Under the dunes of a Cotentin beach in Normandy, archaeologists have made a significant discovery. Hundreds of footprints, witnesses to the passage of the Neanderthal more than 80,000 years ago. In total, no less than 257 footprints of a dozen individuals have been identified. A first.
It is a few tens of meters from the Channel, in the archaeological site of Pou, Rozel, that archaeologists have made their astonishing discovery. Published in the online scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on September 9th, the results of the researches of these five Frenchmen evokes "a majority group composed of children and adolescents", of about 10 to 13 individuals. Among them, at least one adult of about 1 m 90, estimated by researchers thanks to the length of the feet.
How did ancient footprints brave time? They were actually under thick layers of sand - several tens of meters, according to the researchers - who protected them. By digging with mechanical shovels and brushes, they reached the perfectly preserved grass and mud soil, marked by the traces of our ancestors. "Footprints have a strong interest, which is also their weak point: they represent a kind of snapshot of the life of individuals during a very short period of time," explains Jérémy Duveau, doctor at the National Museum of Natural History and principal investigator. of the study. "They allow us to have a glimpse of the composition of a group, but it is possible that they only represent individuals who ventured out at this particular time."
"An archeological miracle"
Discovered in the 1980s by an amateur named Yves Roupin, the Rozel site only began to be excavated in 2012. Faced with the danger of erosion by wind and tide, rescue excavations were put in place by Dominique Cliquet, Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs of Normandy and CNRS. "This site is a real archeological miracle," he said at the end of these discoveries. Before Rozel, only nine Neanderthal footprints had been found around the world (in Greece, Romania, Gibraltar and France).
In addition to footprints, "tracks of animal prints, remains of animal bones, deer, horses or aurochs and hearths" have been discovered over the years on the site, details Dominique Cliquet. "But oddly, no fish or shells, for a site that was then about 2 km from the sea". The researchers do not intend to stop there: they want to continue the excavations to understand why the group was there at this time.