Acknowledgements

First and foremost of those to whom thanks are due is our good friend and colleague, Paul Fitte, who was a long-time resident of St.-Avit Sénieur. Until his death in 1996, Paul was a well-known figure in Paleolithic circles: a respected prehistorian in his own right and the friend and colleague of virtually every major prehistorian who has worked in France during the past fifty years.
 Throughout the duration of our project at Combe-Capelle, Paul shared with us his enormous knowledge of the site and the surrounding area and introduced us to many of the local inhabitants who provided various services. His good humor, his enthusiasm, and his experience provided a great deal of stimulation and encouragement, and he and his wife, Marie, gave freely of their time and hospitality to all of the participants. It was due to his efforts that this project was initiated and carried through to his completion.

We would like to express our very deep gratitude to M. and Mme. René Denuel for very graciously allowing us to use their property for our living quarters and laboratory space at La Forge. It is unlikely that any of the participants will ever forget the beautiful setting that they provided.

We would also like to thank Jean-Philippe Rigaud, then Directeur des Antiquités, and the Conseil Supérieur for permission to excavate the site; and to Denise de Sonneville-Bordes for allowing access to comparative material..

Funding for this project came from several sources. Principal among them was the National Science Foundation, which supported the bulk of the excavation costs (grant number BNS 8804379). Major funding was also contributed by The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, The University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation, the French Ministry of Culture, and private donors. We would like to thank all of them for their generous support.