Since its discovery in 1947, the dating of Fontéchevade I, a fragment of human frontal bone (lacking a supraorbital torus), has posed a problem for paleoanthropologists. In spite of its apparently modern appearance, it has been considered to date from the last interglacial or even earlier. Such a date would be much earlier than any other convincing evidence of anatomically modern peoples in Europe. One goal of the excavations reported in this monograph was to clarify the chronological position of the Fontéchevade I specimen.

Fontéchevade I was recovered approximately 6.5 m in front of the present-day dripline of the cave, in Henri-Martin's Bed E0 – that is to say, 2.40 to 2.60 m below her datum (Henri-Martin 1957). About 2 m farther toward the cave, in Bed E1′ (2.60–2.80 m below datum), a more archaic-looking calotte (Fontéchevade II) was discovered.

Fontéchevade I consists of a fragment of frontal that includes glabella, the medial portion of the left superciliary arch, and a small part of the squamous portion above these. What is remarkable about this piece, given its apparent age, is the complete absence of a frontal torus. This feature, as well as the thinness of the squamous portion, gives it a very modern appearance. Fontéchevade II consists of the upper part of the frontal bone and portions of the left and right parietals. The specimen, much more archaic in appearance, is distinguished by the thickness of the cranial walls.