Solutré: Dig of a paleolithic site

by Eliott Maintigneux

In the small village of Solutré-Pouilly, archeologists from the Inrap centre have lead a preventive archeological search from Octobre 2015 to April 2016. The mineral deposit, remarkably well preserved, reveals the presence of hunters from the middle of the Magdalenian period (17000-14000 years ago). The materials contain several tens of thousands of remains of fauna (horse, reindeer, bison, fox, hare, …) and scraps the size of silex and tools (scrapers, burins, bladelets, …). The collection of bone tools, including hundreds of objects made of bone, reindeer wood and ivory (eyed needles, assegai blades, perforated batons, scraps,…), as well as a series of elements of finery (perforated shells, pearls, …), speak to the wealth of this site.

Watch the film