Archaeological levels from Lower, Middle and Upper Pleistocene of Pradayrol (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot, France): preliminary results

Pradayrol is located in the southern part of the Causse de Gramat (Caniac-du-Causse, Lot, France) on the edge of a sinkhole.This is a complex karst today extended by a rockshelter. Discovered and excavated between 1998 and 2005 by M.-R. Seronie-Vivien, Pradayrol delivered a Middle Pleistocene sequence of more than 2 m thick dated between 420 and 335 ky. He has found a fauna which includes Canis etruscus, Ursus deningeri and Hystrix cristata, an Early Middle Palaeolithic industry on quartzite and a human tooth (uppercentralincisor) in layer2 (dated 335ky). The resumption of excavations in 2010 by Jean-Luc Guadelli and AlainTurq taking into account all of the deposit showed the complexity of the site. The exploration of the shelter and terrace showed from one hand a more recent sequence (Upper Pleistocene) on the terrace containing a Mousterian in the context of a hyena den and from another hand an older sequence in breccias preserved on the roof of the rockselter, in some pillars (inside and outside) and on the terrace. Only partially explored this layer contains a lithic industry on quartzite and an abundant fauna (including Xenocyon, Ursus cf. etruscus, Dicerorhinus cf. etruscus, Equus sp., ...), which allows us to hypothesize that they could be dated between the late Lower Pleistocene and the early Middle Pleistocene i.e. between MNQ 19 and MNQ 20; it is at least older than 900 ka. Even if part of the lithic and bone found today in the brecciasis in a derived position (geological observations and the presence of a blunt or a polish on some pieces), Pradayrol, should quickly reach the rare French sites set delivering so old industry andfaunainstratigraphic context.