Abstract
The crystalline geological substratum of the Armorican Massif, in the West of France, is devoid of flint nodules in primary position. As a result, during Prehistory, humans developed different strategies for making their toolkits, either by adapting production methods to local rocks from diverse sources, or by importing materials from the sedimentary margins. This article proposes to analyse the distribution of lithic materials during the Mesolithic as the consequence of a succession of collective choices. Many sedimentary, metamorphic or plutonic rocks of local origin were used, and considerably increased in quantity from the Early Mesolithic to the Late Mesolithic. After the identification of the geological origin of the rocks, a series of mechanical analyses were carried out to define their properties. Then, the social integration process of these rocks was addressed. The lithic assemblages of Beg-er-Vil (Quiberon) and la Presqu’île (Brennilis) were then described to tangibly explain the intentions of productions in coastal and continental economies respectively during the Late Mesolithic (end of the seventh and sixth millennia BCE). The toolkits in both economies are strictly identical, but two different lithic management systems were clearly in place. The first, on the coast, consisted exclusively of production on pebbles, whereas, the other, inland, used a wide range of materials of mediocre quality. During the Mesolithic (and unlike Neolithic practices), and in this context of geological paucity, sacrificing technical standards always seemed preferable to long-distance acquisitions by means of imports or exchanges.
Highlights
The crystalline geological substratum of the Armorican Massif, in the West of France, is devoid of flint nodules in primary position
Petroarchaeology emerged in the lineage of naturalist approaches and several major research programmes have been conducted in the Armorican Massif (Figure 1) since the 1950s, mostly in the universities of Rennes 1, Nantes, Brest and Paris-Nanterre
The most reliable prospection method consists in ascending the valleys that cut through natural outcrops, in particular the three main fault networks running along an east-west axis of the Armorican Massif, taking advantage of the exposed rocks and the sorting of rocky debris by water courses
Summary
The crystalline geological substratum of the Armorican Massif, in the West of France, is devoid of flint nodules in primary position. The attraction for metamorphic or plutonic rocks from local substrata for manufacturing axes and ornamental elements, favoured the emergence of long-distance exportation networks, inspired and supplied by value systems and social standing (Querré et al, 2008; Pétrequin et al 2012: 350) All these choices in the acquisition of lithic materials enable us to characterize past societies in terms of the style or techniques of their tools, but more generally in terms of their economic and social behaviour in a general context of scarcity. These geological constraints and the ways in which they were circumvented clearly had a major impact on the spatial dispersion of lithic tools and waste products Maps taking this into account can indicate a sort of plurality of interactions between humans and non-humans, or, in other words, they display transfers which are totally dependent on collective choices in line with technical standards. We emphasize the concepts and methods developed over the past twenty years in the West of France to analyse and interpret these lithic material distribution maps, focusing in particular on the economies of hunter-gatherers during the Mesolithic
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