Une méthode d’analyse spatiale des rejets domestiques par les remontages céramiques. Étude d’un site néolithique jurassien: Chalain station 3

A spatial analysis of pottery dumps is proposed on a layer of the Neolithic site of Chalain “station 3” (Jura, France). The proposed method analyzes, through diagonalization, a table of presence/absence of square meters per vase, then, through data analysis techniques, a co-occurrence matrix of the number of re-assemblages of pottery sherds within the square meters. The results show that dump areas are well correlated to the ancient buildings

Prehistoric exploitation of minerals resources. Experimentation and use-wear analysis of grooved stone tools from Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy)

The Calabria region of Southern Italy is rich in mineralisation. Unfortunately, no consistent data are available about mineral exploitation in the later prehistoric periods. The Grotta della Monaca mine in Calabria is a prehistoric site that is characterised by the mineralisation of iron ores (such as goethite) and copper carbonates (malachite and azurite). For this reason, the site provides an exceptional opportunity to study a prehistoric mine in which several minerals were exploited during the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic. In this study, we present the results of an experimental protocol and use-wear analysis conducted using macro-lithic tool replicas to extract mineral resources. The experimental test aimed at reconstructing the function of grooved stone tools found at Grotta della Monaca. Use-wear observation, through a combined low- and high-power approach on experimental and archaeological objects, allowed us to define different extraction techniques and methods of mineral treatments. These data enhance our understanding and reconstruction of the chaîne opératoires, economic choices, and cultural aspects that characterised prehistoric miners in Southern Italy

Middle Neolithic farming of open-air sites in SE France: new insights from archaeobotanical investigations of three wells found at Les Bagnoles (L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Dépt. Vaucluse, France)

Previous reviews of Middle Neolithic agricultural practice (4400–3500 cal bc) in southern France have highlighted a change in crop assemblages after 4000 cal bc, with a reduction of naked wheat and an increase of emmer and partly of einkorn. The recent investigation of three wells from the site of Les Bagnoles (4250–3800 cal bc) in the periphery of the southern Rhône valley yielded an unprecedented amount of waterlogged uncharred and charred plant macro remains that offer new insights into crop diversity and its changes over time. The results from the wells at Les Bagnoles were compared with other dated sunken features from open-air sites (in contrast to caves and rock shelters), with the aim of identifying patterns sug-gesting changes in the crop spectra between the early (MN1) and late (MN2) Middle Neolithic phases from taphonomically comparable contexts. The results from Les Bagnoles demonstrate that oil crops and pulses are underrepresented in dry sites and that they were a significant part of Middle Neolithic agriculture. They also indicate an increase in the representation of einkorn (instead of emmer) during MN2 that is also visible in other open-air sites. The comparison of the archaeobotani-cal results with silo storage capacity values as a proxy for average production capacity per household leads us to propose a possible drop in naked wheat productivity and opens new questions in factors affecting crop choice at the beginning of the 4th millennium cal bc

Creusement expérimental d'un puits d'extraction de silex sur la minière de Flins-sur-Seine (Yvelines)

Mémoires et travaux du Paléoscope n° 1, Association l'Homme Retrouv