A river and its people: The example of Lower Palaeolithic occupations of the Têt fluvial terraces

Abstract

Current data on human groups from the Lower Palaeolithic periods in Western Europe show a variability in material production, represented by the disconcerting diversity of lithic technocomplexes. Since the birth of the prehistoric discipline, fluvial and alluvial environments have been considered the witnesses of prehistoric occupations during the long Quaternary period. In this article, therefore, I wish to question the link between the geomorphological unit, the fluvial terrace and the lithic productions discovered there. Here, I take the example of the early occupations of the fluvial terraces of the river Têt, which is part of the sedimentary basin of Roussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales, France). During the Pleistocene, the Têt River deposited different generations of fluvial terraces, expressed by the variety of levels present in the landscape. This study focuses on level T3b attributed to Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 10, which yielded several series of lithic industries on pebbles. The assemblages, from the localities of La Llabanère, Le Jas and Le Moulin à soufre, represent a total of 890 pieces. Despite a taphonomic bias linked to the stripping of alluvial levels during the Quaternary, the results of recent prospecting highlight the reliability and technological consistency of these assemblages. Technicofunctional analysis made it possible to question these lithic series and to reveal their variability, witnessing the technical adaptation of prehistoric populations to the fluvial environment and inherited technical traditions. Flaking and shaping chaînes opératoires are well represented and help to illustrate the diversity of technical expressions of the Middle Pleistocene populations. Nevertheless, contrary to previous studies, we note a clear predominance of flaking chaîne opératoire that are expressed in particular through the diversity of flake tools. Finally, these results reinforce the importance of a new methodological approach to the analysis of Lower Palaeolithic technocomplexes in Europe.