Du macro-outillage tranchant utilisé en percussion lancée dans les premières phases de l’Acheuléen européen ? Le cas de l’US4 de Bois de Riquet (Lézignan-la-Cèbe, Hérault, France)
Résumé
Level US4 of the Bois-de-Riquet archeological site corresponds to a mudslide type deposit dating to the early Middle Pleistocene. It has yielded a rich lithic assemblage made from basalt, aplite and quartz, whose components represent all of the operating chains of production: cores, flakes, hammers, worked cobbles and blocks, as well as a biface. The latter, associated with the production of large flakes, testifies to the first phases of the European Acheulian.
This article presents the analysis of part of the macro-tools made from basalt. The methodology is based on a techno-morpho-functional and traceological analysis of the artefacts, coupled with the creation of a specific experimental frame of reference. These approaches allow us to distinguish between 5 tool types. Three groups of tools present a transverse opposition between their cutting edges and gripping zones, while the other two groups present an oblique opposition. These functional structures refer to different gestures. However, the dimensional and weight characteristics of the artefacts, as well as the angle of the cutting edges, allow to propose a mode of action in direct launched percussion. This hypothesis was experimentally tested on wood and fresh bone to verify, on the one hand, the effectiveness of these tools for these activities and, on the other hand, to analyze the damage produced on the cutting edges and compare it with the archeological tools. The data obtained experimentally supports the hypothesis that launched percussion was used in these 5 groups of sharp-edged macro-tools.
We discuss the implication of these results concerning the characterization of the first phases of the European Acheulean. Indeed, beyond the presence of a biface, the production of massive flakes as tool supports may be perceived as a technological innovation in Europe, possibly characterizing an evolution of cognitive order. At the same time, the use of these sharp tools in launched percussion could indicate that hominins were exploiting their environments in new ways. Finally, this article brings new elements of reflection to the debate on the origins for the European Acheulean.
L’US4 de Bois de Riquet livre un important cortège de macro-outils en basalte appartenant au tout début du Pléistocène moyen. Associé à un biface, l’assemblage lithique de ce site participe à la caractérisation des premières manifestations acheuléennes en Europe. Cet article porte sur l’analyse technologique et fonctionnelle d’une partie de l’outillage lourd.
Ces deux approches menées conjointement permettent de décrire des outils dont l’organisation fonctionnelle (interaction entre les parties actives et les parties préhensives) guide vers une hypothèse d’usage en percussion lancée. Par ailleurs, des endommagements macroscopiques ont pu être identifiés sur certains tranchants. L’analyse tracéologique menée, en parallèle de la constitution d’un référentiel expérimental dédié aux gestes de percussion lancée avec du macro-outillage en basalte, permet d’appuyer l’hypothèse d’un usage en percussion lancée.
Finalement, l’article discute des éléments de caractérisation des premières phases de l’Acheuléen en Europe. Il s’agit d’évaluer l’importance d’une part du développement de l’outillage de percussion tranchant, et d’autre part de la production de gros éclats comme supports d’outils.
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