From Impresso-Cardial to SMP and Chassey in Provence

Transcription

From Impresso-Cardial to SMP and Chassey
Rivista di Studi Liguri, LXXVII – LXXIX (2011–2013)
From Impresso-Cardial to SMP and Chassey in Provence
Didier Binder* - Cedric Lepère*
This paper presents the current data and hypotheses
concerning the components and cultural dynamics in
Provence during the 5th and the beginning of the 4th millennium cal BCE. Questions of a major interest, concerning funeral and symbolic practices, economy and settlement pattern, are unfortunately not explored here due to
the lack of data.
The broad dispersion of data in space and time explains the considerable variability observed among the
archeological sets.
From a French point of view, the question of the Cardial vs. Chassey “transition” has been considered for a
long time as the major phenomenon to be understood
during that period of time.
Recent advances in radiocarbon dating have deeply
modified the chronological and cultural framework. AMS
techniques have driven new practices of sampling; they
have provided more precise and accurate dates and, over
all, a better reliability between dates and dated events.
The consequence is a great change in time scale perception and periodization, as the Cardial disappeared before
4850 cal BCE and the earliest Chassey sensu stricto did
not occur before 4300 cal BCE.
Nowadays, the situation appears rather clearly as
different between Western Provence where the Cardial
tradition persists at the beginning of the 5th millennium,
and Eastern Provence where a renewal is due to the emergence of the SMP culture at the end of the 6th millennium.
1. Western Provence and the Cardial tradition, 50504700 cal BCE
In Western Provence the Cardial traditions seem to be
still strong after 5200 cal BCE, as previously suggested
by Courtin1 (Fig.1). Actually, except for Les Baux-deProvence – Escanin that provided few typical Gazel 3
shards2, one can observe a very weak contribution of the
Epicardial patterns to the late Impressed-ware pottery assemblages. Both the Late Cardial and Early Epicardial are
considered merely as contemporary sets, between which
obvious interactions are highlighted: reciprocal transfers
of techniques (e.g. crushed calcite temper) or decoration
patterns if not exchanges of pots3. Their coexistence is
attested between 5300 and 4850 cal BCE and, if not due
to any artifact of the calibration curve, the Late Cardial
using cardium impressed pots continues there even till
4850 cal BCE (e.g. Courthézon-Baratin, ST2 and ST5) at
the same time as the Epicardial potters used channeled,
plastic or incised decorations (e.g. Remoulins – grotte du
Taï, or Nîmes – Mas de Vignoles X4). In addition late
LBK pottery types have been recognized in western
Provence (i.e. Cheval-Blanc – Grande Grotte5) that could
be associated with Epicardial shards with channeled decorations. This underlines the role played by the Rhône
corridor for connecting Impresso-cardial and LBK traditions, and reinforces the previous diagnosis of transfers
within the material culture patterns6.
Only three sites are helpful for dealing with immediate post-cardial events in Western Provence between
5000-4900 and 4700 cal BCE, while Eastern Languedoc
sites are still occupied by Epicardial groups (e.g. Mas
de Vignoles X7): Châteauneuf-les-Martigues – abri de
la Font-des-Pigeons (Bouches-du-Rhône): levels 7-11,
from 5050 to 4850 cal BCE8; Venasque – Céron openair settlement (Vaucluse): from 4950 to 4700 al BCE9;
Lamotte-du-Rhône – Petites-Bâties open-air settlement:
northern sector, from 4800 to 4700 cal BCE10.
Post-cardial pottery shapes are quite similar to the
Cardial ones but cardium and, more generally, impressions on the pot bodies are no longer in use, unlike lip
impressions and cordon applications. The latter provide
various types of dispositions e.g. at Céron. Ribbon handles are very frequent. Crushed calcite or limestone gravel tempers are broadly used.
Among these three sites, only Céron, quite close to
the Bedoulian honey flint outcrops and workshops, provides substantial lithic series. The latter fit with Cardial
traditions including blades knapped with the punch technique, notched and denticulated flakes, splintered pieces and a few trapezoidal microliths used as transverse
arrowheads. However the blade production is diverse
compared to the Cardial, with a small set of bladelets for
which the pressure use has still to be confirmed11.
