clearly separated, first from the two panels made with fingers and secondly separated from the claw marks.” (Marquet et al. 2023) Not only do we have the marks left by Neanderthals, we have marks left by bears and badgers – bear and badger rock art?
“The attribution to Neanderthal of the graphic productions at La Roche-Cotard pays tribute to this lost humanity, whose role in the biological and cultural evolution of humans is undergoing profound revision. In terms of culture, we now have a better understanding of the plurality of Neanderthal activities, attesting to elaborate and organized social behaviours that show no obvious differences from those of their contemporaries, Anatomically Modern Humans, south of the Mediterranean.” (Marquet et al 2023)
Note the last line of that quote “organized social behaviours that show no obvious differences from those of their contemporaries, Anatomically Modern Humans, south of the Mediterranean.” I am personally uncomfortable with the part about “no obvious differences” because I believe there are many obvious differences. From their tools, to their social interactions and personal adornment, we find traces of differences, but they are cultural differences. Notice I said cultural – because I do not think that any of them indicate differences in potential from those contemporaries. I believe that the Neanderthals had localized cultures in just the same way modern Human societies do. In other locations we have found Neanderthals using paint in caves, or incising petroglyphs into the rock with stone tools. In La Roche-Cotard their creative expression was to leave finger fluting.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
De Lazaro, Enrico, 2023, 57,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Engravings Discovered in France, 22 June 2023, https://sci.news. Accessed online 22 June 2023.
Faris, Peter, 2022, A Neandertal Mystery – The Mask of La Roche-Cotard, 19 November 2022, RockArtBlog, https://www.blogger.com.
Marquet, Jean-Claude et al., 2023, The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La
Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France, 21 June 2023,
https:journals.plos.org/plosone/. Accessed online 22 June 2023.
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