LA GRO'l-rE nu VALLONNET: EVIDENCE OF EARLY
HOMINID ACTIVITY OR NATURAL PROCESSES'!
Carol White
Department of Archaeology, University of RelUling
Ii .
Intmductillll
A range of sites in Europe present dates that s u g:gc~t hominid activity cxtcU(Ji llg
back al lcasl onc, if not two million years (Hauifay (989). In Novemucr 1993 ,
an intcnmt ional workshop at the Centre Europeen de Recherches Prc liisloriqucs,
Tautavel, France, proposed a critical evaluation of the data presented for a
selection of European sites, claiming evidence of hominid activity prc-datillg the
Lower/Middle PlcislOccne trulIsilioll (Rocbrocks (994). La Grouc dll VilllOllnct,
loc alcli near the Mediterraneall on the F~cnch- Italiall horde r aud wit h a reputed
age of 900.000 years for homiuid activity, was discussed at the meeting. Iuracl,
lhe meeting at the CERP emphasized a need to re-examine the evidence llsed
to infer human activity. as many of these claimed sites are problematic
(Roebroeks 1994; Roebroeks & Kolfschoten 1994). During the 1994 season o f
excavation at La Groue du Vallonnet, the 'artefact' collection was made
availabie for viewing, and observatiolls were taken of the site from a contextual
perspective. This paper repOlts the results of those observations by the author.
. . . . ..........-"-""
"
'La GroUc <lu Vallonnct'
Fig. 1. pftm of La Gmlte (Ill Vallollel Jite (de Lwnley 1988, 389).
Between Monte Carlo and Menton, near the French-Italian border, La Grow.: du
Vallollllet is situated approximately I km from the coast at an altitude of Il{)
m OD (de Lumley 1988a, 389).
Overlooking Menton Bay, on fenced, overgrown woodland, the site
extends appmximately olle square kilometre on a steep gradient. It is accessible
only from a public footpath and a metal staircase that descends a sheer
emhankment. The cave, at the hase of the slope, is a bladder-like funnel within
the Uppe r Jurassic calcareous cornice. It underlies a palaeocliff of Roquehrune
Miocene conglomerate or 'puddingstoue', that forms a significallt feature of the
sile (sce Figs [ and 2).
A slre.un 'Le Vallollnel', flows along the lowest part of the property,
about 3 III from the entrance of the C,lVe, and floods the cave during the winter
senson. Due to the position of the cave, with 11 north-south ol"ientntion (de
Lumley 1988a, 388) almost facing magnetic north, und within a heavily shaded
hovel of the river valley, there is little direct sunlight, and lamplighting is
required for excavation at ally time of the day throughout the yeal".
T he cave is cntercd by a narrow vcstihule of approximately 5 III in length
and only 1.5 m in width. Considcmblc sculpturiug and pitting of the wall
surfaces due to marine action is apparent when entering the chamber, which is
a slllall cavern of 5 ml. The back of the cave is mmkcd by the present limit of
Fig. 2. Section of the site .~/wl\ii1jg the Limestolle, the RoqllebrlllU! Miocefle
Conglomerate t:apping, and the gnuliellt of the site.
70
71
nOm
12{) III
110
III
,
,
tOm
20m
30m
CarQI White
exeavlltion, anti an archaeologicnl 'cut' where visibly mi xed sediments continue
flll1her back inlO the Jurassic Limestone. At the renr of the cave, an aven or
'chimney' has been located, and is currently an area of excllvation. T he chimney
"ppears to extend LIp to the ground surface, undcrncath the palaeocliff of
Roquebnme Miocene conglomerate.
Sl mlignlphy
De Lnmky ( 1988b, 407) nmilltains Ihat tive stratigraphic tlllits demollstr:lte the
inlil l of La Groue du VlIlI0l111eL According to de Lumley, Ullit 1 at the bw>c of
the sequence consists of fallen limcstoHc blocks and the first of two fl owstones,
located along the leuglh of the vestihule. Unit 2 is cllIimed to contain evidellce
(lf marine action, with (Ieposits of silt trapped in crevices created by wavc
movement.
