New Excavations

In 1994, new excavations were undertaken at Fontéchevade by the University of Pennsylvania and the Université de Perpignan. These excavations had three primary goals: 1) Site Formation Processes - To determine the site formation processes using the same techniques that we have applied to open-air sites such as Combe-Capelle Bas and Cagny-l’Epinette. 2) Chronology - To attempt to date the formation of the Tayacian layers and, by extension, the hominid fossils. 3) Industrial Variability - To clarify the nature of the poorly understood and poorly defined Tayacian industries. The excavations are now complete, and the geological and artifactual analysis are underway. It is already clear, however, that the formation of the Tayacian deposits is more complicated than previously believed and that the associated “industry” may not be an industry at all.