Abstract

The question of the coexistence and potential interaction between the last Neanderthal and the earliest intrusive populations of anatomically modern humans in Europe has recently emerged as a topic of lively debate in the archaeological and anthropological literature. Here we report the results of radiocarbon accelerator dating for what has been reported as an interstratified sequence of late Neanderthal and early anatomically modern occupations at the French type-site of the Chatelperronian, the Grotte des Fées de Châtelperron, in east-central France. The radiocarbon measurements seem to provide the earliest secure dates for the presence of Aurignacian technology—and from this, we infer the presence of anatomically modern human populations—in France.

1. Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
2. Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3QJ, UK

Correspondence to: Paul Mellars¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.M. (Email: pam59@cam.ac.uk).

Received 14 December 2004; Accepted 6 July 2005

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