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HYPEROSTOSIS FRONTALIS INTERNA IN A NEANDERTAL FROM MARILLAC
(CHARENTE, FRANCE)

María Dolores GARRALDA<sup>a, b*</sup>, Bruno MAUREILLE<sup>b</sup>, Bernard VANDERMEERSCH<sup>b</sup>

E-mail address: mdgarral@bio.ucm.es

A B S T R A C T

The site of Marillac ("Les Pradelles") is situated on the right bank of the Ligonne river, at Marillac-le-Franc (Charente, France). A very important stratigraphic sequence has yielded a great deal of archaeological information, numerous palaeoenvironmental data, as well as faunal and human remains. Marillac must have been a shelter used by Neandertal groups for the processing of hunted animals during the MIS 4, and the Quina Mousterian techno-complex predominates. Numerous fragmented and incomplete human remains have been found, mixed in with implements and faunal remains. The detailed study of one of the cranial fragments, Marillac 3, has been able to identify grade 2 HFI in this fossil, altering the internal table of the frontal bone and the diploë structure. This pathology has been analysed macroscopically, and also with radiography and sections made with a microscanner. The development of the HFI is compared with the evidence published about a *H. erectus* individual, Sangiran 3, and above all with another two Neandertal fossils (Forbes' Quarry and Shanidar 5). The former of these seems to display more advanced HFI than either the Iraqi fossil or Marillac 3. The three Neandertals may be considered mature individuals (>40 years) and it seems likely that the etiology of this pathology may be due to hormonal alterations, as has been suggested for modern populations.

Keywords: Pleistocene, Hominin, Europe, Middle Palaeolithic, France Neandertal, Palaeopathology, *Hyperostosis frontalis interna*

<footnote><sup>a</sup> U. D. de Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain</footnote>

<footnote><sup>b</sup> UMR PACEA, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, Université de Bordeaux, avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence cedex, France</footnote>

<footnote>* Corresponding author.</footnote>
**Introduction**

The site of Marillac, also known as “Les Pradelles” (David, 1934 Vandermeersch, 1971; Maureille, 2003; Debénath, 2009), is located near the village of Marillac-le-Franc (5km east of La Rochefoucauld), in the Département de la Charente (SW France), near a rivulet called La Ligonne, a tributary on the right bank of the Tardoire (Figure 1). The karst system it belongs to has been dramatically altered, and long in the past the ancient caves collapsed to form a large depression, on the top of a hill, about 20m long, and 11m wide, with a depth of about 7.5m.

Known since the late 19th century (Vincent, 1898), the site has had an eventful history. During P. David's fieldwork in 1933-34, the first Mousterian tools were found, together with the remains of reindeer and the fragment of a human mandible (David, 1935). Later, the site remained totally or partially abandoned, apart from a scientific visit by A. Ragout and L. Balout, and the publication of a paper on the evolution of the deposit, and the archaeological and faunal finds made by the same scholars (Ragout and Balout, 1942). Unfortunately, the depression formed by the site was later used a rubbish tip by the local inhabitants in the area, and only a few scientific references recalled its importance. Among these we can cite the brief notes made by J. Piveteau on the mandible fragments found by P. David (Piveteau, 1951, 1957, 1965).

In 1967, Bernard Vandermeersch began a long and fructiferous series of excavations which he supervised until 1980. The data obtained showed that the site had become a wide shaft in the first half of the Würm, and then was steadily and rapidly infilled by the collapse of roof and walls. Eighteen lithological strata and sixteen archaeological levels were identified, all containing Mousterian material and numerous faunal remains (especially in the levels at the base of the stratigraphy). Of outstanding importance are Levels 9 and 10, with Quina Mousterian (Meignen and Vandermeersch, 1986; Meignen, 1988; Bourguignon 1996, 1997), abundant cold-climate fauna, especially reindeer, horse and bison, and a large number of human remains (Vandermeersch, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1976a, 1976b, 1978, 1980, 1986).

A multi-disciplinary team began a new series of excavations in 2001, under the supervision of B. Maureille and A. Mann (Princeton University). The studies published to date (Maureille, 2003; Maureille *et al.*, 2004; Costamagno *et al.*, 2005, 2006) have succeeded
in correlating the levels identified by B. Vandermeersch with eight sedimentary facies. In addition, the taphonomic analysis has shown that the upper levels (Vandermeersch's archaeological Levels 5 to 3; Maureille *et al.*'s lithofacies 5) only contain evidence of an occupation by animals, whereas Levels 9 and 10 (lithofacies 2b and 2a) had an anthropic origin. In contrast, it is more difficult to calculate (estimate? Deduce?) the human-animal interaction in the origin of the series formed by Levels 6 to 8 (lithofacies 4).