Other series from the Bouches-du-Rhône district
(i.e. Jouques – grotte de l’Adaouste12; Simiane-Collongues – Col Sainte-Anne, burial13) could be linked to
these aspects.
Late Cardial or Post-Cardial pottery facies, with
cordon applications, had been already characterized by
* Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, UMR6130, Campus Saint-Jean-d’Angély, SJA3 - CEPAM- UMR 6130 CNRS-UNS, 24, avenue des
Diables Bleus, 06357 Nice Cedex 4, [email protected], [email protected].
22
Didier Binder, Cedric Lepère

1: Nîmes - Mas-de-Vignoles X – 2: Lamotte-du-Rhône - Les Petites-Bâties – 3: Courtézon - Baratin – 4: Venasque - Céron – 5: Les Baux - Escanin 2 – 6: Simiane-Collongue - Col Sainte-Anne – 7: Châteauneuf-les-Martigues - La Font-de-Pigeons – 8: Jouques - grotte de l’Adaouste – 9: Salernes - baume Fontbregoua – 10: Grotte de
Saint-Benoît – 11: Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey - grotte Lombard – 12: Castellar - abri Pendimoun
Fig. 1 - Main Post-Cardial and Cardial-SMP transition sites from Provence.
Beeching in the middle Rhône valley14and northwards in
Auvergne15or in the Saône valley16. The hypothesis that
the cultural development at that time could have combined Mediterranean and post-LBK components at the
origin of some aspects of the Cerny culture (i.e. Augy
type) is still a very open issue that needs further investigation and, overall, new field data.
2. Eastern Provence and the SMP formation, 52004850 cal BCE
In Eastern Provence, the end of the Cardial cycle and
the “Middle Neolithic transition” are documented thanks
to Castellar – abri Pendimoun, Salernes – baume Fontbregoua contexts and, in addition, thanks to the reassessment of several old archaeological series (Fig. 1).
At the Pendimoun rock-shelter, the Late Cardial deposits situated above the Impressa and Early Cardial features (respectively ca. 5800-5500 and ca. 5500-5300 cal
BCE) have still not been dated. Many structures, such
as pits and fire places, are then linked to short occupations dedicated to pastoral and hunting activities as well
as pottery production. A poor lithic set is made of local
resources (Grimaldi-Mortolà superiore conglomerates)
and few items imported from the Vaucluse workshops.
Pottery provides diverse instrumental impressions in addition to cardium rocker or dragged impressions. In the
aim of this paper, it is of some interest to notice the presence of cups with lobed rims interpreted as SMP shape
prototypes17.
The subsequent deposits are considered today as referring to the initial stage of the SMP complex. Unlike
the previous cardial stage, the structures seem to be more
stable with deep pits and large post pits associated with
different types of hearths. The latest Cardial deposits
are cut, in the southern sector of the shelter, by a small
hearth (US 21696) dated around 5050-4850 cal BCE
and in the northern sector by two hearths (US 14549
and 16657) dated around 5210 -5050 cal BCE18. Those
dates are closely similar to the Finale – Pollera cave, initial SMP levels (OxCal combined dates for levels XV
to XVIII is between 5050 and 4850 cal BCE) as well as
to the Finale – Arene Candide Initial SMP (OxCal combined dates for the Tinè’s layer 13 is around 5200-5000
cal BCE)19. The related pottery assemblages are rather
small and the open question of their partition in successive sets has to be investigated at Pendimoun thanks to
the analysis of 3D data. Decorated pottery is very scarce
and includes rocker impressions probably realized with
a Mytilus shell (classical flames or original “diabolo”
designs), scratched designs (hatched triangles and ladders), the latter especially on a single small pedestal, and
impressed stab-and-drag or impronte trascinate shards.
