Rosa Rubicondior: Refuting Creationism - A Jewellery Factory in France, At Least 32,000 Years Before 'Creation Week'

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Refuting Creationism - A Jewellery Factory in France, At Least 32,000 Years Before 'Creation Week'

Late Neanderthals and early European Homo sapiens may have lived and worked together in southwest France.

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The oldest shell jewellery workshop in Western Europe | CNRS

The creationism cult took another blow yesterday with the publication of details of the oldest jewellery workshop yet found in Western Europe—dating to at least 32,000 years before the mythical six-day creation of everything from nothing. The site appears to have been used for the organised manufacture of shell ornaments, suggesting a society in which the production and trade of personal adornment already played an important role.

The discovery, made by a team of scientists from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université de Bordeaux, the ministère de la Culture, and Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It records the excavation of a Palaeolithic site in southwest France, dating from a period when Homo sapiens were spreading into the region and Neanderthals were in decline.

However, the evidence points to a more complex story — one of coexistence and cultural exchange, or even the absorption of Neanderthals into the expanding H. sapiens populations, with traditions and technologies merging. It also raises the possibility that H. sapiens had been established in the area far earlier, perhaps through an earlier migration wave.

La Roche-à-Pierrot – Key Facts & Significance.

Excavation at la Roche-à-Pierrot

Location & Setting

The site lies in the commune of Saint-Césaire, Charente-Maritime, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwest France. [1]
It is an ancient rock-shelter (today partly collapsed) at the foot of a Turonian limestone cliff, on the right bank of the small Coran stream, just a few hundred metres from the village of Saint-Césaire. [1]
Over time, mining of the Turonian limestone around the site and construction of mushroom-growing galleries damaged parts of the site. [1]

History of Excavation

The site was discovered around 1975, during works associated with local infrastructure and subterranean galleries. [1]
Systematic excavations were carried out under François Lévêque between 1976 and 1987. [1]
Later campaigns took place in 1993 (Anna Mary Backer), 1997, and more recently from 2013 onwards, with programmed excavations since 2016 under the direction of Isabelle Crèvecœur and other collaborators. [1]
Adjacent to the site, the Paléosite de Saint-Césaire was opened in 2005 as a visitor/interpretation centre, partly to showcase and contextualise the finds from La Roche-à-Pierrot. [2]
In 2023, a new research centre (storage, labs, administrative spaces) was built on the Paléosite’s parking grounds to house archaeological collections formerly stored in less secure conditions. [1]

Stratigraphy & Cultural Layers

La Roche-à-Pierrot preserves a long sequence from the Middle to Upper Paleolithic, making it crucial in the study of the transition from Neanderthals to modern humans in Europe. [3]
Two main stratigraphic “ensembles” are recognised: the Ensemble gris (EG, older, Moustérien) and Ensemble jaune (EJ, later, including Châtelperronian, proto-Aurignacian and Aurignacian). [1]
In particular, the layer known as EJOP sup (one upper part of the Châtelperronian sequence) is of prime interest, because it is the level in which the Neanderthal individual (“Pierrette”) was found, associated (controversially) with Châtelperronian lithic tools. [1]
Beneath EJOP sup lies a sterile layer; below that is EJOP inf (which has been subject to debate, sometimes re-assigned to the Moustérien). [1]

Human Remains & the “Pierrette” Skeleton

On 27 July 1979, fragments of a Neanderthal skeleton were discovered in the EJOP sup layer and named “Pierrette.” [1]
The original association—Neanderthal remains with Châtelperronian lithic tools—has long been a focal point of debate about whether Neanderthals actually produced Châtelperronian culture or whether stratigraphic mixing distorted the association. [4]
Some more recent taphonomic, micromorphological, and spatial analyses cast serious doubt on the integrity of that association, citing possible post-depositional disturbance and mixing of material. [4]

Materials & Raw Resources

The lithic raw materials include both local and non-local sources:

Local flints from the overlying Turonian / Santonian / Coniacian formations (on the cliff, in local outcrops, and in the Coran stream). [1]
Exogenous flints from further distances (e.g. “grain de mil” flint sources to the east; Turonian flint from Ecoyeux to the north). [1]

The diversity of flint sources suggests selective transport of good-quality raw material, not mere opportunistic use. [1]

Broader Importance & Debates

La Roche-à-Pierrot is among the few sites that stand at the heart of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition debate (i.e. how and when Neanderthals gave way to modern humans, possible cultural transfer, interbreeding, or acculturation). [3]
The claim that Neanderthals produced Châtelperronian culture (with symbolic ornamentation) has always been controversial; La Roche-à-Pierrot is one of the primary battlegrounds in that controversy. [1]
The new shell-jewellery workshop claim, if robust, complicates the picture: it suggests a degree of symbolic, technological sophistication previously associated more with Homo sapiens, and thus plays into arguments about overlap, convergence, or shared capacities. [5]
Critics will emphasize the need to rigorously rule out stratigraphic mixing or later intrusion—an issue that has affected interpretations at this site before. [6]

The discovery and its wider significance are further detailed in a CNRS press release.

