Caours

Caours is a common French, located in the department of the Somme and the area Picardy.

Geography

Caours is a small village located at 4 km in the North-East of Abbeville, in direction of Saint-Riquier.

Administration

Demography

History

Prehistory

The tuffs of fluviatile origin of Caours, known to the archeologists since second half of the XXe century, testify one time when the climate was moderate: the Eémien, the Interglacial last , in the past known under the name of interglacial Riss-Würm, fixed between -130 000 and -115 approximately 000. One had noted there the presence of remainders of large mammals of age Paléolithique, in particular of the wood of deer tribe.

A programmed excavation pluriannuellement, undertaken jointly by INRAP and CNRS in 2005, delivered particularly interesting results with regard to the Homme of Néandertal.

Five levels of human occupations of a 122.000 years Middle Age were highlighted. They correspond to a frequentation of the places on a few hundred years in the form of short stays of several days to a few weeks. These halts of hunting close to an old river are illustrated by the fossils of Aurochs, of stag, Daim, rhinoceros of meadow, Sanglier and ancient elephant which presents marks of butchery showing that the game had been output on the spot like by the lithic tools put at the day. The discovery of a wood of six months young person cervidé makes it possible to locate the installation of the camp at the autumn.

The interest of discovered of Caours lies in the fact that one knows only very rare sites in Western Europe testifying to the presence of the Homme of Néandertal during this moderate phase of the Eémien. The site shows that this last was not exclusively adapted to a cold climate and an open landscape of steppes as certain prehistorians support it. The environment of the site was marked especially by an important extension of the forest, about 80% of the natural environment, composed in addition of meadows, with a climate about comparable with ours.

The theory which explained the disappearance of the man of Neandertal by his incapacity to adapt to a climate change is blow put at evil by the contribution of the site of Caours whose excavations will continue.

Places and monuments

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of the Sum

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