Grottes de Goyet | |
.jpg) Finds from Goyet and Trou Magrite in the Museum for Natural Sciences of Belgium | |
  Goyet Caves Location Goyet Caves Show map of Europe Goyet Caves Goyet Caves (Belgium) Show map of Belgium | |
| Alternative name | Caves of Goyet |
|---|---|
| Location | near Mozet village |
| Region | Samson river valley, Gesves municipalityNamur province, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°26′48″N5°00′32″E / 50.44667°N 5.00889°E /50.44667; 5.00889 |
| Type | carboniferous limestone |
| Length | 250 m (820.21 ft) |
| History | |
| Material | limestoneKarst |
| Periods | Middle Palaeolithic toIron Age |
| Cultures | Aurignacian,Gravettian,Magdalenian |
| Associated with | Neanderthals,Homo sapiens |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1867, |
| Archaeologists | Edouard Dupont |
TheGoyet Caves (French:Grottes de Goyet) are a series of connected caves located inBelgium in alimestone cliff about 15 m (50 ft) above the river Samson near the village of Mozet in theGesves municipality of theNamur province. The site is a significant locality of regionalNeanderthal andEuropean early modern human occupation, as thousands of fossils and artifacts were discovered that are all attributed to a long and contiguousstratigraphic sequence from 120,000 years ago, theMiddle Paleolithic to less than 5,000 years ago, the lateNeolithic. A robust sequence of sediments was identified during extensive excavations by geologist Edouard Dupont, who undertook the first probings as early as 1867.[1][2] The site was added to theBelgian National Heritage register in 1976.
Located just south of theGoyet Castle the caves are essentially 250 m (820.21 ft) long underground galleries, rich inspeleothems and carved out of the limestone during millions of years by the waters of the Samson river inside the 90 ha (222.39 acres) limestone massif.[3]
The massif is divided into zones:
In 1999, an extensive network of galleries was discovered, consisting of a central and peripheral networks, named after particular areas: Régal des Fees, Atlantide, Salle de Cristal etc.[4][5]
Edouard Dupont identified five sediment horizons or site concentrations in the cave, three near the cave entrance and two in deeper chambers.Marcel Otte resumed excavations during the 1970s. Further excavations took place from 1998 to 2004. Contemporary researchers assert that Dupont's 19th century excavation methods "did not meet today's standards". His sediment sequences are considered to be of little reliability and his discoveries in the archives of theRoyal Belgielsan Institute of Natural Sciences have been reviewed and re-classified in recent years.[6][1]
The site accounts for a remarkable variety of prehistoric objects: thousands of bones of prehistoric humans and large mammals, a whistle, stone artifacts with stylized engravings, an approximately 5,000-year-old child's grave, the fossilized cranium of a Paleolithic dog, a knife made from a human rib, the largest collection of Neanderthal fossils of Northern Europe, hand axes, harpoons, necklaces, ivory chopsticks, engraved ivory platelets, carved reindeer horn and skinned and filleted human remains, that suggestcannibalism among Neanderthals.[8]
Horizons 1 and 2 (artifacts of the Magdalenian levels) include hand axes and a harpoon, a necklace of 26 wolves perforated teeth, bone fragments and needles, a biserial (multiple barbs on both edges) bone harpoon, a necklace, and aTurritella sea snail shell necklace.[9][10][11]
Horizon 4 included a fossilizedcanid skull, which has been direct AMS dated to be 31,000 years old.
Additional artifacts can be found in numerous private collections, as during the 1950s several amateur archaeologists were permitted access to the caves.
Discovered during the 1860s, a dog-like cranium identified as being that of aPaleolithic dog wasAMS dated to 31,680 years old.Mitochondrial DNA indicates that the canid was not a direct ancestor of modern dogs, but rather of an extinct side branch[12][13] or an aborted domestication attempt.[13]
Carbon Dated fossils:
| Lab number | Material | Normalized Age | Locality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beta-239920 | bone (skull) domesticated dog | 31680 ± 750 | local |
| OxA-V-2223-49 | Single bone arcelini Equus caballus (Horse) | 29420 ± 170 | local |
| KIA-18986 | Single bone from rear of Chamber AUrsus spelaeus | 27440 ± 170 | local |
| KIA-22275 | Single boneAlopex lagopus (Arctic fox) | 12380 ± 60 | local |
| Lv-2135 | bone | 11630 ± 150 | local |
Source:[14]
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Neanderthal habitation of the caves dates back to theMiddle Paleolithic. Occasional Neanderthal occupation begins 120,000 years ago and ends after 40,000 years ago.