The study of the lithic technology and the archaeozoological remains in Levels 9 and 10 (lithofacies 2b and 2a) have enabled the deduction that the site was used by Mousterian groups as a place where they processed the animals they hunted, especially reindeer, which they had butchered previously. The human occupations were of a short duration and possibly limited to the autumn, the time of the animals' migration. It was in this context where B. Vandermeersch found several human fossils, and it is in these levels where the new specimens have been recovered by the recent excavations.

All the geological, archaeological and faunal data indicate a chronology corresponding to the MIS 3 for the upper levels and MIS 4 for Levels II, 10 and 9 (lithofacies 2b and 2a).

## The human remains

In addition to the mandible fragment found by P. David in 1934 (David, 1935), a further 27 human remains were discovered in the course of B. Vandermeersch's excavation between 1965 and 1979. Some of these belong to infantile (immature) individuals and others to adults. They include cranial fragments, isolated teeth, mandibles and post-cranial skeleton, all broken and incomplete, although it is worth highlighting the excellent state of conservation of some of the teeth. As stated above, all these fossils come from Levels 11, 10, 9c, 9b, and 9a, with a Quina Mousterian techno-complex, in Vandermeersch's stratigraphy, equivalent to Maureille *et al.*'s lithofacies 2b and 2a, attributed to MIS 4 (Maureille *et al.*, 2004).

## Material and study methods

One of the cranial fragments discovered by B. Vandermeersch is the object of the present paper. It is marked M78 9a-D8 94, and is referred to here as Marillac 3.

During the detailed study of the fossil in order to describe its main morphological characteristics, we noticed that it displayed certain signs of what we interpreted as a possible pathology which was already known but was very uncommon in prehistoric populations. In
order to study it, apart from macrophotography, we carried out conventional radiography and
also decided to use a micro-scanner.

The radiography was taken with an electric x-ray generator (make ODEL and model GENIUS 5001). Later, Marillac 3 was scanned in an Explore Locus X-Ray microcomputerized tomography device (G.E. Healthcare) at an isotropic resolution of 46 µm with an increment angle of 1 degree. The voltage of the X-ray tube was set to 80kVp and the current to 450 microAmps. Reconstruction of the frontal bone specimen was performed following correction of rotation centre and stitching of 5 successive scans as the field of view required was of 15cm. Resolution was of 92 µm.

Bone analysis was performed using the “Advanced Bone Analysis”™ software (G.E. Healthcare). For bone analysis, the region of interest (ROI) was a 5mm cube of dimension. Parameters were measured from µCT images in ROIs of the same size at the two opposite regions of the specimen (pathological and normal). Thresholding was performed manually. Trabecular number (TbN) and thickness (TbTh), as well as several other variables were measured.

**Description: morphology, age and sex**

Marillac 3 (Figure 2: A and B) is a fossil made up from about 17 cranial fragments that have been fitted together, some of which display small fissures, above all on the outer table. Several of the fractures are recent, and for this reason they could be united correctly, but those around the outer edges are old, are eroded and show small variations in colouring in different places, reflecting the colour of the sediments in the quadrant D8 of Level 9a, where the fossil was found.

The specimen measures ~131.70mm long, with a maximum width of ~78.10mm, and corresponds to the right side of the frontal bone (*squama frontalis*) and part of the parietal on the same side, of an adult. In general the bone is quite thick, especially towards the anterior-lateral side, where it reaches a thickness of ~12mm, whereas it is 7mm thick in the bregma. The latter is similar or slightly more than that of other European Neandertals (Table 1).

In the antero-inferior edge, there are the remains of four natural cavities between the external and internal tables, belonging to the upper parts of the frontal sinuses (*sinus frontalis*), which, as in most of the known Neandertals, must have been large and well-developed (Tillier, 1977; Prossinger *et al.*, 2005; Zollikofer *et al.*, 2008). Marillac 3 mostly
corresponds to the squamous frontal above the *torus supraorbitalis*, where the lower edge of the bone, on the external face shows the start of the *sulcus supra-toralis*. The outermost part does not reach the right *linea temporalis*.

