Neandertal Lithic Industries at La Quina

Acknowledgments

During the period from the inception of the AmericanFrench Cooperative Excavation Project at La Quina to the conclusion of the recording of materials before the collections were removed from the L’Aubertie field station, the project received generous material and personal support from many agencies, institutions, and individuals. Initial thanks are due to the late Dr. Henri Delporte, the Musée des Antiquités Nationales at Saint-Germain-enLaye , and to the Ministry of Culture of France for their permission to carry out the excavation. Financial support began with a seed grant in 1983 for exploration of the possibilities for an excavation from Mrs. Agnese Nelms Lindley (now Mrs. Agnese N. Haury) that made the crucial visit with Dr. Delporte possible, as well as the ensuing visits to the site and to Bordeaux to organize the project. The initial season of work at the site in 1985 and the purchase of materials for the scaffolding and excavation were accomplished with support from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (Grant 4607). Through the 10 years of 1986 to 1995, support for the lease and maintenance of the field station at L’Aubertie was provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research of the University of Arizona. The expenses of the excavation for the 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989 field seasons were supported by the National Geographic Society (Grants 3311-86, 3524-87, 3934-88, and 4087-89). The field seasons of 1991, 1992, and 1993 were supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant BNS 9017307). The final excavation season in 1994 and laboratory research in 1995 were supported by a generous donation to the University of Arizona Department of Anthropology from Mrs. Agnese N. Haury. During the period of his participation in the project, Professor Harold L. Dibble received financial support from the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania . During the period of the excavation project, codirector André Debénath received a small annual stipend from the French Ministry of Culture that helped to defray the costs of supplies. Additional financial and practical help through the years resulted from Debénath’s organization of a Societé des Amis de La Quina that effected the participation of local people in support of the project. In the course of the project, the Ministry of Culture carried out construction and bore the costs of a support beam that ran the length of the shelter from above the cliff to the wall adjacent to the road that enabled us to remove masonry supports of the old beam that rested on deposits to be excavated. Research expenses and the lease of the field station in 1996 and 1997, and other budget shortfalls over the years, were paid out of my personal funds. Altogether, the funding for the project, aside from the beam construction , during the period from 1983 to 1997 was somewhat in excess of the equivalent of FF 1,500,00 in the exchange of the times. Of special significance and assistance has been a donation by Mrs. Agnese N. Haury to the La Quina fund in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona for publication support. Many people contributed time, practical assistance, and moral support through their confidence and friendship over the years of the project, beginning with the initial meeting in 1983 when Dr. Henri Delporte proposed the research. One of the most indispensable and supportive individuals was the late Mr. Rémy Marchand, the owner of the L’Aubertie field station, whose continuing concern for the well-being of the project and its personnel and whose good friendship, even through times that were difficult for him, gives him a special place in our memories . Among others whose confidence in the project was especially important at crucial times in its development and accomplishments are the late Lita Osmundsen, the late Mme. Denise de Sonneville-Bordes, the late Professor François Pratt, Professor Henry T. Wright, and Dr. John Yellen. A very special debt of gratitude is owed to Professor Anta Montet-White, who first introduced me to Dr. Delporte and who provided much good advice and meaningful insights for an archaeologist not always familiar with the ways of France and the French. The realization and continuing operation of the project would not have been possible without the many contributions of my colleague and codirector André Debénath, whose knowledge of the procedures and requirements necessary for an excavation project in France was always invaluable. His effectiveness in obtaining the...