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The beginning of the Neolithic in the Adriatic region dates back to approximately 6000 cal BC. The appearance of Impressed Ware pottery in an area that roughly covers the Strait of Otranto to the coastal plains of Southern Istria marks its generic development. By combining lithic, economic and paleoenvironmental data we propose a new arrhythmic model for framing Neolithisation in the Adriatic region. One the one hand, the data available suggest that in the south-central part of the basin (Dalmatia and Apulia) the transition to farming was relatively quick, resulting from the colonisation of an open landscape (seemingly linked to the “8, 2 ka event” and the installation of a dry climate). These newcomers settled mostly in the fertile plains of the Dalmatian and Apulian hinterland, basing their subsistence almost exclusively on agriculture and livestock, while the lithic blade production made of cherts from Gargano (southern Italy) testifies to important social aspects and complex management strategies (mining activities, more complex modes of pressure, specialized distribution networks). On the other hand, in the Northern Adriatic (Istria, Karst, Po plain? Marches?) the Neolithic emerged a bit later, possibly as a result of some form of acculturation. Although the data available are still scarce, some evidence suggest that the last Mesolithic groups played an active role in the process of neolithisation in these areas, as the presence of Castelnovian sites is documented and certain Castelnovian traditions are identified in the Impressed Ware lithic production (the use of local flint, lamellar production by indirect percussion and “simpler” forms of pressure flaking) and in the economy e.g. importance of fishing.

The site of Le Rec de la Redouna 2 is located in the eastern part of the Corbieres limestone massif, a karst landform in the southernmost part of France. The open air site was discovered in 2015, during fieldwalking on a flat terrace of a natural rock spur at the confluence of two creeks. Lithic raw materials used at Le Rec de la Redouna 2 site were flints from Oligocene-Miocene deposits in the the Bages-Sigean basin, located 41 km as the crow flies to the north-east. The knappers used punch percussion techniques to obtain thin rectilinear bladelets that were found in significant numbers. Despite a limited number of diagnostic pieces, the lithic industry of Le Rec de le Redouna 2 can be culturally connected with the “Second Mesolithic” as defined in the Corbieres mountains and more widely in Southern France. This temporal and cultural classification is based on the presence of geometrical microliths with abrupt truncations, mainly trapezes, which are markers of that period in the north-eastern part of the foothills of the Pyrenees. The remainder of the lithic artifacts are ubiquitous and are comprised of small end-scrapers and Montbani-type retouched bladelets. The site of Le Rec de la Redouna 2 increases our knowledge regarding the characteristics of human settlement during this period of the Holocene. It makes it possible to highlight anthropic choices. Thus, its localization at the confluence of two permanent creeks, in a flat zone with soft ground, (well exposed to sunshine and protected from the prevailing winds), provides us with many parameters that make it possible enhance our understanding of the living conditions and motivations of Late Mesolithic hunters with regard to their strategies of spatial occupation. Currently, the presence of a Late Mesolithic period evidenced in the Eastern Pyrenees provides a very important information for further research into how late hunters were systematically organised when it came to identifying these open-air sites with such singular topographical locations. Le gisement du Rec de la Redouna 2 se situe dans la partie orientale du massif calcaire des Corbières, formation karstique dans l’extrême sud de la France. Il a été découvert en 2015, lors de prospections de surface. Sa position, en plein air sur la terrasse plane d’un éperon naturel est à l’interfluve de deux ruisseaux. L’économie des matières premières du site du Rec de la Redouna 2 indique un approvisionnement en silex oligo-miocènes du bassin de Bages-Sigean, situé à 41 km à vol d’oiseau en direction du nord-est. La technique de débitage mise en place par les tailleurs correspond à la percussion avec chasse lame interposé. Elle permet d’obtenir des lamelles rectilignes de faible épaisseur que l’on retrouve en nombre dans la série. Malgré un effectif numériquement faible, l’industrie lithique du Rec de la Redouna est à rattacher culturellement au " second Mésolithique " tel qu’il s’exprime dans le massif des Corbières et plus généralement dans le Sud de la France. Ce diagnostic chrono-culturel s’appuie sur la présence de microlithes géométriques à troncatures abruptes, essentiellement des trapèzes, qui sont des marqueurs de ces moments dans la zone nord orientale du piémont pyrénéen. Le reste des artéfacts lithiques est assez banal, il montre des grattoirs de petite taille et des lamelles retouchées de type Montbani. Le gisement du Rec de la Redouna 2 enrichit notre documentation concernant les caractéristiques des implantations humaines à ce moment de l’Holocène. Il met en évidence les choix anthropiques. Ainsi sa localisation, à la confluence de deux ruisseaux aux cours pérennes, sur une zone plane, au sol meuble, jouissant d’une bonne exposition (ensoleillement et protection au vent dominant) sont autant de paramètres qui permettent d’approcher les conditions de vie et les motivations des derniers chasseurs mésolithiques dans leurs stratégies d’occupation spatiale. La présence avérée d’un Mésolithique terminal dans les Pyrénées-Orientales est une information importante pour que des recherches futures sur les derniers chasseurs s’organisent systématiquement autour du repérage de ces sites de plein air aux positions topographiques singulières.

