Ist vs. IInd Mesolithic in southern France. Functional approach of techno−economic behaviour through Castelnovian of Montclus rock shelter −Gard) : first results

Sylvie Philibert (1)

1 TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés

In southern France, the spread of blade and trapeze industries brought to an end the high stability of the technical and economic system of the Epipalaeolithic (Azilian) and Early Mesolithic (Sauveterrian) groups. The Late Mesolithic is, in fact, characterized by substantial modifications of technological standards and conceptual schemes as testified by the appearance of new tools (i.e. notched blades) and the renewal of the microlithic toolkits. A preliminary use-wear analysis carried out on a Castelnovian lithic assemblage of the Montclus rock-shelter (Gard, Southern France) enabled to investigate how the functional behavior was affected by these innovations. In this paper the results concerning the two most emblematic tools are going to be presented: notched blades and trapezes. The former appeared to be an extremely dedicated tool type while the latter have been correlated to a new functioning and hafting mode.

Keywords: Notched blades; Trapezes; Sauveterrian; Castelnovian; Lithic industry; Use-wear analysis

Domains: Archaeology and Prehistory; Social Anthropology and ethnology

Sylvie Philibert. Ist vs. IInd Mesolithic in southern France. Functional approach of techno−economic behaviour through Castelnovian of Montclus rock shelter −Gard) : first results. Quaternary International, 2016, Meso Life, A Mesolithic perspective on Alpine and neighbouring territories, 423, pp.242-251. ⟨hal-01976699⟩