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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2014

The role of GIS in geomorphological and archaeological studies of Paleolithic occupations: applications to preventive excavations of the Canal-Seine Nord Europe

Résumé

Since 2008, archaeological surveys have been carried out as part of the future development of the Canal-Seine Nord Europe and have brought to light several Paleolithic occupation levels. To date, three extensive excavations have been conducted and three others are on hold, pending access to the sites. These three excavation operations took place on the communes of Havrincourt (Pas-de-Calais, director: E. Goval) and Etricourt-Manancourt (Somme, director: D. Hérisson). They revealed lithic industries, associated with fauna at two sites, in clear stratigraphic contexts with fully identifiable taphonomic phenomena. One of the advantages of these operations is that they make it possible to explore Paleolithic occupations over extensive surfaces (2,000 m², 4,100 m² and 4,300 m²). The results from each of these excavations bring vital information for our understanding of human occupations from the end of the Lower Paleolithic to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. They also provide new data on the settlement modalities of northern regions in diverse climatic contexts. These field operations were conducted as collective projects, with discussions between the director, the operating team and the technical unit before fieldwork. Different kinds of data acquisition processes (archaeological, geological, logistic) were set up in order to process scientific data according to the defined issues. Alongside the archaeological exploration, the excavation team thus disposed of a thematic cartographic production related to the main questions, designed around a first Geographic Information System (GIS). During the study, all the geological, logistic and archaeological data from these sites were incorporated into a geographic and relational database. This database can be operated easily by archaeologists for scientific descriptions as well as spatial, statistical and analytic studies. For example, with this database it was possible to conduct a 3D reconstitution of the sedimentary and morphological dynamics, as well as an effective statistical spatial analysis, which was of great assistance for the spatial study of these sites. The examples presented in this communication are just one element of the Scientific Activity Project (PAS) conducted by the Inrap in Nord-Picardie. The overall ambitious aim of this project is the setting up of a geographic database designed around a GIS for the whole of the north of France. It comprises a corpus of geological and archaeological data which will allow for different approaches to the site: on a regional scale, at the scale of the site (data issued from archaeological excavations), or even site indexing (using data issued from archaeological surveys). This database will lead to the mapping of superficial Pleistocene formations, will reveal the dynamics of geomorphological evolution and will record all the sites and evidence of Paleolithic occupation in the north of France. The aim of this communication is to present the results of the application of the GIS to the Paleolithic excavations along the Seine-Nord Europe, as well as the perspective of integrating these data in a much wider framework, as part of the ongoing Scientific Activity Project.
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hal-02335920 , version 1 (28-10-2019)

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  • HAL Id : hal-02335920 , version 1

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Caroline Font, David Hérisson, Emilie Goval, Sylvie Coutard, Jean‑luc Locht. The role of GIS in geomorphological and archaeological studies of Paleolithic occupations: applications to preventive excavations of the Canal-Seine Nord Europe. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology 2014. Session 16 GIS, a new trowel for archaeologists? The challenges of using GIS in preventive archaeology, Apr 2014, Paris, France. ⟨hal-02335920⟩
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