Le gisement du Rec de la Redouna 2 se situe dans la partie orientale du massif calcaire des Corbières, formation karstique dans l’extrême sud de la France. Il a été découvert en 2015, lors de prospections de surface. Sa position, en plein air sur la terrasse plane d’un éperon naturel est à l’interfluve de deux ruisseaux. L’économie des matières premières du site du Rec de la Redouna 2 indique un approvisionnement en silex oligo-miocènes du bassin de Bages-Sigean, situé à 41 km à vol d’oiseau en direction du nord-est. La technique de débitage mise en place par les tailleurs correspond à la percussion avec chasse lame interposé. Elle permet d’obtenir des lamelles rectilignes de faible épaisseur que l’on retrouve en nombre dans la série. Malgré un effectif numériquement faible, l’industrie lithique du Rec de la Redouna est à rattacher culturellement au " second Mésolithique " tel qu’il s’exprime dans le massif des Corbières et plus généralement dans le Sud de la France. Ce diagnostic chrono-culturel s’appuie sur la présence de microlithes géométriques à troncatures abruptes, essentiellement des trapèzes, qui sont des marqueurs de ces moments dans la zone nord orientale du piémont pyrénéen. Le reste des artéfacts lithiques est assez banal, il montre des grattoirs de petite taille et des lamelles retouchées de type Montbani. Le gisement du Rec de la Redouna 2 enrichit notre documentation concernant les caractéristiques des implantations humaines à ce moment de l’Holocène. Il met en évidence les choix anthropiques. Ainsi sa localisation, à la confluence de deux ruisseaux aux cours pérennes, sur une zone plane, au sol meuble, jouissant d’une bonne exposition (ensoleillement et protection au vent dominant) sont autant de paramètres qui permettent d’approcher les conditions de vie et les motivations des derniers chasseurs mésolithiques dans leurs stratégies d’occupation spatiale. La présence avérée d’un Mésolithique terminal dans les Pyrénées-Orientales est une information importante pour que des recherches futures sur les derniers chasseurs s’organisent systématiquement autour du repérage de ces sites de plein air aux positions topographiques singulières. The site of Le Rec de la Redouna 2 is located in the eastern part of the Corbieres limestone massif, a karst landform in the southernmost part of France. The open air site was discovered in 2015, during fieldwalking on a flat terrace of a natural rock spur at the confluence of two creeks. Lithic raw materials used at Le Rec de la Redouna 2 site were flints from Oligocene-Miocene deposits in the the Bages-Sigean basin, located 41 km as the crow flies to the north-east. The knappers used punch percussion techniques to obtain thin rectilinear bladelets that were found in significant numbers. Despite a limited number of diagnostic pieces, the lithic industry of Le Rec de le Redouna 2 can be culturally connected with the “Second Mesolithic” as defined in the Corbieres mountains and more widely in Southern France. This temporal and cultural classification is based on the presence of geometrical microliths with abrupt truncations, mainly trapezes, which are markers of that period in the north-eastern part of the foothills of the Pyrenees. The remainder of the lithic artifacts are ubiquitous and are comprised of small end-scrapers and Montbani-type retouched bladelets. The site of Le Rec de la Redouna 2 increases our knowledge regarding the characteristics of human settlement during this period of the Holocene. It makes it possible to highlight anthropic choices. Thus, its localization at the confluence of two permanent creeks, in a flat zone with soft ground, (well exposed to sunshine and protected from the prevailing winds), provides us with many parameters that make it possible enhance our understanding of the living conditions and motivations of Late Mesolithic hunters with regard to their strategies of spatial occupation. Currently, the presence of a Late Mesolithic period evidenced in the Eastern Pyrenees provides a very important information for further research into how late hunters were systematically organised when it came to identifying these open-air sites with such singular topographical locations.

