The site of Les Auzières 2 (Méthamis, Vaucluse) was excavated from 2001 to 2005. It yielded an original and diverse fauna, unique in southeastern France (Provence). The spectrum of large mammals comprises 14 species including hyena, horse, ibex, woolly rhinoceros, giant deer and mammoth. Lithic artifacts are rare but testify to the presence of a Mousterian industry. All of these remains derive from layers that have been dated to 60 ± 10 ka by ESR/U-series method. Les Auzières 2 is of special importance for examining the issue of human/carnivore interaction in the Pleistocene since it has yielded a large assemblage of carnivore remains, and probably represents a hyena den. The diverse fauna offers a more comprehensive picture of Upper Pleistocene biodiversity in southeastern France than that usually provided by sites with a stronger anthropogenic signal.
Fouillé de 2001 à 2005, le site des Auzières 2 (Méthamis, Vaucluse) a livré une faune unique et originale pour le Sud-Est de la France (Provence). Celle-ci est composée de 14 espèces de grands mammifères, dont l’hyène des cavernes, le cheval, le rhinocéros laineux, le mégacéros ou encore le mammouth. L’ensemble de ces vestiges provient de niveaux datés de 60 ± 10 ka par les méthodes combinées de l’ESR et des séries de l’uranium. La présence de rares artéfacts lithiques de manufacture moustérienne atteste la présence de groupes humains non loin du site. L’accès à une faune aussi variée permet d’offrir une meilleure image de la biodiversité au Pléistocène supérieur en Provence que ce que ne permettent les sites plus anthropisés. Les Auzières 2 est aussi une importante contribution à la problématique des interactions hommes/carnivores au Pléistocène.
During these last decades, a strict methodology for the study of taphonomic processes has been developed, allowing a better understanding of the origins of bone accumulations and site formation processes
The Auzières 2 site was first mentioned following a test pit excavated in 1980 by Livache and Paccard
The Auzières 2 is located near the village of Méthamis (Vaucluse), at the outlet of the upper Nesque Gorges (
The Auzières 2 cavity was the only one of the three small, adjoining caves nearly filled by sediments, almost up to the roof, which was preserved at the back of the cave. The roof in the front of the cave was missing, possibly collapsed, but the sediments in the area lay in an open-air talus covered by the Mediterranean forest and a thick soil layer. Since our excavation never reached bedrock, we do not know the exact thickness of the sedimentary sequence. It is at least 4 m thick, since we reached this level from our reference plane that fitted, almost perfectly, the original ground level before the excavation.
The Pleistocene deposits themselves are at least three meters thick, since the present-day soil is about 1 m thick. The current stratigraphy comprises seven main layers called Ca for the present-day soil down to Cf for the deepest one. This latter layer was divided into three sub-layers Cf1, Cf2 and Cf3. A seventh layer, C1 was identified at the top of the filling and was present only under the cave vault (
The formation of the different layers could result from two distinctive depositional processes: frost shattering and fluvial sedimentation. The presence of limestone clasts in the layers probably results from frost shattering of the cave walls during glacial time. For instance, the Bau de l’Aubesier rock-shelter located at the inlet of the Nesque Gorges, exhibits evidence for a strong episode of destruction during the last glacial period
The stratigraphy, as well as studies of grain size and micromorphology of the fine sediments, shows their fluvial origin (laminated layers, good sorting and porosity). During flood events, the Nesque River could have deposited the sediments inside the cave. The large percentage of clay particles in the layers Cf3, Cf2, and Cf1 testifies to a low-energy (deposition) environment. In contrast, the laminations of the sandy layers Ce and Cb indicate a high-energy (deposition) environment. The granulometry of the Cc and Cd layers attests to an intermediate energy depositional environment. We interpret this heterogeneity in the alluvial sediment granulometry (from clay to sand) as the result of variability in the time taken for deposition of the hydrodynamic (transport and deposition) conditions. In addition, the presence of iron oxides, which could be derived from Tertiary formations, is a further clue to support the hypothesis that this sequence is mainly fluvial in origin.
In order to precise the chronological timing of the infilling, several dating methods have been used. Several speleothem fragments recovered in secondary depositional location in layers Cf and C1 have been dated by the 230Th-234U-238U systematics U-series
Additionally, three horse teeth recovered from layers Cf1 and Cf2 were dated by ESR/U-series method
All the specimens come from layer Cf. Despite the small number of identified remains (NISP = 173) and an apparent poverty in richness (Richness index = 3.861), the taxonomic composition of the Auzières 2 assemblage is very diverse (Shannon index = 3.479,
The wooly rhinoceros, the mammoth are the only representative species of fresh fauna. The woolly rhinoceros and the woolly mammoth correspond to a much more open environment and are particularly associated with cold meadows which predominated during episodes of climatic fluctuations. In this list of cold fauna, only the reindeer (
The horse, which characterizes a cool, steppe environment, has the same evolutionary stage than the horse found in the Baume des Peyrards (
The presence of cliff dwelling species like ibex and chamois remind us of the presence of numerous rocky escarpments in the vicinity of the Nesque valley. The ibex was abundant in assemblages from Baume des Peyrards
The presence of the Alpine Chough (
The sieving and the sorting of sediments resulting from levels Cf1, Cf2 and Cf3 facilitated the recovery of remains of micromammals. Like the large vertebrates, these assemblages are not very large or rich, but they are relatively diverse (
The presence of thermophile species like the Horseshoe bat (
This micromammalian assemblage is composed of species which are common today. Thus, layers Cf1 to Cf3 of the Auzières 2 could date to a temperate phase of the Upper Pleistocene, but no greater precision is possible because of the paucity of the faunal material. On the other hand, no evidence for climatic variation has been found in the deposits.
