Abstract
The aim of this article is to present a very general view of siliceous raw material sources in the central Pyrenees, with support from recent bibliographic references. To illustrate the use of these materials in the Upper Paleolithic, we chose the example of the Gravettian occupation of Gargas Cave (Hautes-Pyrénées, France). Finally, we describe a few economic characteristics of the Pyrenean region, which are distinct from the Perigordian context in several ways.
Highlights
Our knowledge of flint procurement sources in the Pyrenean context has become increasingly precise over the last twenty years, drawing on the work of pioneers such as Louis Méroc (1947; 1953) and Robert Simonnet (1981; 2003)
Hibarette corresponds to the Paleolithic flaking workshops located at secondary procurement sources (Poudingues de Palassou), constituted in part by the dismantling of the Flysch limestones (Upper Cretaceaous); these latter outcrops are located at Montgaillard where flint nodules are found in their primary position (Barragué et al 2001)
Flints from the western and eastern Pyrenees In Chalosse, the Audignon-Montaut anticline and the Bastennes-Gaujac diapir are zones that are very rich in flint sites and Paleolithic flaking workshops
Summary
Our knowledge of flint procurement sources in the Pyrenean context has become increasingly precise over the last twenty years, drawing on the work of pioneers such as Louis Méroc (1947; 1953) and Robert Simonnet (1981; 2003). Simonnet’s scientific works on the characterization of Pyrenean siliceous raw materials These include: his general synthesis articles (recent and earlier: 1981, 1996, 1999a, 1999b, 2002, 2003), in which there are paradoxically very few petrographic or geological analyses, as well as a micro-paleontological description by J. - A specific flint a “blond” flint type, originating from the Danian formations of the Dôme d’Aurignac, was identified and found flaked in the Aurignacian of Tuto de Camalhot (Bon, Simonnet, Vézian 2005) It is a “very good material in the Pre-Pyrenees context. Its intrinsic characteristics (structure similar to that of the Montsaunès-Ausseing flint and cortex type) and the large quantity of it flaked at the site, suggest that the procurement sources must be nearby, probably in the Boussens water gap zone, which is highly adapted to their formation (in terms of the geomorphological context).
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