Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane
MonumentHidden Treasure
Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane, located in Groléjac (Dordogne), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Groléjac, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8183, 1.2953
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082574
On the outskirts of the Périgord Noir region, the La Gane Mousterian site provides exceptional evidence of the Neanderthal presence in the Dordogne valley, and was listed as a Historic Monument in 1927.
History
Nestling in the wilds of Groléjac, in the heart of the Périgord Noir, the prehistoric site of La Gane stands out as one of the silent but eloquent milestones in the long human history of the Dordogne valley. In this region, which alone boasts an exceptional density of prehistoric sites - from the caves of Lascaux to the shelters of Le Bugue - La Gane occupies a singular position: that of an open-air or sheltered site that has yielded remains associated with the Mousterian, a lithic culture associated with the Neanderthal populations that populated Europe between around 300,000 and 30,000 BC. What makes La Gane a truly precious site in the eyes of prehistorians is the stratigraphic superposition of its levels of occupation: the site bears witness both to occupation in the Middle Palaeolithic, marked by the characteristic Mousterian industry - scrapers, points, carefully retouched bifaces - and to continuity or a return to human occupation in the Upper Palaeolithic, a period associated with Homo sapiens and cultures such as the Aurignacian and Perigordian. This dual chronology makes it an invaluable observatory for understanding the transition between two humanities. A visit to the site - or to the accessible surrounding area - is an invitation to a form of geological as well as historical contemplation. The layers of sedimentary deposits that have sealed the traces of these distant occupants tell the story of thousands of years of climatic variations, flooding of the Dordogne and changes in the fauna. For the attentive visitor, each layer of rock face or soil is a page from an encyclopaedia written in flint and clay. The natural setting reinforces this timeless atmosphere. Groléjac, a modest village in the Céou valley, is surrounded by downy oaks, ochre limestone cliffs and Mediterranean-Atlantic vegetation, the species of which has hardly changed since the end of the Pleistocene. Whether you're an archaeology enthusiast, a deep-rooted history buff or just a walker in search of meaning, La Gane offers a rare experience: the vertigo of origins.
Architecture
The Gane deposit is not architectural in the conventional sense of the term, but its stratigraphic and topographical organisation is in itself a highly complex structure. The site probably takes the form of a rock shelter or a slope at the foot of a limestone cliff, typical of Perigord deposits formed in the crevices of the Coniacian and Campanian limestone that dominate the Céou valley and its tributaries. These soft limestones, easily eroded by run-off water and freeze-thaw cycles, naturally offer overhangs and niches ideal for human settlement. The stratigraphy of the deposit - its true underground architecture - comprises several distinct sedimentary layers, interspersed with clayey silts, limestone scree and lenses of ash or charcoal indicating former hearths. These superimposed layers, which can be several metres thick in comparable Périgord deposits, form the geological memory of the site. Each level corresponds to a phase of occupation or abandonment, punctuated by the climatic fluctuations of the Upper Pleistocene - alternating cold and temperate periods that radically transformed the surrounding fauna and vegetation. The archaeological materials collected - carved flint from Dordogne pebbles or local formations, bones of large mammals (reindeer, bison, horse, woolly mammoth), rare items of jewellery or pigment from the Upper Palaeolithic - give a negative impression of the living space of these remote communities. The probable orientation of the site, sheltered from the prevailing winds and exposed to the rising or meridian sun, reflects a deliberate and repeated choice by generations of hunter-gatherers perfectly adapted to their environment.
Related Figures
Édouard Lartet — paléontologue et préhistorien, pionnier des fouilles périgordines dans les années 1860, dont les travaux ont ouvert la voie à la reconnaissance de sites comme la GaneHenry Christy — ethnologue et mécène britannique, co-explorateur avec Lartet des gisements de la vallée de la DordogneDenis Peyrony — préhistorien périgourdin, fondateur du musée des Eyzies, qui contribua à l'inventaire et à la protection des gisements moustériens du Périgord dans la première moitié du XXe siècleFrançois Bordes — préhistorien bordelais du XXe siècle, spécialiste mondial du Moustérien, dont les travaux de classification des industries lithiques permettent d'interpréter les assemblages de sites comme la GaneLes groupes néandertaliens — occupants principaux du site au Paléolithique moyen, artisans de l'industrie moustérienne retrouvée dans les couches les plus profondes
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane located?
Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane is located in Groléjac, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
Is Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane open to visitors?
Gisement préhistorique moustérien de la Gane is currently closed to visitors.