“Undatable, unattractive, redundant”? The Rapavi silcrete source, Saint-Pierre-Eynac (Haute-Loire, France): Challenges studying a prehistoric quarry-workshop in the Massif Central mountains

International audienceSilcretes are not widely discussed archaeologically as a prehistoric lithic resource in Europe, despite there being many years of geological research into their formation, and in some regions, a long record of their use in prehistory. In the Massif Central, south eastern France, various silcrete sources represent some of the largest and best quality siliceous stone sources within this otherwise volcanic area. Field research within a wider programme of landscape archaeology and lithic sourcing identified a quarry-workshop for one of these silcrete sources, at Rapavi, Saint-Pierre-Eynac (Haute-Loire). Archaeological and geological results are reported, discussing the technological behaviour uncovered at this locale and its wider regional connections, including the presence of imported flint artefacts. Additionally, the Rapavi silcrete provides an example of the challenges encountered when analysing raw materials with idio-syncratic fracture properties, and attempting to disentangle quarry-workshop palimpsests

Quaternary environments and archaeology of Jersey: A new multidisciplinary project looking at the early prehistoric occupation of the English Channel region

This paper presents a summary of the first season of fieldwork and archive assessment undertaken in 2010 as part of the of Jersey, through targeted sampling and key-hole excavation of poorly understood find spots, as well as a major reassessment of La Cotte de St Brelade. This paper presents the successful results of two weeks of intensive fieldwork at three localities, demonstrating the rich potential for early prehistoric archaeology on the island. Furthermore, the value of the island’s record in further understanding the long term record of human occupation in the English Channel region is discussed

Neanderthal technological variability : a wide-ranging geographical perspective of the final Middle Palaeolithic.

Since the stone tool assemblages identified at the site of Le Moustier in France at the end of the 19th century were given their name, Neanderthals have often been identified as ‘Mousterian man’. From the beginning of the 20th century until roughly its final quarter, cultural classifications were based primarily on typological features of lithic assemblages, determined by studying the shape of the artefacts and specific characteristics of retouch. This approach was based on the ‘index fossil’ concept borrowed from the natural sciences, such that each cultural context was clearly identifiable due to the presence of a distinct retouched tool or set of tools