L’abri de La Font-aux-Pigeons (Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, Bouches‑du‑Rhône), dans le massif littoral de la Nerthe (273 m), a été occupé entre ca 6450 et 4700 ans cal BCE, par les chasseurs-cueilleurs du Castelnovien et les agriculteurs du Cardial et du « Postcardial ». Au Mésolithique, la perduration d’une ambiance végétale steppique (genévriers, filaires et/ou nerprun alaterne) semble liée à des vents et une sécheresse plus marqués qu’ailleurs dans le Midi. À partir du Cardial, des formations à pin d’Alep et des garrigues dominées par les filaires et/ou le nerprun alaterne évoquent un paysage végétal pré‑forestier. La déclinaison du réchauffement climatique postglaciaire dans un contexte local particulièrement sec peut expliquer la prédominance du pin d’Alep à partir du Cardial. En outre, le substrat et la pente semblent bloquer la dynamique de végétation à un stade pré‑forestier à pin d’Alep. Au cours de l’optimum climatique atlantique cette dynamique de paysages est originale par rapport au reste du Midi de la France où les forêts à chênes caducifoliés dominent. Au cours du Cardial et surtout au début du Postcardial, une modeste pression anthropique pourrait être à l’origine du maintien des garrigues aux côtés des pinèdes. En documentant le couvert végétal avant le plein développement des activités agro-pastorales, cette étude anthracologique permet de mieux comprendre le statut du pin d’Alep dans la dynamique de végétation dans cette zone où les contraintes naturelles sont particulièrement importantes et les perturbations anthropiques anciennes. Les pinèdes constituent ici le stade le plus forestier de la succession végétale, et probablement le climax local. Cette étude souligne le caractère singulier de l’environnement littoral de Provence occidentale au cours de l’Holocène ancien et moyen ; proche des refuges glaciaires, il se distingue par une installation précoce de taxons thermophiles et se trouve soumis à des contraintes naturelles importantes avant même que l’impact anthropique ne se fasse pleinement ressentir. La Font-aux-Pigeons (Châteauneuf-les-Martigues,Bouches-du-Rhône, France) is a rock shelter that was mainly occupied between ca 6450 and 4700 years cal BCE, by the hunters-gatherers of the last Mesolithic, the Castelnovian, and the agro-pastoralists of the Cardial Neolithic and the “Postcardial”. This rock shelter is located in the Nerthe range (273 m a.s.l.), between the Mediterranean and the Berre pound. During the Castelnovian, the abundance of juniper and phillyrea or buckthorn indicates a steppe. The perduration of this vegetation later than in the other regions of southern France may be linked to the local conditions which were characterised by winds and droughts. From the Cardial, the vegetal landscape is mainly composed of pine pre-forests (probably Aleppo pine) and shrublands dominated by phillyrea or buckthorn. The combination of the postglacial climatic warming and of local dry conditions may have induced the predominance of Aleppo pine since the Cardial. Furthermore, the substratum and the slopes seems to hinder the vegetal dynamic which remains at a pre-forested stage with Aleppo pine. During the occupation of the site, which correspond to the Atlantic climatic optimum, this vegetal dynamic is unique since, at a macroregional scale, the vegetal landscape is mainly composed of deciduous oak forests. Moreover, during the Cardial occupations and the first part of the Postcardial, a modest anthropogenic pressure may lead to the maintenance of the phillyrea or buckthorn scrubland next to the pine formations. By documenting the vegetation before the rise of agro-pastoralist activities, this analysis enables to understand whetherpine formations are intermediate or climacic in the local dynamic, in an area characterised by winds, drought and long-standing anthropogenic perturbations. The results highlight that pine vegetation represents the more forested phase in the vegetal succession and probably the local climax. They reveal the originality of the coastal environment in Western Provence during the early and middle Holocene, where the development of thermophilous taxa occurs early, due to the proximity of glacial refuges and where the edaphic and climatic constraints appear to be harsh even before the rise of anthropogenic impact.

