IV.—Châtelperron: a New Survey of its Palaeolithic Industry

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Abstract
Some years ago the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, London, acquired the prehistoric collections resulting from the late Dr. Joseph Bailleau's excavations and researches in the Allier, that département which forms part of the old province of Bourbonnais, Central France (fig. I). The most important series is the classic one from a multiple cave, La Grotte des Fées, in the commune of Châtelperron. Stone and bone artifacts from here have long been held to typify the first stage of French Upper Palaeolithic culture. Assuch, the character of the most outstanding part of this industrial output is now familiar from innumerable references based on the writings of the Abbé H. Breuil, who in 1911 drew a number of inferences from the artifacts. These views have been fully supported since by evidence from elsewhere. However, credit is due in the first place to Bailleau for having attracted attention to thearchaeology of Châtelperron. Lecturing in 1866 he first mentioned his researches, and some years later he published a more detailed account of the discoveries, but in the state of knowledge then prevailing the full significance of the objects could not be appreciated. Now, having examined virtually all the known partof the Bailleau collection, and having classified quantities of other material from Châtelperron, added in different ways since Breuil referred to some of the relics, the present writer thinks that new features and certain aspects may usefully be brought to notice. That he can supplement previous communications is due to the opportunity he has had to study the remarkable collection handed over bythe executors of Dr. Bailleau's estate and also to information given him on the Palaeolithic lots by the Abbé G.-H. Pépin, Curé of Neuvy-lès-Moulins (Allier) and M. R. Sadourny, Moulins (Allier).

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