The oldest shell jewellery workshop in Western Europe
The oldest workshop for making shell jewellery has been unearthed at the Palaeolithic site of La Roche-à-Pierrot in Saint-Césaire, Charente-Maritime. Dating back at least 42,000 years and accompanied by red and yellow pigments, this unique assemblage in Western Europe has been linked to the Châtelperronian culture, which marks the transition between the last Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe. The study, conducted primarily by scientists from the CNRS, the l’université de Bordeaux, the ministère de la Culture and l’Université Toulouse 2 Jean Jaurès, is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This major discovery allows us to discuss the mobility of prehistoric populations and possible contact between different human groups during this significant period of prehistory.

The first shell jewellery workshop in Western Europe was discovered in Saint-Césaire (Charente-Maritime) by scientists primarily from the CNRS, l’université de Bordeaux, the ministère de la Culture and l’Université Toulouse 2 Jean Jaurès.
Accompanied by pigments and dating back at least 42,000 years, these shells have been linked to the Châtelperronian culture, in which bone and animal tooth jewellery had previously been the main artefacts documented.
This discovery suggests that the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe during this period contributed to the origin and diversity of this culture.

Between 55,000 and 42,000 years ago, Europe underwent a profound transformation, with the last Neanderthals being gradually replaced by groups of Homo sapiens arriving during their most recent migration out of Africa. The Châtelperronian, a prehistoric culture attested in France and northern Spain during this period, occupies a central place in research. Recognised as one of the earliest industries of the Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia, the identity of its artisans – Neanderthals or Homo sapiens – remains a matter of debate.

During new excavations at La Roche-à-Pierrot, conducted by scientists working at the De la Préhistoire à l'actuel: culture, environnement et anthropologie laboratory (CNRS/Ministère de la culture/Université de Bordeaux), the research team uncovered pierced shells and numerous pigments attributable to the Châtelperronian period. The absence of wear marks on some of the perforations and the presence of unpierced shells indicated that this was a genuine workshop for the manufacture of jewellery. Analyses revealed that these shells came from the Atlantic coast, at that time located about 100 kilometres away, while the pigments came from an area more than 40 kilometres away, providing evidence of long-distance trade networks or significant human mobility. Other remains found at the site include typical Neanderthal tools and the remains of hunted animals (bison, horses), highlighting the diversity and complexity of human occupation at that time.

These exceptional discoveries mark the first documented instance of an early Upper Palaeolithic industry and associated shell beads in Western Europe^1.1 . The jewellery and pigments identified bear witness to the explosion of symbolic expression during this period – marked by practices of ornamentation, social differentiation and identity affirmation – most generally associated with Homo sapiens. They also shed new light on the cultural variability of the time, suggesting that the Châtelperronian people were influenced by, or even belonged to, an early wave of Homo sapiens who arrived in the region at least 42,000 years ago.

Occupied by various human groups for nearly 30,000 years, Saint-Césaire remains a unique laboratory for understanding the dynamics of prehistoric settlements and the interactions between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Since 1976, excavations at this site have continued to yield valuable information, not least due to the revision of old collections and new methods of analysis and excavation implemented since 2013.
Eleven laboratories participated in this study under the supervision of the CNRS:

De la Préhistoire à l'actuel : culture, environnement et anthropologie (CNRS/Ministère de la culture/Université de Bordeaux)
Archéologie et Histoire ancienne : Méditerranée - Europe (CNRS/Ministère de la culture/Université de Strasbourg)
Environnement dynamique et territoires de la montagne (CNRS/Université Savoie Mont Blanc)
Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (CNRS/Ministère de la culture/Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès)
Histoire naturelle des Humanités préhistoriques (CNRS/MNHN/Université Perpignan Via Domitia)
Centre de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (AMU/CNRS/INRAE/IRD)
Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (AMU/Avignon Université/CNRS/IRD)
Laboratoire méditerranéen de préhistoire Europe-Afrique (AMU/CNRS/Ministère de la culture)
Géosciences Rennes (CNRS/Université de Rennes)
Archéosciences-Bordeaux : matériaux, temps, images et sociétés (CNRS/Université Bordeaux Montaigne)
Identité et différenciation de l'espace, de l'environnement et des sociétés (CNRS/Université Caen Normandie / Université Le Havre Normandie/ Université Rouen Normandie)

The Musée national de Préhistoire contributes to this initiative through the participation of Brad Gravina affiliated to the ministère de la Culture, curator responsible for the Early and Middle Paleolithic collections.

Top left: Microtomographic post-processing and virtual reconstruction of a Littorina obtusata shell from La Roche-à-Pierrot (Saint-Césaire, France), broken in situ during post-depositional events.
Centre left: Perforated Littorina obtusata shells associated with Châtelperronian stone tools.
Bottom left: Red and yellow pigments from the same area.
Right: Microscopic views of the modifications observed on Littorina obtusata: perforations made by pressure (a-e, g, h), pigment staining (f, h).