The outer table (*facies externa*) is smooth (Figure 2A), but towards the posterior/superior part of the frontal (about 90mm from the most anterior part of the existing fragment) a transversal ridge is clearly seen, corresponding to the coronal suture, which is totally synostosed and with no visible ectocranial marks. In the superior-central part of the fragment, after this relief feature and to its left (on the right in the photograph) a suture following a simple line can be seen (Figure 2B) on the parietal and in the sagittal plane, after the bregma point. Its indentations can be identified over some 45.5mm, and correspond to Segment 1 of the sagittal suture. The forehead must have been receding, with only a slight relief of the right frontal tuber (*eminentia frontalis*). The central part of the bone has a thickness of 10.0mm, which is greater than those obtained for other Neandertals, except for Shanidar 5 (of equal value).

The inner table (*facies interna*) is very rough (Figure 2B), with several pacchionian depressions in the upper part (parietal fragment). Below these, a wide groove corresponds to the upper branch of the middle meningeal artery. In front of this, there is a depression that is transversal to the antero-posterior axis of Marillac 3 cranium, coinciding with the slight sutural relief cited above, although no marks are perceptible. The rest of the internal table is altered by bone neoformation which reaches as far as the inferior edge that has been conserved and which will be described in greater detail below. The inwards curve of the conserved medial edge corresponds to part of the right side of the upper sagittal groove (*sulcus saggittalis superioris*).

These characteristics mean that this cranial fragment can be attributed to an adult in the age class of *maturus* (>40 years, according to the age classes of Brauer ????), in accordance with the advanced state of synostosis seen in the segments of the coronal and sagittal sutures that have been identified.

The morphology of the frontal region of this individual must have been similar to that observed in other adult Neandertals, such as in the case of the individuals from Saint-Césaire, Forbes' Quarry, La Chapelle aux Saints, La Quina 5 or La Ferrassie 1, with a receding forehead, after the *torus supraorbitalis*, whose start in Marillac 3 is barely noticed in the slight curving in the most anterior part of the outer table. Furthermore, given the size of the
fragment, it could not have belonged to a small cranium, like Gibraltar 1, but to a large one such as La Chapelle aux Saints or La Ferrassie 1. It appears to 'match' the latter specimen most closely (Figure 3). These two Neandertals were undoubtedly male individuals, but given its partial conservation, Marillac 3 cannot be assigned to either sex with any certainty; although it seems likely it belonged to a male, because of the large size of the portion that has been preserved in comparison with high quality casts of all the cited crania.

Unlike the other human remains found at this site (Le Mort, 1987; Garralda et al., 2005; Garralda, 2008), Marillac 3 displays no signs of *peri-mortem* manipulation (e.g. cut-marks), but this does not mean that the cadaver was not acted upon (fractures at the borders are old and coloured by the sediments), although this is impossible to demonstrate because of its state of conservation.

## Pathology

The adult cranium fragment Marillac 3 displays a very rough surface in its inner table (Figure 4), with some pacchionian depressions in the upper part, i.e. in the small fragment of the parietal bone. What is particularly striking, however, is the irregular surface, with bone neoformation, roughness, protuberances, nodular growth (between 1.5 and 6.5mm in size) and bony bands across the whole part of the frontal region that has been preserved (Figure ?). These hyperostotic alterations contributed to increasing the thickness of the diploë in the most internal region and altered the thickness of the inner table and reshaped it throughout the whole fragment. The maximum thickness of the antero-lateral side is ~12mm.

The conventional X-ray (Figure 5), made through the internal table of Marillac 3 shows the increase in bone thickness in the lower half of the fossil, which is white in colour.

In order to study this in greater detail, Marillac 3 was analysed with the micro-scanner described above. Out of all the images that were obtained, we have selected the ones that seem most informative. Figure 6 shows the sagittal section of Marillac 3 made from three different points:

A – Most internal section, nearest to the sagittal plane of the cranium. It shows the increased thickness of the diploë towards the lower part of the frontal and the bony nodules on the surface of the endocranial table.
B – This was made near the middle of the conserved fragment. It also shows the enlarged diploë toward the inferior part of the frontal, as well as protuberances and new growth in the roughness, nodules and bony excrescences on the endocranial table.

C – Section C was made towards the outer lateral side of Marillac 3, where the increase in diploë thickness is most striking. The roughness and protuberances in the endocranial table can also be observed.