The other characteristics are lobed rims, impressed lips,
large ribbon handles and few carinated highly burnished
pots20; in addition the use of crushed calcite temper is
specific of this horizon compared to the whole Neolithic
sequence21. The very scarce lithic assemblage includes
few products of honey-flint from the Vaucluse, green
radiolarite and light-grey white-dotted flint that refer to
the Eastern Liguria, the Northern Tuscany, the Piedmont
or the Lombardia resources. Some fragments of jadeites
and omphacitites are attributed by Pétrequin and Errera
to the Viso quarries and workshops, which is consistent
with the starting of craft activities at that place dating to
5200-5000 cal BCE22.
The Fontbregoua cave23 is a great key site too for understanding the 5th millennium transition in Provence. In
the central sector of the cave, above the classical Cardial
deposits (layers 47-45, dated between 5400 and 5150 cal
BCE, considering ST.H2 and layer 46f), a set of strata
(layers 44-41) is attributed to the Late Cardial. Bowls
decorated with Mytilus rocker impressions, scratched
designs as well as rims with coupled lobs are the characteristic shapes and decorations, generally tempered with
crushed calcite within this horizon; cardium impressions
are still in use. A terminus ad quem for this phase is given by the dates of butchered individuals deposed in a pit
(H3) dug at the top of the layer 41: ca. 5050-4950 cal
BCE24. This result indicates that Fontbregoua Late Cardial phase is, in a whole, contemporary to Initial SMP at
the Arene Candide as well as Pendimoun-northern sector,
and gives consistency to the presence of scratched wares
associated with late impressed wares, as observed for instance within the initial SMP layers of the Pollera cave25.
In Fontbregoua Late Cardial levels, the lithic industry is
rather similar to the classical Cardial one but includes
larger transverse arrowheads and small “tranchets” that
will persist during the following phases.
New dates obtained for Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey –
grotte Lombard26could highlight the chronology of the
deposits: a date made from Cervus confirmes a Cardial
hunting occupation between 5310 and 5150 cal BCE,
while a date made from an Ovis bone indicates a 52105040 cal BCE range. Considering the dichotomy of the
pottery production with, on one hand, Cardium impressed
imported pots and, on the other hand, calcite tempered
pots with Mytilus rocker and incised designs27, it is still
today difficult to assume that the occupation could have
corresponded to a single event. If not, the latest episode
could be contemporary to the Late Cardial phase at Fontbregoua and the Initial SMP horizon as well.
The 3D database has to be checked again in the perspective of identifying a solution of continuity within the
deposit.
3. SMP and Pre-Chassey in Provence
The Pre-Chassey horizon has been defined in the late
seventies by Courtin at the Fontbregoua cave thanks to
the study of layers 40 to 31 at that site. The pottery assemblage has been described by Luzi and Courtin28 (fig.
2). Most of the shapes are simple and continuous: large
cups and bowls with an S profile, hemispheric or ellipsoid bowls, tulip or ellipsoid pots and necked jars. Handles are commonly perforated buttons, oves or bobbins
on small or medium pots, while ribbon handles are often
associated with jars with a plastic decoration. Few examples of segmented pots and multi-perforated cordons are
the main arguments advanced for a linkage to the Chassey complex. The decoration is rare and the more typical are small distinct or sequential curved impressions
organized as geometric designs or metopes.
Within the lithic industries, two successive sets were
identified29. The earliest stage (layers 36-40) still shows
similarities with the Late Cardial industries due to some
prismatic blades and large geometric arrowheads or small
“tranchets”. The following layers (35-31) are quite distinctive with a homogeneous set provided on cores imported as flakes from the western Bedoulian sources: blanks
are all produced using direct percussion; tools are twisted
backed blades, end-scrappers and mostly irregular bifacial
arrowheads. The latter are shaped by percussion and hafted in such a rough way, without much more regularization.
The origin of these bifacial productions is still unknown, but we have to consider that arrowheads of this
type were associated in layer 41 with the human butchered remains from pit H3. In consequence, the dates obtained for this pit H3 could also be considered as a terminus a quo for the Pre-Chassey phase at Fontbregoua.
In addition, the end of the Pre-Chassey sequence at
Fontbregoua is roughly dated, due to the large standard deviations of the radiocarbon measures; however, combined
dates could situate the levels 33 to 31 at ca. 4550-4350
cal BCE30, contemporary to the second stage of SMP. In a
whole, the Pre-Chassey evolution at Fontbregoua could be
parallel to the Initial (pro parte) and to the Finale-Quinzano
and Rivoli-Chiozza stages of the SMP culture.
