Search results for "Neolithic."
showing 10 items of 120 documents
Neolithic enclosures with pseudo-ditches
2020
The recent discovery of seven Neolithic sites in the Alsace Plain with “Rosheim” enclosures has renewed the interpretation of these extensive complexes dated to the 5th millennium BC. This very particular type of enclosure, whose eponymous site is located about twenty kilometres from Strasbourg, is made up of discontinuous ditches, following a pre-established layout, which are progressively filled in. New analysis of these monuments is accompanied by a reflection on their function (ceremonial or defensive), enabling us to provide a coherent account of the origin and important geographical extension of these enclosures, which are found in numerous cultural groups over more than two millennia…
Relationships between societies and their environment in the Sahel in southwestern Niger over the past four thousand years : a geoarchaeological appr…
2013
The Sahel, a zone between the Sahara Desert and the Sudan forests, is currently experiencing major environmental changes. Since the droughts in 1970s and 1980s, and with the high population growth rate, vegetation cover has deteriorated considerably, contributing to increased runoff and soil erosion. Starting from this observation, we undertook the study of past societies in the Niamey region, to assess their impact on the environment. The lack of archaeological data meant that it was necessary to identify key indicators of occupation during the Neolithic and the Iron Age. In addition to providing new evidence to date the Neolithic site of Kirkissoy, a sedimentary study was conducted on a p…
Observations of land use transformations during the Neolithic using exploratory spatial data analysis: contributions and limitations
2010
International audience; The settlement pattern analysis in archaeology implies some methodological questions. In this paper, we question some issues about the use of geostatistical methods for the observation of land use transformations during the Neolithic. We have developed two examples in Burgundy (France): the first one on a regional scale and the second one on a micro-regional scale. Using different ESDA approaches (Ripley’K function, Nearest Neighbour Distance, Kernel Density Estimation), we would like to underline what the methodological and archaeological contributions and their limits are. Both experiences point out that the results obtained depend not only on the analytical scale,…
Ceramic technical traditions in the second part of the IVth millennium. The settlement of Twann " Bahnhof " (Bern Canton, Switzerland).
2018
International audience; The neolithic settlement of Twann " Bahnhof " has been excavated during the 1970's. It presents successive sets covering nearly all the second part of the IVth millennium. The ceramic set has been published (Die neolitischen Ufersiedlungen von Twann, 20 volumes, between 1977 and 1981). This dwelling is a reference for the lacustrine research. However, far too little attention has been paid to the technological aspects of ceramics. This communication suggests to reexamine many potteries of the site from late Cortaillod to recent western Horgen, in order to study pottery manufacturing and to reconstitute the " chaînes opératoires ". This case study will allow us to abo…
La fosse 264 du Néolithique récent de Vignely « La Noue Fénard » (Seine-et-Marne)
2014
A pit dating to the Recent Neolithic was discovered at Vignely, la Noue-Fenard during work on a Middle Neolithicenclosure that backed on to an ancient bank of the river Marne. The cylindrical structure, the primary function of which has not yetbeen determined, was used as a refuse pit and contained a particularly rich collection of finds, notably wild animal bones, stoneobjects, bone tools, grinding tools and pottery. The study of the finds has revealed activities directly relating to game hunting,exploiting animal resources for meat, bone, fur, … The objects show marked regional affinities with the collective tomb of Vignely,la Porte-aux-Bergers and the Isles-lès-Meldeuses ensemble. They a…
Les minières de silex néolithiques des marais de Saint-Gond (Marne)
2014
In the southern and eastern area of the Côte d’Île-de-France, north of the marshes of Saint-Gond (Marne, France), research incorporating a great deal of unpublished documentation, and the results of pedestrian and aerial surveys, has highlighted five flint mines. For various reasons, the many indications of mining activity in this region have never been considered sufficient to consider it a mining area, however, the combination of a series of objective observations suggests the existence of five flint mines.In several sites, flint mining was conducted from shafts several metres deep, sometimes connected by galleries. As many archaeological discoveries made during the earlier excavations ha…
Second thoughts about social complexity developments in Western Mediterranean valleys
2005
El artículo se centra en descubrimientos recientes en algunos valles de la costa española del Mediterráneo central, donde los nuevos datos nos permiten proponer diferentes caminos hacia la complejidad social. Varias zanjas monumentales que datan de ca. 5500 cal BP en diferentes sitios, pero particularmente en el sitio de Mas D’Is han abierto nuevas preguntas sobre cómo La literatura arqueológica ha presentado complejidad social en la Península Ibérica. Tradicionalmente, las sociedades complejas se han asociado con el desarrollo de la metalurgia y los sitios monumentales como Los Millares o Zambujal fueron el centro del debate. Sin embargo, los recientes desarrollos teóricos fuera de la disc…
Bell Beakers in the southeast of France. From Archaeology to History of the third millenium BC
2002
The term "Bell Beaker", in the strict sense, designates a ceramic beaker form with an S-shaped profile that gives it the shape of an inverted bell. This type of drinking-vessel is characterized by both its very particular pattern of decoration and by the generally skilled execution of that decoration. By extension, the decoration characteristic of these beakers bas allowed the expansion of the category "Bell-Beaker" to include other pottery forms and even other types of decoration showing the same tradition, vvhich probably represent an evolution or reproduction of the original Bell Beaker pattern, The recognition of these objects and their definition as a class date to the nineteenth centu…
Response to Comment on "Ancient DNA from the First European Farmers in 7500-Year-Old Neolithic Sites"
2006
The discovery of mitochondrial type N1a in Central European Neolithic skeletons at a high frequency enabled us to answer the question of whether the modern population is maternally descended from the early farmers instead of addressing the traditional question of the origin of early European farmers.
Approche d'un territoire de montagne : occupations humaines et contexte pédo-sédimentaire des versants du col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, de la Préhistoi…
2014
As part of a multi-year programme, survey campaigns have been carried out on both slopes of the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass (2188 m, western Alps), at an altitude of between 750 and 3000 m. The method employed abandons ground-based surveying in favour of multiple manual surveys carried out on selected topographic contexts down to the base of the Holocene fill. The results obtained document the longterm development of the pedo-sedimentary dynamic and the occupation of the different altitude stages. The significance of the archaeological data collected is discussed in relation to the state of knowledge in a comparison area including the neighbouring valleys of the western Alps, to existing settl…