The morphological variables that have been calculated in the scanned sections (Table 2) clearly reflect the different bone structure in the unaffected part (the parietal, after the parietal suture) called ‘normal’ tissue, and in the inferior part of the frontal, the ‘pathological’ tissue. The first variable (Bv/Tv = Bone volume/Total volume) gives the fraction of the (compact) bone component in comparison with the volume of the bone and this is clearly less in the pathological tissue. The second variable (BS/BV) relates the solid surface with the solid volume and this varies depending on the homogeneity of the tissue. Its value is greater when the bone is more porous, as is reflected in Table 2 in the high value for the pathological tissue.

The other variables (Tb.Th = trabecular thickness) reflect the mean thickness of the trabeculae in the image and the ‘hole/compact tissue’ (Tb.N = trabecular number. Logically, for the first variable, the value obtained for ‘normal’ tissue is greater than that of ‘pathological’ tissue, whereas the opposite is true of the second one, given the increased porosity of the diploë near the internal table. The final variable (Tb.Sp = trabecular spacing) corresponds to the mean thickness of the white (bony) areas and is greater in the ‘normal’ tissue, given its lesser porosity.

In both Sections B and C (Figure 6), and in another two detailed sections obtained in the normal (parietal) and pathological regions (Figure 6 D and E) can be seen the alteration and re-shaping of the endocranial table and the contiguous diploid structures, with reorganised lamellar bone and the absence of alteration to the ectocranial table) which accompanied the development of the dysplasia that affected the individual Marillac 3. The diagnosis of the illness that caused these alterations is *Hyperostosis frontalis interna* (HFI).

## Discussion

The pathology described for Marillac 3 is very similar to the one seen in the adult Neandertal cranium from Forbes' Quarry, studied by Antón (1997). As in Gibraltar 1, the
coronal suture is totally synostosed on both surfaces in Marillac 3 (as previously explained, a ridge is all that can be noted in the corresponding area), while a small part of the sagittal 1 can be seen in the external surface, but can hardly be identified in the internal face. The same occurs in the Forbes' Quarry cranium, where the lambdatic, parieto-mastoidal and squamous sutures are fused endocranially, although some signs are visible ectocranially (Antón, 1997), and also in the coronal and sagittal sutures of Shanidar 5 (Trinkaus, 1983), equally affected by HFI (Antón, 1997). Although it is much more recent, the cranium of a 4th century AD Nubian woman displays very noticeable synostosis, and in the published picture not the least sign can be seen of the coronal suture in the endocranial surface (Armelagos and Chrisman, 1988, fig. 1).

In addition, in Marillac 3, similar to what occurs in Gibraltar 1 (see Antón, 1997, fig. 5), the greatest concentration of nodules and roughness is seen in the inferior-central part of the frontal bone, although it is prolonged in the squama, gradually decreasing towards the groove weakly marking the coronal suture. It is the typical evidence of HFI (Hershkovitz et al., 1999).

As cited above, Antón (1997) also noted the presence of this pathology in Shanidar 5 (we agree with this diagnostic when we examined a cast), and in one of the *H. erectus* from Java, Sangiran 2. Other authors have identified it in more modern remains, such as in the Neolithic in southeast France (Dewriendt et al., 2004), the 4th century Sudanese Nubian (Armelagos and Chrisman, 1988), in the Iron Age in Croacia (Šikanjić, 2006), and in the Middle Ages in Italy (Belcastro et al., 2006) or Poland (Glab et al., 2006), to cite just a few examples.

Hershkovitz et al. (1999) published an excellent analysis of HFI. According to the description and scale given by these authors, the pathology found in Marillac 3 corresponds to their Type B, which is to say that it has not developed very far, but not only with small bony nodules, but also with new bone growth with no delimiting boundaries. In the same way, the development of HFI in Marillac 3 seems to correspond to grade 2 in Barber et al.'s scale (1996). The observation made from the cast of Shanidar 5 (figure ??) enables the attribution of a similar development of the disease to that in Marillac 3, whereas it seems to be a little more advanced in Gibraltar 1.

Hershkovitz et al. (1999) insist on the unsure aetiology of this pathology (often with no clinical consequences) which appears to be uncommon in past populations. It is more
frequent and develops more intensely in females, and seems to be associated with the age
(over 40 years) and prolonged estrogen stimulation. Different symptoms (obesity, virilism,
diabetes, endocrine imbalances with specific links to levels of leptin, estrogen, androgens,
prolactin and progesterone: Hershkovitz et al., 1999; Rühl et al., 2004) have often been
associated with HFI, but they do not always occur. The prudence with which HFI should be
examined even today can be shown by the case of a modern 36 year-old woman, with no
apparent symptoms, published by Mooney et al. (2006); or by its identification in young
individuals from the Hamann-Todd and Terry collections by Hershkovitz et al. (1999),
although more infrequently and with lower degrees of development than is found amongst
older people.

