Accordingly, in the same line of interpretation, the Chasséen culture can be defined through the social complexity that developed in the framework of a producing-consuming settlement system, the presence of specialized productions and highly complex technical processes (heat treatment and pressure débitage) and, finally, the development of extensive and intense exchange/interaction networks. In this sense, different authors agree that the massive and specialized exploitation of this raw material and distribution of the products (and obsidian to a lesser degree) was the main vector through which settlements were articulated and hierarchized: workshops near the outcrops, knapping settlements (use and early distribution), consumption and redistribution settlements and, finally, consumers. A series of long-term technological and functional studies focused on these lithic elements has enabled not only the characterization of the Chasséen culture lithic productions and modes of diffusion, but also a better understanding of the territorial organisation of the Chasséen culture communities. A paradigmatic example is found in southern France during the Middle Neolithic (end of the 5 th and beginning of the 4 th millennium BC), when lithic industries relied on the large-scale production, use and diffusion of Barremian-Bedoulian flint from lower Aptian outcrops in the Vaucluse region (western Provence, SE France), which become one of the most, if not the most, significant chrono-cultural markers of the Chasséen culture. BC) is characterised by a remarkable shift in the complexity and intensity of inter-regional social interaction and trade networks, particularly those involving abiotic resources (e.g., obsidian, flint, Alpine rocks, steatite, variscite, etc.). The Neolithic transition in the north-west of the Mediterranean Basin (5500–3500 cal. In addition, the results provide complementary data to better understand relevant aspects of the nature and organisation of Barremian-Bedoulian flint exploitation and early supply systems at the Provençal producing sites during the later phase of the Chasséen culture. Local communities within this region, already controlling extraction and regional diffusion of variscite ornaments, exerted control over the fluxes of Vauclusian flint south of the Pyrenees, where it had a triple status (functional, symbolic and both). The integrated study of the lithic assemblages from the variscite mines of Gavà (Barcelona) and its contextualization within the Sepulcros de Fosa culture in north-eastern Iberia have revealed unexpected complexity in the modes of consumption, use and status of imported Barremian-Bedoulian industries in north-eastern Iberia during the 5 th to 4 th millennia cal. Diffusion of Provençal flints became massive during the first half of the 4 th millennium BC, penetrating in several neighbouring cultural spheres such as the Sepulcros de Fosa culture in north-eastern Iberia. ![]() ![]() ![]() Barremian-Bedoulian flint from the Vaucluse region (western Provence, SE France), is traditionally considered one of the most significant chrono-cultural markers of the Chasséen culture during the Middle Neolithic (end of the 5 th and beginning of the 4 th millennium BC).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |