The oldest workshop for making shell jewelry has been unearthed at the Paleolithic 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.