L'abri du Lagopède (fouilles Leroi-Gourhan) et le Magdalénien des grottes de la Cure (Yonne)

Lagopède rock shelter is part of the Arcy cave ensemble, excavated by A. Leroi-Gourhan. A sequence of horizons developing from Lascaux interstad to the start of Alleröd is identified by pollen analysis. The upper level attributed to Dryas II has furnished remains of a short halt of Magdalenians, with hearth, lithic industry and animal remains (largely reindeer and horse). Imported flint was used for toolkits, local raw material hardly being employed. Other Magdalenian sites on the banks of the Cure are evoked : if the small La Marmotte cave presents a settlement model comparable to that of Lagopède, Trilobite cave seems rather to have been a continuous and repeated occupation site during the entire upper Paleolithic, besides furnishing a rich bone industry. Research into the origins of fossil shell and lithic raw material suggests links to the great open-air settlements of Central Paris basin and attests to the Yonne valley 's importance as a communication route during the final Paleolithic.