Ath “ Les Haleurs “, two villages lbk and blicquy/villeneuve-saint-germain: search for transition mechanisms through the integrated study of productions
Résumé
At the turn of the sixth to the fifth millennium BC, a historical turning point occurred in continental neolithization of Europe as the Linear Pottery culture broke up into a mosaic of cultural entities. The northern half of France and Belgium were occupied by the Blic- quy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture (BQY/VSG). The recently discovered site of Ath “Les Haleurs” in the west of Belgium (Hainaut Province) represents a key site for exploring in detail the mechanisms of the cultural transition between these two cultural spheres. Indeed, established along the eastern branch of the Dender river, the “Les Haleurs” site has the particularity of offering the remains of the two successive Early Neolithic cultures, i.e. Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) and Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain. This proximity is exceptional: sites with houses of the two cultures are rare (three sites in Hainaut and two in Hesbaye, the Belgian Liège province) especially when they show such a high closeness (less than 3 meters). Thus, this communication will present the first results of the technological and integrated study of all the artifacts found at the site of Ath “Les Haleurs”. We propose to cross-reference the origin of raw materials, typo-technology, and use-wear analysis of ceramic productions, lithic industry, macrolithic tools, and stone ornaments. The rhythms of change in the different technical sub-systems will then be compared and questioned.