Between 45,500 and 40,500 years ago Neanderthals lived in theTroisième Caverne, where 99 bones were discovered, that belong to at least five individuals. This represents the largest collection of Neanderthal fossils in Northern Europe. The condition of the fossils strongly suggestscannibalism.[15] The bodies are skinned and filleted, the bones show cut marks and were cracked to extract the marrow.Reindeer remains from the site have the same types of butcher marks.[15][16]
In 2018, researchers succeeded in extractingnuclear DNA fromGoyet Q56-1, a right femur from a Neanderthal directly dated to around 43,000-42,080 BP. DNA analysis reveals thatGoyet Q56-1 was female. Compared to other Neanderthals for whichnuclear DNA has been extracted,Goyet Q56-1 is genetically closest toSpy94a fromSpy Cave and groups closest with other Late European Neanderthals.[17]
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Homo sapiens occupation began around 35,000 years ago. Fossils from different European populations are found in Goyet Cave, including some that represent the earliest branch of modern Europeans (ca. 35,000 BP). Their damaged but readable DNA has been used in studies of the origin and migration of European ice age populations. Based on mitochondrial DNA of five local fossils it was concluded that the first modern Europeans arrived directly from Africa without a detour via Asia. The 35,000 year old humerus of a man from Goyet has been associated with theAurignacian culture. Shortly thereafter, the population associated with this culture was ousted by a genetically distinctGravettian rural population (from 34,000 BP), but around 25,000 BP descendants reappear in Spain in the context ofMagdalenian culture. The extent to which Neanderthals and Homo sapiens have lived together at Goyet is still under investigation.
In 1998, the bones of a twelve-year-old child was found in a crevice. The cavern was subsequently named theSalle de l'Enfant. The remains are 5,000 years old and are interpreted as representing a grave. Other cultural type elements such as perforated tubes that were perhaps used as flutes, indicate that the caves continued to be inhabited during the late Neolithic. An even younger object discovered in Goyet, attributed to theIron Age (around 500 BCE), is a knife made from a human rib.
In 2016, researchers successfully extracted DNA from several ancient human fossils at Goyet (with direct dates):GoyetQ116-1 (35,160-34,430 BP) andGoyetQ376-3 (33,940-33,140 BP) from theAurignacian;GoyetQ376-19 (27,720-27,310 BP),GoyetQ53-1 (28,230-27,720 BP),GoyetQ55-2 (27,730-27,310 BP),GoyetQ56-16 (26,600-26,040 BP) andGoyet2878-21 (27,060-26,270 BP) from theGravettian; andGoyetQ-2 (15,230-14,780 BP) from theMagdalenian.GoyetQ376-19,Goyet53-1 andGoyet56-16 were found to cluster genetically with several other Gravettian individuals from Europe in theVěstonice Cluster, whileGoyetQ-2 was found to cluster genetically with several other Magdalenian individuals from Europe in theEl Mirón Cluster.[18]
All later Europeans afterGoyetQ116-1 show some genetic affinity for this individual.[18]GoyetQ116-1 also exhibits more genetic affinity for theTianyuan man than any other ancient individual from West Eurasia.[19] GoyetQ116-1 received geneflow from anAncient East Eurasian population (c. 17–23%), possibly represented by the precedingBacho Kiro cave specimen, who, together with theOase specimens, are closer to ancient and modern East Eurasian populations, and were part of theInitial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) wave. The IUP groups in Europe were largely replaced or absorbed by the succeeding Upper Paleolithic wave (Ancient West Eurasians) more than 38,000 years ago, resulting in the formation of Upper Paleolithic Europeans such as GoyetQ116-1.[20][21][22][23]
Culturally, theAurignacian cultural complex is chronologically associated with the human remains of Goyet Q116-1, while the subsequentGravettian is associated with theVestonice cluster.[24]
Our results show that the Neandertals from the Troisième caverne of Goyet were butchered, with the hypothesis of their exploitation as food sources the most parsimonious explanation for the observed bone surface modifications. Goyet provides the first unambiguous evidence of Neandertal cannibalism in Northern Europe and given the dates obtained on the Neandertal remains, it is most likely that they were processed by their fellow Neandertals as no modern humans are known to have been in the region at the time17,23. However, the available data make it impossible to determine whether the modifications observed on the Neandertal skeletal material represent symbolic practices or simply result from the processing of immediately available sources of food.
GoyetQ116-1 is chronologically associated with the Aurignacian cultural complex. Thus, the subsequent spread of the Vestonice Cluster, which is associated with the Gravettian cultural complex, shows that the spread of the latter culture was mediated at least in part by population movements.