An empirical evaluation of the case for a Chatelperronian-Aurignacian interstratification at Grotte des Fees de Chatelperron

This paper addresses the recent debate surrounding claims about the presence of a small Aurignacian assemblage interstratified between Chatelperronian deposits at the site of Grotte des Fees de Chatelperron. We review the current debate and provide an assessment of the various studies that have been published in its context. As a way to evaluate whether the original claims stand irrespective of potential taphonomic disturbances at the site, we undertake a comparison of the frequency of putative 'Aurignacian diagnostics' in this and nineteen other Chatelperronian assemblages from south-western France. No matter how these diagnostics are defined, this analysis demonstrates that such implements are not abnormally more abundant at Chatelperronian assemblages, even when considered solely for Level B4, which is said to document the debated interstratification. We propose alternative explanations for the presence of such curated tools made of exotic lithic raw materials in the context of the assemblage from Grotte des Fees that are more concordant with what is known about the impact of sample size on typological richness and about the mobility patterns of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, and conclude with some thoughts about the significance of interstratification in Paleolithic deposits.