© S. Rigaud & L. Dayet.

Map of Europe illustrating the categories of raw materials used for personal ornaments from pre-Aurignacian Upper Palaeolithic archaeological contexts. Note the regional peculiarity of La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire, where shells were used to make jewellery.

© Archéosphère

Left: Thanatocoenosis on Men-Du beach (Brittany, France).
Centre: Reference collection of Littorina obtusata collected from the thanatocoenosis on 8th October 2016.
Right: Colour variability of L. obtusata.

© S. Rigaud

Publication:
F. Bachellerie, B. Gravina, S. Rigaud, L. Dayet, M. Thomas, L. Lebreton, E. Morin, C. Lesage, C. Falguères, E. Bard, J. Bahain, M. Baillet, C. Beauval, J. Bordes, G. Culioli, T. Devièse, D. Flas, L. Garbé, G. Guérin, F. Lacrampe-Cuyaubère, C. Lahaye, C. Mallol, J. Marot, B. Maureille, A. Michel, X. Muth, O. Regniers, E. Tartar, N. Teyssandier, A. Thibeault, D. Todisco, O. Tombret, H. Rougier, & I. Crevecoeur
Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122(39) e2508014122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2508014122 (2025).

Significance
The period between roughly 55 and 42 ka in Eurasia witnessed considerable biocultural changes, including the demic replacement of local Neanderthal populations by dispersing Homo sapiens groups. Once thought to be a rapid, monolithic process, new data have shown this demographic turnover to be far more complex, including a high degree of variability in stone tool technologies, symbolic expressions, including personal ornaments, and an earlier presence of H. sapiens in Eurasia than previously thought. Here, we present a robust, statistically supported spatial and site formation analysis of shell beads and pigments associated with Châtelperronian stone tools at La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire (France), and discuss their relevance for tracing Paleolithic cultural variability and the emergence of symbolic expressions.

Abstract
The timing and mechanisms underlying the gradual replacement of Neanderthal populations by Homo sapiens groups have elicited heated debate for decades. The Châtelperronian of France and northern Spain has figured prominently in these discussions. While the Neanderthal authorship of this techno-complex is far less certain than previously thought, the Châtelperronian is now generally accepted as being among the first genuine Upper Paleolithic industries in Eurasia rather than a “transitional” stone tool technology. Here, we report the first association of shell beads with Châtelperronian artifacts from new excavations at the site of La-Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire (France), supported by a multiproxy spatial analysis that incorporates site formation processes. Similar types of personal ornaments are unknown from Middle Paleolithic contexts. Comparable examples have, however, been recovered from contexts penecontemporaneous with the Châtelperronian in south-eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean. This hitherto undocumented combination of an early Upper Paleolithic industry and shell beads provides insights into cultural variability in western Europe and raises the question as to whether the makers of the Châtelperronian were influenced by or formed part of the earliest dispersals of H. sapiens into the region.

F. Bachellerie, B. Gravina, S. Rigaud, L. Dayet, M. Thomas, L. Lebreton, E. Morin, C. Lesage, C. Falguères, E. Bard, J. Bahain, M. Baillet, C. Beauval, J. Bordes, G. Culioli, T. Devièse, D. Flas, L. Garbé, G. Guérin, F. Lacrampe-Cuyaubère, C. Lahaye, C. Mallol, J. Marot, B. Maureille, A. Michel, X. Muth, O. Regniers, E. Tartar, N. Teyssandier, A. Thibeault, D. Todisco, O. Tombret, H. Rougier, & I. Crevecoeur
Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122(39) e2508014122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2508014122 (2025).

© [year] [publisher].
Reprinted under the terms of s60 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The discovery at La Roche-à-Pierrot is yet another reminder that human history is vastly deeper and richer than the shallow timescale promoted by creationist mythology. Here we have clear evidence, not only of human presence in Western Europe tens of thousands of years before the supposed “beginning of the world,” but of complex social behaviour — the organised production of ornaments for trade and display. Such practices point to symbolic thought, cultural exchange, and long-distance networks of interaction.

Far from being the product of a sudden “creation event,” humanity emerges from the archaeological record as the result of a long and intricate evolutionary history. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens overlapped in time and space, exchanging technologies, ideas, and genes. The shell jewellery workshop reinforces the view that symbolic culture was not unique to one species, but part of a shared and evolving behavioural repertoire.

For creationists, findings like these are inconvenient truths. They expose the bankruptcy of a worldview that insists on denying the evidence of archaeology, genetics, and palaeontology. For science, however, each discovery like this adds another layer of understanding to the story of who we are and how we came to be — a story written in the sediments of ancient rock shelters, in the tools and ornaments of our ancestors, and in the shared heritage that unites us all.

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