La Ferrassie

A rock shelter in the Dordogne, southwest France, with Middle Palaeolithic material and burials of several Neanderthal. Occupation began in the Mousterian period, to which belong two Neanderthal adults and five children, buried in shallow trenches. There are several layers of 'Ferrassie', a subdivision of the Charentian Mousterian tradition, with Levallois flaking. There is a long series of Upper Palaeolithic levels, including Châtelperonian, Aurignacian, and finally a thin Gravettian level. The stratification has contributed to an understanding of the Upper Palaeolithic sequence in France.

A rock shelter in the Dordogne, southwest France. It has a long series of deposits from Mousterian at the base, including several layers of ‘Ferrassie’ type or Charentian with Levallois flaking, through a long series of Upper Palaeolithic levels. These are Perigordian I, Aurig-nacian I to IV, and later Perigordian (with Font Robert points and with truncated elements). The most famous feature is the Neanderthal burials found from 1909 onwards. These comprise an adult male and female of classic Neanderthal type, and some five younger individuals including two newborns. One child was buried under a slab with apparently deliberately carved cup marks on its surface. Another child was buried below one of a series of nine small mounds.