Of the fi ve stmtigraphic units, de Lumley has associalCd the deJlosition of
lIlI arclmeological and palaeontological matt:rial to 'Unit 3', consisting of clay,
fine sill and s:lIld deposits that include fauna attrihuted to the Final
Villafrullehiau, as well as modified pebbles that have been claimed liS a pe bble
tool industry. Unit 4 is rclmed to the formation of Ihe second nOwstollc, which
according to de LUlllley, caused the closure of the cave. Unit 5 consists of clay
sediment deposited thro ughout the rell1ainder of the Quatemary.
However, the author found it difficult to relate the published stratig mphy
to the actual deposits, and observed no variation between the sedime nls at the
lOp of thc unexc:lVated section at the fear of the cave, llnd those within the areas
undcr prcsent excavation. The character of the sediments vary slightly within the
vestibule and chamber, but could generally be describe d as compact sandy/clay,
with increased compression towards the walls. Large boulders have been
expo sed hy excavation, lInd cover the majority of the chamber noor surface. but
unlike the walls, few show evide nce of marine action, suggesting a major rooffall after the final retreat of the sea.
The aUlhor also noted that the bone material recovered frolll the recent
excavations is gellerJ.lIy in a very fmgile condition, suggesting transport and
deposition by waternow. There arc high dcnsity pockets of bone in obstruction
areas. 'nlese are exclusively disarticulated bones, with a high frequency of
breakage. Furthcrmore, the range of faunal remains include both final ancl postVillafranchiilll fauna (Molllle 1992). 111e frequency ofpost-Villafrdllchian in this
collection doe:-l pose the question why there should be such a wide range of
species fmm more rt.-cent periods if the cave was closed as is claimed, after the
second flowstone (de Lllmley 1988b, 408).
Cl"iteria for distinguishing ualurdlly mudified lithic IJieccs from nrlcradual
cyidence
l.a Crolte
till
discussed throughout world archaeology for well o ver a celJtury, ami
consequeutly, it is possible to aiJstract from an extens ive literary source, the
following criteria as esscntial for idellt ifying humanly mod ified material :
I. 'nlcce must be evidencc of recurrent technological actions, such as,
a) Clearly del1ned features of rcmoval (lIonles 196 1; 5, IlIiz:1II er
(d. 1992, 7).
b) Ih:currcnt fhlking pattcrns within assemblages (Lc:lkey 1953,7).
c) Repeatct1 fmlllS that could be stated as ind ieat ivc of at least
leamt behaviours, if not lllso plmming and iUlcl ligellce, in ehoicc of
fUllctional style and/or material (Uaslllussen-Jo ncs 1978,835-836;
Totl! 1985, 11 4; WynJl 1993,3 10).
2. There should be 'no question' of natural processes heill£ Ilu) pO\elltilll
cause of llIodiJicatioll.
Lithic objccls claimc,1 to be evidence of hOlllinid ucii ... ity
The first Jlublished account of La Grotte du Vallonnel (Pascal 1959) records lite
discovery of a small selection of bone fragmcnts and teeth, which included bumt
bone within an cntnmce test-pit, und bone fm gments derived from thc stream
(PlISCal 1959. 945). From this, it was suggested that at sollle time in lIlLtiqllity,
the eave had been used as n hominid refuge. The first details of artefactual
evidence for hominid activity within the cave (de Lumley et at. 1963) referred
to a ~ m~ul group of lithics which were stated to be 'indisputubly cutting objects',
alld Ulcluded five modified pe bbles and four fl akes (de Lllmley er at. 1963, 1214). These appear in subsClluent publications. Of the fi ve modified pebbles,
Number 850 (Fig. 3) is a well-known piece and describetl liS a 'galet a
enlevcllIent unique en bout' (de Lumley et al. 1963, 12: 'a IlCbhlc with a single
cnd removal'). The tnlLtcrial is of quartz sandstone. and idellticaito pebbles from
the Roquebrulle Miocclle cong lomerate. The angle of Ihe n ake detachment and
size of flake cannot be fully appreciated unless viewed from the side. ri'UlIl this
l)Crsl)Cctive (rig. 4) it can be seen that the fracture orig inates from the other side
of the pebble and not its edge.