Several sites from central and eastern Provence are
intended to be situated within this chronological range.
The Saint-Benoît cave, situated quite far from the littoral, had been excavated at the beginning of the 20th
23
24

1: Lamotte-du-Rhône - Les Petites-Bâties – 2: Orange - La Bertaude – 3: L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue - Les Bagnoles – 4: Les Baux - Escanin 2 – 5: Simiane-Collongue - Col SainteAnne – 6: Marseille - grotte Loubière – 7: Jouques - grotte de l’Adaouste – 8: Allauch - baume Sourne – 9: Evenos - Logis du Bord de l’Eau – 10: Evenos - grotte Cimay – 11:
Evenos - grotte de la Stalagmite – 12: Lurs - Les Clavelles – 13: Montpezat - grotte Murée – 14: Baudinard - grotte de l’Eglise – 15: Baudinard - grotte C – 16: Salernes baume Fontbregoua – 17: Châteauvieux - grotte des Fées – 18: Aven de Vauclare – 19: Grotte de Saint-Benoît – 20: Gourdon - vallon de Pierrefeu – 21: Grasse - Chiris – 22:
Roquebrune-sur-Argens - La Roquette – 23: Cavalaire - Centre-Ville – 24: Nice - Giribaldi – 25: Peillon - Le Rastel – 26: Tourrettes Levens - baume Périgaud – 27: Castellar
- abri Pendimoun
Fig. 2 - Main SMP, Pre-Chassey, Proto-Chassey and Early Chassey sites from Provence.
Century by Rivière and in the sixties by Barral31. The materials have been revisited within the ETICALP project32,
while the site conservation was checked by Lepère.
At Barral excavations “point 8”, in addition to some
Chassey shards, the pottery provides diverse components.
Some of them are probably related to the Cardial-SMP
transition and others to the classical SMP or Pre-Chassey.
A bottle neck already compared to Fiorano33 could be associated with the earliest occupation. Two figulina shards
found there also need further investigation.
In the Var district, scarce documentation is known:
isolated shards refer either to SMP analogs (Roquebrune-sur-Argens – abri de la Roquette; Evenos – grotte
de la Stalagmite) or to Fontbregoua specimens (Evenos –
grotte Cimay); at Cavalaire – Centre-Ville, a built hearth
with a single shard is dated around 4900-4750 cal BCE34.
In the Alpes-Maritimes, the earliest structure at Nice
– Giribaldi (northern sector, hearth ST.1, phase VG-A)
provided a small ceramic set that refers to Fontbregoua
Pre-Chassey; it is dated around 4700-4450 cal BCE35. At
Peillon – abri du Rastel, a burial previously considered
Mesolithic has recently appeared to be a cist burial, comparable to the Arene Candide ones36; the date of human
bones (ca. 4700-4550 cal BCE) and the few lithics and
shards of the context are consistent with a SMP1 age.
SMP culture influences to the West seem to be stronger than previously suggested37 and its relation to Fontbregoua Latest Cardial and Pre-Chassey horizons is a
tremendous question yet to be solved.
4. Nice – Villa Giribaldi and the Southern Chassey
formation
Rescue excavations at the open air settlement of Nice
– Villa Giribaldi (fig. 2) provided a set of pits and waste
spreading to the southern sector of the operation, dated
to the second half of the 5th millennium38. Two phases, B
and C, have been considered; both correspond to couples
of pit fillings and each could be divided into sub-phases.
The Giribaldi phase B corresponds to pits 6A (ca.
4340-4160 cal BCE) and 6B (ca. 4550-4360 cal BCE).
