Five years of excavations in the central portion of the cave, where the Tayacian
layers are still preserved, has yielded an extremely poor industry with very few flakes,
tools or cores. Moreover, roughly two-thirds of the assemblage exhibits some kind of edge
damage.
Complete Flakes
345
Flake Fragments
283
Complete Tools
38
Tool Fragments
40
Excavations last year in the front of the cave, below the hominid find location, has
resulted in the rediscovery of dark stains that Henri-Martin identified as hearths. While
geochemical analysis is still in progress, the stains appear to be manganese. The soils on
the plateau above the cave are also known to be very rich in manganese.
