22 Dec 2010
Entrance to the main shaft at Aze Burgundy. Ongoing exploration of the karst system by sediment and ghost karst material removal is conducted by volunteer speleologists.
Exploratory crew and me enjoying lunch and Beaujolais Village. A touch of Speleology class.
The crawling on hands and knees bit. Not for those who suffer claustrophobia or have issues with crawling long distances. The Speleologists chase the karst formation pursuing paleontological discovery.
Exploratory shaft to the digging. 128 buckets of ancient sediment removed in one afternoon. Ancient floods filled much of the karst formation with sand and clay often carrying ice age megafaunal bones into confined segments where they became entombed and preserved.
Children having the experience of a lifetime.
Human bones date from the region are among the most ancient in Europe with tools dating back as far as the lower Pleistocene. There was no evidence of fire use among earliest humans. Paleolithic Speleologist who forgot his lunch.
A paleolithic cave camp recreated for display.
Cave bear' skeleton fabulously preserved. This cave has produced mostly bear bones followed by lions. Three bear variants including the modern Ursus arctos, several lions, panthers, rhinoceros, caribou, wolf among others have been found so far here. Megafauna of the typical European ice age interglacial assemblage dating back as far as the Wurm glaciation are found in this grotto.
Copyright 2010 Jorma Jyrkkanen. All rights reserved.
TAGS: Aze, Cave, Cave bear skeleton, Grotte, France, exploration, excavation, Jorma Jyrkkanen
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