Another piece recorded by de Lumley in 1963 is Num ber 116 12 (de
Lumley et al. 1963), described in catalogue labelling as, 'choppe t· a boed
tranchant convexe' (de Lumley et al. 1988.529: 'chopper with a convex: cutting
edge'). The publication describes a complex fluke removal se'lucllce that shows
five removals. of which two arc claimed to be retouch, but this dCSl:ription is
hard to equate with the actulIl object. 011 observation the piece seculs to be
identical to pe bbles with multiple fractures f{lund within the ROlluehcune
conglomerate.
Distinguishing modified pieces fro m those worked by hominids has lx:ell
72
VulllJlwt
73
Carol
\vhit~
La Groftt': du Vallollet
.. _....
Fig. 3. Number 850, 'pebble witli a single
end removal'. (flfler de Llllnley et al. 1963).
Fig. 4. Sitle view of 850
(drawn by the (/uthor).
Throughout subsequent publications, over 70 lithic objects have beeu recorded
(de LumJey et al. 1988,502), Illore than a quarter modified by 'u single flake
removal' (sec Table I). Examples of other 'artefacts' from the collectioll arc as
follows: - Number 6678, 'a nake with a totally cortical surface Jacking a butt',
or, Number 6985, 'a pebble with multiple single convex removals'. At best,
these do not represent anything beyond the initial stages of primary reduction.
At worst, they clearly lack :my tangible signs of hominid technological
processes. As such they do Ilot meet the first requirement of the criteria
necessary to identify delibcrately flaked tools (as above).
Allhough intcrprt:tations of all 'undeveloped stone tool industry' of 'choppe rs,
chopping- tools, aud flakcs' by de Lllmley is perpetuated, it is difficult to
ascertain from viewing the artefact collection and observing the lack of a clear
artefact assessment policy (as above), exactly what criteria arc applied when
assessing the lithic material.
T he initi,d interpretation of La Grone du Vallolluct as an early hOlHiuid
site (de Lumley et al. 1963), is derived from work relating 10 the Moroccan
Palacolilhic (Bibersoll 1962). Using the same references ami terlllinology as
Biberso n, and making comparisons with his phutographs and illustrations of
fl aking sequences from the 'pehble c ulture' of Ati:mtic Morocco (Bibe rsoll
1961), de Lmnley linked the 'evidence' fmlll La GroUe elu VallouJlct with Lc
Saletien (de Lumley et al. 1%3, 18). However, the ohjects frum La GroUe du
Vallonnet collection arc gellcrally of single flake rellloval, and therefore. Ilulike
those from Le Saletien. It becomes evident, on ohserving the objects frolll La
Grottc dll Vallonuet at close hand, that Ulese pieces have been selected fmill a
mass of mixed pebbles and bOlles, with 110 apparent criteria, other than they
vaguely fc:scmblc artefacts.
In general, it can be stated that the objects from La groUe du Vallolluel
artefact collection display only primary removals. T here am no acceptable
repealed forms throughout Ule collection, no regularity of sequence or direction,
no traces of preparatioll, alld no discernible choices of functional style or
material. TillS is elltirely characteristic of what would be expected within a
collection of natumlly modified ohjects.
The UOIluebrune Miocl:uC CtllIglomcratc or 'lluddiugstollc'
TalJle I. Recorded lithic objects from La Grotte du Vaf/onllet (after de l.ulI//cy
1988, 502).
La Grouc du Vallollnet is within a converged Jurassic dolomit ic limestone
massif that underlies a Tertiary formation-a cap of RO(juehrunc Mioccne
conglomemte-and Quatcrnary screc (Chamagnc 1988,40 1).
from above Cap Martin, water filters through the limestollc, c irculates
down fissures that arc constantly enlarged by dissolution, ami rejoins the sea in
Cabbe Day through underground chauuels (Chamagnc 1988, 402), found as fresh
water o utlets within the sea.
Rising up from the limestone promontory of Cap-Martin, the cornicc of
RoqucbfUlle is of gcological significancc for the marine sCllimcIltary sequence
of sandstone and limestone couglolllcrute. Known as 'puddingstolle', the
conglomerute is a sedimentary marine deposit which formed :U"llHnd 13- 15
millioll years ago, during a transgress jon eVCllt of the Mediterranean (Gouvemet
et al. 1979,30).