As the Marillac 3 fragment is incomplete, the sexual determination cannot be made
with any rigour, but as explained above, the part that has been preserved can be compared
with the crania of the large male Neandertals from southwest France (particularly with La
Ferrassie 1). Although HFI is more prevalent among females, we should bear in mind that
Shanidar 5 is also a male skeleton (Trinkaus, 1983), and that one of twelve males from the
Anasazi site of Pueblo Bonito (New Mexico) also was affected by the disease (Mulhern et al.,
2006).

As regards the age of death, which is even more difficult to estimate than for Gibraltar
1, Marillac 3 can only be included within the category of mature individuals (>40 years), in
which other Neandertal fossils must also be counted, such as the same Forbes' Quarry (Antón,
1999) and Shanidar 5 (Trinkaus, 1983). The fact that until now no fossil has been found with
an advanced degree of HFI development can probably be correlated with the estimated life
span of Pleistocene individuals. It may also be thought that the estimated age of the three
Neandertals affected by HFI, which must have been old for their times, implies that the
development of this pathology may have been related with hormonal alterations, as often
appears to be the case among modern populations.

We do not believe that other parts of the Marillac 3 cranium were affected by similar
pathologies (such as *Hyperostosis cranialis diffusa*). While the parietal fragment is thick
(7mm in the bregma), this is normal, and it displays no signs of pathological alteration.
Neither are there any lesions caused by this kind of dysplasia in Marillac 2 (posterior half of
the neurocranium of another adult), nor in any other of the isolated cranial fragments
recovered by B. Vandermeersch and currently undergoing study.
## Conclusions

The site of Marillac has provided abundant archaeological information, numerous palaeo-environmental data as well as an impressive collection of faunal and human remains. In the MIS 4, Marillac must have been a shelter for different Neandertal groups with Quina Mousterian technology, where they processed the game they had hunted. Numerous fragmented and incomplete human remains have been found, mixed in with implements and fauna, and several of them display cut-marks made *peri-mortem* (Le Mort, 1987; Maureille *et al.*, 2004; Garralda *et al.*, 2005; Garralda, 2008). The description and detailed analysis of one of the cranial fragments, Marillac 3, allow us to identify HFI grade 2 in this fossil, altering the endocranial plate and the diploë structure. This pathology has been analysed macroscopically, as well as by using X-rays and sections made with a micro-scanner.

To date, HFI has only been identified in Pleistocenic fossils by Antón (1999) in one of the oldest *H. erectus* from Java, in one of the Neandertals from the Middle East, Shanidar 5, and in a Neandertal from the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, Forbes' Quarry (Gibraltar 1).

In the discussion on this pathology, we remarked that, although there seems to be little doubt about the greater prevalence of HFI among females (in sub-fossil series and modern populations), Shanidar 5 was determined to be a male by Trinkaus (1983) and, despite its poor state of conservation, the large proportions of Marillac 3 only seems to ‘match’ the corresponding region of La Ferrassie 1, which suggests that it belonged to a male. Both fossils, Shanidar 5 and Marillac 3, show the pathology in an early stage of its development and in both cases, as for the possible female from Forbes’ Quarry, we may suppose that the aetiology is related to hormonal alterations, given the estimated age (> 40 years) of all three individuals.

The published data on pathologies in Eurasian Neandertals are scarce and very disperse, both geographically and chronologically. The most common is probably the literature on oral pathologies (Lumley, 1973; Heim, 1976; Ogilvie *et al.*, 1989; Garralda and Vandermeersch, 2000a and b; Trinkaus *et al.*, 2000; Lebel and Trinkaus, 2002; Tillier *et al.*, 2003; Garralda *et al.*, 2004), traumatisms (Schaafhausen, 1858; Schaefer, 1957; Dastugue, 1960; Dastugue and Lumley, 1976; Berger and Trinkaus, 1995; Zollikofer *et al.*, 2002; Gardner and Smith, 2006), and various degenerative processes (Boule, 1911-1913; Dastugue,
1960; Dastugue and Lumley, 1976; Trinkaus, 1983, 1985; Crubezy and Trinkaus, 1992; Dawson and Trinkaus, 1997; Garralda and Vandermeersch, 2000a; Gardner and Smith, 2006).

