The current project follows the previous excavation at the site by a local amateur in the mid-1900s. Our goals are to get more information that will allow us to understand better the context of the Neandertal infant who was presumably buried there and to investigate the hearths and their contents. Compared to other Neandertal sites, Roc de Marsal is unusual in having discrete fire features; analysis of these will help us better interpret Neandertal cultural behavior.
Where
Western Europe
When
80,000–40,000 BP
Researchers
Dr. Harold Dibble, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Shannon McPherron, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
Dr. Alain Turq, Musée Nationale de Préhistoire
Dr. Dennis Sandgathe, Simon Frasier University
Additional Sponsors
University of Pennsylvania
