Les problématiques successives de l'épipaléolithique (« Mésolithique)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The first question was chronological : the presence or absence of human industries in Europe between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. The second one was to establish the continuity of the remains. The « hiatus » was filled thoroughly through fine stratigraphies only, sieving, paly- nology and 14-C. A complication came from the « Campignien » (which is neolithic actually) which was considered from surface sites because of insufficient typology. Research sould have been based on closed assemblages. The introduction of the very positive notion of culture, though coupled with the poor method of a unique type fossil, lead to the theory of migrations, in fact a contagion from the protohistorians. We were able to get rid of that third subject only with the study of the li- thics on a whole, with a detailed typology (numerous type fossils), showing evolution on the same area and full stability of the human groups on their traditional territories. Understanding that the armatures were used for hunting and how large the progress was when the bow was brought in general use before the end of the cold allowed to put an end to the ideal of wretched mesolithic hunters (4th question) as much as to mechanical dépendance of industries upon the climate (5th question). The present issue is firstly to finish and make more accurate the table of the regional groups, which needs a large number of small well conducted digs. This basis will then enable to give evidence of the hunters' social organization. Both problems require that searchers of neighbouring areas work together; excellent examples are those of the friendly behaviours of the searchers from Pi- cardie, Belgium, Luxemburg and Netherlands towards the author of this paper. Beyond that informal cooperation it becomes urgent to set up the official structure of interregional organised programs, which are demanded by the current rules about digging.