Flint artifacts are very sparse in the lower levels where only twenty-four pieces were found. Even if limited, this lithic assemblage contains interesting data (
Without entering into the details of the taphonomic study that will be developed in a forthcoming work, several points can be noted in the Auzières 2 assemblage. Firstly, the faunal assemblage shows a high proportion of carnivores to ungulates: hyenas comprise 21.4% and other carnivores (lynx, fox, wild cat and bear), 15.6% of the total ungulate + carnivore NISP. If MNI's are considered, the carnivores represent 38% of the same ratio. In hyena dens, the frequency of carnivores is at least 20% of the total carnivore + ungulate MNI, in contrast to less than 10% in anthropogenic assemblages
The spotted hyena, represented only by adults and old individuals, is the most abundant carnivore in Auzières 2 with skull remains (lower and upper isolated teeth) and foot extremities (carpals, tarsals, metapodials, phalanges) the dominant anatomical parts. This anatomical representation is frequently encountered in Pleistocene hyena dens like Plumettes
Besides the hyena remains in the site, the bone assemblage contains many digested teeth (ibex, horse, mammoth). Some bones and splinters also exhibit carnivore damage, in the form of gnaw marks or tooth pits. No cut marks made by stone tools were found on any of the bones in this assemblage. A lower molar of a rabbit, still in the corpus of a mandible, shows evidence for digestion of this complete element by a bird of prey.
Thus, these features plead in favor of the spotted hyena as the main collector of the herbivores through the acquisition of prey by hunting or scavenging
Large and small mammals are unevenly represented in archaeological levels Cf1 to Cf3 of Auzières 2 cave. Despite the rarity of small mammals, mammalian diversity observed in level Cf2 allowed us to develop a cenogram, which is a graphic representation of the rank-species distribution of non-volant mammal species within an ecologically cohesive fauna
The Auzières 2 cenogram of Cf2 can be interpreted in terms of environment (
There is a strong evidence for interpreting the Auzières 2 cave as a natural site, a hyena den, with little anthropogenic involvement. The spotted hyena is an opportunist predator that usually did not hunt selectively
The species richness makes the site of Auzières 2 of special interest from a palaeontological, biochronological and paleoenvironmental point of view, for it offers a new and unique perspective on Pleistocene biodiversity in Provence, for the time period posterior to the Bau de l’Aubesier
Finally, it is not rare to meet flint tools series in natural sites, like carnivore dens
Excavations at Les Auzières 2 have been funded by the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC PACA) and the service de l’archéologie du Conseil général de Vaucluse. We thank F. Garié, M. Paccard, la Mairie de Méthamis and le Groupe archéologique de Carpentras et de sa région for their support. P.D. is grateful to Dr. B. Ghaleb for analytical assistance with TIMS measurements at the GEOTOP. Special thanks to C. Beauval, J.-E. Brochier, J.-P. Brugal, M. Coutureau, A. Fournier, D. Helmer, I. Jourdan, L.K. Horwitz and M. Livache, for their insightful comments.
Location of the Auzières 2 and some archaeological sites in western Provence (France).
Fig. 1. Localisation du site des Auzières 2 et de quelques sites archéologiques en Provence occidentale (France).
Synthetic stratigraphic section through the long axis of the cave.
Fig. 2. Coupe stratigraphique synthétique suivant l’axe principal de la grotte.
Lithic tools from the Auzières 2.
Fig. 3. Industrie lithique des Auzières 2.
Cenogram plot of the Auzières 2 (layer cf2) fauna.
Fig. 4. Cénogramme de la faune des Auzières 2 (niveau Cf2).
Palaeodoses, Uranium uptake (
Tableau 1 Paléodoses, paramètres (
A k-factor (alpha efficiency) of 0.13 ± 0.02 was used following Grün and Schwarcz
The gamma dose rate was measured in situ with TL CaSO4 dosimeters. The cosmic dose was calculated from the data of Prescott and Hutton
Distribution of large mammals in Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) for Les Auzières 2. In bracket: number of remains identified in the first test-pit in 1983.
Tableau 2 Distribution des grands mammifères en Nombre de spécimens identifiés (NISP) et Nombre minimum d’individus (MNI) pour les Auzières 2. Entre parenthèses: nombre de restes déterminés à partir du premier sondage en 1983.
Micromammal distribution in Minimum Numbers of Individuals (MNI's) for the three Cf layers at Auzières 2.
Tableau 3 Distribution des micromammifères, en Nombre Minimum d’Individus (MNI) pour les trois niveaux Cf des Auzières 2.