1: Lamotte-du-Rhône - Le Duc – 2: Piolenc - Oppidum des Roches – 3: Orange - La Bertaude – 4: Caromb - La Combe – 5: Mazan - Plain Panier - 6: Blauvac - SaintEstève – 7: Lagnes - Claparouse – 8: Cheval Blanc - L’Escaoupré – 9: Les Baux - Escanin 2 – 10: Orgon - Malvoisin – 11: Simiane-Collongue - Col Sainte-Anne – 12: Vernègues
- L’Héritière II – 13: Marseille - Bernard-du-Bois – 14: Marseille - grotte Loubière – 15: Trets - Terres-Longues – 16: Rousset - Le Plan – 17: Evenos - Logis du Bord de
l’Eau – 18: Correns - abri Sous-Ville – 19: Salernes - Fontbregoua – 20: Salernes - baume du Pin – 21: Baudinard - grotte C – 22: Baudinard - grotte G – 23: Baudinard grotte de l’Eglise – 24: Montpezat - grotte Murée – 25: Aven de Vauclare – 26: Grotte de saint-Benoît – 27: Méailles - grotte de Pertus 2 – 28: Saint-Raphaël - La Cabre – 29:
Grasse - Chiris – 30: La Colle-sur-Loup - grotte Bianchi – 31: Beaulieu - magasin Giaume – 32: Nice - Caucade – 33: Castellar - abri Pendimoun – 34: Tende - Gias del Ciari
Fig. 3 - Main Classical / Late Chassey sites from Provence.
Pit 6B that provided a large set of material had been cut
by the digging of 6A that could then contain inherited
elements from 6B. In fact, pit 6B is the more secure
context to be taken in account here. Some pottery from
this structure have typical SMP2 decoration: a piece of
small bowl decorated a filo spinato shows exact parallels with La Vela specimens; stab and drag or trascinate
decoration is also attested; meanders and excised triangles lines are disposed on plates that we consider to be
Chassey prototypes. On the other hand some cups, bowls
or pots are quite similar to Pre-Chassey shapes and some
segmented shapes are also present; however no typical
square mouths have been found there. The associated Bedoulian flint industry is identical to Fontbregoua 35-31
Pre-Chassey series, but in addition 6B filling provided a
set of obsidian flakes and pressure bladelets originating
from Lipari39.
Giribaldi-phase B is interpreted as a Proto-Chassey
horizon illustrating that the formation of the Southern
Chassey complex could be due to a syncretism between
Pre-Chassey and SMP2.
The Giribaldi phase C corresponds to deep pits 3
(ca.4330-4040 cal BCE) and 7 (ca.4230-3990 cal BCE).
Considering the pottery assemblage, this phase shows
the development of the typical Chassey package: pots
with multi-perforated cordons or “flûtes de Pan”, spoons
with a flat handle, plates with a complex scratched decoration and “vases supports” decorated or rough. Lithics
include Pre-Chassey bifacial elements and obsidian pressure bladelets similar to the previous phase. However
rock-cristal pressure bladelets and cores appear as well
as craft punch or pressure productions from the HauteProvence workshops imported as central blades. In addition, the role of pressure for shaping piercing arrowheads
increases.
Considering the radiocarbon dates and the continuity
with Giribaldi phase B, phase C is interpreted as one of
the first expressions of Early Southern Chassey (Chassey
period A).
Few precise data are available to be compared. Westwards, Berriac – Les Plots40 provided similar decorated
plates with one date close to Giribaldi pit 7 at ca. 4200-
25
26

3960 cal BCE. Northwards, level 9 from the early phase
of Chassey-le-Camp – La Redoute shows many parallels
with Giribaldi-phase C and a radiocarbon date similar to
that of pit 3 (ca.4330-4050 cal BCE)41. Eastwards, some
Chassey elements found in Fossacesia could refer to Early
Chassey or to the very beginning of Late Chassey; combined radiocarbon dates for the middle phase of Ripoli are
similar to the whole Giribaldi-phase C42. In Liguria, the
pottery set from Alpicella cave43 could illustrate the coexistence of Early Chassey and recent or “Lombardian” SMP
vessels, a question to be reinvestigated.
