Environnement et archéologie durant le Paléolithique final dans la région du Rhin moyen (Rhénanie, Allemagne) : conclusions des 15 dernières années de recherches

The Laacher See volcano erupted at 10,966 cal BC covered the whole Central Rhineland with huge tephra layers which are exploited now for some 150 years. During the last 15 years of research several new find locations exhibiting tree trunks of the hemi-boreal woodland, leaf imprints and animal tracks preserved in pumice and ashes reveal detailed insights into the (younger) Allerød environment. Five final Paleolithic (Federmessergruppen) habitation sites without any evident settlement structures but providing exogenous raw materials from outcrops in distances up to 170 km demonstrate the highly mobile mode of life of these hunter-gatherers groups some 13,000 years ago.     

Les assemblages lithiques des niveaux du Paléolithique moyen de l’Abri des Pêcheurs (Ardèche, Sud-Est de la France): Des occupations néandertaliennes récurrentes dans un « fossé »

The Abri des Pêcheurs has yielded an extraordinary sequence with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels. Humans came and stayed in a ditch-cave that has been filled in along time. During Middle Palaeolithic occupations, they used first quartz, and this site is the only case in this area. Assemblages show similar technological behaviour along time. Flint is few employed and arrived as flakes from different areas if we consider its geological variety. Functions of the site are not well established. The base of the sequence has yielded sediments with a mixing of ibex, carnivore bones and artefacts. The study of the lithic assemblages brings information on the processing systems used on quartz and flint during occupations which left few evidence and used local stones while flint is available not far from the site. Hypothesis on short and specialized occupations is discussed.