The aggregation of sands, clays, and pebbles, were compacted by
overlying deposits. Calcium carbonate-rich water from the undcrlying limestone
caused 'cementation' of these deposits to form the R()(IUebrune Miocelte
conglolllemtc (Challlilgue 1988, 404). Natural fmcturing of the pe hbles witllin
the RoqueiJrune conglomerate would have occurred throughout deposition Hud
74
75
Pehhles with isolated convex removal
Pebbles with isolated concave removal
Choppers
Chopping-tools
Pebbles fractured with irrcgular retouch
Pebhle debris with nake removal
Pebbles fractured by percussion
Cores
Flakes
[,lakes with continnous relOueh
13
18
4
6
4
16
1
2
24
2
C .. rol Wh ile
cOlllpactioll, as the sand around the pebbles was consolidated. Tectonic mId
custatic movemcnt in the afca (jbid 1988, 401), are likely to have further
augmented compression fmclUring of these marine deposits.
During the 1994 excavation season at La Grolte du Vallonnel, Manuci
Cortina, a research student from the Paris Institute, studied the force and angle
requi red for flake removal during natural ffacturilLg, alld selected the
Roquebrune conglomcrate for examination of various types and shallCS o f scars,
to detect d ifferences between a range of fractures.
The choice of pebhles from Ihe conglomerate was ap propriate. as it is
known that all modification was accluiced during the Miocene, around thirteen
million years ago and there fore, the result of nutuml pnlcesses.
As pt!bbles were exlmcled from a I m1 lesl sCluarc on the exposed face of
Ihe Miocene ' puddillgstonc' deposit, ooth COrliuu .lIld the author observed that
many were single flake re movals, occa~ionally mulliple, but nil wilh a slrikillg
resemblance to 'arter:lcts' previollsly viewed by Ihe author, of similar raw
material and modification paUem to those from within the cave,
When considering La Grotle du Vallonnel arle fact collection, il was clear
Ihut not only did objects from the collection not meet the criteria for e vidence
of tcchnological actions, but ill addition, the location dcmouslmled a potcntiul
source for naturally modified pcbbles. Furthermore the fOl'lnalion of the chimney
at the back of the cave provides a possible route by which natumlly modified
IlCbbles could be introduced into the cave. In this resllCctthe site does 1I0t meet
the second o f the two criteria fur idenlifying humanly struck artefacts that were
descri bed above.
Clearly, pieces collected from the site cannot be examined in isolation and
nced 10 be viewed from a contcxtual perspective. Finding a few amorpilie lithic
pieces within an early fau nal assemblage at an isolated site does notlleccssarily
denote the (lCt:sellce uf hominids.
La GrtJlle
dll
Hordes,!'. 196 1. Typol08i. du P,,/iv/illlique. 1>Ul.>licaliolls (le nll~lilUllle Pr~hi~l .. i,c de I' Univ~,~iIC
de 1I000!o:;\lu.
C ham"g'l(!. U. 1988. E"viro" "",,,1 "wlugiql1C oIe l.a Grot IC dll vallu""" t (ItOlI'lC luu,1(! C~p-Ma'l in ).
I , 'Alllhrupolugie 92. 399-406.
Gag" ;"" 'e , S. 1962. La Grone tlu Valluu"c t. Gu/lw l'r~hi>lOir<l 4 ( 19tH J, ltif<II",uliu/Il' Arclleu/vlliquu.
Ci ,umsc ripliu Il d·A il ell l'mveHC':, 384.
Gouverucl, C., Gnio;u, G., and RUlI ssc t, C. 1979. PI "~III!<'II: Guidu (illl,logi'lueJ /(egiuIUJIIX. Masmn,
\'a.i•.
l"izaJl. MJ ." Roe he, 11., un" Tilier, S., 1992. '/i:c/'fJu/ogy of Kllul'I""1I 3'IVI'e, CoN.KS .. Mc",lu'"
L.:akey, L S.1l. 1953. Ar/"m'l Allc~J/QrJ. Met!.eu" ~1I" Cu.I..o"dull.
