Naulette, French: Caverne de la Naulette is a large cave located in Wallonia on the left bank of the Lesse, a tributary of the Meuse in the hills above Dinant, Belgium.[1]
Caverne de la Naulette | |
  Naulette Cave Location in Belgium | |
| Location | near Dinant, Province of Namur |
|---|---|
| Region | Wallonia, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50ยฐ12โฒ50โณN 4ยฐ55โฒ51โณE๏ปฟ / ๏ปฟ50.21389ยฐN 4.93083ยฐE |
| History | |
| Periods | Palaeolithic |
| Associatedย with | Neanderthals |
| Site notes | |
| Excavationย dates | 1866, |
| Archaeologists | รdouard Dupont |
In 1866 Belgian paleontologist รdouard Dupont discovered a fragmented edentulous human mandible and an incomplete ulna at Naulette, that are now housed in the Brussels Natural History Museum .[2][3]
Contrary to earlier human fossil discoveries, such as the Neanderthal 1 remains in Germany, which could not be traced back to its contextual origin the Naulette fossil's antiquity was quickly confirmed as it was recorded in a precise stratigraphic context and could be compared and associated with remains of large, extinct prehistoric mammals, mammoth, rhinoceros and reindeer unearthed from the same sediment layer. French anthropologist Paul Broca wrote that the discovery constitutes "the first event providing Darwinists with anatomical evidence. It is the first link in the chain which, according to them, extends from man to the apes".[4][5]
The mandible exhibits certain peculiarities, is of a very ape-like type in its extreme projection and that of the teeth sockets (the teeth themselves are lost), suggesting very strong canines and large molars that increase in size backward.[1] The Naulette Man is now considered to be a Neanderthal assigned to the Mousterian culture.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- ^ "Caverne de la Naulette - coupe schรฉmatique du remplissage... Figure 1 of 4". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Goodrum, Matthew R. (2014). "Crafting a New Science: Defining Paleoanthropology and Its Relationship to Prehistoric Archaeology, 1860โ1890". Isis. 105 (4): 706โ33. doi:10.1086/679420. JSTORย 10.1086/679420. PMIDย 25665380. S2CIDย 26727221.
- ^ "Neandertal Studies in Belgium: 2000โ2005". PERIODICUM BIOLOGORUM. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Stephen R. Holtzman. "Early Research on Pleistocene Races in Europe: Putting Neandertal Man's Head Together" (PDF). Digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Anthropology and Prehistory: Overview". naturalsciences.be. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- Gabriel de Mortillet, Le Prรฉhistorique (1900); E Dupont, รtude sur les fouilles scientifiques exรฉcutรฉes pendant l'hiver (1865โ1866), p.ย 21.
- This articleย incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:ย Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Naulette". Encyclopรฆdia Britannica. Vol.ย 19 (11thย ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.ย 278.