In Provence, few sites could refer with a variable
confidence to the Early Chassey stage : L’Isle-sur-laSorgues – Les Bagnoles44 with amazing painted wares
compared to Lengyel culture specimens; some aspects
of Baudinard – grotte de l’Eglise supérieure, with recto-verso scratched plates45, many piercing arrowheads
including Pre-Chassey types as well as Lipari obsidian;
Baudinard – grotte C, inferior levels; Montpezat – grotte
Murée, layer 10; Fontbrégoua, levels 25-29; Pendimoun
northern sector, us.9981 dated ca.4230-3990 cal BCE;
Grasse – Chiris settlement where four radiocarbon dates
between 4250 and 3960 cal BCE could be a concern for
Early Chassey deposits illustrated by a few decorated
plates46.
5. The “Classical” and Late Chassey in Provence in
the 4th millennium cal BCE
Most of the data concerning the Southern Chassey
complex in Provence refer to the “classical” and late aspects, to be dated between 4100 cal BCE at the earliest
and 3600 cal BCE at the latest, and even 3350 cal BCE
if one decides to include the aspects of Late Neolithic in
which Chassey traditions are still present (Fig. 3).
For many years the periodization of their pottery assemblages was considered a chimera and the research
was focused on evolutionary trends of tool kits and blade
productions47. The situation has rather changed today after the reassessment of the pottery question48.
Considering lithic assemblages, major changes in
techniques and resource management have occurred
just before 4000 cal BCE. One of them is the huge development of bladelet productions in bedoulian honey
flint, due to the introduction of heat treatment of cores at
that time. The heat treatment is a specialized and risky
practice led by craftsmen at the Vaucluse workshops
and which appears, in the state of our knowledge, quite
suddenly. For instance, it is highly demonstrative that
none of the bladelets had been knapped from heated precores at the end of the Nice-Giribaldi occupation (42003960 cal BCE) while the all of the bladelets had been so
knapped at the nearby site of Nice-Caucade (4040-3970
cal BCE). Similar data from the Villeneuve-Tolosane
well (around 4220-3960 cal BCE, with the higher density of probability between 4050 and 3960) confirm this
chronological range49.
After 4000 cal BCE, changes progressively appeared
within the blade knapping methods50, a trend which is
currently discussed and detailed thanks to the studies
conducted at the workshop places51. Bedoulian craft production networks reached Tuscany (e.g. Grotta all’Onda52) highlighting the connections between Chassey and
some aspects of Diana and Ozieri cultures. The latter are
also underlined by the fact that, during this late stage,
Lipari obsidian importations disappeared for the benefit
of Sardinia sources53 diffused in Provence from central
places such as Trets – Terres Longues54.
Considering the Classical / Late Chassey pottery
assemblages of Provence, novelties are due to the
study of a large corpus including 12600 diagnostic elements and more than 2500 complete profiles. These
data have been described using a multi-parameter grid,
including technological and morphological aspects.
Among the 63 studied sites, 13 key sites including
30 stratigraphical units constitute the reference base
from which a multivariate analysis has been run while
the data from the 50 other sites have been included as
supplementary variables. The consistency of most important cave deposits and assemblages has been taken
into account considering the question of pit digging
and waste spreading.
Following the Early Chassey period (period A cf.
Giribaldi C), four major periods have been highlighted
among the Classical and Late Chassey assemblages.
Period B is illustrated by Nice-Caucade between
4050 and 3950 cal BCE.
Period C regroups Fontbregoua 19-24, Trets – TerresLongues, Claparouse and probably Vernegues – Héritière
II, between 3950 and 3800 cal BCE.
Period D is dated between 3800 and 3650 cal BCE;
the precision of the radiocarbon dates is still one of the
critical problems to be solved as D has to be divided
into 2 sub-groups: D1, cf. Rocalibert and Baudinard –
grotte C, pit 2 and D2, cf. Pertus 2 and Fontbregoua
8-16.
Period E corresponds to the previously defined “Néolithique récent” albeit it keeps deep links with the Chassey
tradition55; it could be dated between 3650 and 3350 cal56.
The trend of pottery assemblage structures shows
gradual changes at different levels: pottery shapes,
handles and appendixes types, building and surface
finishing techniques. Potteries from period B are still
rather similar to some of the Early Chassey series. For
the following periods C and D1, the trend observed
in Provence is extremely close to that observed in the
Languedoc, i.e. Auriac and Cavanac periods respective-
ly57. Unlikely, D2 period reveals impressive reciprocal
influences with the Middle Rhône valley and, northwards, with the “Néolithique Moyen bourguignon” assemblages58. Influences from the “Lagozza and Cortaillod” are less obvious.