1.lIlllley, 11. dc., G"Cllic hl, S., Bmr.d, L. alld I'ascal, It 1963. La Grolle tin VaJlo.UIlCt. ROo lU"b,ullc
C~i>-M~'l in (A.-M .). 1I"1I~li,, <lu Amhwl",logie l'dhiMvire ,le M lI/lQco, 5-20.
I.w"lcy, H. tt.:. 1 988~. La Grot IC du VallululCt. (! (I(I"chll,,1(! CUII· M.ulin, (A. -M .). L' Anllll"I'"logie
92,3111-391.
11. tic. 1988b.
92. 40'/-428.
l.u ll ,l~y.
La slruligr"l'loie tlu u:UlI1Iissal>" lie la Grotto:
614.
1992. Lu Grolltl M (UIUll if",u du 1'/~iJ/"",,"e "ife~i"r ,le 1.iJ (;mllll ./11 VIII/"'UlIII
(HuqUi!l)/'UIIII Cap·Murli", Alpu-AlIITWmeJ. Uupnb. I'h.D. thesis. 1".lilU l dc I'J,is.
l'a.>ca l. R. 1959. ('''''G'u J 'dIti5l""iqu~ de FmllCII. COlllple ,~"'/" d~ IfI XVI JIIni,.". C.N,\t.S., I'.,ris,
943-948.
Joncs,I'.R. 19'18. liffcd~ of ruw nJaI~ rials on bifac" " ulluf;tClure. Sciellce 204, 835-1136.
Rool.>rods. W. 1994. UIKlalinll thc c;u-licSI oceul"'liou of Emut"" Clifft ill AIII/"'uJXI/ogy 35, 301 -J05.
l{oc:brooks. W. I."d Kotfsc"OIcn, T. van . 1994. '!lle earliest O<,:cI( paliO'1(If EulOl'c: a sho,t dlWtlUlul>Y.
.
Allliqllj,y 68.
TOIh, N. 1985.
W)'IlU,
489-503.
The Oltluw lI,n h~~: a close look at
ArcJwluWgicll/ SeillICII 12, 101-120.
T. 1993. Two tlcvelUJU IlCll15 in Ihe
ArdllUlOlogy 12,2')9..322.
mind
Uef'erclIccs
1961.
Atl;lIItiqm:. /'rll!liJwire lIu M"roc. Scn-icc des
tin MalOC, FIISC. 16-1'1, 83-90.
lIibeU0I1, I'. 1%2. L' evolution tlu JlaJ ~olithi(lue Mi.UUCain ,j~n3 le ewe till 1' lciMoccne Aliauliquo.:.
QUnl~mi.. 6, 177_ 190.
lIoll ifb)" E. 1989. Un site do lrds ancien l'al~olilhi,,1lC tie I)lll~ de 2 ~b. tlalls le MIISsi f Ceflt~1
f'.:Ul\'ais: Saint-El"" Le COU pel ( Ibule- Loire). C.R. Ac/UI. Sei .. 1'0"'11 JOB, serie 1[, 1567- 1570.
Le 1'~Ic!o l ithi( llIe illfcricllr till Maroc
A llti'luili~ s
76
VaU" ""el. I. '''",III'O I'''/''ltill
Moultc, 1'.1'"
T he evidence for human activity at La Grotte du Vallullnct would appear 10 be
based on a selection of mcxlified li thic objects, thal when examincd. demonstrate
a re markable similarity to those from an overlying layer of Miocene
conglolllefil te or 'puddingstolle' containing pebbles with natural fractures. that
were IUlmistakably produced millions of years before Ihe fi rst
Auslmlollilllccilles.
I'.
du
l.u,,,I,,y. 11. de .. I'ou",lcr. A.. K'-""I'k"w":~. J_ I.nd E" " a,,suuK, A. 1988. L·i ..,lu"r;e 11" I.... i"'""e,,,,
iufcriurde LaGroll;: UU V~ lIolUlc:t, R(I(llk:b, Ullc: Cap-M u,t i" (A .- M.). I.'AuI/If"I"'/ogie 92. 501 -
CUllclusiou
Ili OCI'SUU,
Val/mlel
77
of
ally
early
lIo ll1ou.
stooo ,.,1ifacts. l OIl",,,1 of
luur/ud
0/ AlullrolJ(}/og/ca/