Habitat et mode de vie des chasseurs paléolithiques de la Caune de l'Arago (600 000-400 000 ans)

Several human occupations have been identified within the deposits of the Caune de l’Arago Cave site, dated from 700 000 years to 100 000 years old. The exceptional wealth of these archeological levels provides an opportunity for the study of different types of habitat and behavioral patterns of Paleolithic hunters between 600 000 and 400 000 years ago. Results from preliminary studies, carried out over the last 30 years on these archeological levels, allow for the proposition of a typology for cave habitats during the Middle Pleistocene in the south of France. In fact, four types of habitat were identified and defined. They have been described according to different characteristics such as, the thickness of the archeological accumulation, the animal species represented, the season during which the animals were hunted, the state of conservation of the fossils discovered, the morpho-technological and typological characteristics of the lithics, the categories of raw materials used and the territory exploited by the hominids inhabiting the cave, as defined by the raw materials represented. The four habitation types defined are: the long duration habitat, where the cave was used as a home base; the temporary seasonal habitat, in which case the cave served as a secondary campsite; the hunting stopover and the bivouac, during which the cave was used as a refuge for short term stays. Behavioral patterns appear to be directly related to the type of habitat and oriented towards a principal activity: hunting. The activities performed by the inhabitants of the cave seem to be more diversified during prolonged or seasonal occupations, whereas they appear to be reduced or very specialised during brief stays. Generally, The characteristics studied show that the Caune de l’Arago Cave site had multiple uses over time for Anteneandertalian family groups and hunters who left traces of their activities, allowing us to better understand their lifestyle.