La Combe, A Paleolithic Cave in the Dordogne

Abstract

DURING the summer of 1912, after having completed a tour of the paleolithic caves of France and Spain, I found myself in the picturesque little village of Les Eyzies with a desire to know more about troglodite culture and two or three weeks still at my disposal. I had always wanted to explore a Quaternary cave. Knowing this, Peyrony came to my rescue. Some five years previously he had made a sounding near the entrance to the small cave of La Combe (Dordogne) about one hour's walk to the south of Les Eyzies, and had found enough in the way of flint chips and bones to warrant further search. Moreover within the cave Peyrony, Peyrille, and young Casimir Mercier, son of the proprietor, had each found several specimens, including a bone point with cleft base, several perforated shells, and a polishing stone. The perforated shells and polishing stone later came into possession of Professor Max Verworn of Bonn, Germany; while I obtained through purchase from Peyrony and Mercier the bone point and a few flint implements. I obtained a lease of the cave, and with two workmen, Marcelin Berniche and Casimir Mercier, began excavations on August 5th. Our route lay southward. We crossed the Beune and paralleled the narrow valley of La Gaubbre to its source near the village of La Mouthe, that gave its name to the cavern in which Quaternary mural art was discovered by Rivibre in 1893. From La Mouthe a