Some other pathologies are, or appear to be, very infrequent, such as the osteitis with a systemic origin of La Ferrassie 1 (Fennell and Trinkaus, 1997), the torus neoplasm of Zeeland Ridges (Hublin et al., 2009) and the HFI studied here. Yet, although they have rarely been identified in the fossil record, this does not mean that were not part of the biology of European Neandertals. Surely, the detailed study of the remains of past populations will provide new data of palaeo-epidemiological interest.

**Acknowledgements**

The micro-scanner used was that at the ‘Plateforme Technologique d’Innovation Biomédicale (PTIB), Université ‘Victor Segalen’ Bordeaux 2, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux. We are deeply indebted to X. Pillois for the technical help.

We would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Education for the concession to one of the authors (M.D.G.) of three-month Research Stay at the UMR PACEA (Université Bordeaux 1) in 2009, and to the Project ‘Transitions, convention 20051403003AB of the Aquitaine Region’.

We would also like to express our gratitude to M. Bessau (ASI de la UMR PACEA) for the X-ray, and to the people and institutions who have allowed us to study the fossils they preserve: L. Bondioli (Museo L. Pigorini), J. J. Cleyet-Merle (Musée National de Préhistoire, France), H. and M.-A. de Lumley (Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Paris), Ph. Mennecier (Musée de l’Homme, Paris), R. Kruszinsky and C. B. Stringer (Natural History Museum, London), J. Radovčić (Hrvatski Prirodoslovni Muzej, Zagreb), A. and M. E. Segre (Instituto de Paleontologia Umana, Rome), G. Manzi (Universitá La Sapienza, Rome), and N. Conard (Université de Tübingen).

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<figure><img src="image_105.png" /></figure>
# LES PRADELLES
(Commune de Marillac-le-Franc, Charente)

<figure><img src="image_106.png" /><figcaption>Vue de la coupe stratigraphique le 27.07.2009, témoin Est
Photo : équipe de fouille des Pradelles</figcaption></figure>

La campagne s'est déroulée du 2 Juillet au 1er Août soit 28 jours. L'opération était divisée en deux périodes. La première, du 6 juillet au 17 Juillet, a été réservée pour l'organisation d'une école de fouilles pour 19 undergraduated students de l'Université de Princeton, des membres de l'équipe scientifique et différents anciens fouilleurs bénévoles connaissant parfaitement le gisement, ses problématiques et nos méthodes. Puis pendant les deux dernières semaines de Juillet (du 20 VII au 1 VIII), 10 à 11 fouilleurs bénévoles français, et un plus faible nombre d'encadrants, ont poursuivi les travaux. Pour les deux périodes, ils ont consisté en :
a) la fin de la fouille de certains carrés ou sous-carrés (jusqu'au substratum d'argiles karstiques),
b) la poursuite des traitements post-fouilles (rattrapage du tamisage en retard, tri des refus de tamis, inventaires),
c) la poursuite des travaux de déblaïements de l'entrée de la galerie Richeboeuf encombrés de blocs d'effondrement très volumineux. Pour les fragmenter avant de les retirer manuellement, nous avons utilisé du ciment expansif. Ph. Léon, technicien au LAPP a été le seul en charge de l'utilisation de ce produit,
d) le début de la réalisation d'une coupe transversale perpendiculaire à celle du locus Est. Elle a débuté le long de la paroi N de la dépression et elle progresse vers le sud.

Les travaux devant la galerie Richeboeuf ont été productifs et ont bien progressé. La fin de la fouille de certains carrés ou sous-carrés a livré une grande quantité de matériel, essentiellement des fragments de faune, des vestiges lithiques (Moustérien de type Quina, la fouille n'a concerné que les lithofaciès 2 ou 4) et un à deux vestiges humains.

Rappelons qu'il reste urgent de refaire la clôture qui entoure le gisement et que le propriétaire du site engage des démarches avec les propriétaires des parcelles situées au Sud de la parcelle du Ministère de la Culture pour faire un transfert de parcelles afin de faciliter l'accès au site pour que les recherches puissent s'y dérouler dans les meilleures conditions.

Mots-clefs : Paléolithique moyen, Moustérien de type Quina, Néandertalien, *hunting camp*, aven, cannibalisme.

Programme 03 : Les peuplements néandertaliens *lato sensu* (stades isotopiques 8 à 4 : 300.000 à 40.000 ans) ; Paléolithique moyen *lato sensu*.