From Season to Season:
a Revision of the Functional Status of Sauveterrian Sites
in the North Eastern Sector of the Italian Peninsula
and Implications for the Mobility of Human Groups
Federica FONTANA
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Abstract
In this paper, I reconsider the “classic” occupation model for the north eastern sector of the Italian peninsula during the Sauveterrian based on a re-evaluation of the functional status of the known sites. The analysis is based on research conducted with the goal of defining the notion of a hunting camp in order to revise the archaeological data available in this territory. As a result, two categories of organised occupations could be defined: 1) the numerous sites of the alpine sector located in varying topographical and altimetric situations (in valley bottoms, and in the mid and high mountain zones) and often characterised by restricted occupation areas, the frequency of the habitation structures and economic activities with a strong hunting bias, and 2) the rare sites on the plains, which cover larger occupation areas and for which we have almost no economic data. This context suggests, at the least, a nomadic system within the alpine territory involving small groups based in different valleys and who moved to higher ground during the summer in connection with hunting activities. It is also possible that these groups belonged to communities with varying compositions that moved within a larger territory extending towards the Adriatic, with the installation of aggregation camps on the plain in the winter.
To cite this article
Fontana F., 2011 – From Season to Season: a Revision of the Functional Status of Sauveterrian Sites in the North Eastern Sector of the Italian Peninsula and Implications for the Mobility of Human Groups, in Bon F., Costamagno S., Valdeyron N. (eds.), Hunting Camps in Prehistory. Current Archaeological Approaches, Proceedings of the International Symposium, May 13-15 2009, University Toulouse II – Le Mirail, P@lethnology, 3, 291-308.
Chronology and territories in the Magdalenian
between the Rhône and Ebro rivers:
the Exemple of Lithics Points
Mathieu LANGLAIS
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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
