Neolithic rock resources across the western alps: Circulation data and models

Abstract

AbstractWestern Alpine rocks feature prominently among the polished stone implements of the Southern French Neolithic. Detailed petrographic examination of about 2600 artifacts from that area and neighboring regions in France, Italy, and Switzerland, coupled with field investigation of both primary and detrital outcrops, now provides conclusive evidence that (i) only selected rocks were used, (ii) specific rock resources were traded east to west across the Western Alps, and (iii) Ligurian rocks from the Voltri Massif were an important part of such circulation. Exploited Alpine rocks were glaucophane schists, eclogites sensu lato, and jadeitites. Serpentinites were only used in Switzerland and the Jura. A regional network for glaucophane schists in French Provence can be contrasted with long‐distance circulation of eclogites, based on primary and/or secondary “quarry” areas in Liguria and Piedmont in northwestern Italy. A preliminary discussion is made of exchange and circulation models for raw materials, blanks, or finished tools, among Neolithic societies around and across the Western Alps. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.