Gisement préhistorique du Pech de l'Azé
MonumentHidden Treasure
In the wooded hills of the Périgord Noir, the Pech de l'Azé reveals Neanderthal caves of exceptional richness: bones, hearths and Acheulean tools more than 100,000 years old.
History
Nestling in the limestone folds of the Enéa valley, not far from Carsac-Aillac, the Pech de l'Azé prehistoric site is one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in the Périgord Noir. This complex of caves and rock shelters is set in a cliff of Jurassic limestone typical of the Sarladais region, in an area that boasts an exceptional density of listed prehistoric sites, from Lascaux to Font-de-Gaume, not forgetting the nearby Vézère valley. What makes the Pech de l'Azé truly unique is its role as a privileged witness to Neanderthal mankind. Four separate caves - known as Pech de l'Azé I, II, III and IV - have yielded remains spanning several dozen millennia of the Middle Palaeolithic, providing an exceptionally clear stratigraphic cross-section of Mousterian cultures. Here we find lithic industries of the Mousterian Acheulean Tradition (MTA) type, abundant faunal remains (reindeer, bison, woolly rhinoceros) and traces of hearths testifying to an early mastery of fire. A visit to the site immerses the attentive visitor in a striking atmosphere, far from spectacular but close to the essential. The caves, relatively modest in size, speak a universal language: that of human adaptation to the harsh climate of the Ice Ages. Beneath the ochre and grey limestone vault, you can feel the presence of the nomadic hunters who made these shelters their seasonal refuge for generations. The natural setting itself adds to the experience: the wooded plateau of Le Pech gently overlooks the meandering Dordogne, set in a landscape of oak woods and meadows that has hardly changed in outline since Neanderthals set up camp here. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1927, the site is part of the Périgord region, where prehistory is never far from the daily lives of the local people.
Architecture
The Pech de l'Azé site is not a built structure, but a natural site shaped by the karstic geology of the Périgord Noir. Four separate caves - conventionally known as Pech de l'Azé I, II, III and IV - open out at different heights in a cliff of Bathonian limestone running generally north-south. This tiered layout, characteristic of the Sarladais rock shelter sites, has led to the accumulation of stratified sediments several metres thick, a veritable natural archive of successive human occupations. Cave I, the most extensively studied, forms a shallow cavity in the shape of an open shelter, with a fossilised floor revealing thick layers of ash and charcoal bearing witness to repeated hearths. Cave II, which is narrower and more elongated, has preserved archaeological layers that are particularly rich in lithic industry. The sedimentary sequences are five to six metres thick in places, providing a remarkably legible stratigraphy for specialists of the Middle Palaeolithic. The lithic materials found - essentially local brownish-black flint, extracted from the neighbouring geological formations - bear witness to reasoned exploitation of the immediate area by Neanderthal groups. The cutting of these flints, using the Levallois and discoid techniques characteristic of the Mousterian period, reveals a skill passed down over thousands of years, constituting in itself a form of invisible architecture, that of technical gestures and mastered workflows.
Related Figures
Homo neanderthalensis — occupants principaux du site entre -130 000 et -40 000 ans avant notre èreDenis Peyrony — préhistorien périgourdin pionnier, directeur du Musée des Eyzies, ayant contribué aux premières fouilles systématiques du siteAbbé André Glory — archéologue et préhistorien ayant étudié le site dans les années 1940-1950Harold Dibble — préhistorien américain, co-directeur des fouilles programmatiques contemporaines du Pech de l'AzéShannon McPherron — archéologue du Max Planck Institute, associé aux campagnes de fouilles récentes sur le siteÉdouard Lartet — géologue et paléontologue ayant contribué aux premières investigations préhistoriques du Périgord au XIXe siècle
