REFLECTIONS ON THE MOBILITY PATTERNS OF MESOLITHIC POPULATIONS
IN SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE:
the Example of the Brive and Quercy Regions
Magali REVERSAT
Download
Abstract
How was the mobility of Mesolithic groups organized in the Quercy and Brive Basins? Were open-air sites and caves and rock shelter sites complementary? What is the contribution of these different site types to questions concerning mobility patterns? Though it is probably not feasible to apply a single model to these Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies, it is possible to address some questions through analysis of the material evidence, such as lithic industries, faunal remains, and even vegetal remains. In theory, the variable proportions of these elements reflect specialized site functions, seasonality strategies and the economic organization of these societies and their territories. However, is the variation of these elements linked to socio-cultural and environmental factors, or the function of a specific site-type (open-air, cave or rock shelter)? In the regions considered here, it is difficult to distinguish between these factors due to the variable nature of the bibliographic sources related to the sites, the taphonomic condition of the assemblages, and the great number of open-air sites known only through survey operations. This study has nonetheless enabled us to inventory the available documentation, as well as revealing differences and similarities in the economic strategies of these populations.
To cite this article
Reversat M., 2014 – Reflections on the Mobility Patterns of Mesolithic Populations in South-Western France: the Example of the Brive and Quercy Regions, in Henry A., Marquebielle B., Chesnaux L., Michel S. (eds.), Techniques and Territories: New Insights into Mesolithic Cultures, Proceedings of the Round table, November 22-23 2012, Maison de la recherche, Toulouse (France), P@lethnology, 6, 96-111.
THE COMPLEX EVOLUTION OF THE MESOLITHIC IN PICARDIE
Thierry DUCROCQ
Download
Abstract
Numerous absolute dates enable the construction of a detailed chronology of the Mesolithic in Picardie. Here, phases of typological stability are separated by clear breaks. A rapid analysis of diverse elements reveals changes that were more significant than simple modifications of projectile points.
To cite this article
Ducrocq T., 2014 – The Complex Evolution of the Mesolithic in Picardie, in Henry A., Marquebielle B., Chesnaux L., Michel S. (eds.), Techniques and Territories: New Insights into Mesolithic Cultures, Proceedings of the Round table, November 22-23 2012, Maison de la recherche, Toulouse (France), P@lethnology, 6, 89-95.
Chronological signification
of LBK waste assemblages:
the Contribution of Anthracological, Typological and Stratigraphic Data
from Three LBK Sites in the Hesbaye (Liège Province, Belgium)
Dominique BOSQUET, Aurélie SALAVERT, Mark GOLITKO
Download
Abstract
Considerations on the chronological signification of Linearbandkeramik (LBK) waste assemblages are presented in this study based on data from anthracology, ceramic seriation and vertical distribution of pottery in pits. Interesting evidence concerning the occupation chronology is provided and a more complex vision of LBK refuse disposal is proposed than that generally accepted. In particular, it is argued that pits, as they appear today to archaeologists, represent no more than a few years of use. It is likely that refuse was first dumped in surface middens, and gradually displaced afterwards to the pits we excavate today.
To cite this article
Bosquet D., Salavert A., Golitko M., 2010 – Chronological Signification of LBK Waste Assemblages: the Contribution of Athracological, Typological and Stratigraphic Data from Three LBK Sites in the Hesbaye (Liège Province, Belgium), in Théry-Parisot I., Chabal L., Costamagno S., The taphonomy of Burned Organic Residues and Combustion Features in Archaeological Contexts, Proceedings of the round table, May 27-29 2008, CEPAM, P@lethnology, 2, 39-57.
“Hunters” and “Herders” in the Central Sahara:
the “archaic Hunters” expelled from the paradigm
Jean-Loïc LE QUELLEC
Download
Abstract
With regard to the chronology of the rock art of the whole Saharan sub-continent, a very common opinion is that, starting from the VIIth millennium BP or even earlier, an older “Culture of the Hunters” had been replaced by groups of “Herders”, and that this change appeared in rock art as a modification of styles, techniques and, above all, of the set of themes associated with the imaginative world of these two populations. A series of recent publications renews this proposal for the Fezzan province, by presenting “archaic Hunters” as existing before 8000 BP, or even as dating from the very Late Pleistocene. After analysing the methodology and the arguments adopted by its authors, this thesis will finally be confronted with, and largely contradicted by, new observations carried out on the two plateaux of the Libyan Messak, i.e. in one of the supposed ‘homes’ of the aforesaid “Hunters Culture”.
To cite this article
Le Quellec J.-L., 2009 – “Hunters” and “Herders” in the Central Sahara: the “Archaic Hunters” Expelled from the Paradigm, P@lethnology, Varia, 388-397.
Chronology and territories in the Magdalenian
between the Rhône and Ebro rivers:
the Exemple of Lithics Points
Mathieu LANGLAIS
Download
Abstract
The most recent research on Magdalenian lithic and bone projectiles allows us to make comparisons between large territories and in this way to confront the regional typological synthesis on which our thinking is based. A comparative study of several lithic assemblages between the Rhone and the Ebro Rivers, and the definition of standard point manufacturing technologies raise many questions concerning the identity of the Late Glacial (Tardiglacial) Magdalenian. This study is part of a doctoral thesis being currently being realized in collaboration with the universities of Toulouse-Le Mirail (TRACES) and Barcelona (SERP). In this article, we present our first results as food for thought in the characterization of the Magdalenian in Southern France and Northern Spain. Recognized over a large territory, the Lower Magdalenian is very different from the Magdalenian of later phases (Middle and Upper Magdalenian) due to the existence of large backed bladelets and micro-bladelets, sometimes associated with shouldered points on blades. The later Magdalenian is characterized by specific lithic point morphotypes. By integrating this data with the raw material circulation, we raise the question of the chronological, territorial and techno-economical identities of the Magdalenian between the Rhone and Ebro Rivers.
To cite this article
Langlais M., 2009 – Chronology and Territories in the Magdalenian between the Rhône and Ebro rivers: the Exemple of Lithics Points, in Pétillon J.-M., Dias-Meirinho M.-H., Cattelain P., Honegger M., Normand C., Valdeyron N., Projectile Weapon Elements from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, Proceedings of session C83, XVth UISPP World Congress, Lisbon, September 4-9, 2006, P@lethnology, 1, 211-240.
Archéologie et Sciences humaines
