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Coygan Cave, Laugharne, South Wales, a Mousterian Site and Hyaena Den: a Report on the University of Cambridge Excavations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

Stephen Aldhouse-Green ,
Katharine Scott ,
Henry Schwarcz ,
Rainer Grün ,
Rupert Housley ,
Angela Rae ,
Richard Bevins  and
Mark Redknap
Stephen Aldhouse-Green
Affiliation:
Department of History and Archaeology, University of Wales College, Newport, Caerleon Campus, Newport NP6 1YG
Katharine Scott
Affiliation:
Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research Centre, 60 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PN
Henry Schwarcz
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Canada L8S 4M1
Rainer Grün
Affiliation:
Quaternary Dating Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
Rupert Housley
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Glasgow, 10 The Square, Glasgow G12 8QQ
Angela Rae
Affiliation:
c/o Oxford Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, 6 Keble Road, Oxford
Richard Bevins
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff CF1 3NP
Mark Redknap
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff CF1 3NP
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Abstract

Excavation by Charles McBurney and John Clegg during the early 1960s revealed a sequence with a Mousterian occupation, of which the principal finds were two bout coupé handaxes, stratified close to the base of a Middle Devensian hyaena-den accumulation. The human occupation should belong within the period 64–38 ka with comparative and stratigraphic evidence favouring a date within the earlier part of this range before 50 ka. The hyaena-den occupation probably extends from at least 40 ka (if not 60 ka) until c. 24 ka.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 61 , 1995 , pp. 37 - 79
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1995

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