Until 2011, the Ledro valley (Trentino, northern Italy) was known only for the pile-dwelling site of Molina di Ledro, dating to the Bronze Age. During 2011, a survey campaign was carried out in the Ledro valley by the Museo delle Palafitte del Lago di Ledro to check for the presence of further prehistoric archaeological sites. The surveys, using both field walking and remote sensing analyses, identified 15 archaeological sites. One of these is Pozza Lavino, on Mount Tremalzo at 1800 m asl, dating to the Mesolithic. This new site is significant because in all of western Trentino only four other Mesolithic sites are known, while in the east of the province there are more than 200. Recent research shows that this is not a problem of the morphology of the landscape or the “visibility” of the archaeological evidence, but, rather, the gap is mainly due to the different intensities of research to date. At the site of Pozza Lavino some scattered pottery fragments also suggest another occupational phase after the Mesolithic. Two radiocarbon determinations and two arrowheads indicate a Middle/Late Neolithic presence: this is particularly exceptional because no other Neolithic site in Trentino is above 1000 m asl. The third remarkable aspect of this site is the presence of four double-backed points typologically dated to the Epigravettian. The excavation is still in progress and so here we can provide only some preliminary results and thoughts. The sites and the deposit under excavation testify to a Mesolithic occupation in the western Trentino region that had, until almost literally yesterday, been a black hole, or at best a sparsely occupied area, in archaeological maps. The new evidence, linked to the known finds in the Brescia pre-Alps, also gives support to the idea of a new route linking the area to the Po valley. The Mesolithic and Neolithic remains of Pozza Lavino open new horizons for the study of the Mesolithic and Neolithic at high altitude and our research at this settlement has already begun to shed new light on the behaviour and settlement strategies of our prehistoric ancestors in the mountains of western Trentino.

The lithic assemblages from the principal early Neolithic sites in Northern Dalmatia have been analysed with respect to the technological aspects and principles of schéma and chaîne opératoire, débitage economy and raw material economy. Northern Dalmatia, the most fertile region of the Eastern Adriatic, hosts the most important Neolithic open-air sites. Early Neolithic is associated with the Impressed Ware culture and dates back to c. 6000–5400 cal BC. The Early Neolithic lithic assemblages are characterized by the pressure blade production techniques on high-quality Gargano cherts reflecting important socio-economic and technical mutations that are specific to the Neolithic. Moreover, the almost exclusive reliance on these exogenous cherts emphasizes the social aspects of such networks and reinforces the idea of cultural uniformity of Dalmatian and Apulian Impressed Ware.

International audience; During the 7th and 6th millenium cal.BC, in much of western Europe, a cultural rupture transforms the Mesolithic societies. For the lithics industries, these changes occur at different levels, including the introduction of new knapping technics, the pressure and the indirect percussion and the introduction of new trapezoidal shaped microliths, manufactured on the regular blades using the microburin technique. Probably echoing changes in the different registers - technical, economic, social or symbolic - of the hunting system, these new shapes of arrowheads reflect new functional roles which are still little known.In order to characterize and interpret these innovations, we have set up a progam of archery experiments centered on the Late Mesolithic (Castelnovian) but which also finds extensions in the Early Neolithic (Impressa).The creation of a large-scale reference collection by the implementation of experimental shooting sessions following different protocols, on animal carcass and on ballistic gel, allowed us to obtain a model of impact damages to the symmetrical and asymmetrical trapezes according to their shape and their mode of hafting but also enabled us to evaluate their wounding efficiency.In this paper, we will present the main results of this program, from which we will discuss the functional hypotheses that can be formulated for the archaeological trapezes.

