New data on Late Pleistocene small vertebrates from Northern France (Mutzig & Le Rozel)
Résumé
Quaternary small vertebrate assemblages from southern France, and more generally meridional and mediterranean regions, are today well known and well studied. In comparison, septentrional areas of Europe remain poorly considered, as they have yielded relatively few sites with microfaunal remains. However, important sites of human occupation were discovered in these areas, with important issues related to the occupation of these sites by Neanderthals and previous humans, as well as faunal dynamics under climatic pressure. In the present work, we consider new unpublished results from two Late Pleistocene sites of northern France: Le Rozel (Normandy) and Mutzig (Alsace). Both are rock shelter subject of recent archaeological excavations, but in very different contexts: Le Rozel is located in a coastal area of northwestern France, while Mutzig is located at the foot of the Vosges mountains in northeastern France. Similarities and differences in faunal composition are discussed, in relation to the geographic and climatic contexts, and with biochronological and archaeological implications.