Description: Cro magnon skull

Period: Upper Paleolithic Period – 30,000 years ago

Provenance: Original Discovered 1868 in Les Eyzies de Tayac – Dordogne, France

——————————————————————————–

Cro Magnon 1 was discovered by Louis Lartet in 1868 during railroad construction in Les Eyzies, Dordogne France. Work on a limestone cliff uncovered a rock shelter. Upon further examination, four fossil adult skeletons, one infant, and some fragmentary bones were excavated near the back of the shelter where an occupation floor was exposed. The orientation and condition of shell and animal teeth led scientists to theorize that the skeletons were intentionally buried together in a grave in the shelter with these objects placed on the bodies as pendants or necklaces.

Cro-Magnon 1 was identified as the skeleton of a middle-aged adult male that was less than 50 years old at death based on the degree of closure of his cranial sutures. Most interesting, the face region of the skull is noticeably pitted from a serious fungal infection that was endured during the life of this unfortunate individual. The skull also lacked teeth.

Scientific studies performed on the skeletons found at the Les Eyzies rock shelter indicated that the humans of this time period led a physically tough life. In addition to the fungal infection of Cro-Magnon 1, several of the individuals found at the shelter had fused neck vertebrae indicating traumatic injury, and the adult female found had survived for some time with a skull fracture. The survival of these individuals with such serious physical impairments allows us to conclude the presence of community support amongst individuals, which allowed them to convalesce.

The site was dated to the Upper Pleistocene between 32,000 and 30,000 years old, based on tools and fossil animal bone fragments found in association with the skeletons.

The skull of Cro-Magnon 1 demonstrates the traits that are unique to modern humans, including the high rounded cranial vault with a near vertical forehead. The orbits are no longer topped by a heavy browridge. There is no prominent prognathism of the face, a protrusion of the jaw (mandible) due to misalignment of teeth caused by malformations of the shape of the bones of the face.

The Cro Magnon shelter in Les Eyzies de Tayac. It was here in 1868 that the link between Prehistoric Man and Mordern Man was discovered.

The Discovery of the Cro Magnon in Les Eyzies.

During construction for a railroad in 1868, a rock shelter in a limestone cliff was uncovered. Near the back of the shelter, an occupation floor was recognized, and when excavated, it revealed the remains of four adult skeletons, one infant, and some fragmentary bones. The condition and placement of ornaments, including pieces of shell and animal tooth in what appears to have been pendants or necklaces, led the researchers to think that the skeletons were intentionally buried in a single grave in the shelter.

Cro-Magnon 1 preserved the skeleton of an adult male. The individual was probably middle-aged (less than 50 years old) at his death on the basis of the pattern of closure of cranial sutures. The bones in his face are noticeably pitted (see top photograph) from a fungal infection. The skull was complete except for the teeth, which are reconstructed in the cast photographed here.

While the Cro-Magnon remains are representative of the earliest anatomically modern human beings to appear in western Europe, this population was not the earliest anatomically modern humans to evolve. The skull of Cro-Magnon 1 does, however, show the traits that are unique to modern humans, including the high rounded cranial vault with a near vertical forehead. The orbits are no longer topped by a large browridge. There is no prominent prognathism of the face.

Analysis of the pathology of the skeletons found at the Les Eyzies rock shelter indicates that the humans of this time period led a physically tough life. In addition to the infection noted above, several of the individuals found at the shelter had fused vertebrae in their necks indicating traumatic injury, and the adult female found at the shelter had survived for some time with a skull fracture. The survival of the individuals with such ailments is indicative of community support of individuals, which allowed them to convalesce.

Associated tools and fragments of fossil animal bone date the site to the uppermost Pleistocene, probably between 32,000 and 30,000 years old.