International audience; Excavated in the 1960s, the Baume de Montclus rock shelter (Gard, France) contained a significant stratigraphic sequence covering the entire Mesolithic. The oldest layers (layer 30 to 17) belong to the first Mesolithic, and contain particular hyper-microlithic flint industries (Montclusian facies of the Sauveterrian). The overlying layers 14 to 7, underlying the Neolithic ones (layers 5 to 3), document a second Mesolithic sequence (Castelnovian). Layers 16 and 15 are the stratigraphical transition between those two main sets. The lithic industries from those two layers have characteristic elements referred both to the first and second Mesolithic. Generally, this duality was understood as evidence of the existence of a local transition facies between Sauveterrian and Castelnovian, and thus, of a permanent regional occupation. However, the analysis of spatial and stratigraphical data of those two layers 16 and 15, as well as that of their lithic industries, question this hypothesis. There is more probably a real break between the two main sets of occupation, Sauveterrian and Castelnovian. As generally noticed elsewhere in Southern France, we cannot highlight a transition facies between first and second Mesolithic. Consequently, the durability of human occupations at the end of the 6th millennium cal. BC in this region of Southern France is questioned.

This paper reports results of a technological study carried out on the lithic assemblages of the Mesolithic sequence of Romagnano rock shelter, in the south-eastern Alps, which represents the reference site for the Sauveterrian and Castelnovian of northeastern Italy. Considering the technical differences between the two phases, this work has tried to ascertain aspects of continuity and discontinuity within this series in the aim of investigating the way this transition occurred – abrupt or progressive. The objectives of debitage and the techniques applied, along with the reductions sequences and the methods involved, have been reconstructed. In order to interpret these data, a comparison with other main Castelnovian assemblages of the Italian peninsula has been carried out. Results attained indicate that the major changes occurred at the transition between I and II Mesolithic are closely related to the introduction of new knapping techniques – indirect percussion/pressure. The persistence of some characters derived from the more ancient pragmatic Sauveterrian tradition has also been highlighted. The existence of a real progressive transition seems difficult to be proved considering that Romagnano, as other continuous series available from other rock shelters of the peninsula, could have undergone problems of stratigraphic disturbance.

International audience; This research concerns the characterisation of economy of a Mesolithic settlement in the South of France. The Mourre de Sève site is a rock shelter located not far the confluence of Rhône-Ouvèze and it represents the exploitation of a riverine environment by hunter-gatherers. The latest excavations, in 1994 and 1997, dated the site using AMS to the Sauveterrian and the Castelnovian periods. The Castelnovian lithic industry from the top levels of the site constitutes one of the few blade and trapeze complexes of the region between the Alps and the Pyrenees. In this article we discuss the results of use-wear analysis carried on the lithic artefacts from the recent excavations. The results of this analysis are linked to multidisciplinary studies of the archaeological material to characterize the economy of the site. The findings suggest continuity in economy type from the Sauveterrian to the Castelnovian occupations

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International audience; In southern France, the spread of blade and trapeze industries brought to an end the high stability of the technical and economic system of the Epipalaeolithic (Azilian) and Early Mesolithic (Sauveterrian) groups. The Late Mesolithic is, in fact, characterized by substantial modifications of technological standards and conceptual schemes as testified by the appearance of new tools (i.e. notched blades) and the renewal of the microlithic toolkits. A preliminary use-wear analysis carried out on a Castelnovian lithic assemblage of the Montclus rock-shelter (Gard, Southern France) enabled to investigate how the functional behavior was affected by these innovations. In this paper the results concerning the two most emblematic tools are going to be presented: notched blades and trapezes. The former appeared to be an extremely dedicated tool type while the latter have been correlated to a new functioning and hafting mode.

