La Ferrassie

▪ anthropological and archaeological site, France

also spelled  La Ferassie 

 paleoanthropological site in the Dordogne region of France where Neanderthal fossils were found in a rock shelter between 1909 and 1921. Though the first report was made in 1934, investigation of the remains was not completed until 1982. The oldest fossils of La Ferrassie are estimated to date from about 50,000 years ago and are associated with stone tools of the Middle Paleolithic Period. The remains include eight skeletons: a man, a woman, a 10-year-old child, a 3- to 5-year-old child, an infant, and three newborns. The skulls have the classic characteristics associated with Neanderthals. The adult male skull has a large brow, a sloping forehead, and a protruding midface. The cheek teeth are small, but the front teeth are large and worn down.

      The site provides evidence that Neanderthals took considerable care with their dead because all the individuals were intentionally buried (burial). One grave on a slope contained the separated skull and lower skeleton of a child. The skull was covered with a limestone slab with markings on its underside. This evidence indicates a fairly complex system of ritual among Neanderthals. The remains are held in the Museum of Man in Paris.

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