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Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2023

Elusive Border: The Late Upper Paleolithic of South-Eastern France

Insaisissable frontière : le Paléolithique supérieur récent du sud-est de la France

Résumé

This work presents a state of the art of research concerning the Late Upper Paleolithic of Southeast France between 20-10 ka cal. BP. The recognition of a contrasting cultural geography between Provence and Languedoc for this chronological phase is directly linked to the historical construction of the research. The large cultural entities defined to the east and west of the Rhône and the multiple names used in taxonomy to describe the archaeological sites depend on research traditions, notably illustrated by the schools of F. Bordes and G. Laplace during the 20th century. The current report points out a confused state of the whole of the archaeological documentation in particular on the discussed attribution of several archaeological assemblages, the relevance of certain taxonomies and regional endemisms underlined by the predecessors. This implies a consensus on the taxonomy, especially for the term Epigravettian currently accepted nether few exception. The recognition of analytical cultural units is currently based on a border partition around the Rhône, with a differentiation between two areas with Solutrean, Badegoulian, Magdalenian and Azilian cultures to the west, opposed to the ancient and recent Epigravettian to the east. The acceptation of a cultural border between these units is supported primarily by typological differentiation and by the presence-absence of selective material culture elements from archaeological assemblages of varying resolution. Thus, it is necessary to reconsider all these issues from a critical reassessment of radiometric and archeological datas in order to propose new research avenues. An assessment carried out based on an updated set of 226 radiocarbon dates permits an initial assessment of the qualitative and quantitative aspect of the chronological data. Arbitrary ratings on a scale of 1 to 4 applied to each date critically evaluate the reliability of the measurement (conventional or AMS measurement; standard deviation; sample type), the degree of cultural attribution, and the stratigraphic integrity of the dated assemblage. The dated assemblages that satisfy all of these criteria are integrated into a Bayesian model in order to establish a minimum chronological bound for each cultural phase. This modeling shows the presence of chronological gaps, particularly for the interval between the Gravettian and Solutrean phases in eastern Languedoc (28.3-27.7 to 26.3-25.9 ka cal. BP), as (29.1-28.7 to 20.9-20.4 ka cal. BP), for the important interval from Gravettian to Early Epigravettian in Provence (29.1-28.7 to 20.9-20.4 ka cal. BP), or between the Azilian and Sauveterrian phases in eastern Languedoc (ca. 13.1 to 11.6 ka cal. BP). These gaps in chronological phases applied to cultural units reflect a lack of data, despite the presence of many culturally-attributed sites whose radiocarbon measurements are unreliable and whose contexts lack stratigraphic integrity. This reassessment provides a documentary basis for work and invites us to pursue a re-evaluation of the contexts based on integrated study methods of the archaeological material with an empirical aim of renewing the data. At the same time, we note that the comparison of several contemporary cultural entities such as the Magdalenian, the Azilian, the ancient and recent Epigravettian allows us to consider links between Languedoc and Provence. Especially, for the contemporaneous assemblages attributed to the Early and Middle Magdalenian in eastern Languedoc (21.4 to 17.8 ka cal. BP), and to the Early Epigravettian in Provence (20.8 and 17.1 ka cal. BP), comparisons between lithic artefacts could be done. It is a question, for example, of going beyond the taxonomy applied to these archaeological assemblages in order to put into perspective, by means of comparisons, the hypotheses of technical transfers in a dynamic of cultural trends (sensu Valentin, 2008). This aspect is particularly highlighted in the field of lithic armatures through scalene backed bladelets from the Early Epigravettian between 26-25 and 24-23 ka cal. BP vis-à-vis the Middle Magdalenian. The study of the networks of material transfers considered a priori as distinct for Languedoc and Provence from the DMG to the Late Glacial invites us to re-question the expansion of the territory traversed by the different cultural groups through a frontier space materialized by the Rhône. Data from the literature for siliceous raw materials from Languedoc sites during the Salpêtrian to the Upper Magdalenian currently shows the presence of a peripheral regional network oriented towards outcrops of siliceous materials in the Rhone Valley and possible transfers to the west (Hérault, Aude). For the Provençal sites, the current data underline supplies in Haute-Provence (Largue valley) and towards Italy. The approach to these transfer networks makes it possible to address specific economic strategies that argue for the differentiation of cultural groups.
Le sud-est de la France se trouve, pour le Paléolithique supérieur récent, aux confins de grands ensembles culturels qui structurent notre perception du Paléolithique supérieur européen depuis le début du xx e siècle. Perçue alternativement comme une frontière ou une marge, le sud-est de la France voit se multiplier les appellations taxonomiques concurrentes. Il est actuellement difficile de proposer un scénario capable de rendre compte des processus historiques qui s'y déroulent entre le Dernier Maximum glaciaire et le début de l'Holocène. Convaincus que la seule accumulation de données nouvelles ne permettra pas de sortir de cette impasse, nous proposons dans cet article de revenir à la base de la documentation archéologique régionale en réalisant une synthèse critique des datations radiométriques disponibles dans l'ensemble du sud-est de la France. Ce travail abouti à identifier les ensembles chronoculturels bénéficiant d'une certaine consistance et à préciser leur chronologie. Cette première étape d'une révision plus globale du Paléolithique supérieur récent du sud-est de la France met en évidence une remarquable synchronie dans les rythmes de succession des entités chronoculturelles à l'est (arc liguro-provençal, Provence occidentale) et à l'ouest (Languedoc et vallée du Rhône) de notre région d'étude. Ce constat, mis en perspective avec les connaissances actuelles sur les réseaux de transferts matériels, à partir des industries lithiques, permet de percevoir une situation complexe qui ne peut se réduire ni au paradigme de la frontière qui a dominé les recherches régionales jusqu'ici ni à la proposition opposée qui voudrait nier l'existence de différenciations culturelles durables et géographiquement ancrées.
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hal-04454780 , version 1 (13-02-2024)

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Pierre-Antoine Beauvais, Antonin Tomasso. Insaisissable frontière : le Paléolithique supérieur récent du sud-est de la France. Hiatus, lacunes et absences : identifier et interpréter les vides archéologiques, Actes du 29e Congrès préhistorique de France, 31 mai-4 juin 2021, Toulouse, Session Réseaux de transferts matériels, aires chronoculturelles : le visible et l’invisible, Société préhistorique française, pp.35-56, 2023. ⟨hal-04454780⟩
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