International audience; In southern France, during the 6th millennium cal. BC, the spread of blade and trapeze industries ended high stability of the technical and economic choices of first Mesolithic (Sauveterrian) groups. With the second Mesolithic, the lithic sub-system is substantially modified. This technological break is studied by means of a new techno-functional analysis carried out on the lithic industries of Baume de Montclus rock shelter (Gard, France) which offers a significant stratigraphic sequence covering the whole Mesolithic (Montclusian and Castelnovian). In this papers, we present some results of tipological and functional analysis of geometrical microliths which are profoundly renewed (chaînes opératoires, design and use) with regard to the Sauveterrian, but also we discuss their evolution in Castelnovian assemblage, new morphometric characteristics and diversification (symmetrical trapezes then various types of asymmetrical trapezes) with changing function

Use-wear analysis of a Castelnovian blade and trapeze assemblage. The Mourre de Sève rock shelter (Sorgues-Vaucluse)

The aim of this research is to delve into the knowledge of the Castelnovian cultural complex, developed during the recent Mesolithic, reconstructing the settlement dynamics and the lithic technical systems in Emilia. In order to recollect all the available data, the collections of the regional museums have been examined: doing so we have identified 55 Castelnovian sites, some of them were unpublished. Analyzing the geomorphologic and palaeo-environmental features in different sections of the area, and considering the position of the known sites in these landscape units, the picture of the settlement choices of the Castelnovian groups has been updated. These choices appear to be orientated toward the areas more suitable for hunting and gathering, because of their high ecological productivity (damp areas) or the transit of wild fauna (mountain passes, clearings, valleys), in an established seasonal mobility pattern between mountains and plains. The origin of lithic raw material allowed us to assume the presence of east-west oriented displacements in the mountain region alongside the ridge, in addition to the north-south movement already proposed in the literature. The detailed analysis, especially from a technological point of view, of the 16 main lithic assemblages, allowed us to define the distinctive features of the Castelnovian technical system. The reduction sequence main objective is to produce regular and standardized bladelets, generally obtained with unidirectional exploitation of flint, jasper and silicified siltstone pebbles or blocks, collected near the sites with embedded procurement strategies. The core preparation and maintenance stages are very simple, in particular on the small flint blocks/pebbles, which are generally exploited till the exhaustion. Analyzing the various lithic raw material treatment, we have observed how the knapping objectives were often adapted to the different lithotype characteristics: the more homogeneous and vitreous (Calabrian pebbles, other flint types, some varieties of jasper) were used to produce regular bladelets and projectile points, the ones of poor quality or bigger size (silicified siltstone, jasper) to obtain flakes and common tools. Part of the research has been committed to the recognition of knapping techniques used to produce regular bladelets obtained from Calabrian flint pebbles, which are typical of the lithic assemblages of the eastern part of the region (Bologna area). In order to do so, we have developed a specific experimental activity, in collaboration with the CRPPM (Centre de Recherche sur la Préhistoire et la Protohistoire de la Méditerranée) of Toulouse, during which François Briois realized 26 series of bladelets by indirect percussion and by pressure with an abdominal crutch. The detailed analysis of these products and the comparison with the archaeological materials give us way to hypothesize the adoption of the pressure technique by the Castelnovian knappers, along with some cases of indirect percussion. The introduction of these techniques represents an innovative element as regards the ancient Mesolithic, characterized by the exclusive use of direct percussion technique. The use of this last technique continues in the Castelnovian, both for the core opening and maintenance, and for the production of non-standardized blanks (flakes and irregular bladelets). The distinctive features of the regional Castelnovian technical system are coherent with the diffusion of the industries of the second Mesolithic characterized by regular blades and trapezoidal arrowheads. As for many others European regions, even in Emilia we observe the appearance of important innovations in comparison with the ancient Mesolithic, mainly the adoption of a new “style” of débitage, oriented toward a marked standardization, obtained by the use of new knapping techniques and the introduction of trapezoidal arrowheads and of denticulated bladelets. On a regional level, however, the persistence of some aspects characteristic of the previous phase is to be found, mainly the use of local raw materials, the production of flakes and common tools made with silicified siltstone and jasper and the microburin technique. Even the settlement choices and the mobility patterns of the Castelnovian groups do not change significantly from the ones identified for the ancient Mesolithic. It seems then that the important changes which characterize the Castelnovian can not be ascribed, as far as the region is concerned, to a substitution/replacement of populations or to the arrival of new groups from an external area; they are probably to be traced back to cultural and social phenomena which the current state of researches does not allow to identify.