Biology, pathology, and behaviours during the Gravettian: From skeletal remains to palaeoethnology – GRAVETT'OS

Bones and teeth curated in museums have been studied and high definition scans of these remains have been obtained. 3D models of the bones preserved in the Cussac cave were built from photographs taken in situ and measurements, recorded on «virtual fossils«, were taken. From the characteristics of the bones and the 3D images (microscanners or photogrammetry) we have been able to propose innovative approaches to try to re-associate the remains and identify individuals, for example by virtually «rearticulating« the bones. We have also developed statistical tools allowing the re-association of commingled bones according to their dimensions.
Once the bones were re-associated, the characteristics of the individuals have been determined: sex, age-at-death, stature and body mass. Robustness and asymmetry of the upper limbs were also computed to discuss the activities done. Finally, we captured the 3D cranial morphology of the subjects and compare it with those of fossils from other regions and periods.

The study involved more than 1200 bones or bone fragments and allowed the identification of 32 individuals from southwestern France. This particularly large sample was almost unknown, as was the case at the Cro-Magnon site where we were able to «reconstruct« the skeletons of 4 adults (including the «old man«) and 4 very young children (while only one was identified). The studies of these individuals have, for example, allowed us to highlight a probable sexual division of labor, with very intense physical activities for women. The analyses also show complex funerary behaviors, specific to the region: deposition of corpses (sometimes partial) on the surface, removal of skulls, mixing of bones from several individuals, and even dismemberment, skinning and defleshing.

The studies carried out allowed the identification of a very large number of individuals (32 subjects) for the region, the reliable attribution of bones to each of them as well as the determination of their main individual biological characteristics. Original results were obtained, allowing discussions on the health status of the subjects, their lifestyles and the mortuary practices in the region. The results concerning the biological affinities of the Mid Upper Paleolithic subjects of southwestern France remain very fragmentary but allow us to raise hypotheses concerning the relationships of the different European groups at this period. In the continuity of the work carried out, the different research tracks listed below appear interesting.
The first concerns the affinities between Upper Paleolithic groups. Paleogenomic data for France, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula are still extremely rare. It seems likely that in the next few years nuclear DNA extractions from mid Upper Paleolithic subjects will be successful for these regions. The analysis of the genetic data obtained would then provide a much more detailed understanding of the peopling of Europe and interactions between groups during the first half of the Upper Paleolithic.
The second line of research concerns the anthropological remains and the archaeological context of the Ligurian sites. Human remains dated (or supposedly dated) to the Mid Upper Paleolithic are extremely numerous in this region and a complete reanalysis of well-preserved skeletons is necessary. In addition, a precise description of isolated remains, poorly documented yet abundant, would be extremely useful. Coupled with a revaluation of the stratigraphy of the main sites of the Balzi Rossi, these anthropological analyses would indeed allow relevant comparisons with southwestern France and Moravia, both in terms of mortuary practices and in terms of biological characteristics.
The last line of research deals more specifically with the scattered human remains. An inventory of these scattered remains dated to the Mid Upper Paleolithic on a European scale, associated with a program of dating and biological studies, would offer the opportunity to discuss the extent of mortuary practices not corresponding to classical burials for the period. In particular, these studies would highlight possible regions that are truly poor in terms of human remains, and others where mortuary practices are more similar to those identified for southwestern France

