Notes et variétés
New Discovery of a Neanderthal Child Burial from the Dederiyeh Cave in Syria
T. Akazawa, S. Muhesen, h. Ishida, O. Kondo and С Griggo
: Syria, Dederiyeh Cave, Neanderthal, Burial, Child, Mousterian. Mots Clefs : Syrie, grotte de Dederiyeh, Neanderthal, sépulture, enfant, Moustérien.
Dederiyeh cave
The Dederiyeh site in Syria is a large cave located ca. 400 km N of Damascus and 60 km NW of Aleppo. It has been chosen for excavations after an extensive survey made by a joint Syrian-Japanese expedition in 19871. The cave (36°24'N: 36°52'E). situated at an elevation of 450 m asi.
1. Вснл'м. 1988: Muhesen et ai. 1988.
lies on the left bank of Wadi Dederiyeh which crosses the western slope of Jabal Samaan. the eastern boundary of the Afrin Valley at the extreme North of the Rift (fig. 1 ).
The cave itself consists of a large chamber (15 m wide. 8 m high. ca. 50 m long). It presents a vaulted dome that reaches a height of over 10 m at its back. The cave has two entrances: the main one at the north, facing the wadi: the other is a natural chimney at the back of the cave, the size of which is ca 5 m x 10 m. The name "Dederiyeh" in Kurdish larmuaee means "two entrances"'.
Paiéonent. vol. 25/2. 1999. p. 129-142 ^ CNRS EDITIONS 2000
Manuscrit reçu le 20 juillet, accepté le 16 décembre /999