This trend is consistent with that proposed for the lithic production techniques and specially the blade pressure
methods59: conical core shapes with faceted platforms
during periods B (e.g. Caucade) and maybe still C (e.g.
Fontbrégoua 19-24), appearing in mixed style during period C (e.g. Terres-Longues), development of flat cores
with oblique platform during period D1 (e.g. Rocalibert);
development, during period D2 (e.g. Pertus 2) of lever
pressure for knapping large blades, which is quite rare
during the previous stages.
In addition, due to the large number of available sites
for the central period, the question of the variability of
settlement statutes and functions at that time becomes
clearer. For instance, the pottery technical data (raw material sourcing, variability of chaînes opératoires) as well
as the functional ones (distribution of volumetric classes)
are of great help for differentiating durable settlements
and central places from secondary places used for crafts
or as steps along herding routes.
6. Conclusion
The recent studies have been quite helpful for discussing the Neolithic chronology and periodization
which is of course not to be considered as a goal in itself but as a prerequisite for solving social and historical
questions. If the trends of cultural evolution seem to be
now better articulated in Provence, Languedoc, Middle
Rhone valley and Liguria, they reveal major differences
in the rhythms and modalities of cultural change, visible
within the Provence region itself. In consequence the use
of concepts such as Early, Middle, Late Neolithic or Eneolithic is not so much relevant.
A terminology using “cultural” concepts would probably be better despite the fact that the archaeological
“cultures” generally appear as conglomerates, aggregating diverse components distributed at different scales and
within different perspectives, and despite the fact that
their periodical deconstruction is still necessary. It still
requires the development of micro-regional holistic approaches as well as broad interregional thematic investigations. In this framework, techno-economical approaches of the material cultures are keys that enable renewed
anthropological and environmental studies.
Notes
1
2
5
6
7
8
9
3
4
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
10
11
Courtin 1976.
Montjardin 1966; 1970.
Manen et al. 2010.
Manen et al. 2010, fig. 2.
Jeunesse, Van Willigen 2006.
Constantin, Vachard 2004; Lichardus-Itten 1986.
Manen et al. 2010.
Courtin et al. 1985.
Buisson-Catil, 2001.
Binder et al. 2001.
Binder, Sénépart 2004.
Onoratini et al. 1997.
Müller, 1989.
Beeching 1995.
Georjon et al. 2004.
Thevenot 2005, pp. 229-246.
Maggi, Chella 1999; Maggi 1997; Tiné 1999.
Basso et al. 2004.
Pétrequin et al. 2006.
Binder, Courtin 1986; Courtin 1976.
Le Bras-Goude et al. 2010.
Tinè 1999.
Binder 1991.
Luzi, Courtin 2001.
Binder 1987.
Luzi, Courtin 2001.
Barral et al. 1955.
“Evolutions, transferts et inter-culturalités dans l’arc lig-
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
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uro-provençal: matières premières, productions, usages, du Paléolithique supérieur à l’âge du Bronze ancien”, is a Collective research project (PCR) supported by the French Ministry of Culture
and Communication and the Service of Cultural Heritage at the
General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes district (2008-2011).
Binder, Courtin 1987.
Binder 2004.
Le Bras-Goude et al 2006.
Bazzanella 1997.
Binder 1996, 2004.
Vaquer 1990.
Thevenot 2005.
Pessina, Radi 2002.
Martino 1987.
Sargiano et al. 2010.
Courtin 1967.
Gassin et al. 1996.
Binder, 1991; Léa, 2004; Léa, 2005, Léa et al. 2006.
Lepère 2009.
Léa et al. 2007.
Binder, 1984.
Léa et al. 2004.
Binder et al. c.s.
Léa et al. 2010.
Gutherz, Coste 1984.
Lepère 2009.
Vaquer 1990.
Beeching 1995.
Binder 1991; Lea 2005, Binder et al. 2008.
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