Peer reviewed articles

Le Luyer et al. 2021. Mandible and teeth characterization of the Gravettian child from Gargas, France. BMSAP. In press.
Trinkaus et al. 2021. Disentangling Cro-Magnon: The Pedal Remains.? JASRep. Sous presse.
Trinkaus et al. 2021. Disentangling Cro-Magnon: The dental and alveolar remains. JASRep 37: 02911.
Mounier et al. 2020. Gravettian cranial morphology and human group affinities during the European Upper Palaeolithic. Sci Rep 10, 21931.
Kacki et al. 2020. Complex mortuary dynamics in the Upper Paleolithic of the decorated Grotte de Cussac. PNAS 117: 14851.
Guyomarc’h et al. 2020. New Biological Data on a Gravettian Humerus from the Cussac Cave. BMSAP 32 24-33.
Villotte et al. 2020. Disentangling Cro-Magnon: The Adult Upper Limb Skeleton. JASRep 33: 102475.
Partiot et al. 2020. The Cro-Magnon Babies: Morphology and Mortuary Implications of the Cro-Magnon Immature Remains. JASRep 30: 102257.
Santos, Villotte, 2019. Using quadratic discriminant analysis for osteometric pair-matching of long bone antimeres: An evaluation on modern and archaeological samples. IJO. 29: 1022-1033.
Trinkaus et al. 2019. External auditory exostoses among western Eurasian late Middle and Late Pleistocene humans. PLOS ONE 14(8): e0220464.
Villotte et al. 2019. Evidence for previously unknown mortuary practices in the Southwest of France (Fournol, Lot) during the Gravettian. JASRep, 2019, 27, 101959.
Peignaux et al. 2019. New anthropological data from Cussac Cave CR Palevol, 18:455-464.
Foucher et al. 2019. Les vestiges humains gravettiens de la grotte de Gargas, BSPF 116, 1.
Villotte. 2018. Unexpected Discovery of More Elements from the Prehistoric Immature Skeleton from Baousso da Torre. BMSAP. 30, 162–168.
Villotte, Balzeau. 2018. Que reste-t-il des Hommes de Cro-Magnon 150 ans après leur découverte?? BMSAP. 30, 146–152.
Villotte et al. 2018. Dental Abnormalities and Oral Pathology of the Pataud 1 Upper Paleolithic Human. BMSAP. 30, 153–161.
Thibeault, Villotte. 2018. Disentangling Cro-Magnon: A multiproxy approach to reassociate lower limb skeletal remains and to determine the biological profiles of the adult individuals. JASRep. 21 : 76–86.
Sparacello et al., 2017. Patterns of Humeral Asymmetry among Late Pleistocene Humans. CR Palevol. 16: 680-689.
Guyomarc’h et al. 2017. New data on the paleobiology of the Gravettian individual L2A from Cussac cave (Dordogne, France) through a virtual approach. JASRep, 16, 365-373.
Villotte et al. 2017. Paleobiology of the two adult skeletons from Baousso da Torre (Bausu da Ture) (Liguria, Italy): implications for our understanding of Gravettian lifestyle. CR Palevol 16: 462-473.
Jaubert et al. 2017. The chronology of human and animal presence in the decorated and sepulchral cave of Cussac (France), Quat Int 432 5-24.
Samsel et al. 2016. Réévaluation du sexe et de l'âge au décès du sujet azilien Le Peyrat 5, Saint-Rabier (Dordogne, France). BMSAP. 28: 213-220.

The European Upper Palaeolithic is a pivotal period in the history of humanity. Everything about the period supports the existence of highly complex societies based on profound changes in social relations that were not present in previous periods.
The GRAVETT’OS project aims to better understand these Upper Palaeolithic European populations and, in particular, the key Gravettian period, some 29 to 21,000 years ago, which is characterised by a cultural homogeneity encompassing the entirety of continental Europe that has prompted it to be called ‘the first pan-European culture’.
In France prior to the early years of the 21st century, these Gravettian populations were known only through skeletal material from the Abri Pataud and a few other fragmented and isolated bones found elsewhere. Since that time, reinterpretations of older excavations, new excavations, and new findings have combined to fill this gap in the archaeological record. This is thus a propitious time to study Gravettian human remains from France using innovative research methods at the forefront of palaeoanthropology, virtual archaeology, and conservation science that will promote better appreciation of the cultural heritage value of these remains. As part of this project human remains from four major sites from the Southwest of France, Cro-Magnon (Dordogne), Abri Pataud (Dordogne), Cussac (Dordogne) and Gargas (Hautes-Pyrénées), will be analysed using a standardized protocol.
This study will include innovative research focusing on in situ virtual analysis of fossil remains, the identification of individuals within bone assemblages, and exploration of sexual dimorphism during the Upper Palaeolithic.
The primary aim of the project is to enhance our understanding of the morphological variability of these Upper Palaeolithic populations. Analysis will also permit documentation of the behaviours and the lifestyles of these populations through the study of activity related skeletal morphologies and non-specific indicators of stress. The former reveals the types of physical activities practiced by individuals in the course of their lives, while the latter aids to identify stressful periods experienced in the course of growth and development. Equally, this project will consider funerary aspects associated with these remains, particularly the selection of individuals for inhumation (based on their age-at-death, sex, and pathological conditions, etc.) as well as potential familial relationships between individuals buried at the same site. Finally, morphological characteristics of the these Gravettian individuals from the Southwest of France will be compared with those of other samples dating from the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene to reveal biological affinities among groups that are geographically and chronologically distinct.