The LBK knappers from the Aisne Valley (France): contribution of a multiscalar analysis
Résumé
The technological study of the LBK lithic industry discovered in the Aisne Valley allows for a better understanding of the organisation of this productive activity, especially by looking at different scales that are fully complementary. At the scale of the valley, the analysis of the raw material procurement highlights a division into three patterns from east to west. In the easternmost sector, communities mainly used the Turonian flint from the Ardennes which is hardly used in the central part of the valley, whereas it is massively employed for expedient production in the western sector. At the scale of the village, two approaches have been developed. The techno-economic approach that quantifies the different stages of the chaîne opératoire identified in the lateral pits of the houses demonstrates their systematic misrepresentation. This suggests that the processes of discard are indirect. Furthermore, use-wear analysis conducted on selected samples complements the data with deeper insights into the activities organisation. The lack of tools that show evidence of different processing activities indicates that most of these activities actually took place near or beyond the domestic space and that the domestic unit, stricto sensu, was in fact the place where tools were maintained and repaired. Finally, the analysis conducted at this scale of the domestic unit allows us to discriminate small technical habits that sign individuals. We can so discuss different models of organisation of the activities according to the size of the houses and the chronology.