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Cotencher, Palaeolithic residential cave

Rochefort, Italy

Cotencher, Palaeolithic residential cave

The Grotte de Cotencher is a cave in the Jura Mountains located in the Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It is a high-altitude Mousterian site, the first of its kind discovered in Switzerland in 1867, and it has served as a reference for research on the fauna contemporary with the Mousterian since t

he first major excavations (1916–1918). The cave is primarily known for yielding a large number of lithic artifacts (approximately 450), as well as Neanderthal human remains. Following recent work, the cave was reopened to the public in 2018 and is accessible from June to September as part of guided tours led by an expert guide. As for the finds from the site, some are exhibited at the Laténium in the section titled "Au pays du Grand Ours," along with a cross-section taken from the site showing its stratigraphy. Meanwhile, bone remains uncovered during the initial excavations in 1867, including canines and paws of Ursus spelaeus, can be viewed at the Musée de l'Areuse, located in Boudry, Neuchâtel.

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